Ten Films Overlooked for Best Picture Oscar Nominations

Crash (2005), The Artist (2011), Green Book (2018), and the forgettable Marty (1955) are just a few examples of films that were granted filmmaking's highest accolade: The prestigious Oscar for Best Picture, despite their lack of lasting impact.

However, to be nominated is an achievement in itself. Unless, of course, you are deserving but aren't nominated. Then, it’s simply frustrating. Over the years, many exceptional films have been passed over by the often-criticized Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Here are ten such films, presented in chronological order.

10. City Lights (1931)

Although numerous masterpieces by Charlie Chaplin, like The Kid (1921) and The Gold Rush (1925), came before the first Academy Awards in 1929, his widely regarded magnum opus, City Lights, debuted two years into the Oscar era.

Written, starring, and directed by Charlie Chaplin, City Lights showcases two defining characteristics of many of his films. The first is its simplicity—a hallmark of silent films, where the absence of audible communication limits complexity. Like most of Chaplin’s work, City Lights tells a straightforward tale; in this case, Chaplin’s character falls in love with a blind woman, and while raising funds for her sight-restoring surgery, he worries she’ll reject him due to his unimpressive appearance.

What City Lights offers in return is Chaplin himself. He is undeniably one of the most endearing actors to ever appear on screen—essentially a silent, mustachioed anti-Ryan Reynolds. In an era when sound films were becoming more dominant, City Lights defied the inevitable rise of “talkies,” even poking fun at them in its opening scene. Its success is due entirely to the charm and skill of its diminutive lead.

In the end, however, the Academy overlooked it. By the time City Lights premiered in early 1931, the age of talkies had arrived, making this exceptional silent film an instant relic. That’s how a masterpiece from one of the greatest stars in cinema history was snubbed for a Best Picture nomination.

9. Touch of Evil (1958)

Regarded by many critics as the near-peak of film noir, Touch of Evil is based on the 1956 novel Badge of Evil. This unsettling thriller, which features murder, corruption, and deception, was written, directed, and starred by one of the genre’s masters: Orson Welles.

Or, at least, that was the case with its original cut. After filming wrapped and the movie entered post-production, Welles found himself at odds with the executives at Universal-International—a studio that had previously made questionable decisions, such as 1986’s Howard the Duck, 2010’s disastrous sequel Little Fockers, and 1996’s Ed, the heartwarming story of a chimpanzee playing minor league baseball.

Nevertheless, let’s assume that Welles had a better grasp on filmmaking than these corporate types. The disagreement led to Welles being kicked out of the post-production process. Universal then ordered several reshoots and reworked the film’s frantic editing into a more traditional style. Welles, of course, retaliated with a 58-page letter demanding that his original cut be released.

Thankfully, Welles’s original vision was eventually restored—but not until 1998. The result was a film that transformed from being merely great to becoming legendary. Roger Ebert included it in his exclusive Great Movies list. Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune hailed it as “close to the pinnacle of film noir” due to its “wizardly moving camera shots, nightmarish angles, and wonderfully over-the-top performances.”

It remains uncertain whether the Academy in 1958 would have embraced Welles’s true vision, which didn’t fully come to light until decades later.

8. Psycho (1960)

Here comes the inevitable Alfred Hitchcock entry. Many of his other works—1963’s The Birds being a notable example—could easily make the list. However, Psycho takes the top spot, mainly due to its profound impact on filmmaking and popular culture.

Psycho was groundbreaking in its approach to the “anti-whodunnit” genre. From the moment Marion Crane, a secretary turned embezzler, is murdered in the most iconic death scene in film history, the audience knows the killer is either the strange hotel owner Norman Bates or his mother. Either way, Bates is clearly the culprit. The shocking twist that Norman’s domineering mother has been dead for years—murdered by Norman himself—only adds to the chilling atmosphere of his madness.

Hitchcock’s decision to abandon any real mystery about the identity of the killer was deliberate. Psycho’s pacing, cinematography, and Anthony Perkins' disturbingly brilliant portrayal of Bates render the need to keep the audience guessing unnecessary. By revealing the truth early in what many consider the first true slasher film, Hitchcock heightens the tension surrounding Bates and his motel, something that would have been weakened by ambiguity.

Such is the mastery of Psycho that a 1998 remake was almost a direct, shot-for-shot reproduction of Hitchcock’s original. Why try to change a film often regarded as one of the greatest ever made?

As for the Academy, it didn’t completely overlook Psycho; the film garnered four nominations, including Best Director and Best Supporting Actress. However, its Best Picture snub can be attributed, in part, to its low-budget black-and-white production—a stark contrast to Hitchcock’s previous film, 1959’s North by Northwest.

