Current:Home > NewsThat's just 'Psycho,' Oscars: These 10 classic movies didn't win a single Academy Award -WealthRoots Academy
That's just 'Psycho,' Oscars: These 10 classic movies didn't win a single Academy Award
Charles H. Sloan View
Date:2025-04-11 08:52:54
"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! (4994)
Related
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- Oscars 2024 live: Will 'Oppenheimer' reign supreme? Host Jimmy Kimmel kicks off big night
- You'll Cheer for Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade's Oscars 2024 Date Night
- Why Ryan Gosling Didn't Bring Eva Mendes as His Date to the 2024 Oscars
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- New Jersey police officer wounded and man killed in exchange of gunfire, authorities say
- NFL free agency RB rankings: Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry among best available backs
- Gold ring found in Sweden about 500 years after unlucky person likely lost it
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- Caitlin Clark passes Steph Curry for most 3s in a season as Iowa rips Penn State
Ranking
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Shania Twain, Viola Davis, others honored with Barbie dolls for Women's Day, 65th anniversary
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph wins her first Oscar after being a favorite for her work in ‘The Holdovers’
- National Guard helicopter crashes in Texas: 3 killed include 2 soldiers, 1 US border agent
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- There shouldn't be any doubts about Hannah Hidalgo and the Notre Dame women's basketball team
- No recoverable oil is left in the water from sheen off Southern California coast, officials say
- Dodgers' Mookie Betts moving to shortstop after Gavin Lux's spring struggles
Recommendation
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
Trump supporters hoping to oust Wisconsin leader say they have enough signatures to force recall
States have hodgepodge of cumbersome rules for enforcing sunshine laws
Caitlin Clark passes Steph Curry for most 3s in a season as Iowa rips Penn State
McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
Ranking MLB's stadiums from 1 to 30: Baseball travelers' favorite ballparks
Taylor Swift fans insist bride keep autographed guitar, donate for wedding
Oscars 2024: Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky Have an A-Thor-able Date Night