Live coverage of the sixty-first annual Academy Awards ceremony from the Shrine Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Highlights include: an opening production number which recreates Hollywood's glittering past and such landmarks as the Cocoanut Grove and the Chinese Theater; a tribute to the great musicals of the '50s hosted by Patrick Swayze; the performance of a new song by Marvin Hamlisch and Fred Ebb titled "Oscar Winner"; and a montage of Oscar's Best Song winners.