Wednesday Oscar Retrospective: Five to Ten for 2003

Welcome back to a weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Wednesday Oscar Retrospective. Five to Ten is the fifth in a series of projects looking back at the past eight years of the Oscars, dating back to the first ceremony I watched and closely followed.

On the heels of the Academy’s announcement that this coming year will feature anywhere from five to ten films in the Best Picture list, I thought to look back at the most recent decade to determine what number of films would have ultimately earned a slot in the top category. Obviously, this is all guesswork and designed, above anything, to be fun. In the new system, films will need to earn at least 5% of the first-place votes. Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments!

Five to Ten for 2003

The actual lineup: Lost in Translation, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Mystic River, The Return of the King, Seabiscuit

The locks: The above five, and probably “Cold Mountain,” which fared very well before faltering at the Oscar lineup and was definitely sixth in line for a slot.

The benefactors: That’s probably it, though “Finding Nemo” might have come close.

The longshots: “In America,” “Big Fish,” and “The Last Sumarai” likely earned some votes.

And the nominees could have been… Cold Mountain, Lost in Translation, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Mystic River, The Return of the King, Seabiscuit

Does it change the winner? Nope. “Cold Mountain” definitely fell out of favor much before Oscar night, and nothing was ever going to beat the final chapter in the “Lord of the Rings” saga.

Which lineup is better? While “Cold Mountain” wasn’t perfect, I do think that it was one of the definitive films of 2003, and certainly as memorable as the other selections.