Oscars 2012: "Midnight in Paris"

An opening montage depicts scenic shots of one of the world's great cities, accompanied by a jazz score. You MIGHT think director Woody Allen was repeating the opening of "Manhattan," his 1979 paean to his hometown. But unlike that classic, "Midnight in Paris" opens without a narrator's literary attempt to distill the city's attractions.

Perhaps it's because the Paris of today - from its cafes and boulevards to the monuments and bridges straddling a magnificent river - is not the preoccupation of this film's protagonist.

Instead, it is a Paris long passed.

Credit: Sony Pictures Classics