10 (1979 film)

10
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin
Directed by	Blake Edwards
Written by	Blake Edwards
Produced by	Blake Edwards Tony Adams
Starring	Dudley Moore Julie Andrews Bo Derek Robert Webber
Cinematography	Frank Stanley
Edited by	Ralph E. Winters
Music by	Henry Mancini
Production company	Orion Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	October 5, 1979 (1979-10-05)
Running time	122 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$5-6 million[1]
Box office	$107 million[2]

10 is a 1979 American romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Blake Edwards and starring Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, Robert Webber, and Bo Derek. It was considered a trendsetting film at the time of its release and became one of the year's biggest box-office hits. The film follows a middle-aged man who becomes infatuated with a young woman whom he has never met, leading to a comic chase and an encounter in Mexico.

During a surprise 42nd birthday party for the wealthy and famous composer George Webber thrown by his actress girlfriend Samantha Taylor, George finds that he is coping badly with his age. From his car, George glimpses a bride on her way to be married and is instantly obsessed with her beauty. Following her to the church, he crashes into a police cruiser, is stung by a bee and nearly disrupts the wedding ceremony.

Later that night, Sam and George argue over his treatment of women and his habit of spying on the intimate acts of a neighbor with his consent.

George visits the minister who performed the wedding and learns that the woman is Jenny Miles, daughter of a prominent Beverly Hills dentist. The following day, while spying on his neighbor, George hits himself with the telescope and falls down an embankment, causing him to miss Sam's phone call. Still obsessed with Jenny, he schedules a dental appointment with her father and learns that Jenny and her husband David have gone to Mexico for their honeymoon. The effects of a comically implausible amount of treatment accompanied by a heavy dose of novocaine, aggravated by immediate heavy drinking, leave George completely incoherent. Sam finally reaches him on the phone, but mistakes him for an intruder and calls the police, who hold George at gunpoint while trying to understand his gibberish. George visits his neighbor's house to take part in an ongoing orgy, but Sam spots him through his telescope, widening the rift between them.

George impulsively boards a plane to follow the newlyweds to their exclusive resort in Mexico. In the bar, George encounters old acquaintance Mary Lewis, who lacks self-confidence. When they attempt a fling, Mary interprets George's inadequacy in bed as confirmation of her own insecurities.

At the beach, George sees Jenny in a swimsuit and is awestruck again by her beauty. Noticing that her husband has fallen asleep on a surfboard, George rents a catamaran and rescues David, making him a hero. Sam sees George on a TV newscast and tries to contact him unsuccessfully. David is hospitalized with sunburn, allowing Jenny and George to spend time alone together. Jenny smokes marijuana and seduces George, but he is horrified when Jenny takes a call from David and casually informs him of George's presence. George is even more confused with David's complete lack of concern. Jenny explains she is in an open marriage and married David only because of pressure from her conservative father. George leaves after realizing that Jenny sees their tryst as nothing more than a casual fling.

After flying home, George reconciles with Sam by performing an apologetic new song and demonstrating greater maturity. He suggests getting married, but they agree they should first work on arguing less and making love more. George takes an idea from Jenny when he starts Boléro on his phonograph and he makes love with Sam in full view of the neighbor's telescope, though the neighbor has already stopped watching out of frustration that he provides erotic entertainment for George and gets nothing in return.

• Dudley Moore as George Webber
• Julie Andrews as Samantha Taylor
• Bo Derek as Jenny Hanley
• Robert Webber as Hugh
• Dee Wallace as Mary Lewis
• Sam J. Jones as David Hanley
• Don Calfa as The Neighbor
• Brian Dennehy as Don, The Bartender
• Doug Sheehan as The Policeman
• Max Showalter as Reverend
• Nedra Volz as Mrs. Kissell
• James Noble as Dr. Miles, the Dentist

10 originally had a budget of $5-6 million and was due to start filming on October 2, 1978 but George Segal didn't show up and the production was cancelled.^[3][4] Dudley Moore was a last-minute replacement and the script was rewritten.^[5][4] Edwards sued Segal and won $270,000.^[6] Due to the stopping and restarting of production, the budget was expected to be higher than originally planned. Filming took place in Los Angeles and Mexico.^[4]

Peter Sellers originally had a cameo as a night club drummer but the scene was cut.^{[citation needed]}

10 was released by Warner Bros. on October 5, 1979, opening in 706 theaters.^[7] It was released on DVD through Warner Home Video on May 21, 1997, and a Blu-ray edition was released on February 1, 2011. The supplemental material consists of the original theatrical trailer and a four-minute promotional documentary, present on both media.

10 opened at number one in the United States, grossing $3,526,692 ($14.8 million in 2023) for its opening weekend. The film went on to make a total of $74,865,517 ($232 million in 2023) in the U.S. and Canada by the end of 1980, making it one of the top-grossing films released in 1979.^[7] Worldwide, it grossed over $107 million.^[2] It received mostly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 65% based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 6.40/10. The site's consensus states: "Blake Edwards' bawdy comedy may not score a perfect 10, but Dudley Moore's self-deprecating performance makes this midlife crisis persistently funny."^[8] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 68% based on reviews from seven critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[9]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times described 10 as "frequently hilarious", praising the performances by Moore and Andrews and concluding that the film "is loaded with odd surprises".^[10] Roger Ebert gave the film four stars in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, calling it "one of the best films Blake Edwards has ever made";^[11] he also ranked it 10th on his annual top-ten list.^[12] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune called the film "a very funny comedy that couldn't be more serious about the plight of its lead character". He also noted that the film "turns out to be a gentle essay on the problems of male menopause".^[13]

The New York Times included the film on its Best 1,000 Movies Ever list from 2003.^[14]

Bo Derek's role shot her to instant stardom and status as a sex symbol. Her beaded and plaited cornrow hairstyle in the film was widely copied.^[15][16]

The film also brought renewed fame to the one-movement orchestral piece Boléro by Maurice Ravel, whose music was still under copyright at the time. As a result of the film, sales of Boléro generated an estimated $1 million in royalties and briefly made Ravel the best-selling classical composer 40 years after his death.^[17] Derek appeared in a 1984 film named Bolero, titled to capitalize upon the piece's renewed popularity.

In 2003, it was announced that Blake Edwards would direct a remake to be titled 10 Again for MDP Worldwide, but the project was abandoned.^[18]

• 10 at IMDb
• 10 at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• 10 at the TCM Movie Database