Top 5: Not Nominated For Best Picture
by John NolteOnly in a political vacuum would anyone be surprised “The Dark Knight” was all but snubbed by Academy voters this morning. The defense will be that it’s a comic book movie, as though “Frost/Nixon” isn’t.
What happened to all the “modern day masterpiece” talk? This, perhaps?
If you look at today’s Best Picture nominees and ask yourself which one of these nominees people will still be watching a few years from now, the best possible answer is, “Lemme think.” Throughout its 81 year history, the Academy has overlooked a number of timeless films for best picture nominations; here, in my opinion, are the five best films completely overlooked, not counting “Dark Knight”:
1. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) – Not just the best picture of that year, but one of the greatest achievements in cinema history. Were it not for the height of the MGM musical in the late forties and early fifties, you’d now be reading an argument that film as an art form peaked with “Sunrise.”
2. The Searchers (1956) – Arguably the greatest film — not just Western - ever produced. John Ford’s epic character study of a man who helps create a civilization that will not have a place for him received a grand total of zero nominations.
3. The Wild Bunch (1969) – Was it the violence, which looks pretty tame by today’s standards, that turned the Academy off? Something has to explain why “Hello, Dolly!” And “Anne of a Thousand Days” made the cut and Peckinpah’s masterpiece did not.
4. A Night At The Opera (1934) – It would take a revival three decades later for the genius of the Marx Brothers to be fully appreciated. “Duck Soup” was never nominated either, but I’m partial to this one.
5. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – The dark, cynical response to anyone who says Tony Curtis wasn’t one helluva actor.
What say you? Here’s a list to help you get started. *link fixed*
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67 Comments
Growltiger – Sadly, "Three Weddings and a Funeral" was snubbed by the Academy, but "Four Weddings and a Funeral" was nominated for Best Picture.
And Russ, the Academy has got it right on occasion, "Casablanca", "The Godfather", "Lawrence of Arabia" and others. It's just been a while since the best picture of the year got Best Picture.
One I forgot that was made after the AA were started – City Lights. Even though it's a silent in the era of talkies it should have gotten a least a nomination. The score alone is worth an Oscar.
1941: Both The Maltese Falcon and Citizen Kane have been released. What wins? How Green Was My Valley. That’s what I consider a snub.
1) Singing in the Rain (1952)
2) The Great Escape (1963)
3) Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
4) Airplane (1980)
5) King Kong (1933)
(I had a hard time with that fourth choice which could have gone to Monty Python and the Holy Grail or Groundhog’s Day. Good to see the top five back)
I wonder if this article from the good folks at Pajamas Media had anything to do with the snub of The Dark Knight.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/the-dark-knight-not-just-another-superhero-movie/
Clearly, every year the Academy is wrong. So, I’m really not surprised.
I wonder if the comparison’s of Batman in the “Dark Knight” to President Bush had anything to do with the snub? I wonder if Mickey Rourke will get passed over, he did defend President Bush. It will be interesting to see how everything turns out.
Sorry, I really don’t have a list because I don’t watch the Oscars. I am mostly a comic and Sci-fi fan but that might change because of the current political agenda of the left slowly infilitrating my favorite childhood hobby.
Anyhow, I do agree that Dark Knight not being nominated shows how out of touch the voters are and continue to be.
No argument on the list, John – Sweet Smell of Success has one of the greatest lines ever: “The cat’s in the bag, the bag’s in the river”.
However, as great as Curtis was I don’t think you can use ‘helluva’ followed by ‘an’. You can say it, but it doesn’t read right.
The Oscars have been irrelevant for me too for a long time – and judging by the loss of millions of viewers, we are not alone. How much does politics fit into a nomination?
Was Gran Torino eligible for 2008? If so, for that to be snubbed…
I think what really turned me off for the Oscars was all the grandstanding and political speeches by these people…
“Anyhow, I do agree that Dark Knight not being nominated shows how out of touch the voters are and continue to be.”
Like George Clooney said, they’re proud to be out of touch.
Maybe I’m missing something, but the “here’s a list” link doesn’t seem to lead to a list.
