Direct from his sensational website Only Good Movies, please welcome film critic Shane Rivers. He’ll be taking the lead on the 1979 edition of The Best Picture Expansion Project, where we imagine that the newly reinstated Oscar rule of nominating ten films for Best Picture applied from 1943 to 2008.

Take it away, Shane…

(To visit the rest of the project, please go here.)

The Best Picture Expansion Project: 1979

by Shane Rivers

Earlier this year, the Academy Awards announced that 10 movies will receive a Best Picture nomination during the next Oscar telecast. That’s a break from tradition, as only five movies normally receive the honor. Of course, it makes one wonder what the Best Picture race would’ve looked like if this rule were in place from 1943 until 2008. In this edition of The Best Picture Expansion Project, we journey back to the year 1979 and attempt to answer that question.

(Here’s a look at all the films that were released in 1979.)

Actual Best Picture Nominees

First off, let’s take a look at the films which were actually nominated for Best Picture in 1979. They include:

Kramer vs. Kramer (winner) — Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep flex their acting muscles in a film about the emotional consequences of a divorce.

All That Jazz — A director/choreographer (Roy Scheider) tries to simultaneously juggle a Broadway show and Hollywood movie, but the stress is slowly killing him.

Apocalypse Now — During the Vietnam War, Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent deep into the Cambodian jungle to assassinate rogue Special Forces officer Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando).

Breaking Away — Four recently-graduated Indiana teens try to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives. Two words: bicycle racing.

Norma Rae — Sally Field plays Norma Rae Webster, a cotton mill worker who tries to unionize her workplace.

In Retrospect:

Kramer vs. Kramer included important social commentary for the era, and the notion of the single parent resounds even more in modern times. It’s still a relevant work, and the powerful performances from Streep and Hoffman have enabled it to stand the test of time. It’s funny to think that Kate Jackson (of Charlie’s Angels fame) was originally offered the role of Joanna Kramer. Thank God she was unable to take the part, or we might’ve been deprived of the joy which was Scarecrow and Mrs. King. (Holy crap! I used to watch that show with my mom! — Mark)

While All That Jazz was nominated for nine Oscars (winning four), it seems largely forgotten by modern-day audiences. (Then again, it’s not as though Kramer vs. Kramer is exactly a household name.) The film is anchored by a charismatic performance from Roy Scheider, and the whole picture is a swirling, pretentious nightmare of ego and libido. It’s lost a bit of its power over the decades, but it’s still worth a look for those who’ve never seen it.

Of all the films on the above list, Apocalypse Now is best remembered by modern audiences. Part of this is no doubt due to the bizarre on-set antics of the cast (including Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper and Martin Sheen), but it also continues to entertain due to its insightful look at the utter madness of war. As long as men continue to kill one another, this Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece will always find an audience.

Since most sports-themed movies are fairly weak affairs, Breaking Away continues to be celebrated. Brimming with inspiration and featuring a young cast of stars (including Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern and Jackie Earle Haley), it remains a favorite for fans of the coming-of-age film.

Finally, we have Norma Rae, a film for which Sally Field won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. While the film presents a compelling look at the struggles between labor and management, it’s mainly carried along by Field’s spirited performance. The scene of Norma Rae standing above her co-workers and staging a strike has become one of the most enduring cinematic images, and it’s hard to argue that the film didn’t at least deserve a nomination.

The Expansion Pack

Now let’s delve a little deeper and see what things would’ve looked like if the 10 nomination rule was in effect back in 1979. I’ve targeted the following five films as those most deserving of a Best Picture nomination, although your list might look entirely different. Feel free to discuss your thoughts in the comments section.

6. Wise Blood — Based on the novel by Flannery O’Connor, Wise Blood tells the story of a U.S. war veteran (Brad Dourif) returning home and looking for a direction to his life. He decides to become a preacher, even though he despises the profession. From there, he’s beset on all sides by a collection of hucksters and charlatans. Directed by John Huston, it can either be viewed as a commentary on the post-war religious crisis in the U.S., or as simply an entertaining tale featuring plenty of crazed Southerners.

7. Alien — While it launched a whole franchise of successful movies, the Ridley Scott original is easily the best film of the bunch. Pitched as “Jaws in space,” Alien combined elements of sci-fi and horror to produce a film unique at that point in cinematic history. It didn’t hurt that it was bolstered by a cast which included Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm, John Hurt and Yaphet Kotto. This type of film usually gets no Oscar love, but the impact of Alien certainly warrants a nomination by the vaunted Academy. (I’ve always thought it was intriguing that Weaver got a Best Acrtess nod for Aliens. Was that a belated nod to the first film, do you think? — Mark)

8. The China Syndrome — A reporter (Jane Fonda) and her cameraman (Michael Douglas) are tipped off to possible safety hazards at a nuclear power plant by a concerned employee (Jack Lemmon). Oddly enough, the film was released just 12 days prior to the incident at Three Mile Island, and the subsequent publicity brought in scores of moviegoers. Both Lemmon and Fonda were given Oscar nominations for their roles, and Lemmon won the Best Actor award at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. How can a film with a social/environmental message and this kind of acting firepower not make the list?

9. Manhattan — Woody Allen weighs in on relationships once again, this time using such iconic Manhattan landmarks as the Queensboro Bridge to punch up the visuals. Diane Keaton is solid as usual, while a young Mariel Hemingway earned herself an Oscar nomination for the portrayal of Isaac Davis’s (Allen) 17-year-old girlfriend. Ironically, Allen was reportedly unhappy with the finished product and didn’t want the film to be released. Thankfully, United Artists ignored his pleas.

10. Being There — In the last film released while he was alive, Peter Sellers plays a simple gardener thrust into the middle of high society and viewed as much wiser than he truly is. His role as Chance the Gardner functions as a blank canvas for those around him, allowing them to see and hear what they wish. A fascinating character study and one certainly deserving of a Best Picture nomination.

The Snubs

Most of the deserving films have been covered, although a case could be made for The Great Santini thanks to Robert Duvall’s complex performance. Here are two films, however, which definitely didn’t deserve a nomination:

Skatetown, U.S.A. — Combine roller disco with Scott Baio, Patrick Swayze and Flip Wilson, and you’ll get this stinker of a film. Yikes.

The Villain — Kirk Douglas, Ann-Margret and Arnold Schwarzenegger star in this parody of the western genre. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell them that parodies are supposed to be funny. Poor Kirk Douglas.

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Shane Rivers writes for OnlyGoodMovies.com, a website devoted to providing straightforward movie reviews and other cinematic content. When he’s not watching or writing about movies, Shane can often be found listening to 80′s hair metal, playing his Xbox 360, or desperately longing for the NFL season to begin.