The heartfelt story of a schizophrenic, the adventures of a Hobbit and his friends . oh yeah, and Whoopi Goldberg. These three elements dominated last Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, broadcasted live from the new Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. After a dramatic entrance by host Goldberg, clad in gold sequins, feathers and seated on a trapeze, the stars settled themselves for an evening that alternated bursts of humor with reverence for the events of Sept. 11.

The standout was Ron Howard’s film A Beautiful Mind, the story of tormented, schizophrenic, Nobel Prize winner John F. Nash. The movie won this year’s coveted Best Picture award, the last award presented. Acclaimed director Howard won his first Oscar for his work on A Beautiful Mind. The Best Adapted Screenplay award also went to the film, and actress Jennifer Connelly accepted the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as the protagonist’s wife Alicia – with Nash and Alicia herself in attendance.

Ron Howard appeared very collected when accepting the credit given to him for the film’s success. He was still enthusiastic. “I’m grateful for an entire lifetime spent in this process,” Howard said.

Tieing the latter film for most overall awards was the Peter Jackson epic Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which also earned four Oscars. No award earned by Rings was related to performance. The film won for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score, and Best Makeup.

The ceremony made history this year by bestowing the Best Leading Actress award to an African American woman for the first time. An emotional Halle Berry, whose recognition came for her work in Monster’s Ball, took several minutes to compose herself before her speech.

“This moment,” Berry said, “is for . every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because the door tonight has been opened.”

The Best Leading Actor award went to Denzel Washington for Training Day, also notable in that no African-American actor had received the honor since Sidney Poitier in 1968, who this year received an honorary award for “his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen” and for representing Hollywood with “dignity, style and intelligence.”

Between awards, the telecast was filled with film montages, speeches on film by noted actors, and a flashy performance by Cirque du Soleil. While entertaining, the additions pushed the ceremony’s to over four hours in length – the longest in the program’s history.

Rick Kushman, film critic for The Sacramento Bee, was among many displeased by the lack of brevity. “It was the first time both best-acting Oscars went to African Americans … yet viewers had to fight hours and hours of boredom to care,” Kushman wrote. “All that was missing was a tribute to tributes.”

A full listing of nominees, winners, and program highlights is available at the Academy Awards’ official website, www.oscar.com