Anyone's method of selection is as good as anyone else's. You can base your eligibility periods on year of release in country of origin; U.S. release date which more often than not is New York rather than Los Angeles or Los Angeles, which is the date used by the Academy.
I've always felt that to properly criticize the Academy's choices it makes sense to use the same date guidelines, but I've always found it frustrating that until now this was pretty much hit and miss so I've generally gone by the earlier of the New York or Los Angeles release date, New York dates being much easier to find. The N.Y. Times database has dated on-line reviews of most films going back to the inception of the Academy Awards with the date of the review noted. Now, however, the Academy has posted release dates for films released in L.A. between 1953 and 2012 with a smattering of 1952. When they're finished they will go all the way back to 1934.
Here's the link:
http://wwwdb.oscars.org:8100/servlet/im ... t?vetted=T
This is a great tool for anyone who wants to match their eligibility dates with the Academy's.
For films released between 1927 and 1933 you should look at the month of year in which the film was released. Eligibility periods in the early years were as follws:
August 1, 1927-July 31, 1928
August 1, 1928-July 31, 1929
August 1, 1929-July 31, 1930
August 1, 1930-July 31, 1931
August 1, 1931-July 31, 1932
August 1, 1932-December 31, 1933
Keep in mind, however, that the dates from on IMDb. are more often than not New York dates rather than L.A. dates. Also for the first year of eligibility, the Academy fudged. 7th Heaven, which was released in May of 1927 was, of course, a 1927/28 nominee and winner presumably because it was such a huge hit that it was still playing at the beginning of the eligibility period whereas Metropolis and The General had already run their course and were presumably not eligible.
Here are some examples of films released in L.A. between 1953 and 2012 in which the L.A> release date is at variance with previous thinking:
1953 - The Importance of Being Earnest
1955 - All That Heaven Allows
1956 - Diabolique
1958 - Nights of Cabiria; Gervaise; Smiles of a Summer Night
1959 - The Seventh Seal
1963 - The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
1964 - All the Way Home
1965 - Kapo
1967 - Tokyo Story
1969 - Shame
1999 - The School of Flesh
2004 - The Dreamers
2005 - Oldboy
Films with no Los Angeles runs and therefore ineligible for standard category nominations in any year:
Bellissima
Sansho the Bailiff
Carve Her Name With Pride
Wet Asphalt
Floating Weeds
Leon Morin, Priest
Hellfire Club, The
Mamma Roma
Mon Oncle Antoine
Night Digger, The
Andrei Rublev
Doll's House, A (Losey)
Silas Marner
Railway Station Man, The
Radio Inside
North and South, Book III
Sacred Silence
Photographing Fairies
Brylcreem Boys, The
Music From Another Room
My Voyage to Italy
Things Behind the Sun
To Walk With Lions
Sleepy Time Gal, The
Buying the Cow
Last Place on Earth, The
Killing Me Softly
Sleeping Dictionary, The
C.R.A.Z.Y
Autumn Hearts (Emotional Arithmetic)
Lake City
Stone Angel, The
Glorious 39
Hachi
Shadows in the Sun
Carlos
Loose Cannons