Nothing But the Best: "West Side Story" (1961)

Scene from West Side Story

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

Nothing But the Best: "Hamlet" (1948)

Laurence Olivier

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

A Look at the Academy Award Nominated Films Involving Shakespeare

Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare in Love

It seems rather amazing that 399 years afters his death, writer William Shakespeare continues to provoke the creative arts. In the 52 years of his life, he produced an astounding amount of plays that would become the textbook for theater for centuries to come and lead the world to acting a specific way. Much like how he updated the themes that came before, cinema has found various ways to make his work more accessible to a modern audience whether through traditional tales or loose basis. The following is a look - by story - of the many, many films that have been based off of Shakespeare's work. From Romeo & Juliet to The Lion King, this is a comprehensive list that proves why he remains influential all these years later.