'The Artist' wins three top Oscars, including best picture.

Los Angeles Times - "The Artist," the black-and-white silent film about Hollywood’s rocky transition to the “talkies,” took the biggest honors at the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday night, including best picture, director and lead actor.

It was a night filled with firsts — and an especially good night for the French.

“The Artist” was the first silent film to nab best picture honors since the first Academy Awards were held in 1929, when “Wings” took the top prize. And for the first time in Academy Awards history, a French actor (Jean Dujardin) and a French filmmaker (Michel Hazanavicius) took the academy’s top acting and directing awards.

“I love your country!” said Dujardin as he accepted the award for playing a famous silent film star whose career hits the skids when talkies take over.

Dujardin and Hazanavicius are household names in France but were unknown to American audiences until “The Artist” opened in theaters in the United States late last year and began sweeping up during the awards season. (On Saturday, both men won in their respective categories at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.)

“The Artist” went into the ceremony held at the Hollywood & Highland Center and broadcast live on ABC with 10 nominations. It won five, including costume design and original score. Conventional wisdom had pitted it against “Hugo,” Martin Scorsese’s valentine to cinema, which scored 11 nominations. It also took five awards, all in technical categories: cinematography, art direction, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.

Meryl Streep and Jean Dujardin take top acting awards.