Oscar highlights

"Birdman" turned out to be the winner of the evening, just as it had been at the Golden Globes several weeks back. While Michael Keaton missed out on Best Actor, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu claimed Best Director. "Birdman," a black comedy-drama about a failed actor who tried his hand as a superhero, also won Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

Like "Birdman," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," a colorful period comedy by Wes Anderson, also won four Oscars: costume design, makeup and hairstyling, original score and production design. Composer Alexandre Desplat is pictured accepting the Best Soundtrack award. Lead actor Ralph Fiennes went out empty-handed. The German-British co-production premiered at last year's Berlinale film festival.

The awards were hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, best known as Barney Stinson in the hit series "How I Met Your Mother." The actor set a cheerful tone from the beginning, parodying Michael Keaton's half-naked scene in "Birdman." He also took a crack at the awards themselves, saying, "Tonight we honor Hollywood's best and whitest - I mean brightest," referring to the all-white nominee list.

Newly-engaged megastar Lady Gaga went for a more subtle look. Known for over-the-top outfits, she appeared in a white beaded custom gown by Azzedine Alaia. Lady Gaga performed a rousing tribute to "Sound of Music" at the Oscars ceremony.

As expected, Julianne Moore was named Best Actress for playing a college professor who suffers from Alzheimer's at a young age in "Still Alice." "I read an article that said that winning an Oscar could lead to living five years longer," quipped Moore. "If that's true, I'd like to thank the Academy, because my husband is five years younger than me."

Eddie Redmayne accepted the Oscar for Best Actor for portraying neurologically-handicapped physicist Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything." The 33-year-old British actor spent seven months preparing for the role and learning about Hawking's condition, known as Lou Gehrig's disease or ALS. "This belongs to all of those people around the world battling ALS," said Redmayne.

"Shades of Grey" star Dakota Johnson wasn't nominated for an Oscar, but she's still the talk of the town. She turned up with her mother, actress Melanie Griffith, in the color of desire. Griffith confessed she had yet to see the racy film, which features her daughter in a number of nude scenes.

J.K. Simmons, 60, beat out nominees Ethan Hawke ("Boyhood") and Robert Duvall ("The Judge") to claim his first Oscar for his role as a music teacher in "Whiplash." From the stage, Simmons thanked his family and encouraged the audience to call their parents - via old-fashioned telephone.

Patricia Arquette was the favorite for Best Supporting Actress and added a political note to her acceptance speech. "To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation," she said. "We have fought for everybody else's equal rights. It's our time to have wage equality once for all. And equal rights for women in the United States of America." Arquette co-starred in "Boyhood."

While "Boyhood" won the Golden Globe for Best Picture earlier this year, its only Oscar went to co-star Patricia Arquette. Leading actor Ellar Coltrane (left) is pictured here with director Richard Linklater. The team spent 12 years filming the coming-of-age picture.

Always good for a smile, actor Jeff Goldblum appeared in support of his film, "Grand Budapest Hotel." He is part of a star-studded cast, which also includes Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, and Jude Law.

"The disclosures that Edward Snowden reveals don't only expose a threat to our privacy but to our democracy itself," said Laura Poitras as she accepted the Oscar for Best Documentary with producer Dirk Wilutzky (left) and journalist Glenn Greenwald. "CitizenFour" documents Poitras' and Greenwald's initial meeting in Hong Kong with former NSA employee Edward Snowden.

"American Sniper" has sparked a huge debate in the US and abroad about the morality of killing in a crisis situation. The film, which was directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Bradley Cooper as record-setting US Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle, won the Oscar for Best Sound Editing. It was accepted by Bub Asman (right) and Alan Robert Murray.

The black-and-white Polish film "Ida" took the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. It is the first win of its kind for Poland and director Pawel Pawlikowski savored the moment with a rather lengthy acceptance speech. The film, about a young woman in the 1960s who's considering becoming a nun, also received the Lux Prize from the European Parliament.