I didn’t commit to writing up my Top Ten List for last year. Under normal circumstances, one would think such circumstances would provide an element of suspense going through these awards. Any other year, that might be true, but unfortunately there was a heavyweight that didn’t have much trouble cleaning up the lion’s share of the categories. In fact, not since “The Return of the King,” and before that “Schindler’s List.” has a single film taken  out the competition as extensively as, well…you’ll find out soon enough.

I’ve tried to provide as many video clips as possible, to help to justify my decisions here. No winner would also be complete without a runner-up because my labor of indecision is insurmountable. Finally, once you’ve seen what’s been crowned the top honors, keep scrolling for some fun extra awards that will tie up any loose ends of 2014.

Without further adieu, here are the winners of the 4th Annual Edgy Awards:

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BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Young and Beautiful” featured in “The Great Gatsby”

Music and Lyrics by Lana Del Ray

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_1aF54DO60]

 Runner-Up: “The Moon Song” featured in “Her”

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BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

“12 Years a Slave”

Hans Zimmer

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ0FQovU0Ws]

Runner-Up: “Her”

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BEST MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING

“Prisoners”

Donald Mowat

Runner-Up: “12 Years a Slave”

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BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

“Gravity”

Neil Corbould, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk and Timothy Webber

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCm3FYp4hdI]

Runner-Up: “Pacific Rim”

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BEST SOUND EDITING

“Gravity”

Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Skip Lievsay and Chris Munro

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzCOUsbM5oY]

Runner-Up: “Oblivion”

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BEST SOUND MIXING

“Gravity”

Glenn Freemantle

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzCOUsbM5oY]

Runner-Up: “Captain Phillips”

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BEST COSTUME DESIGN

“12 Years a Slave”

Patricia Norris

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zL0dWafwPg]

Runner-Up: “American Hustle”

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BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

“Her”

K.K. Barrett

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivKqRwPLdxI&feature=youtu.be]

 __________

BEST EDITING

“Captain Phillips”

Christopher Rouse

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d00M8OVKk_M]

Runner-Up: “Gravity”

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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

“12 Years a Slave”

Sean Bobbitt

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92AmGY8P2po]

Runner-Up: “Inside Llewyn Davis”

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BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

“The Act of Killing”

Joshua Oppenheimer

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPANu2tECDo]

Runner-Up: “20 Feet from Stardom”

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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

“12 Years a Slave”

John Ridley

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utBKmU1TJIg]

Runner-Up: “Before Midnight”

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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

“Inside Llewyn Davis”

Joel and Ethan Coen

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZcYhaazg5E]

Runner-Up: “Her”

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BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

“Prisoners”

Maria Bello, Paul Dano, David Dastmalchian, Viola Davis, Wayne Duvall, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard, Hugh Jackman, Melissa Leo, Dylan Minette

 [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA06MqgAnnM]

Runner-Up: “August: Osage County”

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BEST ACTRESS in a SUPPORTING ROLE

Lupita Nyong’o – “12 Years a Slave”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHOVSYK4c88]

Runner-Up: Sally Hawkins – “Blue Jasmine”

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BEST ACTOR in a SUPPORTING ROLE

Michael Fassbender – “12 Years a Slave”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXnwpVLuEyU]

Runner-Up: Jared Leto – “Dallas Buyers Club”

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BEST ACTRESS in a LEADING ROLE

Brie Larson – “Short Term 12”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfG09o8Zq3U]

Runner-Up: Cate Blanchett – “Blue Jasmine”

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BEST ACTOR in a LEADING ROLE

Tom Hanks – “Captain Phillips”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJMDdT24_98]

Runner-Up: Oscar Isaac – “Inside Llewyn Davis”

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BEST DIRECTOR

Steve McQueen – “12 Years a Slave”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–C78G2-oTs]

Runner-Up: Paul Greengrass – “Captain Phillips”

__________

BEST MOTION PICTURE of the YEAR

“12 Years a Slave”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HEZeFLqjCU]

Runner-Up: “Inside Llewyn Davis”

__________

Making its way into my Top 50 of all time, “12 Years a Slave” is a landmark film achievement. Every facet of its presentation and execution are an act of brilliance. Not since “Schindler’s List” has a film taken one of the darkest moments in human history and crafted such a avant garde artistic vision while not losing its accessibility. There’s really no one who shouldn’t see this movie before they die. It’s an experience one won’t soon forget, for it will be etched into the walls of the viewer’s brain.

To close things out, here’s a list of extras to honor genres and aspects of films tough to boil down into the above categories:

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FUNNIEST FILM

“The Wolf of Wall Street”

MOST EXCITING FILM

“Captain Phillips”

MOST EMOTIONALLY MOVING FILM

“12 Years a Slave”

MOST SURPRISING FILM

“Short Term 12”

MOST DISAPPOINTING FILM

“The Spectacular Now”

 MOST UNDERRATED FILM

“The Place Beyond the Pines”

MOST OVERRATED FILM

“Saving Mr. Banks”

BEST PROTAGONIST

Grace – “Short Term 12”

BEST ANTAGONIST

Edwin Epps – “12 Years a Slave”

BEST ANTI-HERO

Luke – “The Place Beyond the Pines”

BEST ROMANCE

Theodore and Samantha – “Her”

BEST RIVALRY

Richard Phillips and Muse – “Captain Phillips”

BEST OPENING

“Gravity”

BEST ENDING

“Inside Llewyn Davis”

BEST SCENE

The Whipping of Patsy – “12 Years a Slave”

BEST LINE OF DIALOGUE

Jordan: “Sell me this pen.”

Brad: “Sign your name on this napkin.”

Jordan: “I don’t have a pen.”

Brad: “There you go.”

WORST FILM OF THE YEAR

“Only God Forgives”

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That wraps of 2013. Stay tuned for my full coverage of 2014, which I’ll be rolling out over the next couple of weeks.