Films Too Good For The Academy
Great films that were too good to be considered nominated for an Academy Award
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71 titles
- DirectorWim WendersStarsBruno GanzSolveig DommartinOtto SanderAn angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a mortal.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsRichard WidmarkGene TierneyGoogie WithersA small-time grifter and nightclub tout takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsKristy McNicholChrista LangVernon WeddleA trainer attempts to retrain a vicious dog that's been raised to attack black people.
- DirectorRémy BelvauxAndré BonzelBenoît PoelvoordeStarsBenoît PoelvoordeJacqueline Poelvoorde-PappaertNelly PappaertA film crew follows a ruthless thief and heartless killer as he goes about his daily routine. But complications set in when the film crew lose their objectivity and begin lending a hand.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsBurt LancasterHume CronynCharles BickfordAt a tough penitentiary, prisoner Joe Collins plans to rebel against Captain Munsey, the power-mad chief guard.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsHarvey KeitelBrian McElroyFrank AcciaritoWhile investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness and redemption.
- DirectorAndrew NiccolStarsNicolas CageEthan HawkeJared LetoAn arms dealer confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an INTERPOL Agent.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsSterling HaydenColeen GrayVince EdwardsCrook Johnny Clay assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsNicolas CageEva MendesRussell M. HaeuserTerence McDonagh is a drug- and gambling-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKirk DouglasRalph MeekerAdolphe MenjouAfter a failed attack on a German position, a general orders three soldiers, chosen at random, court-martialed for cowardice and their commanding officer must defend them.
- DirectorCharles LaughtonStarsRobert MitchumShelley WintersLillian GishA self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsGregory PeckRobert MitchumPolly BergenA lawyer's family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineDaryl HannahAfter awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineMichael MadsenThe Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.
- DirectorCraig BrewerStarsChristina RicciSamuel L. JacksonJustin TimberlakeA God-fearing bluesman takes to a wild young woman who, as a victim of childhood sexual abuse, looks everywhere for love, never quite finding it.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsAnthony HopkinsDiane LaddIain ReaThe story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years rebuilding a 1920 Indian motorcycle, which helped him set the land speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.
- DirectorDavid AnspaughStarsSean AstinJon FavreauNed BeattyRudy has always been told that he was too small to play college football. But he is determined to overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsNicolas CageMichael PeñaMaria BelloTwo Port Authority police officers become trapped under the rubble of the World Trade Center.
- DirectorWayne KramerStarsHarrison FordAshley JuddRay LiottaCrossing Over is about illegal aliens of many nationalities in the Los Angeles area and the authorities and individuals dealing with them.
- DirectorRobert De NiroStarsRobert De NiroChazz PalminteriLillo BrancatoAn intense drama about a boy torn between his tough, hard-working father and a violent yet charismatic crime boss.
- DirectorMario Van PeeblesStarsMario Van PeeblesNia LongJoy BryantMario Van Peebles' half-documentary/half-homage to his father Melvin Van Peebles' movie Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971).
- DirectorTim McCanliesStarsHaley Joel OsmentMichael CaineRobert DuvallFourteen-year-old Walter Caldwell's irresponsible mother Mae sends him to live with his bachelor uncles, Hub and Garth, so that she can go on yet another husband-hunting trip.
- DirectorRod LurieStarsKate BeckinsaleMatt DillonVera FarmigaIn Washington, D.C., a reporter faces a possible jail sentence for outing a CIA agent and refusing to reveal her source.
- DirectorBrian GoodmanStarsEthan HawkeMark RuffaloBrian GoodmanTwo childhood friends from South Boston turn to crime as a way to get by, ultimately causing a strain in their personal lives and their friendship.
- DirectorJean-François RichetStarsVincent CasselLudivine SagnierMathieu AmalricThe story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life and death as France's Public Enemy No. 1 in the 1970s.
- DirectorJean-François RichetStarsVincent CasselCécile de FranceGérard DepardieuThe story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life before the early 1970s and the events that led to him being declared Public Enemy No. 1 in France.
