Whittling down the full list to a more convenient long-list, before picking the five final nominees is a very British tradition (see, for example, the Booker Prize). The BAFTAs have released their long-lists of nominees, 15 in each category, from which the BAFTA voters will now choose the 5 finalists (on January 14), from which they will choose the winner.
It’s an elegant cycle, since many smaller films will probably not make the cut for the nominations, but will have been consoled that they were nearly there. Sarah Gavron’s “Brick Lane”, and the many mentions of “Control” and “Hairspray” are - I think - such movies that will (sadly) go no much further than the long-list.

Variety’s Adam Dawtrey breaks the list down to the essentials: “Atonement” leads with 17 mentions. Next up, with 13 mentions, are “American Gangster,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood”. “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” also has 13 mentions, but none for movie or director.

“The Bourne Ultimatum”, directed by a brit, has 11 entries. “Control” and “Lust, Caution”: 10 each.

“Charlie Wilson’s War” (7) “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (6) “Eastern Promises” (9), “Into the Wild” (9), “Juno” (6), “The Kite Runner” (8) “The Lives of Others” (8) and “Michael Clayton” (8). Also: “3:10 to Yuma” and “Sweeney Todd” have 9 mentions each, but not on the Best Picture ballot.

Here is the complete list:

FILM
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“The Bourne Ultimatum
“Charlie Wilson’s War
“Control”
“Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
“Eastern Promises
“Into the Wild
“Juno
“The Kite Runner”
“The Lives of Others”
“Lust, Caution”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”

DIRECTOR
“3:10 to Yuma”
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“Control”
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
“Eastern Promises”
“Into the Wild”
“Juno”
“The Kite Runner”
“The Lives of Others”
“Lust, Caution”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“3:10 to Yuma”
“Atonement”
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“Brick Lane”
“Charlie Wilson’s War”
“Control”
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”
“Into the Wild”
“The Kite Runner
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Lust, Caution”
“No Country for Old Men”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“There Will Be Blood”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“American Gangster”
“Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”
“Eastern Promises”
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
“Hot Fuzz”
“In the Valley of Elah”
“Juno”
“Knocked Up”
“The Lives of Others”
“Michael Clayton”
“Once”
“Ratatouille”
“Things We Lost in the Fire”
“This is England”
“La Vie en Rose”

MAKE UP and HAIR
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“Charlie Wilson’s War”
“Control”
“Eastern Promises”
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
“The Golden Compass”
“Hairspray”
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”
“Lust, Caution”
“No Country for Old Men”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
“Stardust”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“There Will Be Blood”
“La Vie en Rose”

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
“300″
“Atonement”
“Beowulf”
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
“The Golden Compass”
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
“Spider-Man 3″
“Stardust”
“Sunshine”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“There Will Be Blood”
“Transformers”

SOUND
“300″
“3:10 to Yuma”
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“Control”
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
“Hairspray”
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”
“No Country for Old Men”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“There Will Be Blood”
“La Vie en Rose”

EDITING
“3:10 to Yuma”
“American Gangster
“Atonement”
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“Control”
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
“Eastern Promises”
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
“Into the Wild”
“The Kite Runner”
“The Lives of Others”
“Lust, Caution”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”

COSTUME DESIGN
“3:10 to Yuma”
“American Gangster”
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
“Atonement”
“Charlie Wilson’s War”
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
“The Golden Compass”
“Hairspray”
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”
“Lust, Caution”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
“Stardust”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“There Will Be Blood”
“La Vie en Rose”

PRODUCTION DESIGN
“3:10 to Yuma”
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
“The Golden Compass”
“Hairspray”
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”
“The Kite Runner”
“The Lives of Others”
“Lust, Caution”
“No Country for Old Men”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“There Will Be Blood”
“La Vie en Rose”

CINEMATOGRAPHY
“3:10 to Yuma”
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“Control”
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
“Into the Wild”
“The Kite Runner”
“The Lives of Others”
“Lust, Caution”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”
“La Vie en Rose”

ANIMATED FILM
“Bee Movie”
“Beowulf”
“Ratatouille”
“Shrek the Third”
“The Simpsons Movie”

