# Best movie to not win an Oscar in any category? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231 "2018-10-19T23:32:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/41 "2018-10-30T17:52:57Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > “Manchester by the Sea” received two awards, and I wasn’t moved by that movie at all. In fact, I consider Casey Affleck to be a very ordinary actor, and I was mystified by his Best Actor award. And on the other hand, I think Manchester by The Sea was quite obviously the Best Picture that year. It affected me quite deeply and I would have been appalled if anyone other than Casey Affleck won the Best Actor that year. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/42 "2018-10-31T16:23:12Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > [Jacob’s Ladder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob%27s_Ladder_(1990_film)) - 0 nominations, 0 wins Good call! j ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/43 "2018-10-31T16:35:57Z")
Predator merely got a nomination for best visual effects and lost to Innerspace. McTiernan’s next movie, Die hard, got nominated for 4 Oscars but won nothing. More generally, McTiernan’s first movie was small budget Nomads then the next movies he made were Predator, Die Hard and The Hunt for the Red October in a fucking row and only won best sound editing for Red October. Jacob’s Ladder deserved something too but it’s the opposite of Oscar bait. ETA: I see I’m not alone. Check out this scene and tell me it’s not effective as horror: [Scariest Jacob's Ladder Deleted Scene (1990) HD Movie - YouTube](https://youtu.be/8hkLhMuzk3E) Too bad they deleted it for being too horrific _in a horror movie_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/44 "2018-10-31T18:17:11Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Movies that deserved something, maybe even Best Picture: > > King Kong > > The Martian > > Psycho > > Shawshank Redemption Goldner and Turner, authors of the 1976 book _The Making of King Kong_ (Goldner was one of the effects crew on the 1933 movie) titled one of their chapters “Remember _cavalcade_?” Most people don’t, of course – Cavalcade won the Best Picture Oscar for that year. It was based on a Noel Coward work and the second most popular film that year (and King Kong wasn’t even in the running) > **[Cavalcade (1933 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalcade_(1933_film))** > > Cavalcade is a 1933 American epic pre-Code drama film directed by Frank Lloyd. The screenplay by Reginald Berkeley and Sonya Levien is based on the 1931 play of the same title by Noël Coward. The film stars Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook. > The story presents a view of English life during the first third of the 20th century from New Year's Eve 1899 to New Year's Day 1933, from the point of view of well-to-do London residents Jane and Robert Marryot, their children, their close friends, and their... Nevertheless, the King has stood the test of time, had innumerable re-releases, and arguably saved the studio from bankruptcy. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/45 "2018-10-31T20:35:00Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > In terms of Best Picture nominations and overall career, probably yes. But there are plenty of contenders. Here’s [a list](https://www.indiewire.com/2014/02/20-celebrated-filmmakers-who-never-won-a-best-directing-oscar-88655/) of twenty directors who never won Best Director, including Chaplin, Welles, Fellini, Kurosawa, Kubrick, Altman, Lang, and Bergman. Take your pick. Sometimes directors have received an award in part as compensation for not having won for better pictures, like Scorcese for _The Departed_. A better example is Spielberg being given the Irving Thalberg award recognizing achievements in movie production in **1986**. Spielbergs _production_ credits at that time included such gems of the cinema such as: The Goonies Young Sherlock Holmes Gremlins Twilight Zone: the Movie (a production which killed a few people, recall) Continental Divide Used Cars I Wanna Hold Your Hand The best non-Spielberg directed film of all his pre-1986 productions was likely Back to the Future, a fine film but not one worthy turning the above list into Oscar gold. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/46 "2018-11-01T13:26:09Z")