7. The Shining (1980)

Many of the Best Picture Oscar snubs on this list were, at least, given some recognition by the Academy. Some received nods for editing, visual effects, or other categories. However, it’s surprising that one of the most iconic suspense thrillers in film history received a grand total of… (checks the internet)… no nominations.

To make matters worse, the 1980 film received two Razzies nominations: one for Worst Director—Stanley Kubrick, no less!—and another for Worst Actress for Shelley Duvall’s portrayal of the lead character, Wendy Torrance.

The Shining, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, performed well at the box office despite a deliberately restricted initial release (which coincided with the premiere of the next film on this list). Four decades later, its early reviews sound like a joke. “Kubrick has teamed up with jittery Jack Nicholson to ruin everything terrifying about Stephen King’s bestseller,” wrote Variety. Gene Siskel gave the film two out of four stars, calling it “a crushing disappointment.”

The wildly contradictory reactions to The Shining are so significant that its Wikipedia page includes a section labeled “Reappraisal.” The summary is clear: Kubrick’s perspective-shifting approach was simply ahead of its time, more intelligent than the audience—critics included—could appreciate. While initial reviews criticized Kubrick’s divergence from King’s novel, over time—and with the benefit of hindsight and Kubrick’s legendary directing career—the consensus shifted, and admiration for its manic genius grew. Johnny would definitely agree.

6. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

There are certain genres of film that have a much tougher time when it comes to earning the prestigious Best Picture nomination. Comedies, thrillers, and sci-fi films often find the road to the coveted nod much more difficult.

But the greatest science fiction film of all time? C’mon, folks.

OK, let’s say “arguably” the best sci-fi movie ever. Credible rankings often place The Empire Strikes Back in the top five. But even if films like Alien and Blade Runner edge it out, Empire stands as the best chapter in a franchise that had already become a cultural phenomenon by its release. It's only second to The Godfather Part II as the finest sequel in film history.

Forget everything that’s come after in the Star Wars saga. Forget the cheesy Ewoks, the annoying pod-racing pre-teen Anakin, and the ridiculous backstory of Darth Vader. And for the love of the Force, please erase Episodes VII-IX from your memory—they were nothing but disjointed, confusing, and all-around disappointing.

Consider The Empire Strikes Back on its own merits. A film that expanded upon the innovative special effects and captivating, space-western storyline of its predecessor so brilliantly that even a two-foot-tall puppet captivated audiences. The neglect of Empire stems from plain genre bias.

In 1980, five films earned Best Picture nominations. Two—Ordinary People and Raging Bull—stood out as exceptional. The others were Elephant Man, Tess, and Coal Miner’s Daughter. One can hardly argue that Empire—or even The Shining—was less deserving than any of the other three.

5. Do the Right Thing (1989)

Long before the #OscarsSoWhite movement, there was a clear pattern of films with minority casts and crews often getting overlooked. One of the most significant overlooked works in this regard was Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing.

Lee’s second feature film introduced the world to both Martin Lawrence and Rosie Perez, cementing his position as a leading voice in American culture. Ironically, the film's sole acting Oscar nomination went to Danny Aiello, who was white.

Do the Right Thing examines the racial struggles between Brooklyn’s Black and Italian-American populations in the predominantly Black neighborhood of Bensonhurst. In this space, reality intertwines with symbolism as Lee highlights the clash between a long-established, dark-skinned minority and a lighter-skinned group of newcomers benefiting from the advantages of perceived Whiteness.

Do the Right Thing showcases Lee’s brilliance in microcosmic filmmaking. The Italian pizzeria owner’s refusal to leave a neighborhood increasingly populated by Black residents reflects the broader reluctance of White individuals to relinquish control. The film’s portrayal of police bias and violence against Black people strengthens this theme.

Despite the praise from the era’s top movie critics—Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert—who declared Do the Right Thing as the best film of 1989, the Academy chose to nominate far inferior (and more White-centered) films like Field of Dreams and Dead Poets Society.

4. Defending Your Life (1991)

Here’s a real underdog. It might seem sacrilegious to argue that a romantic comedy should have received a nomination for the most prestigious filmmaking award. But, exceptions do exist in the entertainment industry. After all, Sandra Bullock won a Best Actress Oscar.

Released in 1991, Defending Your Life was the brainchild of a man by the name of Albert Einstein—well, at least that's what he was originally called. Since that name was already in use, he opted for the name Albert Brooks. Alongside the ever-talented Meryl Streep, the film begins in modern-day Los Angeles before quickly taking a spiritual turn, heading north—or, more accurately, upward.

