Before I go on with this series, I'd like to have a refresher and review what we've learned about the Field of Ten(-ish) in the last four years. First off, though it's too early to judge, it seems like nine nominees may become a standard. We've had a year that some have considered the strongest in a while (2012), where our cinematic cup had runneth over commercially and critically. I don't agree, but I can't deny that there was a strong collective appreciation in the Best Picture lineup of 2012 that didn't exist in 2011. Both years produced nine nominees, under the new rules. Ten may well be an impossible, perhaps rare, number to achieve. Less than nine is a possibility, but, again, there was such a disparity in perceived quality in the mainstream and critical circles between 2011 and 2012, that it seems pretty safe to go with a prediction of nine for 2013, even now. But, of course, it's obnoxiously too early for that nonsense.
So, what do we know from the separate categories, like directing for instance? It's an excellent indicator, but possibly not full-proof as the last four years haven't presented a film yet like Mulholland Dr. as a test case. But, for the most part, it's pretty reliable, with The Tree of Life serving as a strong example. Only slightly less so is editing, which produced winner The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a film that did well with audiences and critics, but it may always be unknown whether the sexy, edgy action film could have made it in under the 2009/2010 rules. The bipolar screenplay categories can go from 5/9 (2011) to 9/10 (2010), although the adapted category has an edge over original. And the acting counts are equal in their mixed reliability. Anyhow, year by year, going backwards:
2012
Of the nine BP nominees, they all received four or more nominations. Many believe that under the 2009/2010 system, Skyfall with five nominations including cinematography and a win for song (as well as a sound category), may have gotten in at the 10th position. Also doing well with nominations was the little seen Anna Karenina. The Hobbit Part I managed three nods, as did The Master, which scored in all but one of the acting categories and was directed by Paul T. Anderson. Director: 100%. Editing: 100%. Acting: 70%. Screenplay: 80%. Flight landed in both lead actor and the weaker original screenplay category, as well as Moonrise Kingdom; both films knocked out The Master. Either film probably could have also gotten into a Field of Ten over the Anderson film. If I made a bet, I'd go with Skyfall, with Moonrise in second. Only Les Misérables didn't make it in the screenplay categories, but made up for that with a high nomination count and wins.
2011
Seven films with four nominations or higher, except for the sexy action drama The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo got in, which won for Editing, of all awards. The other two got in with director/cinematography (The Tree of Life) and one minor acting nod (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close). Life featured the signature style of Terrence Malick, the other a sappy drama. One of the only three films to win multiple awards (the lukewarm received The Iron Lady) for Best Actress and makeup, probably didn't get close to the Best Picture field. Director: 100% accuracy. Editing: 80%. Acting: 45%. Screenplay: 50% of the nominees scored in the BP field. Of those that didn't, Bridesmaids was a successful gross-out comedy that did well critically and commercially and also got an acting nod. A Separation also did well overall and won Foreign Language picture. The spy drama Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy didn't do too badly itself and covered broad categories with acting and score nods. The Wall Street drama Margin Call and the looks-good-on-paper The Ides of March both earned their sole nod in the screenplay categories. It's highly debatable which film would have made it in the 10th slot under 2009/2010 rules, but candidates probably vary from Bridesmaids, to Dragon Tattoo, Ides, A Separation, and Tinker. I'd put my money on Tattoo. Out of the BP nominees which didn't get screenplay nods, War Horse and The Help both had decent nomination totals. The Tree of Life managed the director's category. But, in a year of only five nominations, were we were trying to ascertain a Field of Ten, Extremely Loud would have been the most challenging, with only an actor's nod. The Oscar-baity project being released in December would have been the best indicators.
2010
This year was pretty cut and dried with the nomination count. Of the ten films that scored four nominations, all ten got into the BP race. The conventional wisdom is that the 11th place finisher was The Town, which scored a sole acting nod for Jeremy Renner, but that's, of course, mostly from being around when the race was actually happening. Thrice-nominated (with two wins) Alice in Wonderland would have loved to have inserted itself into the BP race. Other than that, all the other multiple winners were in the BP field. Director: 100%. Editing: 100%. Acting: 75%. Screenplay: 95%. Mike Leigh got the only nomination for Another Year and eclipsed Black Swan from the screenplay category, which still garnered a good nomination total.