- DirectorFrank MillerQuentin TarantinoRobert RodriguezStarsMickey RourkeClive OwenBruce WillisAn exploration of the dark and miserable Basin City and three of its residents, all of whom are caught up in violent corruption.
- DirectorAllen CoulterStarsAdrien BrodyBen AffleckDiane LaneA detective examines the mysterious death of George Reeves, the star of the television series Adventures of Superman (1952).
- DirectorRaoul PeckStarsEriq EbouaneyAlex DescasThéophile SowiéThe true story of controversial leader of independent Congo Patrice Lumumba.
- DirectorDouglas MackinnonStarsJonny Lee MillerLaura FraserBrian CoxThe true story of Graeme Obree, the Champion cyclist who built his bicycle from old bits of washing machines who won his championship only to have his title stripped from him and his mental health problems which he has suffered since.
- DirectorJim StrouseStarsJohn CusackEmily ChurchillRebecca SpenceUpon hearing his wife was killed in the Iraq war, a father takes his two daughters on a road trip.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsPeter LorreEllen WidmannInge LandgutWhen the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsBurt LancasterTony CurtisSusan HarrisonPowerful but unethical Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker coerces unscrupulous press agent Sidney Falco into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsJosh BrolinElizabeth BanksIoan GruffuddA chronicle of the life and Presidency of George W. Bush.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerRichard CrennaDuring an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.
- DirectorDanny DeVitoStarsMichael DouglasKathleen TurnerDanny DeVitoA married couple tries everything to drive each other out of the house in a vicious divorce battle.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsGene HackmanRene RussoDanny DeVitoA mobster travels to Hollywood to collect a debt, and discovers that the movie business is much the same as his current job.
- DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsDennis QuaidJD EvermoreRachel GriffithsA Texas baseball coach makes the major league after agreeing to try out if his high school team made the playoffs.
- DirectorBoaz YakinStarsDenzel WashingtonWill PattonWood HarrisIn 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.
- DirectorDenzel WashingtonStarsDenzel WashingtonForest WhitakerKimberly EliseA drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship.
- DirectorDenzel WashingtonStarsDenzel WashingtonDerek LukeJoy BryantAntwone Fisher, a young navy man, is forced to see a psychiatrist after a violent outburst against a fellow crewman. During the course of treatment a painful past is revealed and a new hope begins.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDenzel WashingtonClive OwenJodie FosterA police detective, a bank robber, and a high-power broker enter high-stakes negotiations after the criminal's brilliant heist spirals into a hostage situation.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsWalter MatthauRobert ShawMartin BalsamFour armed men hijack a New York City subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. The city's police are faced with a conundrum: Even if it's paid, how could they get away?
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsCharlton HestonEdward G. RobinsonLeigh Taylor-YoungA nightmarish futuristic fantasy about the controlling power of big corporations and an innocent cop who stumbles on the truth.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsWillem DafoeSusan SarandonDana DelanyA drug dealer reconsiders his profession when his boss plans to go straight and an old flame reappears.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRobert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernA former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsRichard GereLauren HuttonHector ElizondoA Los Angeles escort is accused of a murder which he did not commit.
- DirectorRandall WallaceStarsDiane LaneJohn MalkovichMargo MartindalePenny Chenery Tweedy and colleagues guide her long-shot but precocious stallion to set, in 1973, the unbeaten record for winning the Triple Crown.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsGreg KinnearWillem DafoeMaria BelloThe life of TV star Bob Crane and his strange friendship with electronics expert John Henry Carpenter.
- DirectorMarc AbrahamStarsGreg KinnearLauren GrahamAlan AldaRobert Kearns takes on the Detroit automakers who he claims stole his idea for the intermittent windshield wiper.