As for snubs, one that leaps quickly to mind is the Daniel Day Lewis version of Last of the Mohicans.
Another is The Untouchables.
And I don’t know how they could have overlooked Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive.
Well, now I’m going to have to watch The Searchers next time they show it on satellite TV.
I kinda liked Anne of the Thousand Days, but then I have a soft spot for redheads. Though naturally I prefer them to remain attached to their bodies.
Cheeseball – The Searchers is one of my favorites, too, especially the fight scene between Wayne and Jeffery Hunter.
I read somewhere that the opening/closing doorway scene was a tribute to Harry Carey, Sr.
Natalie Wood played the older Debbie [Natalie was 18 when it was made]. The younger Debbie was played by her sister, Lana.
Faster Pussycat Kill Kill (1965).
Russ Meyers’ masterpiece, the greatest exploitation movie ever.
Alright, another top-5 list to compile. Here we go:
1. The Passion Of The Christ (3 minor nods and that’s it; a travesty)
2. The Searchers (right on, again, Mr. Nolte)
3. Michael Collins (another moving biopic that Oscar snubbed)
4. The Offence (should’ve got Best Actor & Best Supporting Actor nods also)
5. Death Wish (should’ve got a Best Actor nod, too)
Rear Window
North By Northwest
Vertigo
Alien
Das Boot
Bladerunner
The Manchurian Candidate
The Big Sleep
Scarface (Pacino)
Groundhog Day
Toy Story
The Terminator
The African Queen
Rosemary’s Baby
A Christmas Story -It *was* nominated for a Genie! (Canada’s Oscars)
I don’t think Sergio Leone ever got an Oscar. If he hadn’t had that heart attack, he might have lived long enough to get one of those “lifetime-achievement” Oscars — a/k/a the Sorry-We-Ignored-You-Back-When-You-Were-Earning-This Award.
Wild Bunch? Meh…probably a little too hyperviolent for the 1969 Academy’s taste.
Amelie
Seven Samurai
Ran
City of God
Rushmore
Sweet Hereafter (EASILY the best film of the 1990’s)
Memento
Miller’s Crossing
As a publicist, I lost all interest in winners for acting and picture when Cher won for the WORST ITALIAN ACCENT EVER!!!!! for Moonstruck–but she had the right PR campaign.
Whoever has the best publicity push wins; if you are an actor, direct (Beatty, Redford, Costner), if you are a glam gal, forget the make-up (Cher really won for the lesbian role in Silkwood, not for Moonstruck).
Kate Winslet will win, because after all, Leo said she is due—and to the crowd in LA LA land, it’s all about entitlement—no wonderthey are libs.
One of my favorite films, William Friedkin’s “To Live and Die in LA” has one of the most impressive chase scenes ever filmed, the majority of the chase is silent but for the breathing and heartbeats of the characters involved, the scene is brilliantly filmed, and should have at least garnered a nomination for that scene alone, not best picture obviously, but some sore of nomination.
1) Getting Even with Dad (1994)
2) Jungle 2 Jungle (1997)
3) You’ve Got Mail (1998)
4) Pearl Harbor (2001)
5) The First Wives Club (1996)
If anyone disagrees with this list, you are wrong.
I disagree with your assessment of “Sunrise”. Having suffered through it not long ago on TCM, it struck me as a tedious, weird and very dated movie. As a cinematic achievement, Buster Keaton’s “The General”, which came out the same year, is a far superior film. You are right about “Sweet Smell of Success” though, brilliantly directed by Alexander MacKendrick, and a great performance by Burt Lancaster as well.
No one ever mentions my favorite Western of all time, Hombre, with Paul Newman. It is truly THE metaphor for the epic struggle of the 20th and (so far) the 21st Century. Think Paul as Goldwater/Reagan and Diane Cilento “Jesse” as Carter/Obama, Richard Boone as Saddam, Fredic March as …. Well you get the picture!
It could be the struggle of the masculine/feminine. The possiblities are endless!
Isn’t the whole point of the award to recognize the film/actor/director/whatever as the pinnacle of achievement for the year, and not just who made the most money? Quite a few of the films that have been nominated (and won) in the past have been just dogs, just like this year.
