1990

Best Picture Nominees:

Awakenings
Dances with Wolves*
Ghost
Godfather, Part III
Goodfellas

Awakenings - A serious Robin Williams film with Robert DeNiro as one of many comatose patients who respond to a Dopamine treatment. Well-made and emotional.

Dances with Wolves - Kevin Costner's directorial debut.  Long movie, but a lot of great performances and a story that keeps you entertained for the entire 3+ hours.

Ghost - Popular movie with an oft-talked about clay sculpting scene and comedic moments from Whoopi Goldberg.  Surprisingly emotional.

Godfather, Part III - Unusual third part for a great Godfather series (at least, Parts 1 and 2, which both won Best Picture).  Story is somewhat uneven and I believe this picture was nominated just to say "All three movies were nominated for Best Picture."

Goodfellas - Based on a true story of informant Henry Hill and how he infiltrated the mob.  I remember, at least, enjoying this movie, but it doesn't stand out in my mind as one of my all-time favorite movies.

***

Dances with Wolves, in my opinion, was the best picture of the nominated films this year.  Just because it was a directorial debut and a pet project didn't mean that it wasn't really well done.

***

My rank of the nominated pictures:

1.  Dances with Wolves
2.  Ghost
3. Awakenings
4.  Goodfellas
5.  The Godfather, Part III