Sabin wrote: But Mrs. Miniver cleaned up with twelve nominations and six wins, taking home Oscars for directing, two for acting, writing, cinematography, and Best Picture. The last time a movie took home close to that haul was American Beauty (which only brought home one acting award). That's a strong haul.
Since, as I indicated in my nearly-decade-old comment below, I find the nominees of 1942 mostly uninteresting, it's hard for me to work up the energy to play the game this year. But this statement of yours I found quite fascinating.
I presume you mean a film that wins picture/director/screenplay/at least one acting award/at least one tech. It startled me that you have to go back as far as American Beauty to find one (and it did it bare minimum: one in each category). But then I looked back further and found, goddamn, it's not as common as you'd expect. There are actors/writers movies (Terms of Endearment/Kramer vs. Kramer) that win no techs, big sweepers that fail at screenplay (My Fair Lady, Ben-Hur) or acting (Return of the King, The Last Emperor).
Here are the ones I found, working backward from American Beauty, with the non-qualifiers listed in parentheses in between):
(Shakespeare in Love misses only director. Titanic fails at acting and screenplay. The English Patient -- prime candidate -- is Billy Bob-bed out of contention. Braveheart doesn't even have an acting nomination)
Forrest Gump, amazingly, makes it, assuming editing counts as a prime tech -- film, director, actor, screenplay, editing and visual effects.
(Schindler's List and Dances with Wolves miss on acting. Unforgiven out on screenplay. Silence of the Lambs -- and later Rain Man -- gets no tech. Driving Miss Daisy could actually have made it had the directors not rendered Beresford impossible. The Last Emperor, for all its prizes, wasn't even nominated in acting. Platoon no acting or writing. The Ameche upset over Brandauer keeps Out of Africa from qualifying)
Amadeus makes the team -- only one actor, but so many techs plus film/director/screenplay makes it the strongest entry so far.
(Terms of Endearment is another no-tech)
Gandhi, god help us, qualifies -- solely because of the worst screenplay decision in history.
(Chariots of Fire misses director & acting. Ordinary People, Kramer vs. Kramer and Annie Hall all crap out below the line. Deer Hunter, in between, misses screenwriting. Rocky only wins 3. Cuckoo's Nest, like the other two movies to win film/director/actor/actress, takes nothing below screenplay.)
How many would have guessed Godfather II was one of our winners? Production design and score aren't top-level tech, but winning this broad a coalition of prizes is impressive -- especially since many of them were dubious going into the evening.
(The Sting has no acting. The Godfather missed director & techs.)
The French Connection makes it, just barely: Film, Actor, Director, Screenplay, Editing.
Patton, amazingly, also qualifies -- Film, Director, Actor, Screenplay, Production Design, Sound, Editing.
(Midnight Cowboy only won 3. Oliver missed screenplay and acting. In the Heat of the Night failed at director.)
A Man for All Seasons, perhaps another surprise entry: Film, Actor, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography and Costumes. Still no film matching the two acting prizes to Mrs. Miniver that started this conversation.
(In this era of epics and musicals, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Lawrence of Arabia, West Side Story, and Ben-Hur all miss screenplay. Tom Jones, The Apartment and Gigi win no acting prizes.)
The Bridge on the River Kwai qualifies: Film, Actor, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Score. A classic sweeper -- but still, only one actor.
(Around the World in 80 Days misses director. Marty has no techs.)
On the Waterfront and From Here to Eternity seem our strongest yet: Film, Director, Screenplay, two acting awards apiece, and a few techs each -- Cinematography maybe cheapened by the black-and-white-ness, but Editing solid for both. Clearly Mrs. Miniver's equal in awards strength.
(Four of the five best picture winners between 1948-1952 failed at best director-- Greatest Show on Earth, An American in Paris, All the King's Men, Hamlet)
The exception: All About Eve, a surprise (to me) inclusion on this list -- though b&w costumes is a pretty weak tech entry. But, credit where it's due: Film, Director, Supporting Actor, Screenplay, Costumes.
(Gentleman's Agreement misses screenplay and techs)
The Best Years of Our Lives gets Editing and Score to finish off its plate of Film, Director, Screenplay and two actors. Easy qualifier.
(The Lost Weekend misses techs)
Whether Going My Way rates a place on the list depends on how you feel about Song as a tech. Otherwise, it got two actors and two screenplays to go with Film and Director.
(Casablanca's a no-go with its 3-only prizes -- the same 3 as Midnight Cowboy, if you're counting.)
Mrs. Miniver we know.
(How Green Was My Valley misses under Screenplay. Rebecca wins only 2 awards)
Surely you knew Gone with the Wind was making this list. Cinematography, Editing and Production Design to go along with Film, Director, Screenplay and two acting awards. I think it''s a strong contender for overall champ with that roster, but you can argue for a few others.
(Forget about pre-1939. It Happened One Night is the only one comes close, and, like its successors Cuckoo's Nest and Silence, its success bottomed out at screenplay.)
So, 15 or 16 in total (depending how you classify Going My Way). And none in this millennium, with current trends suggesting we may never see another. I've honestly been surprised the number is so low.