Current:Home > reviewsThat's just 'Psycho,' Oscars: These 10 classic movies didn't win a single Academy Award -Secure Growth Solutions
That's just 'Psycho,' Oscars: These 10 classic movies didn't win a single Academy Award
View
Date:2025-04-18 13:25:04
"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! (818)
Related
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Railroads work to make sure firefighters can quickly look up what is on a train after a derailment
- Connecticut agrees to a $25 million settlement in the Henry Lee evidence fabrication case
- Highway traffic pollution puts communities of color at greater health risk
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- What Biden's support for UAW strike says about 2024 election: 5 Things podcast
- Homes in parts of the U.S. are essentially uninsurable due to rising climate change risks
- Chinese officials voice faith in economy and keep interest rates steady as forecasts darken
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- A sculptor and a ceramicist who grapple with race win 2023 Heinz Awards for the Arts
Ranking
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Cowboys' Jerry Jones wants more NFL owners of color. He has a lot of gall saying that now.
- Man formerly on death row gets murder case dismissed after 48 years
- Quavo meets with Kamala Harris, other political figures on gun violence after Takeoff's death
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- Kari Lake’s 3rd trial to begin after unsuccessful lawsuit challenging her loss in governor’s race
- COVID lockdowns and mail-in ballots: Inside the Trump-fueled conspiracy spreading online
- Suspects in child's fentanyl death at Bronx day care get federal charges
Recommendation
Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
Pennsylvania state government will prepare to start using AI in its operations
Minnesota woman made $117,000 running illegal Facebook lottery, police say
Grain spat drags Ukraine’s ties with ally Poland to lowest point since start of Russian invasion
FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
Seattle City Council OKs law to prosecute for having and using drugs such as fentanyl in public
Texas teacher fired over Anne Frank graphic novel. The complaint? Sexual content
Are morning workouts better for weight loss?