40 Iconic Movies That Were Robbed Of Best Picture At The Oscars
The Oscars are on TV, so you reach for the popcorn and settle in to root for your favorites. After a long night, you finally get to the Award for Best Picture – the pinnacle of the show. And naturally, you’re expecting the crème de la crème to take it home. Wait a minute, though. They must have just read out the wrong name! The one you loved has been robbed. Don't worry, you're not alone. Join us as we look back at 40 movies that left many people feeling like the best picture wasn’t actually the Best Picture.
40.1977 Star Wars (Annie Hall)
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… Star Wars didn’t win the Oscar. Nope. It may be one of the best-loved films among nerds (as well as many of us who’d never admit to being a nerd) and a sci-fi classic, but it wasn’t thought to be 1977’s best. Mind you, Annie Hall is a great film, and George Lucas could make do with his film capturing the imagination of many millions of young fans.
39. 1976 Taxi Driver (Rocky)
We all love Rocky, the struggling boxer who beats the odds to lose in glorious style in a feel-good movie that hits our emotional buttons. But is it a great movie? Well, maybe not, yet it’s certainly more cheerful than Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Time has been kinder to Scorsese, though, and his film’s considered a masterpiece today.
38. 1980 Raging Bull (Ordinary People)
By 1980 Scorsese probably felt that the Academy had it in for him. His tale of boxer Jake LaMotta is a knockout, but it was left without the big prize. Instead, Robert Redford’s Ordinary People won on points. And though it’s a fine film, Scorsese was robbed. He’d wait another quarter-century before finally winning with The Departed.
37. 1944 Double Indemnity (Going My Way)
With Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck spitting out Raymond Chandler’s whip-smart exchanges, along with Billy Wilder’s cynical worldview, Double Indemnity opened the doors for a whole genre. Going My Way didn’t. It did great business at the box office, but these days, it’s largely forgotten – not even thought to be its director’s best.
