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Best Films not to win "Best Picture" Oscar?


NYSkins1

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In lieu of the recent Academy Awards, and in the spirit of the threads in the other forum about the best teams not to have won the Super Bowl, what do you think are the best films not to have recieved the Best Picture?

Ones that come to mind are:

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939-Gone With the Wind)

The Wizard of Oz (1939-Gone With the Wind)

Citizen Kane (1941-How Green Was My Valley)

It's A Wonderful Life (1946-The Best Years of Our Lives)

Sunset Boulevard (1950-All About Eve)

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951-An American In Paris)

12 Angry Men (1957-The Bridge on the River Kwai)

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962-Lawrence of Arabia)

Dr. Strangelove (1964-My Fair Lady)

Mary Poppins (1964-My Fair Lady)

Doctor Zhivago (1965-The Sound of Music)

The Graduate (1967-In the Heat of the Night)

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969-Midnight Cowboy)

A Clockwork Orange (1971-The French Connection)

American Graffiti (1973-The Sting)

The Exorcist (1973-The Sting)

Jaws (1975-One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)

All the President's Men (1976-Rocky)

Star Wars (1977-Annie Hall)

Apocolypse Now (1979-Kramer vs. Kramer)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981-Chariots of Fire)

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982-Gandhi)

The Mission (1986-Platoon)

Goodfellas (1990-Dances With Wolves)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994-Forrest Gump)

Pulp Fiction (1994-Forrest Gump)

Saving Private Ryan (1998-Shakespeare in Love)

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001-A Beautiful Mind)

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002-Chicago)

Mystic River (2003-Lord of the Rings: Return of the King)

Note: All of the films listed were nominees. Nearly all of them appear in IMDb's top 250, with the exception of a few, which I included because of personal biases (Mary Poppins) or because of how they have become engrained in the collective American conciousness (American Graffiti).

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When Saving Private Ryan lost in 1998, I remember being extremely angry over that travesty. A little off-topic, but does anyone remember Veteran's Day in 2004 when ABC tried to play Saving Private Ryan, and a ton of affiliates across the country didn't play it because they were afraid of being fined by the FCC? :doh: In 1994, I think Forrest Gump probably deserved the award. Shawshank Redemption is a mighty fine movie though, so it's close.

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I decided I'd list a few, in spite of my blanket statement. It's not supposed to comprehensive, just a few glaring omissions off the top of my head

Brazil, Raging Bull, The Elephant Man, Taxi Driver, Persona, The 400 Blows, Punch Drunk Love, Fight Club, The Bicycle Theif, 28 Days Later, The 400 Blows, Rushmore, City Lights, Citizen Kane, Heavenly Creatures

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Since Citizen Kane is on almost all film buffs top 5 films ever made. I would imagine it not winning best picture would be the biggest snub.

Apocalypse Now in 1979 would be another travesty.

In 2000, Memento wasn't even nominated!

And how about It's a Wonderful Life - a classic xmas tale even today?

One more - not nominated - but it should have been - American History X in 1998. That film spoke more about racism and the effect it has on society/family many many many times more than Crash did.

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In 1994, I think Forrest Gump probably deserved the award. Shawshank Redemption is a mighty fine movie though, so it's close.

Of course, this isn't biggest snubs, though; this is greatest films NOT to have won the Best Picture Oscar.

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I'm not nuts but I am smarter than you.

Thinking Crouching Tiger is a better movie than Gladiator does not make you smarter than me. It's a matter of taste. I can see if you said that Gladiator deserved the Oscar, but Crouching Tiger should have won....but you said it was a "travesty" that Gladiator won!

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In The Mood For Love, Requiem For A Dream, Almost Famous, The Virgin Suicides, and Pitch Black were all better than both Gladiator and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. They were all released in the year 2000, and none of them were nominated for best picture.

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Whoah Mr. Nostril, the same Pitch Black with Vin Diesel? No way is that movie better than both Gladiator and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Haven't seen the other movies you listed except for Almost Famous, and yes that movie is a great one..but to say Pitch Black is better than both Gladiator and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? You might as well say the Chronicles of Riddick was better than well I don't know, any other movie that came out that year.

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I haven't seen Chronicles of Riddick yet. So, maybe. I loved Pitch Black though, it had a great visual style to it, Vin Deisel was great in the type of role he played, and it's just overall a great example of "boo" horror. I liked the way that it broke screenwriting convention by starting the movie with the disaster, and not really giving you any beginning to understand the status quo. It basically just begins with a space ship about to crash. The interaction between the characters was set up well, and the horror scenes were executed well.

Really, the only reason I can see that people would dislike that movie is a bias again Vin Deisel, because he's a bad actor, but even the worst actors cast in the right roles can be good. Look at Arnold Scwartzeneger in the Terminator.

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Oh that was definately the first movie I ever saw with Vin Diesel in it, so I had no bias when seeing it. I remember it came out around 6 or 7 years ago and I saw it when it came out on video. Definately an under-rated action flick and it is definately pretty cool but I just wouldn't rate it over Gladiator. As for you listing Rushmore earlier, I definately agree. Rushmore is hilarious and I wish Wes would come out with movies more often. What is the deal with his new movie? It is a cartoon is it not? Will it be an adult comedy with dark humor, I haven't read too much into it.

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