If you can't wait for all five films nominated for best picture to be released on video — two of them are out already — then look for other films that somehow resemble them in style or theme.
Here are some suggestions:
If you liked Julia Roberts as the pollution-fighting single mother in "Erin Brockovich" (Universal, 2000), you might like "Norma Rae" (Fox, 1979), with Sally Field as a union organizer; "Germinal" (1993, Columbia/TriStar), based on the novel by Emile Zola, with Gerard Depardieu as a striking coal miner; or the nuclear power plant thrillers "The China Syndrome" (Columbia/TriStar, 1979) with Jane Fonda and "Traffic" star Michael Douglas, and "Silkwood" (Anchor Bay, 1983), with Meryl Streep.
If you liked "Traffic," you might like "All the President's Men" (Warner, 1976), which director Steven Soderbergh cited as a stylistic influence; or "Clockers" (Universal, 1995), Spike Lee's adaptation of Richard Price's novel about inner-city drug runners.
If you liked "Gladiator" (2000, Universal), you might like the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton epic "Cleopatra" (Fox, 1963), which will be re-released April 3 in a three-disc set that includes a documentary and audio commentary; or the just-released DVD of "Ben-Hur" (Warner, 1959), a biblical epic with a classic chariot race and commentary by Oscar-winner Charlton Heston.
If you found "Chocolat" yummy, you might have a taste for Juzo Itami's Japanese noodle comedy "Tampopo" (Fox Lorber, 1986), Milwaukeean George Tillman Jr.'s "Soul Food" (Fox, 1997) or Stanley Tucci's paean to pasta, "Big Night" (Columbia/TriStar, 1996).
If you liked "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," you might like Akira Kurosawa's breathtaking "Kagemusha" (Fox, 1980) or Michelle Yeoh's female-centric martial arts film "Wing Chun" (Tai Seng, 1994).