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“Oppenheimer” is the most nominated film at this year’s Oscars with 13 nominations. That’s one shy of the all-time record of 14 nominations so it missed out on Oscars history in the nomination phase.

However, Universal’s movie could match Academy Awards history in the awards phase by equalling the record of 11 Oscar wins overall. So far, three films have won 11 Academy Awards. They were “Ben-Hur” in 1960, “Titanic” in 1998, and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in 2004. Here’s the breakdown of what awards they won.

“Ben-Hur”

Best Picture — Sam Zimbalist Best Director — William Wyler Best Actor — Charlton Heston Best Supporting Actor — Hugh Griffith Best Film Editing Best Cinematography (Color) Best Music (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) Best Costume Design (Color) Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Color) Best Sound Recording Best Visual Effects

*”Ben-Hur” was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Karl Tunberg...

A rerelease of the John Braine novel adaptation is no masterpiece but sits alongside films such as Lucky Jim and Billy Liar in its depiction of class conflict and young male frustration

“Joe … be gentle with me … ” It’s easy to imagine this demure invitation to premarital sex getting some ribald hooting in British cinemas in 1959. Jack Clayton’s multi-Oscar-winning film was adapted by Neil Paterson from John Braine’s moody, zeitgeisty bestseller, and it’s rereleased now with the traditional trigger warning about offensive and outdated attitudes. Now, that could mean pretty much everything about this film – but without doubt it is specifically aimed at Hermione Baddeley praising the hero’s manliness and grimacing: “Too many pansies about these days … ”

Room at the Top gave us Laurence Harvey as Joe Lampton, the smouldering, ambitious young working-class Yorkshireman with a chip on his shoulder and a burning desire to get on,...

One of the first ‘kitchen sink realist’ films of the British New Wave is also one of the best English films ever — believable, absorbing, and emotionally moving. The adaptation of John Braine’s novel launched Laurence Harvey as a major star, and English films were suddenly touted as being just as adult as their continental counterparts. It attracted a bushel of awards, especially for the luminous Simone Signoret. Unlike the average Angry Young Man, Joe Lampton’s struggle feels universal — bad things happen when ambition seeks a way through the class ceiling, ‘to get to the money,’ as says Donald Wolfit’s character.

Room at the Top

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1959 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 115 min. / Street Date January 14, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Laurence Harvey, Simone Signoret, Heather Sears, Ambrosine Phillpotts, Donald Wolfit, Donald Houston, Hermione Baddeley, Allan Cuthbertson, Raymond Huntley, John Westbrook, Richard Pasco, Ian Hendry, April Olrich,...

“Rise Of The Angry Young Man”

By Raymond Benson

Along with the French New Wave that kick-started in 1959, Britain had its own informal New Wave of what was referred to as the “angry young man” or “kitchen sink” dramas. They began on the stage with such playwrights as John Osborne. Filmmakers like Jack Clayton, Tony Richardson, Lindsay Anderson, and Karel Reisz are most often associated with the movement, which presented gritty, realistic tales of domestic or socio-economic situations involving working class families and/or single protagonists struggling to get ahead in an England that hadn’t quite pulled herself out of the post-war doldrums.

Room at the Top was one of the first—and best—of the bunch, and even more remarkable is that it was Jack Clayton’s feature directorial debut. Made on a low budget in stark black and white (photographed by the great Freddie Francis), Room stars...

This article marks Part 3 of the Gold Derby series reflecting on films that contended for the Big Five Oscars – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted). With “A Star Is Born” this year on the cusp of joining this exclusive group of Oscar favorites, join us as we look back at the 43 extraordinary pictures that earned Academy Awards nominations in each of the Big Five categories, including the following 11 films that scored a pair of prizes among the top races.

At the 4th Academy Awards ceremony, “Cimarron” (1931) made Oscar history as the first motion picture to ever score nominations in the Big Five categories. On the big night, the western took home the top prize in Best Picture, as well as the Oscar in Best Adapted Screenplay (Howard Estabrook). Not as successful were the picture’s director, Wesley Ruggles, topped by Norman Taurog (“Skippy”), and the leads,...