Roman Polanski's win for best director typified the Oscars.
And they said the Academy didn't get it.
Lambasted as too old, too out of touch and too easily swayed by campaigning, Oscar voters actually made an impressive array of intelligent, unpredictable and lively choices this year.
First-timers and foreigners fared well in the running, with iconoclastic Spanish director Pedro Almodovar snapping up the original screenplay trophy for "Talk to Her" and a Japanese anime practitioner, Hayao Miyazaki, beating out local faves for animated feature with his fantasy-adventure "Spirited Away."
In the music categories, composer Elliot Goldenthal pipped veterans Elmer Bernstein and Philip Glass for original score ("Frida"), while rapper Eminem surprised even presenter Barbara Streisand by landing the song prize for "Lose Yourself."
Shoo-ins and sentimental faves were shunted aside in most categories, as first-timers carted off most of the trophies and delivered the most moving speeches.
Consider the most eyebrow-raising nod, to Roman Polanski as director for "The Pianist." Apparently, Academy members were moved enough by the helmer's personal take on the Holocaust to shrug off any possible anti-Polanski backlash from Middle America.
Despite all the war-related hand-wringing in the week leading up to the Oscarcast, in the end the Academy did its most crucial job with admirable aplomb.
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