On the “never nominated list” I’d have to put he following in as my top 5 (in no particular order):
The Day the Earth Stood Still – Who can forget “Klaatu Barata Nikto”
Animal House – If not for the music, then for Best Supporting Comedy Actor for John Belushi
This is Spinal Tap – It set the bar for both Rockumentaries and Mockumentaries.
Reservoir Dogs – Literally a killer flick –
The Shining – Jack Nicholson is great at playing insane characters
“Marlin – January 22nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
1) Getting Even with Dad (1994)
2) Jungle 2 Jungle (1997)
3) You’ve Got Mail (1998)
4) Pearl Harbor (2001)
5) The First Wives Club (1996)
If anyone disagrees with this list, you are wrong.”
Hello, Marlin, my name is Morgan, and I am wrong. I think none of these films would qualify for a top-5 list of films not nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. In fact, I think you are WAY OFF in the list you compiled. Nice talking with you, and oh yeah, I’m wrong, by the way.
Hey Marlin,
Pearl Harbor? Are you kidding? One man fights in (a) The Battle of Britain, (b) The attack on Pearl Harbor, and (c) The Doolittle Raid on Tokyo? I’ve seen a lot of war movies take liberties with history to move the narrative along, i.e. The Green Berets, but c’mon Pearl Harbor was just silly.
You may be right, Dom, but you have to admit Tim Allen and Mowgli from “The Jungle Book” were both deeply moving in “Jungle 2 Jungle.”
Marlin,
Hmm? Pearl Harbor and The First Wives Club? I do believe you’re having us on.
Marlin is on to something. Where is Ed Wood’s lifetime achievement award?
Academy voters are getting dimmer and dimmer. Dark Knight definitely deserved the nomination. Wall-E deserved one too, and in fact probably deserved it more. It’s hard to know what they’re thinking or watching.
But no, the Dark Knight snub was not about G.W. Bush. It’s first and foremost a genre bias. Ditto for Wall-E.
Marlin,
While I agree with your choices, I would switch out “Getting Even with Dad” for “Big Momma’s House” (2000).
I am to this day still amazed that the lead role was actually played by Martin Lawrence. I really thought that was a large black woman.
And who does cerebral comedy better than Martin Lawrence? Nobody.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Nominated for costume design and nothing else. Edmund O’Brien was robbed.
And lets not forget Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man for best picture and Brian Bosworth for best actor for Stone Cold.
Johnf,
Didn’t Bosworth already have an Oscar from his performance in “Trying to Tackle Bo Jackson on Monday Night”
Vertigo
Blade Runner
2001: A Space Odyssey
McCabe and Mrs. Miller
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Well, philistine that I am, I think the best acting performance I have seen in the last ten years was Robert Downey Jr.’s Kirk Lazarus / Lincoln Osiris in “Tropic Thunder”. (It garnered a Supporting Actor nomination this year.)
I know this is “Big Hollywood” and all, but I haven’t watched the Oscars in years. I don’t know anyone who does, or who cares about the outcome. But I still like movies.
BBB
Ezra – January 22nd, 2009 at 6:49 pm
When Shakespeare in Love beat Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture, I stopped caring what the Academy had to say.
It’s simple:
“Shakespeare in Love” – gratuitous shot of Gwen’s apples (yes, I did go there)
“Saving Private Ryan” – war (eww, bloody!) and Vin Diesel
Checkmate.
[...] Random Feed wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptby John Nolte Only in a political vacuum would anyone be surprised “The Dark Knight” was all but snubbed by Academy voters this morning. The defense will be that it’s a comic book movie, as though “Frost/Nixon” isn’t.What happened to all the “modern day masterpiece” talk? This, perhaps?If you look at today’s Best Picture nominees and ask yourself which one of these nominees people will still be watching a few years from now, the best possible answer is, “Lemme thin [...]
Gran Torino was superb, and should have received multiple nominations.
I always thought both Fred Ward and Joel Grey deserved nods for Remo Williams the Adventure Begins….and Tommy Lee Jones was better in Nate & Hayes than he was in The Fugitive–but he was good in that, too.
