Fat Cows And Gaunt Cows (Genesis 41: 18-19)

On the message board of TCM.com I once complained that CHARIOTS OF FIRE was a vacuous bore that was not worth the Oscars it was awarded, and other posters pointed out that 1981 was a weak year with little of real quality. In other similar discussions it has even been hinted that some years were so poor that the honest thing to do would have been not to award any Oscars at all.
It seems the Oscar has experienced some truly memorable years, and some totally forgettable ones. So, people, in your opinion, which years have been years of fat sleek cows, and which years have been of nothing but gaunt famished cows?