The Best Movies You Saw That Never Received An Oscar

[RandySF]

My two are "Wolf of Wall Street" and "Hell Or High Water".

[Laffy Kat]

1. I was shocked that Anthony Hopkins didn't even get a nomination for "Magic".

It was a late 70s horror film about a unglued ventriloquist. He was amazing in it and the movie scared the piss out of me.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

18. An absolutely amazing movie.

Hopkins probably turned in his all time finest in that picture. Ann Margret was likewise phenomenal, and should have gotten a nomination for her role.

Hopkins is one of the very best actors of all time, and has gotten little recognition. His first role was in "The Lion In Winter" which is my absolute favorite movie of all time.

[Laffy Kat]

19. Yes, and he was totally panned that year.

I'll have to check, but not sure he's ever won an Oscar???

[pressbox69]

21. Hopkins won

best actor for Silence Of The Lambs.

[Laffy Kat]

24. Oh, good!

[wcmagumba]

58. Loved that movie...

I had a friend in college who after a few drinks did an amazing
rendition of the dummy saying some of his lines...

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

59. Oh, yes.

Another favorite movie.

Ann Margret is heartbreaking in it.

[Glamrock]

2. The Doors

Val Kilmer was amazing.

[WiffenPoof]

31. Completely agree!

His "Jim Morrison" was amazing.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. I just re-watched Wolf of Wall Street

very amazed at DeCaprio's bit with physical comedy.

Hell and High Water was GOOD! Those quiet lil character studies often get over0looked.

[spooky3]

4. Hidden Figures

It may have gotten a minor award, but deserved more.

[smirkymonkey]

44. I thought that was a great movie.

So inspiring!

[cos dem]

52. Agreed. There was some "poetic license" with the portrayal of the conflict.

But that's typical for a movie trying to convey a story in a mere 2 hours. I have no doubt the women faced some daunting challenges, probably more subtle and ingrained than what showed up in the movie.

Also, as a computer nerd, I appreciate seeing some of the technical details being reproduced so faithfully.

[unc70]

5. Many not even nominated

Psycho
North by Northwest
Rear Window
Singing in the Rain

and on and on

[ailsagirl]

34. Hitchcock never won an Oscar

even though he richly deserved it (IMO)

[smirkymonkey]

45. Really? He had so many great films!

Almost all of his films were masterpieces!

[ailsagirl]

64. Actually, I just found out that "Rebecca" won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1940

He won two Golden Globes, eight Laurel Awards, and five lifetime achievement awards, including the first BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award and, in 1979, an AFI Life Achievement Award. He was nominated five times for an Academy Award for Best Director. Rebecca, nominated for 11 Oscars, won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1940; another Hitchcock film, Foreign Correspondent, was also nominated that year. By 2016 seven of his films had been selected for preservation by the United States National Film Registry: Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Notorious (1946), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock

[smirkymonkey]

67. Thanks for the info! I am glad he at least earned one Oscar.

I looked up a few of his films and they did win awards in other categories - cinematography, art direction, costume design, writing, actress, actor in a supporting role and best music. His films were nominated many times in those categories and other, including best director

[FM123]

6. Silver Linings Playbook

[LonePirate]

54. Jennifer Lawrence won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in SLP.

[FM123]

63. Yes, and she was great in it!

But I still think that SLP should have won the Oscar instead of Argo that year (although I have to admit, Argo was pretty darn good too)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. "The Shawshank Redemption."

It didn't do well at the box office either. Not until much later, when it came out on disk or whatever, did it get the recognition it truly deserved.

"Forrest Gump" beat it for Best Picture that year.

Phooey.

[Bluepinky]

12. I loved Shawshank Redemption, never get tired of seeing it.

[Ohiogal]

27. Make that unanimous about Shawshank!

One of the best movies I've ever seen. I'm shocked it never was recognized with any awards.

[TexasBushwhacker]

29. It received a bunch of nominations though n/t

[lunatica]

47. If Im channel hopping and see it

I will stop to watch it no matter where it is. I think it’s the best movie ever made. And I’m a real movie buff and like tons of movies.

[GreenEyedLefty]

62. Agreed. Great short story/novella, great movie too.

[GeorgeHayduke]

8. Never Cry Wolf.

I recommend it highly.

[applegrove]

9. That has got to be one of my all time favourite scenes when he was amid the caribou.

Such a great story.

[GeorgeHayduke]

10. Yup. I watched that movie

as often as I could since I was about 12. Its influence largely governed who I grew-up to be. Mowat's legit written account of his time in Churchill wasn't nearly as romantic as the movie (he was kind of a dry, just-the-facts author lacking the dramatic skills of Leopold or Abbey), but the added characters Mike and Uutek were effective in making his salient point.

