Current:Home > reviewsFastexy:That's just 'Psycho,' Oscars: These 10 classic movies didn't win a single Academy Award -WealthMindset Learning
Fastexy:That's just 'Psycho,' Oscars: These 10 classic movies didn't win a single Academy Award
SafeX Pro Exchange View
Date:2025-04-08 04:33:05
"Citizen Kane,Fastexy" 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! (8497)
Related
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- 'The Crown' ends as pensive meditation on the most private public family on Earth
- Senegal’s opposition leader could run for president after a court overturns a ruling barring his bid
- U.S. Coast Guard and cruise line save 12 passengers after boat sinks near Dominican Republic
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Taylor Lautner Shares Insight Into 2009 Breakup With Taylor Swift
- Finland to close again entire border with Russia as reopening of 2 crossing points lures migrants
- Austrian court acquits Blackwater founder and 4 others over export of modified crop-spraying planes
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Congress passes contentious defense policy bill known as NDAA, sending it to Biden
Ranking
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- What I Learned About Clean Energy in Denmark
- Father, stepmother and uncle of 10-year-old girl found dead in UK home deny murder charges
- Barbie director Greta Gerwig heads jury of 2024 Cannes Festival, 1st American woman director in job
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- 'Shameless': Reporters Without Borders rebukes X for claiming to support it
- In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Hayao Miyazaki looks back
- Maalik Murphy is in the transfer portal, so what does this mean for the Texas Longhorns?
Recommendation
The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
Japan’s Kishida replaces 4 ministers linked to slush funds scandal to contain damage to party
From a surprising long COVID theory to a new cow flu: Our 5 top 'viral' posts in 2023
Why '90s ads are unforgettable
The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
Man charged with murder of Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll
Michigan state trooper wounded, suspect killed in shootout at hotel
Congress passes contentious defense policy bill known as NDAA, sending it to Biden