2009
Seven of the BP nominees managed four nominations or more. Two films, which hovered right outside the race were Nine (poorly received on all accounts, the film still managed broad support with acting, song, costume design, and art direction mentions) and Star Trek (it won for makeup, but also landed in the visual effects and two sound categories), the science fiction film which probably had genre competition with the successful non-franchise District 9. Coming of age British drama An Education received nods for its lead actress and screenplay, each category also had the sole nods for box-office bonanza actor vehicle The Blind Side (starring Best Actress winner Sandra Bullock) and a movie from Academy darlings the Coen brothers, A Serious Man. Director: 100%. Editing: 100%. Acting: 45%. Screenplay: 80%. Both The Messenger and In the Loop were small dramas, the former of which also scored an acting nod. The BP nominees that didn't score with screenplay were high-nomination count frontrunner Avatar (James Cameron is like anathema to the writing branch of the AMPAS) and Best Actress titan The Blind Side. Out of films with multiple wins, only Crazy Heart, the actor showcase about a musician, wasn't part of the Best Picture race. If this had been a five horse race that we were using to figure out a Field of Ten, The Blind Side, A Serious Man, and District 9 would have been the hardest calls, with Crazy Heart and The Messenger muddying the waters, along with Invictus, Nine, and Star Trek.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:
In 1961, it was one of the most popular musicals of all time, a musical stripped of its songs, two dramas and a western that captured the attention of the AMPAS and the full-color monumental production of West Side Story would be the film to take the highest mantel. But, what if the field had been extended to ten nominees total? What else would have made it in? It's important to note that, around this time, unlike the Best Picture field, because of the transition between black & white and color, there were ten nominated films for each of the cinematography, art direction, and costume design categories. As well, the score category was broken up into two, delineating between the musical and comedy/drama genres. Unlike today, there was no makeup category and only one sound distinction.
The Winner:
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West Side Story
Total Wins/Nominations: 10 wins (Picture, Director, Supporting
Actress, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Musical Score, Sound, Color
Cinematography, AD, Costumes), 1 nomination (Adapted Screenplay)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA winner, NBR, Laurel Awards (Musical)
winner, NYFCC winner, Golden Globe (Musical) winner, BAFTA, WGA winner
Distributor: United
Artists
Release Date: 18. October
Domestic Box Office: $44M (IMDb)
Budget: $6M
(IMDb)
Current RT: 93%
Current IMDb: 7.7
The Nominees:
Judgment at Nuremberg
Total Wins/Nominations: 2 wins (Actor, Adapted Screenplay), 9
nominations (Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor,
Film Editing, B&W Cinematography, AD, Costumes)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, Laurel Awards (Drama), Golden
Globe (Drama), BAFTA
Distributor: United
Artists
Release Date: 19. December
Domestic Box Office: N/A
Budget: $3M
(IMDb)
Current RT: 89%
Current IMDb: 8.3
The Hustler
Total Wins/Nominations: 2 wins (B&W Cinematography, AD), 7
nominations (Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actress, Actor, Supporting
Actor, Supporting Actor)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, Laurel Awards (Drama) 2nd
Place, BAFTA winner, WGA winner
Distributor: Twentieth
Century Fox Film Corporation
Release Date: 25. September
Domestic Box Office: N/A
Budget: $2M
(IMDb)
Current RT: 97%
Current IMDb: 8.1
The Guns of Navarone
Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Special Effects), 6 nominations (Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, Sound, Score)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Drama) winner, Golden Globe (Drama)
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: 22. June
Domestic Box Office:
Budget: $6M (IMDb)
Current RT: 95%
Current IMDb: 7.6
Fanny
Total Wins/Nominations: 5 nominations (Picture, Actor, Film
Editing, Score, Color Cinematography)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, Laurel Awards (Drama) 4th
Place, Golden Globe (Drama)
Distributor: Warner
Bros. Pictures
Release Date: 28. June
Domestic Box Office: N/A
Budget: N/A
Current RT: 100%
Current IMDb: 6.9
The Competition:
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Total Wins/Nominations: 2 wins (Song, Score), 3 nominations (Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Color AD)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Comedy) 3rd Place, Golden Globe (Comedy), WGA winner
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: 6. October
Domestic Box Office: N/A
Budget: $2M (IMDb)
Current RT: 88%
Current IMDb: 7.8
La dolce vita
Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (B&W Costumes), 3 nominations
(Director, Original Screenplay, B&W AD)
Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA, Cannes winner.
