第81届奥斯卡颁奖典礼于北京时间2月23日中午13时落下帷幕。《贫民窟的百万富翁》最终以十项提名八项获奖的成绩成为本届奥斯卡“中奖率”最高的影片，同时因其获得最佳影片和最佳导演两项大奖而成为不折不扣的最高“含金量”影片。西恩•潘和凯特•温斯莱特分别获封“影帝”和“影后”；最佳女配角颁予出演《午夜巴塞罗那》的佩内洛普•克鲁兹，最佳男配角则向已逝的希斯•莱杰致敬。1976年出演《电视台风云》的彼得•芬奇去世两个月后获得奥斯卡奖，这是奥斯卡在其之后第二次将演员奖颁给逝者。

Danny Boyle (3rd R), best director winner for "Slumdog Millionaire," poses with (L-R) cast members Dev Patel, Irrfan Khan, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, and Madhur Mittal during the arrivals at the 81st Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 22, 2009.

"Slumdog Millionaire" took the best-picture Academy Award and seven other Oscars on Sunday, including director for Danny Boyle, whose ghetto-to-glory story paralleled the film's unlikely rise to Hollywood's summit.

The other top winners: Kate Winslet, best actress for the Holocaust-themed drama "The Reader"; Sean Penn, best actor for the title role of "Milk"; Heath Ledger¹, supporting actor for "The Dark Knight"; and Penelope Cruz, supporting actress for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

A story of hope amid squalor in Mumbai, India, "Slumdog Millionaire" came in with 10 nominations², its eight wins including adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing and both music Oscars (score and song).

"Just to say to Mumbai, all of you who helped us make the film and all of those of you who didn't, thank you very much. You dwarf³ even this guy," Boyle said, holding up his directing Oscar.

The filmmakers accepted the best-picture trophy⁴ surrounded by both the adult professional actors who appeared among the cast of relative unknowns and some of the children Boyle cast from the slums of Mumbai.

As he took the stage to accept his prize for playing slain⁵ gay-rights pioneer Harvey Milk, Penn gleefully told the crowd: "You commie, homo-loving sons of guns."

For his demented reinvention of Batman villain⁶ the Joker, Ledger became only the second actor ever to win posthumously⁷, his triumph coming exactly 13 months after his death from an accidental overdose of prescription⁹ drugs.

His Oscar for the Warner Bros. blockbuster was accepted by Ledger's parents and sister on behalf of the actor's 3-year-old daughter, Matilda.

Since his death, the 28-year-old Ledger has gained a mythic aura akin¹⁰ to James Dean, another rising star who died well before his time.

The Joker was his final completed role, a casting choice that initially¹¹ drew scorn from fans who thought Ledger would not be up to the task given Jack¹² Nicholson's gleefully campy rendition of the character in 1989's "Batman."

The previous posthumous⁸ Oscar recipient¹³ was Peter Finch¹⁴, who won best actor for 1976's "Network" two months after his death.

Cruz triumphed as a woman in a steamy three-way affair with her ex-husband and an American woman in Woody Allen's romance.

"Has anybody ever fainted here? Because I might be the first one," Cruz said, who went on with warm thanks to Allen. "Thank you, Woody, for trusting me with this beautiful character. Thank you for having written all these years some of the greatest characters for women."

"OK, that fainting thing, Penelope," Winslet joked later as she accepted her best-actress prize for "The Reader," in which she plays a former concentration camp guard in an affair with a teen. "I'd be lying if I haven't made a version of this speech before. I think I was probably 8 years old and staring into the bathroom mirror, and this would be a shampoo bottle. But it's not a shampoo bottle now."

It was Winslet's first win after five previous losses.

The acting¹⁵ categories were presented by five past winners of the same awards, among them last year's actress winners, Marion Cotillard and Tilda Swinton, plus Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Kevin Kline, Sophia Loren, Anthony Hopkins, Shirley MacLaine and Robert De Niro.

It was a much different style for the Oscars as each past recipient offered personal tributes to one of the nominees¹⁶, without clips of the nominated performances. Awards usually are done in chit-chat style between a couple of celebrity¹⁷ presenters¹⁸.

After last year's Oscars delivered their worst TV ratings ever, producers this time aimed to liven up the show with some surprises and new ways of presenting awards. Rather than hiring a comedian¹⁹ such as past hosts Jon Stewart or Chris Rock, the producers went with actor and song-and-dance man Hugh Jackman, who has been host of Broadway's Tony Awards.

Instead of the usual standup routine, Jackman did an engaging musical number to open the show, saluting²⁰ nominated films with a clever tribute.