Oscar chose "Hurt Locker"

Fernseher 42 zoll Test

Fernseher 50 zoll Test

There also is the parallel question of whether "Avatar" and distributor Fox contributed to their own demise in the best-picture race. The sci-fi epic had been critically acclaimed, far more widely seen and was widely heralded for its breakthrough technology. And it boasted the deep-pocket backing of a major Hollywood studio. Could it be explained as the ultimate example of the split personality in Hollywood, where movie choices are mostly driven by the need to make large amounts of money but where the people behind the camera still want to be seen as making art? And was it hurt by attacks from the political right on the movie's plot, which was seen as a dig on America's Iraq incursion?

Or was "Avatar" doomed because it was sci-fi, a genre that rarely has been rewarded by Oscar? After all, there are precedents. In 1977, when "Star Wars" was the breakthrough movie, it lost best picture to Woody Allen's low-budget comedy "Annie Hall." And in 1982, when "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" was rewriting box office records, it was beaten for best picture by "Gandhi."