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Monday February 28, 2011 9:54 am

Videos: Best Moments from the 2011 Academy Awards

The 83rd Academy Awards was filled with musical numbers, glamorous celebrities, even an F-bomb or two. In case you missed the broadcast (which swelled to an incredible five hours if you count the 90-minute red carpet pre-coverage), we did all the hard work for you: we've got the highlights. Take a look at all the best moments from this year's Oscar awards, starting with the video above.

Immediately following the opening Academy Award montage was this great sketch from Oscar hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco, co-starring Inception star Leonardo DiCaprio and A-lister Alec Baldwin. Dicaprio took the hosts inside Alec Baldwin’s dreams, which are peppered with more movies from this year’s nominee list. Morgan Freeman arrived in the middle of the dream, because “Alec likes me to narrate his dreams. Says I have a soothing voice.” Hathaway’s “dance of the brown duck” was a great addition to Black Swan, but Franco really stole the scene with his simple white leotard.

Kirk Douglas, Michael’s father and a legitimate silver screen star, got a long round of applause when he stepped up to present the next award. He thinks Franco looks “much better out of the cave,” and finds Anne Hathaway “gorgeous,” crying “Where were you when I was making pictures?” Douglas loves women, and that’s why he presented the list for Best Supporting Actress. He got many laughs from the crowd as he drew out the suspense in announcing the winner in the tight race. That’s why Kirk Douglas is one of our greats, and that’s how he managed to steal the entire show at the Academy Awards.

By the way, Melissa Leo won for her role in The Fighter, surprising and stunning absolutely everyone inside the theater. She asked Kirk Douglas to pinch her, crying “Mine?” as she took the award from him. “You’re much more beautiful than you were in The Fighter,” he told her. She cried “wow” several times before delivering her emotional Oscar speech. It was the first of many shining moments in the Oscars -- but not the first of the night's surprises. “When I watched Kate last year, it looked so [expletive] easy,” she cursed, after ogling the large crowd gathered in the room. (We assume she’s referring to Kate Winslet, who won the Best Actress Oscar given out two years ago for 2009’s The Reader. Mo’nique won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar last year for her work in Precious, and incidentally Sandra Bullock won the Best Actress statue for The Blind Side. Penelope Cruz won Best Supporting Actress in 2009 for Vicky Chrinstina Barcelona). (WARNING: The above video is the uncensored version of Leo's speech).

Anne Hathaway wore a basic black tuxedo in one standout scene, stating that she planned to do a duet with a “special guest” who “bailed on” her. She then began to belt out a modified rendition of “On My Own” that actually sounded fantastic and made Hugh Jackman turn red with embarrassment. The number became hilarious when James Franco appeared in Marilyn Monroe’s costume from her legendary "Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend" number, joking that he “just got a text message from Charlie Sheen.”

The surprise appearance by legendary Oscar host Billy Crystal was truly one of the night's highlights. “So, where was I?” He asked, before joking that the show was “running a little long” and trying to rush straight to the last award of the night, Best Picture. Crystal delivered a tribute to Bob Hope, who hosted the event 18 times. For the record, Crystal has hosted 8 times. He told a fantastic story about seeing Bob Hope one year while he was hosting the Oscars, joking that Hope “flipped me off” after the cameras panned away. This was actually an introduction for a clip from the very first televised Academy Awards, then the 20th in the series.

Hope hosted this first Oscar awards show, of course. His monologue was just as funny as you’d expect, and so good it still could have been used today. In a bit of special effects wizardry, Hope delivered the introduction for Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, who presented the Visual Effects award for the night.

Annette Benning stood on stage alone to present the clip for the Lifetime Achievement awards, another star-studded event that paid tribute to legends like Francis Ford Coppola, Eli Wallach and Frances Brownlow -- the three of whom appeared on stage behind her. All of Hollywood stood to give the three elder statesmen a standing ovation to acknowledge their Lifetime Achievement wins. It was a brief but sparkling moment, one of the night's best.

Best Original Song winner Randy Newman ("We Belong Togehter," Toy Story 3) delivered the night's best speech. He peppered his words with jokes that got the crowd laughing, effectively charming everyone in the room.

Anne Hathaway and James Franco introduced Staten Island’s PS22 at the end of the night. The group of school children beautifully sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to close the broadcast. Their angelic faces (and voices) were joined by every single Oscar winner of the night in a beautiful tribute to the entire show. Hathaway exchanged high-fives with the young singers as the Oscars cut away to end credits.

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