Current:Home > MyThat's just 'Psycho,' Oscars: These 10 classic movies didn't win a single Academy Award -VanguardEdge
That's just 'Psycho,' Oscars: These 10 classic movies didn't win a single Academy Award
View
Date:2025-04-26 12:05:52
"Citizen Kane," considered the greatest movie ever in many circles, only won one Academy Award – the same number as critically reviled "Suicide Squad."
Those two films demonstrate how interestingly idiosyncratic the Oscars can be in feting the best films annually. Over the years, while movies like "Titanic," "Ben-Hur" and the original "West Side Story" went home with rafts of prizes, the Academy has whiffed on some heavy hitters. Maybe it was the competition or perhaps it was that year's voting bloc, but there are stone-cold classics that missed out on trophies entirely.
Here are the 10 best movies of that bunch, the Oscar losers if you will, that got nominated and deserved far better:
1. 'The Great Dictator' (1940)
Silent-movie star and director Charlie Chaplin's first sound film was this superb political satire where Chaplin pulls double duty onscreen, as an antisemitic fascist leader and his Jewish barber lookalike. Timing might have been everything with his Hitler parody: Chaplin was beat by Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca" for best picture and Jimmy Stewart ("The Philadelphia Story") for best actor, in a ceremony held less than 10 months before Pearl Harbor.
2. 'It’s a Wonderful Life' (1946)
Frank Capra's Christmas movie classic is many people's favorite movie, with Jimmy Stewart as a man ready to end it all until he learns the world would be much worse if he'd never existed. But the Academy's fave? Not so much. "Life" lost four out of its five Oscar categories (including best picture, actor and director) to "The Best Years of Our Lives" – not a holiday staple, in case you're wondering.
3. 'Seven Samurai' (1954)
Arguably the most influential movie on this list, Akira Kurosawa's action-packed Japanese epic gave way to "The Magnificent Seven," "Star Wars" and many others in terms of themes, visuals and narrative. "Samurai" lost its two chances at the 1957 Oscars – for black-and-white art direction and costume design – and was left out of best foreign-language film the first year it became a competitive category. (Previously, one movie was chosen each year for an honorary award.)
4. '12 Angry Men' (1957)
Like with "A Few Good Men," we find the Oscars guilty of dropping the ball on this essential courtroom drama, which featured Henry Fonda, Martin Balsam, Jack Klugman and E.G. Marshall as jurors deciding the fate of a teen charged with murder. "Angry Men" lost all three of its categories – best picture, director and adapted screenplay – to war picture "The Bridge on the River Kwai," which to be fair was pretty darn good, too.
5. 'Psycho' (1960)
Maybe Academy voters were weirded out by the infamous shower scene, or simply sentimental about moms. Alfred Hitchcock's exquisitely crafted psychological chiller racked up a mere four nominations, including best director and supporting actress for Janet Leigh's hair-raising performance. It wouldn't be until three decades later that a horror movie would nab best picture ("The Silence of the Lambs").
6. 'A Clockwork Orange' (1971)
In the annals of Oscar-less greats, Stanley Kubrick could have his own wing: "Dr. Strangelove" was also shut out and "The Shining" didn't even garner a nod. But considering that "Orange" initially received an X rating for its depiction of graphic violence and sexually explicit imagery, that it garnered a best picture nod at all is kind of a miracle and shows how much the film tapped into the times.
7. 'Taxi Driver' (1976)
"You talking to me?" Yep, we're talking about Martin Scorsese's gritty noir – and one of the most iconic movies of the '70s – with Robert De Niro as the unstable New York cabbie who's probably best to avoid at night. Unfortunately, it got knocked out in best picture by "Rocky" while De Niro and supporting actress Jodie Foster lost to "Network" stars Peter Finch and Beatrice Straight.
8. 'Blade Runner' (1982)
Granted, sci-fi movies have never exactly taken the Oscars by fire. But Steven Spielberg's "E.T." won four Academy Awards the very same year as Ridley Scott's futuristic tale, which was up for best visual effects and art direction. While the adorable candy-loving alien bested Harrison Ford that time, "Blade Runner" ultimately became a cult classic and a beloved entry in the canon.
9. 'Field of Dreams' (1989)
A personal choice, but a favorite nonetheless for this discerning critic. A fantastical ode to baseball, fathers and sons, dreams (naturally) and famous ghosts in a cornfield, the Kevin Costner masterpiece lost out on three Oscars, including best picture – which somehow went to "Driving Miss Daisy" in a head-scratching year where "Do the Right Thing" and "Glory" didn't even make the cut.
10. 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994)
Based on a Stephen King novella, the acclaimed prison drama starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins went 0-for-7 at the Oscars, with "Forrest Gump" reigning as best picture and Forrest himself, Tom Hanks, taking best actor over Freeman. That's OK, though, because "Shawshank Redemption" has captured many hearts and minds ever since as a cable-TV movie staple.
veryGood! (16)
Related
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Damian Lillard sets team record with 39 points in debut as Bucks defeat 76ers
- Power to the people? Only half have the right to propose and pass laws
- Biden will face a primary bid from Rep. Dean Phillips, who says Democrats need to focus on future
- 9/11 hearings at Guantanamo Bay in upheaval after surprise order by US defense chief
- Daylight saving time 2023: Why some Americans won't 'fall back' in November
- You need to know these four Rangers for the 2023 World Series
- US troops targeted again in Iraq after retribution airstrikes
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- West Virginia school system mandates religious training following revival assembly lawsuit
Ranking
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Welcome to Plathville's Olivia and Ethan Plath Break Up After 5 Years of Marriage
- Probe finds ‘serious failings’ in way British politician Nigel Farage had his bank account closed
- Daughter of divisive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin named head of political party linked to him
- Big Lots store closures could exceed 300 nationwide, discount chain reveals in filing
- Pat Sajak stunned by 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant's retirement poem: 'I'm leaving?'
- Texas father shot dead while trying to break teenage daughter's fight, suspect unknown
- City of Flagstaff bans ad for shooting range and faces accusation of unconstitutional action
Recommendation
Messi injury update: Ankle 'better every day' but Inter Miami star yet to play Leagues Cup
Pope’s big meeting on women and the future of the church wraps up — with some final jabs
As the ‘Hollywood of the South,’ Atlanta has boomed. Its actors and crew are now at a crossroads
Georgia's Fort Gordon becomes last of 9 US Army posts to be renamed
Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
Activists slam Malaysia’s solidarity program for Palestinians after children seen toting toy guns
When a man began shooting in Maine, some froze while others ran. Now they’re left with questions
New York City sets up office to give migrants one-way tickets out of town