Biggest Oscar Snubs Of All Time

By ETCanada.com Staff and Rachel West. 21 Feb 2019 2:35 PM

The Academy has a long, proud history of not nominating Oscar-worthy films and performances. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest Oscar snubs of all time.

ABMO Films

Columbia Pictures

Warner Bros.

RKO Radio Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Warner Bros.

Columbia Pictures

MGM

Peter Lorre, 'M'/'Casablanca'/'The Maltese Falcon'

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Ethan Hawke, ‘First Reformed’
ABMO Films
Ethan Hawke gave a career-best performance as a preacher grappling with growing despair at the state of the world in 2018’s “First Reformed”. Despite scooping up acclaim from critics who showered Hawke with awards, he came up short with the Academy. Only director and screenwriter Paul Schrader earned a nod for Best Screenplay.
Martin Scorsese, ‘Taxi Driver’
Columbia Pictures
“Taxi Driver” earned four Oscar nominations at the 1977 ceremony, but not one for its director Martin Scorsese, who, with eight total noms to his name, wouldn’t take home the Best Director trophy for another 27 years when he eventually won for “The Departed”.
Michael Fassbender, 'Shame'

The age of the average Academy voter is 62, so perhaps it's not all that surprising that Fassbender's galvanizing performance in this explicit, NC-17 rated film didn't get nominated. For people who grew up in the Eisenhower-era, this sort of movie is just too far from "Leave It To Beaver" for comfort.
Ben Affleck, ‘Argo’
Warner Bros.
Apparently, Best Picture winner “Argo” directed itself because Ben Affleck failed to get a nomination for Best Director in 2013.
Bette Davis, ‘Of Human Bondage’
RKO Radio Pictures
Even before Twitter, public backlash had the Academy backtracking on its decisions. When Bette Davis failed to earn a Best Actress nomination in 1935 for “Of Human Bondage”, there was such a public outcry, the Academy relented and allowed her name to be added after a special write-in campaign.
Donald Sutherland, ‘Don’t Look Now’
Paramount Pictures
It’s hard to believe that stalwart Canadian actor Donald Sutherland has 191 acting credits and zero Oscar nominations to his name. While you can count on the actor to deliver a compelling performance in just about anything, getting overlooked for his role as a grieving father in the thriller “Don’t Look Now” is downright criminal.
John Wayne, ‘The Seachers’
Warner Bros.
It’s widely considered one of John Wayne’s best roles, but The Duke didn’t earn any recognition from the Academy for his Western “The Searchers”.
‘Before Sunrise’
Columbia Pictures
The first of Richard Linklater’s trilogy introduced us to Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) was overlooked by the Academy. But the two follow-ups “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight”, co-written by the director and the film’s stars, were nominated for Oscars.
‘The Shop Around The Corner’
MGM
James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan star as two co-workers who can’t stand each other, only to fall in love with each other as anonymous pen pals in one of the most-beloved romantic comedies of all-time (and later remade as “You’ve Got Mail”). Too bad the Academy didn’t fall in love with it.
'2001: A Space Odyssey'

You'd think that in 1969, the year of the moon landing, the Academy would've been in the mood to give the best picture award to Stanley Kubrick's bold and visionary "2001: A Space Odyssey". But you'd be wrong. "2001" wasn't even nominated. Instead, the Academy nominated "Oliver!", a movie which would have seemed dated had it been released in the 1940s.
'Boogie Nights'

Critics regard P.T. Anderson's sophomore feature as one of the key films of the 1990s. The Academy, however, decided that "Full Monty", "Good Will Hunting", and "As Good As It Gets" were worthier best picture contenders.
Jim Carrey, 'Man On the Moon'

Jim Carrey won his second Golden Globe award for his dead-on impression of Andy Kaufman. Academy voters weren't quite as impressed.
'Do The Right Thing'

By all accounts, 1989 was one of the most important years in the history of independent film - "Do The Right Thing", "Sex, lies, and videotape", and "Mystery Train" all hit theatres within months of each other. None were nominated for the Best Picture award, which ended up going to "Driving Miss Daisy".
Kirsten Dunst, 'Melancholia'

Even after director Lars von Trier made a string of ill-advised Nazi jokes at a Cannes press conference which resulted in him being banned from the festival for life, the Cannes jury still decided to give his film the best actress award. Kirsten Dunst's performance was that good. The Academy, in contrast, didn't give Dunst any awards or nominations.
'The Dark Knight'

In response to the overwhelming backlash generated by the lack of a Best Picture and Best Director nominations for "The Dark Knight", the Academy decided to expand the best picture category to include eight to 10 nominees.
'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'

In another critics poll, "Eternal Sunshine" was voted the best film of the 2000s. And while it did receive an Oscar for best original screenplay, the Academy apparently forgot to nominate it for best picture. (The winner that year? "Crash".)
'Vertigo'

In a Sight and Sound critics poll, Hitchcock's masterpiece was voted the best film ever made. At the time of its release, however, the Academy decided that "Gigi", "Auntie Mame", and "Separate Tables" were better films. Hitch never did take home an Oscar for Best Director, either.
'Rosemary's Baby'

Even before the 1977 child rape scandal, Roman Polanski had a hard time getting in the Academy's good graces. Polanski would eventually take home the Best Director honour for 2002's "The Pianist". Unable to set foot in the U.S. as a fugitive for fleeing the country in 1978, Harrison Ford accepted the award on his behalf.
Peter Lorre, 'M'/'Casablanca'/'The Maltese Falcon'
'The Wild Bunch'

No list of the greatest Westerns of all time is complete without Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece. But the list of 1969 best picture nominees is complete without it. The Academy decided to nominate "Hello, Dolly!" and "Anne of the Thousand Days" instead.
'The Shining'

Today, it seems inconceivable that anyone could possibly consider "The Coal Miner's Daughter" to be a better film than "The Shining". And yet this seems to have been the opinion of the Academy in 1980.
Christian Bale, 'American Psycho'

Even before "The Fighter", Bale was regarded as one of the best actors alive. And yet it wasn't until "The Fighter" in 2011 that Bale received his first Oscar nomination. Since then, he's added another three acting noms for "American hustle", "The Big Short" and "Vice".
Lauren Bacall, 'To Have and Have Not'

"You know how to whistle don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow." Perhaps the Academy was too busy practising their whistling to nominate Bacall.

Biggest Oscar Snubs Of All Time

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