The Artist reigned supreme at the Oscars on Sunday night.

The black and white film, which enjoyed huge success at the Baftas earlier this month, won five awards including best picture, director and best actor for Jean Dujardin.

Set in the 1920s, The Artist is a tribute to early Hollywood and is the second silent film in Oscar history to win the best picture award since Wings in 1929.

Its four-legged star, Uggie the Jack Russell, even turned out for the 84th Academy Awards fashioning a dickie bow for the occasion.

Meryl Streep picked up the third Oscar of her career for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Streep has been nominated for an Oscar 17 times and last collected the best actress award for her performance in 1982 for Sophie’s Choice.

Christopher Plummer, 82, became the oldest ever Oscar winner with the best supporting actor award for his role in Beginners. While a tearful Octavia Spencer took home the supporting actress gong for her role in The Help.

On a night that brought few surprises it was British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen who livened things up after getting escorted from the red carpet.

Baron Cohen turned up at the awards dressed as the character from his upcoming film The Dictator accompanied by two female bodyguards. The actor pretended an urn he was carrying held the ashes of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il before tipping the contents over American TV host Ryan Seacrest.