The 68th Academy Awards - featuring the first-ever appearance by a Hong Kong star, Jackie Chan - went according to predictions, with Mel Gibson taking home five Oscars for Braveheart, his second film as a director.
The three-hour depiction of 13th Century Scottish rebel William Wallace, won Australian actor Gibson a Best Director and Best Film statuette, with three technical awards for cinematography, sound effects editing and make-up.
Five-times nominated Susan Sarandon, 49, finally took home the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Dead Man Walking, while first-time nominee Nicolas Cage won Best Actor for Leaving Las Vegas.
Jackie Chan proved a natural opposite basketball star Kareem Abdul Jabbar in presenting the awards for Best Animated Short Film and Best Live Action Short Film - although on his way into the ceremony he confessed to nervousness. 'My first time at the Oscars - I am so excited I hope I can get the words out,' he said.
The night's losers were astronaut drama Apollo 13 - nominated in nine categories but winner of just two Oscars, for sound and film editing, and the Australian live-action farmyard drama Babe, nominated seven times but successful in only the Best Visual Effects category.
Kevin Spacey was a surprise winner in the Best Supporting Actor category, for his role as a crippled conman in The Usual Suspects, with 25-year-old Mira Sorvino taking home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Woody Allen's comedy, Mighty Aphrodite.
