Hi and welcome to this week’s edition of Let’s Second Guess The Academy.  Previously, we reconsidered the best picture nominees for both 1990 and 1994.  This week, we jump forward 4 more years to consider the race for best picture of 1998.

1998 saw one of the greatest upsets in Academy history when Shakespeare in Love was named best picture over Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan.  Even after more than a decade, this decision remains a controversial one.  Some people — including this site’s founder — will tell you that Saving Private Ryan was robbed.  Others, like my sister Megan, loved Shakespeare in Love so much that they still have the sepia-toned movie poster hanging in their house.  And then there are people like me who will tell you that Shakespeare was better than Ryan but Thin Red Line was better than Shakespeare and that, finally, Elizabeth is the best of them all.

So, looking back with the benefit of hindsight (I love that word!), which of 1998’s best picture nominees would you have voted for?

And here’s the part of Let’s Second Guess The Academy that I really love — if none of the five actual nominees had been released in 1998, which other films would you have nominated in their place?  You can vote for up to 5 films.

(If the 2nd poll isn’t showing up on your browser, please click here and you will be redirected to it.)