Picking over the Precursors

Over the course of this awards season, “Slumdog Millionaire” has managed a rather remarkable sweep of Best Picture prizes. For starters, it has snagged the top award from the Directors Guild, the Producers Guild, The Broadcast Critics Association, Screen Actors Guild for Best Ensemble and the Golden Globe. Not bad. Only three other films have accomplished this, and they have all gone on to win the Best Picture Oscar: “American Beauty,” “LOTR: The Return of the King” and “Chicago.” In addition, “Beauty” and “King” also took the best picture award at BAFTA. If "Slumdog" wins the BAFTA honor later this week, it looks like a done deal. (Actually, I think its Oscar victory is foregone conclusion at this point).

This sweep of the precursors is not at 100%, however. All four of the above-mentioned films start to stumble when it comes to those other awards: The National Board of Review, The National Society of Film Critics, and the critics groups from New York, LA and Chicago.

Of this quintet, only the NBR went for “Slumdog.” New York crowned “Milk,” LA & Chicago chose “Wall-E” and the NSFC cited “Waltz with Bashir.” (Now, in all fairness, it should be pointed out that NSFC has only agreed with the Academy’s Best Picture choice four times –4, count ‘em 4-- since it started handing out awards back in ’66.)

The “American Beauty’” juggernaut was broken up by “Topsy-Turvy” which took top honors from NY and NSFC (the latter in a tie with “Being John Malkovich”). “Return of the King” was not loved by NBR which went for “Mystic River” nor NSFC and LA which opted for “American Splendor.”

To find the one-and-only film that appealed to all groups, you need to go back to 1993 when “Schindler’s List” took the top prize from all of these groups. (All but SAG and BFCA which had not yet begun doling out prizes). Now that’s what I really call a sweep. Before “Schindler,” we need to wind our way back to the mid 60s when “Tom Jones” and “A Man For All Seasons” pulled similar grand slams (but with fewer awards organizations).



So let’s take a minute or two and look back at these other groups and how from year to year, their selections align (or not) with those of the Academy.

For the few years, the Oscars stood alone. Then by the mid 1930s The New York Film Critics and The National Board of Review entered the game. These two new groups often agreed on a Best Picture choice that was different from the Academy’s, which isn’t all that surprising since both groups were free of the politics of Tinseltown, not to mention the power and tyranny of Louis B. Mayer and friends. They selected “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940) when AMPAS went for “Rebecca,” and the following year they agreed on “Citizen Kane” over “How Green Was My Valley” They also both had the good taste in ’42 to agree on “In Which Serve” as the year’s best movie, instead of the creaky “Mrs. Miniver.”

The Golden Globes entered the derby in 1943, followed by both the Directors Guild and BAFTA by the end of the decade. With six groups now handing out awards it would not be until 1957 when all reached a consensus on Best Picture: David Lean’s “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” Two years later “Ben Hur” came close but was denied its grand slam when the NBR opted for “The Nun’s Story.”

1963 saw the next across-the-board agreement with “Tom Jones.” “A Man for All Season” enjoyed a similar sweep a couple of years later..

NSFC announced their first Best Picture in 1966 (for “Blow Up,” introducing right from the start a selection of best pic choices that would run counter to the Academy’s choices. It went with “Persona” the following year, then “Shame,” and then “Z.” “MASH” would be the first American film to nab its top prize. )

The LA critics started posting in 1975 with a tie between “…Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Dog Day Afternoon.” Chicago started announcing in 1988 followed by the Producers Guild the following year.

By this point, it was becoming increasingly less likely for the ever-growing number of groups to agree on any year’s best picture. Looking back over the last 20 or so years, let’s review the breakdown. Not so surprisingly, more often than not the film that racked up the most precursor best film mentions became the Oscar victor as well. But there are, of course, some exceptions. These are the champs:

1989: Driving Miss Daisy, 4 out of 9 awards
1990: Goodfellas , 5 out of 9 (Oscar’s BP Dances with Wolves took 4)
1991: Silence of the Lambs, 5 out of 9
1992: Unforgiven, 3 out of 9
1993: Schindler’s List, 9 out 9
1994: Forrest Gump 3.5 out of 9

At this point SAG and PGA enter the picture, upping the total possible Best Picture wins to 11.

1995: (tie) Sense & Sensibility & Apollo 13, both with 4 out of 11 (Oscar’s BP Braveheart did not get a single vote from these groups)
1996: The English Patient, 4 out of 11
1997: LA Confidential, 6 out of 11 (Oscar’s BP Titanic took 3
1998: Saving Private Ryan 7 out of 11 (Oscar’s BP Shakespeare in Love took 3)
1999: American Beauty 8 out of 11
2000: Gladiator 3 out of 11
2001: (3-way tie) A Beautiful Mind, Mulholland Drive, and Moulin Rouge!, all with 3 out of 11
2002: Chicago, 5 out of 11
2003: LOTR: Return of the King, 8 out of 11
2004: Sideways, 6 out of 11 (Oscar’s BP Million Dollar Baby took 3)
2005: Brokeback Mountain, 7 out of 11 (Oscar’s BP Crash took 2)
2006: (tie) The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine, both with 3 out of 11
2007: No Country for Old Men, 7 out of 11