I just wish you could find it still. I have it on VHS that we taped from a "free Disney weekend".

Epic adventure story.

[applegrove]

11. Read it in school. Saw the movie as a young adult. Don't remember

much but that one scene. And of course the lesson that wolves keep the herds healthy.

[GeorgeHayduke]

14. Its a pretty raw sequence;

A naked human running through a herd of 'bou, watching one being taken by predator wolves only for the naked human to investigate and confirm that the vilified wolf (the moral fulcrum), in the words of the protagonist, discovers that the disease had been "cut out of the herd" (forviving the antagonist wolf) and thusly completing the arc of character development in realizing his corrupt government employers had utilized him to justify the continued exploitation of natural resources that the character's moral compass wouldn't allow.

Conscience is pretty rad. Only if the US could elect someone with one.

That scene is a bit obvious and kind of dramatic, but sometimes a shake-up requires a subtle slap to inspire a moral awakening.

My big draw to the story was less about the professional venture and more what it was really about - personal exploration and challenge.

[cos dem]

57. I read several of Mowat's books and thought he was pretty good.

A Whale for the Killing is probably the one I remember best. The way the whale was tortured, the impact it had on Mowat, and the wedge it drove between him and his neighbors was particularly "real", if you will.

Also, The Dog Who Wouldn't Be was one of my grandfather's favorite books. He had a dog named Mutt that I just barely remember.

[LeftInTX]

17. Saw that with my husband on our second date.

I really don't remember much about it.
I think we were talking most of the movie.

He probably saw it before he brought me. (He would often go to the movies by himself)

[Bluepinky]

13. Arlington Road was good and creepy, starred Tim Robbins, Jeff Bridges and Joan Cusack.

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

15. The Color Purple. n/t

[TexasBushwhacker]

41. 11 Nominations though n/t

[NanceGreggs]

16. "Alien"

Great story line, character development, top-notch performances, and visually stunning.

[TexasBushwhacker]

40. It won an Oscar for best visual effects

and received a nomination for art direction. Aliens faired a little better.

[JNelson6563]

20. Rob Roy

Starring Liam Neeson. Very smart writing and brilliant cast! Stunning scenery, great action. Should've won!

[hatrack]

26. Plus the best swordfight in the history of movies!

"Will you not take my odds, Argyll? I will give you five on the fop."

(Featuring an odious Tim Roth).

[JNelson6563]

30. Yes!

Excellent sword fights AND Tim Roth was absolutely superb!

[pressbox69]

22. Quite a few.

Nightmare Ally, Night Of The Hunter, Scarecrow, The Sweet Smell of Success, A Face In The Crowd, Frankenstein, King Kong, Duck Soup, White Heat and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

[MFM008]

23. Shawshank

Should have gotten best picture.
Period.
I love Tom Hanks but hated Forrest Gump.

[Ohiogal]

28. I don't get

all the fuss over Forrest Gump. I thought it was just okay.

[ailsagirl]

35. Same here-- I was expecting something really spectacular

Maybe that was the problem

[Va Lefty]

25. Rear Window and The Big Lebowski

[longship]

60. Rear Window: Thelma Ritter, best supporting actress Oscar.

Hands down, one of the best supporting performances on film ever. Never even nominated.

Then, Hitch should have received Best Director and Rear Window should have received Best Picture.

This was Hitch's beginning of a string of incredible films (which arguably began with Strangers on a Train). North by Northwest and Vertigo complete a trilogy of sorts. Psycho, laid down just how far Hitchcock would go to bring cutting edge mystery to the screen.

That he never won an Oscar for his work is an astounding rejection.

Oh! Never forget Rebecca.

At least won Best Picture Oscar. Hitch skipped as director.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

32. One of my personal favorites, Cloud Atlas, wasn't even nominated for a single Oscar.

I would have thought at least in the categories of makeup and film editing (the movie switched between six stories, all featuring the same cast of actors in different roles), it merited a nomination.

[lunatica]

48. Wasnt it about reincarnation?

I thought it was about the reincarnations of the same characters in different relationships to each other in each reincarnation.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

66. Eh. Some people have claimed that, but I think that's an overly literal interpretation of it.

First of all, the timeline doesn't really support it. Tom Hanks' character in the 2012 story would have certainly been alive in 1973, where he plays a different character in the previous story. So unless you subscribe some notion of dual incarnation, I don't think the fact that the same actors are playing different characters in different stories are intended to be reincarnation of one another.

