Please welcome back the one and only Doug Strassler, critic and movie buff. He’s here to take us through 1971 in the The Best Picture Expansion Project, where we imagine that the new Oscar rule of nominating ten films for Best Picture applied from 1943 to 2008.

Looking at this list, I realize that 1971 was a seriously fine vintage for American cinema, and I’m excited that I’ve actually seen a lot of these movies. That way, I can nod my head with geeky certainty when Doug makes a good point.

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

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Please welcome back Destiny Lilly for another round of the Best Picture Expansion Project, where we imagine that the new Oscar rule of nominating ten films for Best Picture applied from 1943 to 2008.

This time, Destiny’s rocking it with 1962… a year that she claims brought us the best movie ever made. Do you agree?

Take it, Destiny…

(to visit the rest of the Project, please go here)

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In the year two thouuuusannnnd!

It’s time to get millenial with The Best Picture Expansion Project. Remember how everyone thought this was the year that would bring worldwide technological failure? Instead, it just brought us Battlefield Earth.

But the inaugural aught also brought some fantastic films that deserved Best Picture nominations… so expand away, my friends! Expand away!

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Please welcome director, casting agent, and film buff Destiny Lilly, who will be taking us through the Best Picture Expansion Project for 1965.

If you’re just joining us, The Best Picture Expansion Project imagines that new Academy rule, which nominates ten films for the Best Picture Oscar instead of five, was in effect from 1943 to 2008. To visit the rest of the Project, just go here.

And now… take it away Destiny!

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Please welcome back Doug Strassler, who’s returning with his second installment of The Best Picture Expansion Project. Get ready for 1976… the year that the phrase “Oscar nominee Sylvester Stallone” would forever become a reality.

Hello again! Many thanks to Mark for letting me wax nostalgic about another year in film that I never actually lived through in the first place. I’m moving a quarter-century past my last Best Picture expansion to look at how the 1976 Oscars might have fared had the Academy let ten films be nominated for its top honor instead of five. That year produced a rich and varied group—check out the full list to see what I mean—so adding more names to the list makes an already-memorable race even more interesting.

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Please welcome back guest critic Doug Strassler, who last wrote for The Critical Condition about The Golden Globes. He’s a classic cinema buff, and he is here to rock the Best Picture Expansion Project for 1951.

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Welcome to my first guest edition of the Best Picture Expansion Project! Mark has very generously allowed me to tap into my encyclopedic Oscar knowledge to join him in revisiting various years of Academy Awards past and envisioning how that year’s crop may have looked if the newly instituted rule that doubled the field of nominees from five to ten applied back then.

1951 is a year that stands out in my memory because four strong films, all remembered fondly despite their differences, swept the main categories. (Here is a full list from the year.) Yet there are even a few more that I feel are equally deserving of inclusion in the canon. See which ones you also remember, after the jump.

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Welcome back to the Best Picture Expansion Project, where we imagine that the new Academy rule for Best Picture Oscar nominees, which increases the field from five films to ten, was in effect between 1943 and 2008.

Let’s stroll through 1997. You know… the year that people were enjoying that one movie about the boat. What was it called? I remember it was fairly popular.

(To visit the rest of the Best Picture Expansion Project, please go here.)

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Welcome back to the Best Picture Expansion Project, where we imagine that the new Academy rule for Best Picture Oscar nominees, which increases the field from five films to ten, was in effect between 1943 and 2008.

Today, it’s time to visit 1999, which got two of its Best Picture nominees shockingly right and two of them terribly, terribly wrong.

(To visit the rest of the Best Picture Expansion Project, please go here.)

But before we start, I have a question…

I don’t feel comfortable covering any year before 1977.  My movie knowledge is just too spotty. Is there anyone out there who’s up to speed on what might have been from 1943-1976? If so, drop me an e-mail. I’d love to have you write an entry or two.

And now, on with the show!

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Welcome back to the Best Picture Expansion Project, where we imagine that the new Academy rule for Best Picture Oscar nominees, which increases the field from five films to ten, was in effect between 1943 and 2008.

We’ve looked at 2008 and 1995, and now we’re revisiting 1988, a year that should be recognized as a high point for movie comedy. 

Struggling to remember what was in theaters 21 years ago? Understood. You can find a comprehensive list right here.

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Welcome back to the Best Picture Expansion Project, where we imagine that the new Academy rule for Best Picture Oscar nominees, which increases the field from five films to ten, was in effect between 1943 and 2008.

Yesterday, we imagined the five extra nominees for 2008, and today we’re looking at 1995, which has one of the weirdest Best Picture slates in recent memory.

Before we begin—and per Ferretrick’s excellent suggestion—you may want to check out this list of Oscar-eligible films that were released way back in 1995. 

My suggested nominees are after the jump, and I want to know yours. How many of us will support Canadian Bacon?

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