Right Movie Wrong Year: 5 Oscars Darlings That Never Got Best Picture
Although Oscar is the highest award any film could get, there are still a lot of great movies that were robbed — even if they were recognized by the Academy to a certain extent.
Here are five of them.
1939: The Wizard of Oz lost to Gone with the Wind
Both movies need no introduction. They are timeless classics in their own right. The Wizard of Oz is celebrated for its use of colour, its imaginative narrative, its musical score and its unforgettable characters.
And although it was nominated for six Oscars, Gone with the Wind went on to win ten Academy Awards out of thirteen nominations. In addition, it set a record for the total number of wins and nominations at the time.
1962: To Kill a Mockingbird lost to Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won seven of them. This film is rightly regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. The American Film Institute ranked it seventh on their 100 Years…100 Movies list in 2007.
To Kill a Mockingbird, on the other hand, was received with overwhelming critical and popular acclaim. It made over six times more than its budget was. The film won three Academy Awards and has been nominated for eight.
1972: Cabaret lost to Godfather
At one point, The Godfather was the highest grossing movie of all time, earning $250-291 million. And it's safe to say that this film is a landmark in the gangster genre.
Cabaret holds the record for the most Oscars earned by a movie that did not win the Best Picture award. It grossed more than $42 million against a $4.6 million budget used to make the film.
1975: Barry Lyndon, Jaws and Nashville lost to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
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It was undoubtedly an incredible year for filmmaking. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is only the second film to win all five major Oscars (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Director and Screenplay) until 1991.
And Barry Lyndon, Jaws and Nashville are all cinematic landmarks. Their influence on the culture is hard to measure.
1976: Taxi Driver lost to Rocky
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It took Stallone only three days to write the screenplay for Rocky. Despite this, the film was the recipient of numerous awards and was a pop culture phenomenon of the 1970s.
Although Taxi Driver became even more controversial for the role of John Hinckley Jr. in the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, it remains popular and is regarded as one of the greatest cultural and inspirational works of all time.