Oscar's Ten Greatest Years for Best Picture Nominees

This will be a short and simple hub. Looking at the Best Picture nominees year to year, I have come up with my choice for the ten best years in this category. In other words, I chose the ten years where the Academy did the best job of nominating the right movies for Best Picture. I look forward to your feedback!

10. 1967. Best Picture nominees - In the Heat of the Night (winner), Bonnie and Clyde, Dr. Doolittle, The Graduate, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? If not for Dr. Doolittle this year would rank much higher on this list.

9. 1974. Best Picture nominees - The Godfather, Part II (winner), Chinatown, The Conversation, Lenny, The Towering Inferno. Four great movies...and The Towering Inferno.

8. 1957. Best Picture nominees - Bridge on the River Kwai (winner), Peyton Place, Sayonara, 12 Angry Men, Witness for the Prosecution. Not a bad movie in the bunch, however Peyton Place and Sayonara aren't quite great movies.

7. 1973. Best Picture nominees - The Sting (winner), The Exorcist, American Graffiti, Cries and Whispers, A Touch of Class. Five outstanding movies, although A Touch of Class is a bit dated now.

6. 1982. Best Picture nominees - Gandhi (winner), E.T., Missing, Tootsie, The Verdict. Five short titles, but five very good to great movies! Ironically, Gandhi is weakest of the bunch.

5. 1994. Best Picture nominees - Forrest Gump (winner), Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption. Three modern classics, and two very good movies. In most other years Pulp Fiction or Shawshank would have won.

4. 1975. Best Picture nominees - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (winner), Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, Nashville. It would be very difficult picking the weak link in this bunch - all very worthy, although Barry Lyndon is not for everyone.

3. 1940. Best Picture nominees - Rebecca (winner), The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Dictator, Kitty Foyle, The Letter, Our Town, The Philadelphia Story, All This and Heaven Too, Foreign Correspondent, The Long Voyage Home. 1939 gets a lot of publicity, but the very next year is another strong crop of nominees, including a handful of classics.

2. 1976. Best Picture nominees - Rocky (winner), All the President's Men, Bound for Glory, Network, Taxi Driver. Any one of these movies could have won that year. The strongest five movie field in Oscar history.

1. 1939. Best Picture nominees - Gone with the Wind (winner), Dark Victory, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights. Still the cream of the crop when it comes to Best Picture nominees. 1939 was the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood!

There you have it - short and simple. I hope you enjoyed my choices. I look forward to your input! Until next time, "Here's looking at you, kid."