MUSIC
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“Control”
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
“Hairspray”
“Into the Wild”
“Juno”
“The Kite Runner”
“Lust, Caution”
“No Country for Old Men”
“Once”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“There Will Be Blood”
“La Vie en Rose”

LEADING ACTOR
Christian Bale (Dan Evans) - “3:10 to Yuma”
Daniel Day-Lewis (Daniel Plainview) - “There Will Be Blood”
Denzel Washington (Frank Lucas) - “American Gangster”
Emile Hirsch (Chris McCandless) - “Into the Wild”
George Clooney (Michael Clayton) - “Michael Clayton”
James McAvoy (Robbie Turner) - “Atonement”
Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd) - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Josh Brolin (Llewelyn Moss) - “No Country for Old Men”
Matt Damon (Jason Bourne) - “The Bourne Ultimatum”
Russell Crowe (Ben Wade) - “3:10 to Yuma”
Sam Riley (Ian Curtis) - “Control”
Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilson) - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Tommy Lee Jones (Hank Deerfield) - “In the Valley of Elah”
Ulrich Muhe (Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler) - “The Lives of Others”
Viggo Mortensen (Nikolai) - “Eastern Promises”

LEADING ACTRESS
Angelina Jolie (Mariane Pearl) - “A Mighty Heart”
Cate Blanchett (Queen Elizabeth I) - “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Charlize Theron (Emily Sanders) - “In the Valley of Elah”
Ellen Page (Juno MacGuff) - “Juno”
Halle Berry (Audrey Burke) - “Things We Lost in the Fire”
Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs Lovett) - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Julie Christie (Fiona Andersson) - “Away From Her”
Katherine Heigl (Alison Scott) - “Knocked Up”
Keira Knightley (Cecilia Tallis) - “Atonement”
Marion Cotillard (Edith Piaf) - “La Vie en Rose”
Marketa Irglova (Girl) - “Once”
Martina Gedeck (Christa-Maria Sieland) - “The Lives of Others”
Naomi Watts (Anna) - “Eastern Promises”
Nikki Blonsky (Tracy Turnblad) - “Hairspray”
Tang Wei (Wong Chai Chi/Mak Tai Tai) - “Lust, Caution”

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada (Young Hassan) - “The Kite Runner”
Armin Mueller-Stahl (Semyon) - “Eastern Promises”
Casey Affleck (Robert Ford) - “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Chiwetel Ejiofor (Huey Lucas) - “American Gangster”
Clive Owen (Sir Walter Raleigh) - “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Geoffrey Rush (Sir Francis Walsingham) - “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Hal Holbrook (Ron Franz) - “Into the Wild”
Javier Bardem (Anton Chigurh) - “No Country for Old Men”
John Travolta (Edna Turnblad) - “Hairspray”
Paul Dano (Eli Sunday/Paul Sunday) - “There Will Be Blood”
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Gust Avrakotos) - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Russell Crowe (Detective Richie Roberts) - “American Gangster”
Tom Wilkinson (Arthur Edens) - “Michael Clayton”
Tommy Lee Jones (Ed Tom Bell) - “No Country for Old Men”
Vincent Cassel (Kirill) - “Eastern Promises”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Allison Janney (Bren MacGuff) - “Juno”
Brenda Blethyn (Grace Turner) - “Atonement”
Cate Blanchett (Jude) - “I’m Not There”
Catherine Keener (Jan Burres) - “Into the Wild”
Joan Allen (Pamela Landy) - “The Bourne Ultimatum
Julia Roberts (Joanne Herring) - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Kelly MacDonald (Carla Jean Moss) - “No Country for Old Men”
Michelle Pfeiffer (Lamia) - “Stardust”
Michelle Pfeiffer (Velma Von Tussle) - “Hairspray”
Romola Garai (Briony Tallis - aged 18) - “Atonement”
Samantha Morton (Debbie Curtis) - “Control”
Samantha Morton (Mary Stuart) - “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Saoirse Ronan (Briony Tallis - aged 13) - “Atonement”
Tilda Swinton (Karen Crowder) - “Michael Clayton”
Vanessa Redgrave (Older Briony) - “Atonement”