The 1979 movie Time After Time about H.G. Wells chasing Jack the Ripper in modern day San Francisco was brilliant and should have been Oscar nominated. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/47 "2018-11-01T14:10:12Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > A better example is Spielberg being given the Irving Thalberg award recognizing achievements in movie production in **1986**. Spielbergs _production_ credits at that time included such gems of the cinema such as: > > The Goonies > Young Sherlock Holmes > Gremlins > Twilight Zone: the Movie (a production which killed a few people, recall) > Continental Divide > Used Cars > I Wanna Hold Your Hand > > The best non-Spielberg directed film of all his pre-1986 productions was likely Back to the Future, a fine film but not one worthy turning the above list into Oscar gold. Oi - are you dissing The Goonies and Gremlins? > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The 1979 movie Time After Time about H.G. Wells chasing Jack the Ripper in modern day San Francisco was brilliant and should have been Oscar nominated. It was a decent film, even a good one, but “brilliant” may be overselling it. I do like a bit of David Warner villainy though. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/48 "2018-11-01T18:47:38Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I kind of think it was the victim of the year it was released, having to contend with _American Beauty, The Insider, Cider House Rules, The Green Mile, The Hurricane, Being John Malkovich, Boys Don’t Cry and The Sixth Sense_ for Academy Awards. > > [72nd Academy Awards - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/72nd_Academy_Awards) And The Winner Was… _American Beauty_, a film with no staying power and zero lasting impact on cinema or the culture! In terms of historical impact, it’s between _The Matrix_ and, maybe, _The Sixth Sense_, neither of which were particularly “deep” films but both of which had a huge influence on later work. In terms of engaging with important cultural issues of the time, _The Cider House Rules_ and _Boys Don’t Cry_ both have it all over the maudlin idiocy of _American Beauty_, and that’s just looking at the films which won other awards. 1999 was a ridiculously rich year in cinema. And a ridiculously bad year for the Academy getting its head out of its ass. (Also: Best Actor Kevin Spacey won’t come back to haunt them not one tiny little bit.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/49 "2018-11-01T19:05:34Z")
> [@Disheavel](#): > > Interestingly, the Seven Samurai made a recent [list of best foreign films](http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20181029-the-100-greatest-foreign-language-films). But without derailing the conversation too much, I am curious if anyone knows the basis for the seeming lack of love for the movie in Japan that is cited !?! At the time, the Academy had no category for best foreign film; the category didn’t exist until the next year. It did pretty well in Japan on first release – #3 on the box office list of the year. But the running time is over three hours, which probably means that few of the younger generation have seen it. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/50 "2018-11-02T10:47:51Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > …“Manchester by the Sea” received two awards, and I wasn’t moved by that movie at all. In fact, I consider Casey Affleck to be a very ordinary actor, and I was mystified by his Best Actor award. … Same here. I barely finished the film, and I thought Affleck’s performance was really one-note. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/51 "2018-11-02T10:50:41Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > And The Winner Was… _American Beauty_, a film with no staying power and zero lasting impact on cinema or the culture! > > In terms of historical impact, it’s between _The Matrix_ and, maybe, _The Sixth Sense_, neither of which were particularly “deep” films but both of which had a huge influence on later work. In terms of engaging with important cultural issues of the time, _The Cider House Rules_ and _Boys Don’t Cry_ both have it all over the maudlin idiocy of _American Beauty_, and that’s just looking at the films which won other awards. > > 1999 was a ridiculously rich year in cinema. And a ridiculously bad year for the Academy getting its head out of its ass. > > (Also: Best Actor Kevin Spacey won’t come back to haunt them not one tiny little bit.) Eh. Despite his extramural activities Spacey is a talented actor and _American Beauty_ had several visually notable moments. And Hollywood does love pretending that trivial sentimentality is really profound wisdom, which is the whole freaking theme of the film (and as films with this theme go, AB was one of the better ones). I don’t find the film deeply moving but it’s not without merit either. But I’ve long since given up any assumption that the Academy Awards are driven by any reasonable qualitative criteria. In a world where image is everything, the story they tell by the awards they give is more important than actually giving awards to the best pictures and actors for the year. