2024 Oscars: The Best Oscar Films That Aren't Oscar Winners

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The 2024 Oscar nominations were announced on January 23, with "Oppenheimer" leading the pack with 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), and Best Supporting Actress (Emily Blunt). "Poor Things" and "Killers of the Flower Moon" followed closely behind, with 11 and 10 nominations respectively.

This year's Best Picture nominees numbered 10, with three coming from female directors: Greta Gerwig's "Barbie," Justine Triet's "Anatomy of a Fall," and Celine Song's "Past Lives" — a first in history.

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Lily Gladstone also made history by becoming the first Native American nominated for Best Actress for "Killers of the Flower Moon." In contrast, Celine Song became the first Asian woman to receive a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

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The last time the highest-grossing film of the year won Best Picture was 20 years ago with "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." Now, popular opinion aligns again with critical acclaim — "Barbie" became the highest-grossing film in 2023.

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While "Barbie" received a Best Picture nomination, director Greta Gerwig was snubbed, and Margot Robbie was excluded from the Best Actress category, sparking intense outrage online. The Associated Press called Gerwig's snub "one of the biggest surprises in recent years."

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Persistent gender discrimination in the film industry may be a factor, but it only exacerbates the underlying issue. Despite its Best Picture nomination, Oscar voters refused to take "Barbie," based on a toy, seriously, overlooking its creativity and dismissing it as a billion-dollar popcorn flick when it is, in fact, an entertaining and provocative cultural manifesto.

The Best Oscar Films That Aren't Oscar Winners

01 HITCHCOCK’S GREATEST HITS (1950-1960)

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Alfred Hitchcock never won the Oscar for Best Director. Considering the few favorable nominations he received, it's either due to untold stories behind the scenes or bad luck at the awards ceremony. After all, even back then, it was hard to deny him as one of Hollywood's most iconic artists, whose works turned into nationwide events, seemingly paralyzing the entire nation.

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His series of blockbusters, most notably "Rear Window" (1954), "Vertigo" (1958), "North by Northwest" (1959), and "Psycho" (1960), remain some of the most influential films in history. He redefined the term "director," paving the way for Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg. So, when you watch Cary Grant traversing a cornfield or follow Jimmy Stewart trailing Kim Novak through the streets of San Francisco, remember, the Oscars never deemed these feats genius enough.

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02 12 ANGRY MEN (1957)

In many ways, it's unsurprising that Sidney Lumet's 1957 adaptation of Reginald Rose's acclaimed television play "12 Angry Men" left the Oscars empty-handed. They nominated this unlikely film, but apart from the opening and closing scenes; it takes place in a stuffy jury room, where most of the action involves restless deliberations in chairs, repeatedly recounting testimonies. But it's what the 12 men bring into that room—different experiences, biases, worldviews—the things the justice system demands they leave behind- that creates such a gripping and explosive film.

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Credit goes to Sidney Lumet for creating a moral claustrophobia with his camera, which remains suffocating decades later. At the same time, Juror #8, played by Henry Fonda, holds up a mirror to our souls. Over half a century later, it still represents something invaluable and perpetually hopeful in the human spirit.

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03 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)

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As one of the greatest directors in history, Stanley Kubrick was undoubtedly owed a heap of awards by the Oscars. In fact, of his 13 nominations, the Oscars deemed only the visual effects of "2001: A Space Odyssey" worthy of a statue, while his late-night gem "A Clockwork Orange" lost out on all four Oscar nominations it received. Two factors can explain this seemingly astonishing fact.

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Firstly, the themes are challenging. When you think of Academy voters, you don't typically think of those trendy avant-garde types eager for a film filled with extreme violence and fictional dialects. But it's precisely these elements that set "A Clockwork Orange" apart, as Stanley Kubrick fearlessly presents a possible dystopian future.

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Another critical factor in the Oscars' snub of "A Clockwork Orange" at the awards ceremony was "The French Connection." William Friedkin's crime thriller swept the Oscars, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay, leaving Stanley Kubrick's team empty-handed. The fact that the same film won in all matching categories meant Stanley Kubrick went home empty-handed, defeated by a more easily digestible film. Not to say "The French Connection" wasn't good, but sadly, there were no two winners' spots.

04 TAXI DRIVER (1976)

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Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" received nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Original Score but notably missed out on a Best Director nomination. Can you imagine sitting at the ceremony, trying to smile and wave at the cameras while knowing you've been dreadfully snubbed? But in hindsight, it wasn't such a big deal because nobody took home the little gold men that night.

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Fair to say, the competition in 1977 was exceptionally fierce: "Rocky" won Best Picture, Peter Finch won Best Actor posthumously, Beatrice Straight won Best Supporting Actress, and Jerry Goldsmith won Best Original Score for "The Omen."

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Nevertheless, "Taxi Driver" is one of Martin Scorsese's most brilliant hours behind the camera and one of Robert De Niro's most significant roles. Despite the lean times when the Academy tightened its belt and spread the awards accordingly, Robert De Niro left the awards on March 28, 1977, with nothing, which is baffling.

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On the bright side, the film won the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival and has since found its way onto countless critics' best lists.

05 THE COLOR PURPLE (1985)

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While all the films on this list failed to win an Oscar, none lost out on as many awards as "The Color Purple." Breaking records at the time with 11 nominations, it ultimately went home empty-handed.

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Director Steven Spielberg's nuanced observations on racism, sexism, incest, domestic violence, and other primal topics certainly warranted a snub. Still, the film stood on a long string of misguided stances on its way to the "white Oscars" tagline, making it appear more extreme. Despite African American actors, especially black women, often overlooked, even in nominations, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, and Oprah Winfrey received nods — none won.

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As for the big prize, "The Color Purple" lost out to the ironically titled "Out of Africa," set in British East Africa and starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. Some pointed out Steven Spielberg's potential problem lay in the film's framing around how black men treat women. However, "The Color Purple" articulated themes and characters, successfully mining beauty and power from darkness.

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06 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)

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What's surprising isn't the absolute lack of recognition "The Shawshank Redemption" received at the Oscars but that it didn't win a single award. Yet, Frank Darabont's 1994 film is still considered one of the greatest movies ever made, for everything it carries — the corrupt prison system, the power of trusted friendship, the self-worth this world is too quick to dismiss, and the graceful, clever expression of its actors and crew.

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This film, adapted from Stephen King's novella, will chill you for reasons you didn't expect, tug at your heartstrings with the tiniest victories, never wholly rid the picture of the darkness of reality, and resound with the perseverance of the human spirit as loudly as "The Marriage of Figaro." "The Shawshank Redemption" is an American classic; fortunately, it doesn't need the recognition of an Oscar to prove it.

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