And the Rock was overlooked for Get Smart? There is no justice!
P.S. what a fun thread…more entertaining than this year’s nominees.
1. The Big Sleep – Bogey, Bacall and a great film noir.
2. His Girl Friday – Hawks proves he can do a lot of genres and this comedy is perfect. Ros and Cary make a great couple.
3. Gilda – Rita Hayworth flipping her hair back is enough for an Oscar all by itself. Hubba Hubba!!!!
4. Play It Again Sam – The best Woody Allen movie that he never directed. Of course he wrote and starred in it but Ross did a better job than Allen could have done.
5. Miller’s Crossing – The best non-Italian mobster movie.
My top 5:
Lawrence of Arabia,
Treasure of Sierra Madre,
It Happened one Night,
Jackie Brown,
The Pawnbroker(Made for TV).
Great site, thanks Andrew.
ps. there are no actresses anymore, just actors, damn language fascists.
Oops, should have been a list of completely overlooked films, silly me.
How about:
Double Indemnity,
High Noon,
Taxi Driver,
Scarface(1932),
and Psycho.
The Right Stuff. I was in a bar the night the awards were announced that year. A man walked in and slapped his card on the bar and said “Drinks for everyone if the Right Stuff wins!”
“Terms of Endearment” won. Blech. We all bought him drinks, instead, and had a merry time making fun of that piece of schlock.
You forgot Raging Bull. An amazing film. Ordinary People won that year. Uh huh.
I’m starting a petition to have Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man given its rightful Oscar. The movie was a touching ode to the 80s, early 90s and the hearts of all men and women, which beat at one on the Mother we call Earth. It speaks to thousand generations and brings hope to the downtrodden. It brought enjoyment to milloins. There has never been a more beautiful montage shot than the opening, all set to “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi, a shot of motorcycle spokes, then Mickey Rourke leaving some topless big-hair chick in bed wearing nothing but the sheets. Citizen Kane my ass. Roman Polanski would give up stalking junior high schools to have directed Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man.
Ashton Kutcher can pledge to Obama, I pledge to Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson.
1. The Dark Knight
2. Memento
3. Miller’s Crossing
4. Double Indemnity
5. Aliens
Going back to the best picture nominations from ten years ago, does anyone still watch Life Is Beautiful or The Thin Red Line?
The Thin Red Line is brilliant.
[...] http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/01/22/top-5-not-nominated-for-best-picture/ [...]
Burton's Batman has NOT held up particularly well over time. Burton's cartoony style doesn't help it at all. The Coen Brothers used to be that cartoony, and clearly learned that to thrive their art was going to have to evolve.
Regarding “Sunrise,” it wasn’t really snubbed by the Academy. In Oscar’s first year, there was no Oscar for Best Picture. Rather, there was an award for “Best Production,” won by “Wings,” and “Unique and Artistic Picture,” which went to “Sunrise.” When the “Outstanding Picture” (now called “Best Picture”) award was created a couple years later, it was decided by the Academy to retroactively determine that “Wings” was the “Outstanding Picture” winner of 1927-28, a determination still debated by Oscar historians. We don’t know which picture really won have won had there been a “Best Picture” category in the first year.
how could gran torino not be mentioned? damn shame that movie is not nominated.
I quit on the Oscars when Peter O’Toole lost to Gregory Peck. Then, just to remind me what a political farce it is, Whoopi Goldberg got a statue. Susan Sarandon For “Dead Man Walking” over Elizabeth Shue for “Leaning Las Vegas!” “Shakespeare in Love” over “Saving Private Ryan?” Julia Roberts in “Brockivich, or anything) over Juliette Binoche in “Chocolat?”
The Oscars have nothing to do with honoring talent or peformance and everything to do with politics, political correctness and popularity.
Meh!
You all have missed one of the best movies and best performances evah. Bubba-Ho-Tep with Bruce Campbell as Elvis Presley and Ossie Davis as JFK.
It’s gold. I watched in order to sneer and that lasted about a second. What a great movie! Ten thumbs up.