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/52 "2018-11-05T19:04:47Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4TLppsfzQH8/maxresdefault.jpg "Limitless (2011) Official Trailer #1 - Bradley Cooper Movie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TLppsfzQH8) _Limitless_ was an engrossing 2011 technothriller. I was surprised that it wasn’t even nominated for anything - yeesh. Nothing! In my personal alternative reality, Bradley Cooper would have won Best Actor (playing, in one movie, a schlub of a writer, a Wall Street hotshot, a junkie in withdrawal and a rising politician), Robert De Niro would snag Best Supporting Actor, and the movie would’ve won Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Special Effects and Best Score. Er, yes, I like the movie a lot. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/53 "2018-11-05T19:39:21Z")
Every decade since 1952, film magazine Sight & Sound has had the longest running international poll of The Greatest Films of All Time. Remember when **Citizen Kane** had the reputation of being the “best” for many decades? That was largely because of the S&S poll. So for the latest version (surveyed and compiled in 2012), here’s the breakdown of the Top 50 films listed and their Oscar histories. American films on the list that are also Oscar winners: **Apocalypse Now, Citizen Kane, The Godfather (I & II), Some Like It Hot, Sunrise, 2001: A Space Odyssey** Foreign-language films on the list that are also Oscar winners: **The Bicycle Thief, La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, Rashomon** American films on the list that were nominated for Oscars but lost: **Mulholland Dr., Psycho, Singin’ in the Rain, Taxi Driver, Vertigo** Foreign-language films on the list that were nominated for Oscars but lost: **The Battle of Algiers, The 400 Blows, The Seven Samurai, Ugetsu** American films on the list nominated for zero Oscars: **City Lights, The General, The Searchers** Foreign-Language films on the list nominated for zero Oscars: **Andrei Rublev, L’Atalante, Au Hasard Balthazar, L’Avventura, Breathless, Close-Up, Contempt, Gertrud, Historie(s) du Cinema, In the Mood for Love, Jeanne Dielman, La Jetee, Journey to Italy, Late Spring, Man with a Movie Camera, Metropolis, Mirror, Ordet, Passion of Joan of Arc, Pather Panchali, Persona, Pierrot le Fou, Play Time, The Rules of the Game, Satantango, Shoah, Stalker, Tokyo Story** ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/54 "2018-11-05T21:05:30Z")
To be fair, The General (1926) was released prior to the Academy Awards first official nominating year (1927). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/55 "2018-11-08T03:27:45Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > To be fair, The General (1926) was released prior to the Academy Awards first official nominating year (1927). The Academy had strange eligibility windows back then, but its first screening in the US wasn’t until early 1927, so I erred on the side of caution by including it (which is why I didn’t include **Potemkin** from 1925, which was also in the S&S top 50). ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/56 "2018-11-08T06:54:03Z")
any of the original star wars trilogy …. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/57 "2018-11-08T12:19:05Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > any of the original star wars trilogy …. The original won more Oscars than _any other film that year_: sure, Alec Guinness only wound up with a nomination for Best Supporting Actor; but nobody was going to deny that John Williams hit it out of the park with the _music,_ for the movie where actors in the best costumes hung out on sets with the best art design while the best special effects took center stage, and so on, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/58 "2018-11-08T13:19:14Z")
Mr. Deeds Goes To Town The Grapes of Wrath Mr. Smith Goes To Washington Citizen Kane The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Ace in the Hole Shane 12 Angry Men Elmer Gantry The Misfits Birdman of Alcatraz A Child is Waiting A Clockwork Orange The Last Detail Network The Elephant Man ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231/59 "2018-11-08T13:45:38Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > Mr. Deeds Goes To Town > The Grapes of Wrath > Mr. Smith Goes To Washington > Citizen Kane > The Treasure of the Sierra Madre > Ace in the Hole > Shane > 12 Angry Men > Elmer Gantry > The Misfits > Birdman of Alcatraz > A Child is Waiting > A Clockwork Orange > The Last Detail > Network > The Elephant Man What is the purpose of this list??? _Gantry_ won 3 Oscars. _Network_ won 4. _Deeds_ and _Smith_ both won one each. Etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-to-not-win-an-oscar-in-any-category/823231.md?page=2)