The poster, pictured small at right (click it to make it bigger) features scenes from eight Oscar winning films spanning eight decades. If you want to try to guess which films, click the image and guess away before reading the official press release below, which reveals the answers (and the paragraph after this since I’m going to be sharing my thoughts.

The first question is who chooses which films the poster is to display? Is it which films they could get the rights to? I’d would assume that The Lord of the Rings would be far more easily recognized than Gladiator and Giant‘s not exactly a film a lot of modern audiences have seen. I can understand almost all of them but those two and Driving Miss Daisy. Not that I mind Daisy or Giant as I like both films and even I can understand why Forrest Gump is listed even though that decade has better films to choose from. And why choose Best Picture winners for only seven of the eight films? Why not put in Lord of the Rings as I mentioend, and put Ben-Hur in in place of Giant. So many questions. I can also imagine a series of eight or more posters, each with different images from each of the last eight decades, so there’s that.

Academy “Celebrates the Movies” as Poster Art Kicks Off Oscar® Campaign

Beverly Hills, CA (December 28, 2011) – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled the poster for the 84th Academy Awards®. The art features the iconic Oscar statuette alongside memorable images from eight films spanning eight decades: “Gone with the Wind” (1939), “Casablanca” (1943), “Giant” (1956), “The Sound of Music” (1965), “The Godfather” (1972), “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989), “Forrest Gump” (1994) and “Gladiator” (2000). All the films featured on the poster won the Academy Award® for Best Picture, except “Giant,” for which George Stevens won the Oscar for Directing.

Supported by the tagline “Celebrate the movies in all of us,” the design is meant to evoke the emotional connections we all have with the movies. “Whether it’s a first date or a holiday gathering with friends or family, movies are a big part of our memory,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “The Academy Awards not only honor the excellence of these movies, but also celebrate what they mean to us as a culture and to each of us individually.”

The public is encouraged to download the poster image to use as wallpaper and profile icons, and to share with friends. The image is available on the Academy’s website, www.oscars.org/poster.

The artwork was created by award-winning graphic designer Anthony Goldschmidt, and Mark and Karen Crawford of the design firm Blood&Chocolate.

Posters will be available to theaters in the U.S. and internationally, along with a theatrical trailer, which will begin screening on January 6.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.