1. Glory
2. Open Range
3. 300
Remember when great films like Braveheart and Forrest Gump used to win? Those were the days. Dark Knight and Gran Torino should have been on the list. The complete snubbing of Gran Torino is pretty mind boggling since I can’t see any political reason to explain it.
GREAT to see you writing about more than the daily movie–interesting as that is. I miss you on your former blog. We NEED commentary like yours on this website!
Matt Thompson, PLEASE!
The 1989 version of Batman and it’s sequels never took the idea seriously. Director Tim burton and his Star Mr. Keaton just expanded on the idea that this was a “cartoon” with an “Edge”. With the two most recent Batman films, the franchise is more human. Bruce Wayne / The Batman confronts the problem with trying to do good in a place that accepts corruption as a way of life. In other words, Trying to “Do The Right Thing”. There is a price to pay when you do. Mr. Bale’s Batman tries. Mr. Keaton’s Batman didn’t.
“The complete snubbing of Gran Torino is pretty mind boggling since I can’t see any political reason to explain it.”
Political Correctness is a stern unyielding mistress.
“1) Getting Even with Dad (1994)
2) Jungle 2 Jungle (1997)
3) You’ve Got Mail (1998)
4) Pearl Harbor (2001)
5) The First Wives Club (1996)”
This is the Oscar thread, not the Razzies.
[...] outlines his thoughts of Oscar’s outrageous behavior, and John Nolte offers up his picks of the top five films overlooked by Oscar’s 81 year [...]
[...] Big Hollywood » Blog Archive » Top 5: Not Nominated For Best Picture [...]
"Were it not for the height of the MGM musical in the late forties and early fifties, you’d now be reading an argument that film as an art form peaked with “Sunrise.”"
Good Lord. Are you suggesting that musicals in the fifties (or ANY musical at all, for that matter) were the peak of Hollywood?!?!?
And let me add this—> !?!?!?!?!?!
Supercool, ditto’s on the greatness of The Philadelphia Story, however it *was* nominated for a best picture.
HOW COULD I FORGET…HOW DID ALL OF US FORGET
******
The Lives of Others – See it! ANYONE and EVERYONE on this thread should see this movie. The lefties in Hollywood gave it an Oscar for Foreign Film because they thought it was a parable of Bush’s wiretapping/Patriot act totalitarianism. Don’t buy it. It’s the finest indictment of the East German Stasi ever put on celluloid. See it! See it! See it! See it! See it! See it! See it! Don’t believe me? None o
‘BTW, if anyone is still interested (how could you not?), I’m updating my list.
Rear Window
North By Northwest
Vertigo
Alien
Das Boot
Bladerunner
The Manchurian Candidate
The Big Sleep
Scarface (Pacino)
Groundhog Day
Toy Story
The Terminator
The African Queen
Rosemary’s Baby
A Christmas Story -It *was* nominated for a Genie! (Canada’s Oscars)
NEW!!!!!
Notorius – (Hitchcock)
Miller’s Crossing
The Apostle
Key Largo
The Outlaw Josy Wales
Pale Rider
Tora! Tora! Tora!
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
EVERYONE ON THIS THREAD NEEDS TO SEE IT. In the words of WFB while sitting in the theatre at the end of the movie : “I think that is the best movie I ever saw.”
“I know it’s heresy to criticize “The Dark Knight” here, but other than Ledger’s performance, it was not a very good film. Throwing in “Two Face” at the end to set up the sequel was a cheap trick. There were other writing flubs. I realize Christian Bale has a huge fan club here, but I’ve never seen him in a film when he didn’t disappear into the scenery. “The Prestige”? Jackman and Caine acted rings around him. “Dark Knight”? Same for Eckhardt, Ledger and Oldman. The first Bale “Batman” film? Liam Neeson stole the picture right out from under him.”
growltiger, it isn’t heresy to criticize The Dark Knight (Mr. Nolte mentioned what he thought were the film’s flaws in Dirty Harry’s Place), but your criticism of Christian Bale warrants a response, as you in my opinion underrate his abilities as an actor.
