Biggest Oscar Snubs
Movies, directors and actors that really deserved an Oscar but got snubbed.
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- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'Starting of this list with the most famous snub-feast. Orson Welles and everything, what a historical blunder by the Academy members.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.On the Waterfront and Marlon Brando won, so what can I say. I still think Rear Window is a better movie, its pure movie magic.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsMax von SydowGunnar BjörnstrandBengt EkerotA knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.One of the best movies ever made and it didn't even get nominated. But back then I dont think the members even got to see it, so its understandable.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsVictor SjöströmBibi AnderssonIngrid ThulinAfter living a life marked by coldness, an aging professor is forced to confront the emptiness of his existence.Same problem as with The Seventh Seal I think.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartKim NovakBarbara Bel GeddesA former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.Snub-orama all the way for almost everyone involved in this movie. Alfred Hitchcock snubbed for best director and James Stewart snubbed for best actor.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA secretary on the run for embezzlement takes refuge at a secluded California motel owned by a repressed man and his overbearing mother.No wins at all for this masterpiece, why?
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsBibi AnderssonLiv UllmannMargaretha KrookA nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.Not even nominated, hellooo...
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.This year was a joke. Oliver won, who remembers that silly movie. Also Stanley Kubrick big time snub on best director.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn Stanley Kubrick's controversial filming of the Anthony Burgess dystopian novel, sadistic gang leader Alex DeLarge is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.Snub again for Kubrick. Also snub for Malcolm McDowell as best actor.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsNatalya BondarchukDonatas BanionisJüri JärvetA psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.Another snub for the master Andrey Tarkovskiy, but what can you do...
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsEllen BurstynMax von SydowLinda BlairWhen a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.Why cant a horror movie win best picture? The Sting won and that was silly at best.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJodie FosterCybill ShepherdA mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.This was a good year so maybe its not a big snub, Rocky won and it was very good too. But Robert De Niro should have won best actor.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsDennis HopperBruno GanzLisa KreuzerTom Ripley, who deals in forged art, suggests a picture framer he knows would make a good hit man.Best Foreign Language Film ever, did it get an Oscar? No!
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.Sure it won 6 Oscars, but not best picture and best director. Annie Hall won and that was good but not an epic masterpiece like Star Wars.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsIngrid BergmanLiv UllmannLena NymanA devoted wife is visited by her mother, a successful concert pianist who had little time for her when she was young.This wasn't even nominated for best Foreign Language Film, I mean come oooon...
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.Snub for best picture and Francis Ford Coppola for best director. But this was a really good year. Fivefecta awards from me with Alien, Being there, Stalker and Manhattan. Kramer vs Kramer won and its good but not better than my favorites.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.Horror-movie snub again, but this year I cant pick a winner so the Academy members are excused.
- DirectorHal AshbyStarsPeter SellersShirley MacLaineMelvyn DouglasAfter the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in Washington politics.Super snub for Peter Sellers best actor.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsAlisa FreyndlikhAleksandr KaydanovskiyAnatoliy SolonitsynA guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.Well I guess nobody in America seen this so maybe its not so strange that it didn't get any nominations. Its on my top 10 best movies ever.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonMariel HemingwayThe life of a divorced television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.Man what a good year in movies, this is my favorite Woddy Allen movie.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.This is a bigger snub than Taxi Driver, but here De Niro won best actor so that makes me feel a little better.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHenry ThomasDrew BarrymorePeter CoyoteA troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.Gandhi won and is was good, but E.T. was better. Also Steven Spielberg should have won best director in a dual award with Ridley Scott for Bladerunner.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.Why was sci-fi best in the 80ties? This one is even better than E.T. and got no wins at all, not even Visual Effects.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDanny AielloOssie DavisRuby DeeOn the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.Another super year in movies. Driving miss Daisy won but its not even in my top 5 this year.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJames SpaderAndie MacDowellPeter GallagherA sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.Steven Soderbergh should have won at least Best Screenplay. This is his best movie.