Brooks’s character meets an untimely end when he's hit by a bus. His soul then finds its way to Judgment City, where a panel assesses his life—specifically, how well he handled fear—to decide whether he earns the right to 'move on' or is sent back to Earth for a fresh life, his memories erased.

While Streep's character, Julia, is almost certain to move on, Brooks’s character, Daniel, faces a much more uncertain future. The two form an immediate connection and fall in love, sharing witty exchanges and exploring places like the Past Lives Pavilion in their otherworldly limbo. Rip Torn plays Daniel’s defender, delivering a performance that's both commanding and sharp, echoing his role in The Larry Sanders Show.

Defending Your Life stands out for its expert execution. It’s a romance without sentimentality, with high-stakes consequences that remain unavoidable. The comedy comes from cleverness rather than crude humor. The film could have been a trailblazer in romantic comedy, potentially making a mark on the Oscar scene.

3. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Wes Anderson's third feature film may be the most inexplicable snub for Best Picture nomination on this list. A remarkable achievement, its single Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay is a perplexing slight that challenges any reasonable explanation.

The Royal Tenenbaums is a prime example of an instant classic filmmaker. Anderson’s films are unique in that they resemble live-action storybooks more than traditional movies, with straightforward plots mainly serving as frameworks for elaborate typography, intricately designed sets, symmetrical yet fantastical shots, and offbeat characters who oscillate between being outcasts, antiheroes, and eccentrics.

Two potential excuses (though they’re excuses, not valid reasons) have been put forth to explain why The Royal Tenenbaums was overlooked by the Academy. Neither holds up. One argument suggests that directors with distinctive styles take time to be recognized as geniuses rather than anomalies. But The Royal Tenenbaums wasn’t a surprise; Rushmore had already introduced Anderson’s eccentricity. Plus, the star-studded cast (Gene Hackman, Angelica Huston, Bill Murray... need I say more?) makes the idea of its casual dismissal by the Academy hard to fathom.

Another theory is that the film defied easy classification and was thus dismissed as a comedy. But simply because a movie includes humorous moments doesn’t automatically make it a comedy. Anderson's brand of whimsy is worlds apart from, say, Leslie Nielsen's Frank Drebin in Naked Gun. A film featuring a suicide attempt set against the haunting backdrop of an Elliott Smith song could be many things—but 'comedy' is certainly not one of them.

2. Fight Club (1999)

Perhaps no other film on this list so perfectly captures its precise moment in time as Fight Club, the 1999 adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel of the same name. The movie is a punching, kicking, felony-committing representation of Gen X male ennui at a point when history seemed stagnant and, for many, disappointing.

Ed Norton’s narrator, who goes by several names throughout the film, is bubbling with the cog-in-a-machine rage of a post-Cold War, pre-9/11 mini-generation with seemingly nothing to fight for. Norton-as-narrator schizophrenically starts a series of underground gatherings where the pent-up violence is the end rather than the means. As alter-ego Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), the narrator provides an outlet for what he calls the “middle children of history.”

“We have no Great War,” Durden exclaims, pacing as he addresses his secret society. “No Great Depression. Our Great War is a spiritual war. Our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t… And we’re very, very pissed off.”

So why the snub for a movie so reflective of its epoch? One reason is that no one could have foreseen how promptly America’s post-USSR period of aimless angst would end—September 11, 2001. In hindsight, it is nearly impossible to argue that Fight Club wasn’t among the five most poignant, relevant films of 1999.

1. The Matrix (1999)

This list includes two films from 1999. One was overlooked despite its remarkable ability to capture the present. The other, this film, was left out despite its chilling portrayal of a future we fear.

With its themes echoing today’s concerns about Artificial Intelligence, The Matrix revolves around the terrifying possibilities of a new and powerful force emerging. At a time when the internet had only just begun to take hold, this late-'90s sci-fi film created a cyberspace so unsettling and engaging that even Keanu Reeves’s stiff performance couldn’t diminish its impact.

The Matrix is one of the first films to effectively examine a darker side of technology: that humanity’s demise might not come from internal strife, but from its own creations. The film’s premise, “What if the machines turned against us?”, blends elements of 1983’s War Games and 1991’s Terminator 2 into a grim 'you reap what you sow' narrative. In doing so, it not only became a cultural touchstone but also embedded itself in the English language, popularizing phrases like 'red pill' that are now commonplace.

So why was The Matrix overlooked for a Best Picture nomination, especially when films like The Green Mile and The Insider, which were good but not extraordinary, received nods? It’s likely that the Academy misjudged The Matrix as just another sci-fi/action film, missing its deeper significance as a stark, cautionary tale for the future.