A better argument for reincarnation might be that the main character of each story is a reincarnation of the same person (and the fact that each has a comet shaped birthmark might give some credence to that fact.) But again, Timothy Cavendish (the protagonist of the 2012 story) would have certainly been alive in 1973, where the protagonist is Luisa Rey.

So I don't subscribe to the reincarnation theory in the literal sense of the characters being reincarnated.

I do think there's a sense that the themes in each story is reincarnated or remanifested in the subsequent story. All the stories have a common theme of the protagonist or protagonists standing up against some sort of oppressive force. Additionally, you actually have parts of the dialogue in stories either repeated or mimicked in other stories.

And the most obvious part about the movie is how each story inspires the next. Adam Ewing writes a journal, which is read by Robert Frobisher who comments about it in his letters to his lover, which are read by Luisa Rey while she undertakers her adventure, which is turned into a screenplay that is read by Timothy Cavendish, which is inevitably turned into a movie which is watched by Sonmi 451, whose experiences are turned into a quasi-religion that is at the center of Zachry's tribal life. So each story connects and builds on one another.

What I liked best perhaps was the film's extremely clever editing and segues between the stories, which is so subtle yet masterfully done. For example, there's one part of the movie where the story goes from the post apocalyptic story where Zachry (Tom Hanks) tells Meronym (Halle Berry) he'd take her on a hazardous journey "through the gates of hell".....and the story immediately shifts to the 2012 Cavendish farcical story and a shot of the gates opening leading of the oppressive retirement home that Cavendish has been tricked into going by his brother.

So subtle, yet so clever. Why this didn't earn an editing Oscar I have no idea.

[lunatica]

72. Thats a wonderful summation!

I’ll watch it again and pay closer attention. I do love movies so I like paying attention to the cinematic details and especially the editing. The editing craft has become an inventive and creative part of any good film nowadays.

Thanks!

[red dog 1]

33. The Big Lebowski, Vertigo, The Hunt for Red October, Get Shorty, No Direction Home

[redstateblues]

51. Get Shorty for sure!

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

36. Wind River from last year

while Phantom Thread and Call Me By Your Name were nominated

[TexasBushwhacker]

39. That was a damn good movie

But pursuing nominations can be expensive since it means sending out hundreds of screeners to academy members. Since it was released earlier in the year and has already made it to cable and streaming, it wouldn't really help its box office.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

43. True

it was lacking any Oscar bait. Went to see Hostiles this afternoon, another one that looks at Native Americans through a different lens. That is what I liked about Wind River.

[TexasBushwhacker]

46. I'm sure there will be more great things from writer/director

Taylor Sheridan. If you've never checked out Sicario or Hell or High Water you should. He wrote both of them.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

69. yes, I have

i enjoyed both but especially Hell or High Water. I teach film history and have shown Hell in class. This year I'm showing Wind River.

[TexasBushwhacker]

71. What a fun job! N/t

[lunatica]

49. I just watched Wind River this week

I really like Jeremy Renner and I’m glad he’s finally getting starring roles. It was a good movie.

[redstateblues]

53. Hard to believe Wind River wasnt nominated

[redstateblues]

55. Call Me By Your Name had no story. It was a snooze fest

[Dave Starsky]

38. A Face in the Crowd (1957)

At the very, very least, Andy Griffith should have been nominated for an Academy Award. That movie didn't get ANY nominations, which is just unbelievable.

Paths of Glory was also completely snubbed that year. Another amazing movie.

[eissa]

42. "Legends of the Fall"

Great story, good acting (Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, Aidan Quinn), beautiful cinematography. It received some nominations, but I think it only won for cinematography.

[Yavin4]

50. Do The Right Thing

Even had a scene about climate change in 1989!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=37&v=ftaOcmc9LDA

[Binkie The Clown]

56. I keep striking out.

Every great movie I really loved, when I check it on IMDB, turns out to have been an Oscar winner.

That leaves me with Glenn or Glenda as my only fallback.

[sandensea]

61. Two offbeat choices: 'Mitchellsville' and, in the foreign language category, 'Hamoun' from Iran.

Very existential, as well as intense.

[Bucky]

65. Gabriel Over the White House. A prediction of a Trump presidency made in 1933.

check part of it out here

http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/ccManager/clips/gabrielWhiteHouseMartialLaw.mp4/view

[Eliot Rosewater]

68. Lots of comedies, like

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079336/

Probably not Oscar worthy but funneeeeeeeeeee

[trueblue2007]

73. the HARRY POTTER movies

[MissMillie]

74. Amazing Grace and Chuck

Sappy as HELL, but I loved it.

And I will always love Gregory Peck.