On February 26, 2017, the Oscars briefly recognized “La La Land” as the best picture of 2016 - and then immediately thought better of it and gave the trophy to “Moonlight” instead.
What if we had the chance to do that more often?
What if we could moonlight 1941, and honor “Citizen Kane” over “How Green Was My Valley”? What if we could moonlight 1989, and switch out “Driving Miss Daisy” for “Do The Right Thing”?
What if we could moonlight “Goodfellas” for “Dances With Wolves,” or “Brokeback Mountain” for “Crash,” or “Mulholland Drive” for “A Beautiful Mind”?
Or: what if, instead of rushing to recognize this year’s best picture, we waited ten years - or twenty, or fifty - long enough to let history be the judge - and then gave out the award?
Well, hey, it’s our world. We can do what we want.
Welcome to the Moonlight Awards! Here, we’ll honor the best pictures of each year - but only after enough time has passed that we can really know for sure. (Or at least come as close to knowing as we’ll ever be able to get.) Beginning with 1930 and running through 2009, we’ll nominate five movies for each year and recognize one Best Picture - the one film that has most stood the test of time, in terms of lasting influence, continued acclaim, and sustained popularity.
In order to accomplish that, we’ve dug through numerous “all-time best” lists, online ratings, and sources measuring a film’s critical acclaim - and we’ve also surveyed dozens of renowned and respected film scholars. Our goal is to be as objective as we possibly can: after all these years of hindsight, what really was the best picture of 1936? 1948? 1973? What are the movies that people still watch and talk about and love?
So - action! Enjoy this journey through movie history.
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