- DirectorYukihiko TsutsumiStarsKen WatanabeKanako HiguchiKenji SakaguchiA successful businessman's family life is shattered by an early onset of Alzheimer's.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsAnthony HopkinsRyan GoslingDavid StrathairnAfter shooting his wife, Ted confesses his crime and asks the court to move his case to trial. He represents himself against Willy, a successful lawyer. But there's more to the case than meets the eye.
- DirectorHenry BeanStarsRyan GoslingSummer PhoenixPeter MeadowsA young Jewish man develops a fiercely anti-Semitic philosophy. Based on the factual story of a K.K.K. member in the 1960s who was revealed to be Jewish by a New York Times reporter.
- DirectorFlorian GallenbergerStarsUlrich TukurDaniel BrühlSteve BuscemiA true-story account of a German businessman who saved more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing massacre in 1937-38.
- DirectorKevin SpaceyStarsKevin SpaceyKate BosworthJohn GoodmanA swooning study of "Mack the Knife" singer Bobby Darin and specifically his relationship with wife Sandra Dee.
- DirectorIrwin WinklerStarsKevin KlineAshley JuddJonathan PryceInspecting a magical biographical stage musical, composer Cole Porter reviews his life and career with his wife, Linda.
- DirectorEricson CoreStarsMark WahlbergGreg KinnearElizabeth BanksBased on the story of Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender from South Philadelphia who overcame long odds to play for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1976.
- DirectorJim SheridanStarsJake GyllenhaalNatalie PortmanTobey MaguireWhile on tour in Afghanistan, Sam's helicopter is shot down and he is presumed dead. Back home, it is his screw-up brother who looks after the family. Sam does return, but with a lot of excess baggage.
- DirectorPatrick Read JohnsonStarsCharlie TalbertGeorge C. ScottKathy BatesA miserable fat teenager secretly has a crush on the class beauty, ends up becoming the surprising participant to dance with her at a high school dance, meaning he's got to get his act together with the help of his best friend.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsMichael FassbenderLiam CunninghamStuart GrahamIrish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsMichael FassbenderCarey MulliganJames Badge DaleA sex addict's carefully cultivated private life falls apart after his sister arrives for an indefinite stay.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsMichael FassbenderKeira KnightleyViggo MortensenA look at how the intense relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud gives birth to psychoanalysis.
- DirectorWayne WangStarsTamlyn TomitaRosalind ChaoKieu ChinhThe life histories of four East Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.
- DirectorRalph ZimanStarsRapulana SeiphemoJeffrey SekeleRonnie NyakaleA young hoodlum's rise from a small-time criminal to a powerful crime entrepreneur during the turbulent years before and after the fall of apartheid.
- DirectorKirk JonesStarsIan BannenDavid KellyFionnula FlanaganWhen a lottery winner dies of shock, his fellow townsfolk attempt to claim the money.
- DirectorMichael CorrenteStarsPaulo AraujoDaniel TayTy Thomas ReedBrooklyn, 1985. With the mob world as a backdrop, three life-long friends struggle with questions of love, loss and loyalty.
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsTyrin TurnerLarenz TateJune Kyoto LuA young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
- DirectorDarrell RoodtStarsRichard HarrisJames Earl JonesVusi KuneneA South African preacher goes to search for his wayward son, who has committed a crime in the big city.
- DirectorTony GoldwynStarsHilary SwankSam RockwellMelissa LeoA working mother puts herself through law school in an effort to represent her brother, who has been wrongfully convicted of murder and has exhausted his chances to appeal his conviction through public defenders.
- DirectorCampbell ScottStanley TucciStarsTony ShalhoubStanley TucciMarc AnthonyNew Jersey, 1950s. Two brothers run an Italian restaurant. Business is not going well as a rival Italian restaurant is out-competing them. In a final effort to save the restaurant, the brothers plan to put on an evening of incredible food.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleTom HardyAnne HathawayEight years after the Joker's reign of chaos, Batman is coerced out of exile with the assistance of the mysterious Selina Kyle in order to defend Gotham City from the vicious guerrilla terrorist Bane.