The "Four-Billing" Test
It's not exactly the Bechdel test, but even the most arbitrary parameter can sometimes provide interesting insights. Let's call it the "Four-Billing" test for the sake of giving it a name.
The following films have two things in common: they were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and out of the 4 first credited cast-members, at least 3 are female (or 3 out of 5 given that the fifth one was nominated for an Oscar).
33 Best Picture nominees seem to pass the "Four-Billing" test for women, 8 of them were released in the past 10 years. Which one is your favorite?
After voting, you might discuss the list here
Oscar nominee
OSCAR WINNER
The following films have two things in common: they were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and out of the 4 first credited cast-members, at least 3 are female (or 3 out of 5 given that the fifth one was nominated for an Oscar).
33 Best Picture nominees seem to pass the "Four-Billing" test for women, 8 of them were released in the past 10 years. Which one is your favorite?
After voting, you might discuss the list here
Oscar nominee
OSCAR WINNER
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33 titles
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsBette DavisAnne BaxterGeorge SandersA seemingly timid but secretly ruthless ingénue insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of theater friends.Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, GEORGE SANDERS and Celeste Holm.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDanny GloverWhoopi GoldbergOprah WinfreyA tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry.Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Avery
- DirectorTate TaylorStarsViola DavisEmma StoneOctavia SpencerAn aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard and OCTAVIA SPENCER (perfect 4)
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsOlivia ColmanEmma StoneRachel WeiszIn early 18th-century England, the status quo at the court is upset when a new servant arrives and endears herself to a frail Queen Anne.OLIVIA COLMAN, Rachel Weisz, Emma Delves, Faye Davernay and Emma Stone (perfect 5)
- DirectorStephen DaldryStarsMeryl StreepNicole KidmanJulianne MooreThe story of how the novel "Mrs. Dalloway" affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with suicide in their lives.NICOLE KIDMAN, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep and Stephen Dillane
- DirectorTheodore MelfiStarsTaraji P. HensonOctavia SpencerJanelle MonáeThe story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe and Kevin Costner
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsNatalie PortmanMila KunisVincent CasselNina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.NATALIE PORTMAN, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsHarriet AnderssonLiv UllmannKari SylwanWhen a woman dying of cancer in early twentieth-century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long-repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Liv Ullman and Ingrid Thulin
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowDianne WiestMichael CaineBetween two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.Barbara Hershey, Carrie Fisher, MICHAEL CAINE, Mia Farrow and DIANNE WEIST
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsMelanie GriffithHarrison FordSigourney WeaverWhen a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she seizes an opportunity to steal it back by pretending she has her boss' job.Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Melanie Griffith, Alec Baldwin and Joan Cusack
- DirectorJohn CromwellEdward F. ClineTay GarnettStarsClaudette ColbertJennifer JonesJoseph CottenWith her husband away to fight in World War II, a housewife must care for their two daughters alone.Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten and Shirley Temple
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsAudrey HepburnPeter FinchEdith EvansAfter leaving a wealthy Belgian family to become a nun, Sister Luke struggles with her devotion to her vows during crisis, disappointment, and World War II.Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, Edith Evans and Peggy Ashcroft.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsSidney PoitierLilia SkalaLisa MannA travelling handyman becomes the answer to the prayers of nuns who wish to build a chapel in the desert.SIDNEY POITIER, Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann and Isa Crino
- DirectorLee DanielsStarsGabourey SidibeMo'NiquePaula PattonIn New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that she can re-route her life in a better direction.Gabourey Sidibe, MO'NIQUE, Paula Patton and Mariah Carey (perfect 4)
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsJudi DenchSteve CooganSophie Kennedy ClarkA world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark and Mare Winningham
- DirectorJohn CrowleyStarsSaoirse RonanEmory CohenDomhnall GleesonAn Irish immigrant lands in 1950s Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a romance with a local. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.Saoirse Ronan, Hugh Gormley, Brid Brennan and Maeve McGrath
- DirectorPaul NewmanStarsJoanne WoodwardJames OlsonKate HarringtonRachel is a lonely school teacher who lives with her mother. When a man from the big city asks her out, she starts thinking about where she wants her life to go.Joanne Woodward, James Olson, Kate Harrington and Estelle Parsons
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGeorge O'BrienJanet GaynorMargaret LivingstonA sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.George O'Brien, JANET GAYNOR, Margaret Livingston and Bodil Rosing
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsRichard DixIrene DunneEstelle TaylorA newspaper editor settles in an Oklahoma boom town with his reluctant wife at the end of the nineteenth century.Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor and Nance O'Neill
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGreer GarsonWalter PidgeonTeresa WrightA British family struggles to survive the first months of World War II.GREER GARSON, Walter Pidgeon, TERESA WRIGHT and May Whitty
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsJeanne CrainLinda DarnellAnn SothernA letter is addressed to three wives from their "best friend" Addie Ross, announcing that she is running away with one of their husbands - but she does not say which one.Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern and Kirk Douglas
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsMontgomery CliftElizabeth TaylorShelley WintersA poor boy gets a job working for his rich uncle and ends up falling in love with two women.Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters and Anne Revere
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsErnest BorgnineBetsy BlairEsther MinciottiA middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other.ERNEST BORGNINE, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti and Augusta Ciolli
- DirectorJoshua LoganStarsWilliam HoldenKim NovakBetty FieldEmotions are ignited among the complacent townsfolk when a handsome drifter arrives in a small Kansas community on the morning of the Labor Day picnic.William Holden, Kim Novak, Betty Field and Susan Strasberg
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsMichael CaineShelley WintersMillicent MartinAn unrepentant ladies' man gradually begins to understand the consequences of his lifestyle.Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin and Julia Foster
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBarbra StreisandOmar SharifKay MedfordThe life of Fanny Brice, famed comedienne and entertainer of the early 1900s. We see her rise to fame as a Ziegfeld girl, subsequent career, and her personal life, particularly her relationship with Nick Arnstein.BARBRA STREISAND, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford and Anne Francis
- DirectorRobert BentonStarsSally FieldLindsay CrouseEd HarrisIn central Texas in the 1930s, a widow with two small children tries to save her small 40-acre farm with the help of a blind boarder and an itinerant black handyman.SALLY FIELD, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris and Amy Madigan
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsMichael DouglasGlenn CloseAnne ArcherA married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer and Ellen Latzen
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerGeena DavisAn emotionally distant writer of travel guides must carry on with his life after his son is killed and his marriage crumbles.William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, GEENA DAVIS and Amy Wright
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsGlenn CloseJohn MalkovichMichelle PfeifferA scheming widow and her manipulative ex-lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman.Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer and Swoosie Kurtz
- DirectorBarbra StreisandStarsBarbra StreisandNick NolteBlythe DannerA troubled man talks to his suicidal sister's psychiatrist about their family history and falls in love with her in the process.Barbra Streisand, Nick Nolte, Blythe Danner and Kate Nelligan
- DirectorMike LeighStarsTimothy SpallBrenda BlethynPhyllis LoganFollowing the death of her adoptive parents, a successful young black optometrist establishes contact with her biological mother -- a lonely white factory worker living in poverty in East London.Timothy Spall, Brenda Blethyn, Phyllis Logan, Claire Rushbrook and Marianne Jean-Baptiste
- DirectorLisa CholodenkoStarsAnnette BeningJulianne MooreMark RuffaloTwo children conceived by artificial insemination bring their biological father into their non-traditional family life.Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Mia Wasikowska