Having seen all three of the films you mentioned, none of the actors you named (Michael Caine, Hugh Jackman, Heath Ledger, etc.) acted rings around him. He held his ground with all of them, and they all delivered in their roles. Liam Neeson was memorable in Batman Begins, but he didn’t steal the film from Bale.
As for disappearing into the scenery, I never got that impression when seeing Bale in these films; never as Batman and never as Borden. I believe Bale is a versatile actor with more talent than you’ve given him credit for. Naturally, of course, it’s my opinion and you can disregard it entirely.
Just in case this thread is still going:
1. The Lives of Others is a great film. But it did win the Oscar for best foreign film.
2. In terms of Oscar snubs, earlier I forgot to mention Breach.
3. I just saw Last Chance Harvey. It is a highly entertaining film: well-acted, well-written, well-acted. Probably not Oacar material, except that it’s probably better than several of the films nominated this year and last.
Kit Okray aka Ohio Wolverine Mom YOu said, “I always thought both Fred Ward and Joel Grey deserved nods for Remo Williams the Adventure Begins”
Wow, someone else who remembers this neat little flick. It was nominated for Best Makeup, but lost to “Mask” which I always thought was a travesty. Mask was, when all was said and done, just monster makeup while Joel Grey actually looked like an anceint Korean man. Amazing! Those two were great in their scenes together, but Ward (a personal favorite of mine) was a little flat interacting with others, especially Kate Mulgrew.
I see only one mention of the film Glory, with Matthew Broaderick, Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman.
That film should have won; not only did it not win, it wasn’t even nominated. Driving Miss Daisy won.
Also Amistad should also have at least been nominated for Best Picture and was not (though it could have been the Academy was scared off by a lawsuit underway after the film’s release claiming copyright infringement)
Several people have mentioned Blade Runner, which, if it came out today, would be a shoo in for a nomination, but it was made in the early 1980’s when suggesting that a Science Fiction film receive consideration was tantamount to letting out a really, really loud and long fart in polite company.
Rob Roy was also a film that did not get any recognition. It was just as good as Braveheart, which won that same year.
Miller’s Crossing, I also felt was at least deserving of a nomination.
I think the Academy at least TRIED to make it up to Kurosawa for snubbing The Seven Samurai and Ran by nominating some of his later pictures, but it will forever remain a stain on the repute of that board that two of the best films ever made didn’t garner a nomination.
For the poster above who mentioned The Thin Red Line and Life Is Beautiful; it’s hard to make a nomination based on ‘Which of these films do I think people will still be watching 20 years from now?’.
If they just used commercial success as a barometer for nominations then Wall-E is the winner. Or Kung Fu Panda.
Hollywood has long admitted it will use the Oscar nominations to call attention to what it considers to be good films that are being ‘overlooked’ by audiences.
Which is a fancy way of saying “OK you’ve all been lining up to see Kung Fu Panda and Wall-E and 300, yes yes, we know you like that stuff but hey, look over here! We’ve got a bunch of politically themed PC movies you’ve been ignoring at the box office, so we’d like you to go see them because we say they are really really good – Lions For Lambs, Frost/Nixon, etc etc.”
Once you accept the fact the nominations aren’t being handed out to champion SIMPLY great movie-making, but also to help MARKET and ADVERTISE films that need a boost with the public, alot of the nominations start to make better sense.
“Well I had no interest in seeing this politically themed film, but now that’s it’s nominated for an Oscar, I guess I’d better check it out.”
Of course, this worked much better in the 1970’s and 1980’s before the public figured out what the Academy was doing. Now the Academy has to be open and above board about what they are doing, but I still remember back in the early 1980’s when my friends would all be going, “Well we skipped this movie at the theaters so far; why the heck did it get an Oscar nomination? We’d better go check it out before it’s gone!”
Sad to say, the movies that are ‘overlooked’ for these Best Picture nominations are often passed over because:
1. They came out in a year in which there were many, many good films worthy of a nomination and
2. The Academy decided to use their nominations to boost pictures that were struggling at the box office rather than simply calling more attention to great films that were already performing smashingly well.
oh no !! i like chrihanna soo much !!
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