My father once told me about a game he used to play with my uncle before I was born. Every year, my family would head to the beach and my dad would sit with a beer in hand and rate passing women on their looks. He used a scale of one – 10 and would debate with my uncle over who was the best looking. My dad was never the classy type.

When thinking about the year 1992, what comes to mind?

Gangsta rap? Flannel shirts? Nicktoons? Maybe the 90s are a forgotten memory — a period of time that was much like today in that the underground had become the mainstream.

With the sudden and widespread recognition of albums like Nirvana’s Nevermind and Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, popular music had shifted.

Before his turn as Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, Christoph Waltz was an Austrian actor who had never done an American film. Having never been featured in a film outside of Europe, the worldwide audience that lined up to see Inglorious Basterds was surprised, albeit pleasantly, at the performace of the previously unknown Waltz.

Ever watched the Oscars and thought, “How could this film be nominated? I’ve never even heard of it”? Every year, categories are filled with nominees most moviegoers have never heard of. To help get acquainted with these films for the big night, enjoy a description of some of these films, as well as information about where you can find some of them.