Distributor: Astor
Pictures Corporation
Release Date: 19. April
Domestic Box Office: N/A
Budget: N/A
Current RT: 98%
Current IMDb: 8.1
Splendor in the Grass
Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Original Screenplay), 1 nomination (Best Actress)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Golden Globe (Drama)
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: 10. October
Domestic Box Office: N/A
Budget: N/A
Current RT: 85%
Current IMDb: 7.7
Summer and Smoke
Total Wins/Nominations: 4 nominations (Actress, Supporting Actress, Score, Color AD)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: 16. November
Domestic Box Office: N/A
Budget: N/A
Current RT: N/A
Current IMDb: 7.7
The Children’s Hour
Total Wins/Nominations: 5 nominations (Supporting Actress, Sound, B&W Cinematography, AD, Costume Design)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA
Distributor: United Artists
Release Date: 19. December
Domestic Box Office: N/A
Budget: $3.6M
Current RT: 100%
Current IMDb: 7.7
El Cid
Total Wins/Nominations: 3 nominations (Score, Song, Color AD)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Action-Drama) winner, Golden Globe (Drama)
Distributor: Allied Artists Pictures
Release Date: 14. December 1961
Domestic Box Office: Gangbusters
Budget: $6.3M (IMDb)
Current RT: 92%
Current IMDb: 7.2
Flower Drum Song
Total Wins/Nominations: 5 nominations (Musical Score, Sound, Color Cinematography, AD, Costumes)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Musical), Golden Globe (Musical), WGA
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release Date: 9. November 1961
Current IMDb: 6.8
Såsom I en Spegel (Through a Glass Darkly)
Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Foreign Language Film), 1 nomination (Original Screenplay)
Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA, Berlin
Distributor: Janus Films
Release Date: 13. March
Current RT: 100%
Current IMDb: 8.0
The Parent Trap
Total Wins/Nominations: 2 nominations (Sound, Film Editing)
Other Awards/Nominations: Golden Globe (Comedy), WGA
Distributor: Walt Disney
Release Date: 21. June
Domestic Box Office: It was a hit
Current RT: 85%
Current IMDb: 6.9
Lover Come Back
Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Original Screenplay)
Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Comedy) winner
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release Date: 20. December 1961
Current RT: 88%
Current IMDb: 7.2
Pocketful of Miracles
Total Wins/Nominations: 3 nominations (Supporting Actor, Song, Color Costume Design)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Golden Globe (Comedy)
Distributor: United Artists
Release Date: 19. December
Domestic Box Office: $2.5M
Budget: $2.9M
Current RT: 63%
Current IMDb: 7.2
Il Generale della Rovere
Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Original Screenplay)
Other Awards/Nominations: Venice winner
Distributor: Continental Distributing
Release Date: 21. November 1960
Current IMDb: 7.9
Ballada o soldate (Ballad of a Soldier)
Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Original Screenplay)
Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA winner, Cannes
Distributor: Union Film Distribution Inc.
Release Date: 26. December 1960
Current RT: 100%
Current IMDb: 8.2
The Innocents
Total Wins/Nominations: 0
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, BAFTA, Cannes, WGA
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Release Date: 25. December
Current RT: 96%
Current IMDb: 7.9
A Majority of One
Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Color cinematography)
Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Golden Globe (Comedy) winner, WGA
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release Date: 27. December
Current IMDb: 6.2
La Ciociara (Two Women)
Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Best Actress)
Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Drama)
Current RT: 100%
Current IMDb: 7.7