Kazan's political melodrama “Viva Zapata!” was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Actor for Brando, winning one, for Supporting Actor Anthony Quinn.

As the calendar year has just ended, it may be instructive to look back at the achievements of 2008 in terms of the Best Picture Oscar contest.  For the prophets of gloom (occasionally I am one of them), who lament the inevitable artistic decline of Hollywood movies, I'd like to offer a comparison with the five Best Picture nominees in 1968, 40 years ago.

The musical Funny Face, a vehicle for Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, was nominated for four Oscars, including Screenplay (Original) for Leonard Gershe and Cinematography (color) for Ray June.

The Best Foreign-Language Oscar has always been one of the most problematic and controversial categories, as a result of the rules and politics that govern this field.  How does the system work? 

Dec 30, 2008–“The Asphalt Jungle,” “Sergeant York,” “In Cold Blood,” “Deliverance” and “The Terminator” are among the 25 film titles selected this year by the Library of Congress for inclusion in its National Film Registry.