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The Academy Awards are the biggest night of the year in Hollywood. But the night has often been ruined when Oscar went home with the wrong winners. As the 94th Academy Awards ceremony steadily approaches, we rank the 10 biggest Oscar mistakes ever. We are not referring to people falling down or presenters reading the wrong name for clarity. This list is devoted explicitly to when the Academy voted to give Oscar to a film, actor, director, etc., less deserving than the other nominees. There were even cases when the stronger competition wasn’t even nominated.
And for the record, the film, performance, etc., may not necessarily be bad, but some films and performances were stronger and have stood the test of time much better. So with that said, here are the most prominent Oscar mistakes ranked.
10. The King’s Speech Wins Best Picture of 2010
The King’s Speech is a costume-drama and a period piece, which is basically Oscar bait. It’s no surprise that the film won Best Picture of 2010, but that didn’t make us any happier. The film has its strong moments, and it’s definitely the most remarkable performance of Colin Firth’s career. However, it’s beyond slow, and most find it doesn’t hold up after repeated viewings.
In contrast, The Social Network found itself on many lists for the decade’s best films, with some publications even putting it at number one. This film touched on some major issues of what Mark Zuckerburg’s social media empire could turn into. People now see it as a prophetic and vital piece that predicted what our society had become thanks to social media. Is there really any competition here?
As a side note, the film was directed by Tom Hooper, who won Best Director for the film and who years later would direct the legendary nightmare that was Cats (2019). Maybe Epic Voice Guy was on to something in his Honest Trailer for the latter film when he said, “Now that director Tom Hooper has won his Oscar, Satan has returned to claim his half of the deal.”
9. The Hoop Dreams Snub
In 1994, Steve James released the three-hour documentary Hoop Dreams, which chronicled the school days of two African-American teenagers with NBA dreams. To call the film, a critical success was an understatement. The film appeared on over 150 top ten lists, and in 1999 Roger Ebert named it the best film of the 1990s. This might explain the heavy backlash when the film was not nominated for Best Documentary at the 1995 Academy Awards. Some consider this to be the highest-ranking Oscar mistake, or at least the most shocking.
Hoop Dreams is so influential that it is considered required viewing for aspiring documentary filmmakers. The Academy clearly didn’t get that.
8. Forrest Gump Wins Best Picture of 1994
While we’re on the subject of the 1995 Academy Awards, let’s discuss the Best Picture winner of that year. Forrest Gump is definitely great, albeit a bit corny, but other films were nominated that were significantly more worthy, including The Shawshank Redemption and Quiz Show.
However, one nominee that most people today feel should have taken the prize home.
Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction was one of the most influential films of the 1990s, and it’s still influencing prospective filmmakers to this day. It made Tarantino the prominent figure he is today, it resurrected John Travolta’s dying career, and the memorable dialogue is still quoted in conversation. Forrest Gump is a lovely film with a strong performance from Tom Hanks, but it doesn’t come close to Pulp Fiction’s cinematic legend.
7. Driving Miss Daisy Wins Best Picture of 1989
Driving Miss Daisy was nominated for Best Picture along with Born on the Fourth of July, My Left Foot, Dead Poets Society, and Field of Dreams. Most would agree that Driving Miss Daisy is the weakest of all those films, which is why it makes no sense that it won Best Picture.
But there’s a bit of a more significant issue here.
The big issue isn’t even that Driving Miss Daisy won. It’s the fact that it was even nominated in favor of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. Both films tackled race issues, but Do the Right Thing does it in a much grittier and more profound way. Moreover, Driving Miss Daisy is now seen as racially problematic.
Referring to the 1989 Best Picture winner, Lee said recently, “That film is not being taught in film schools all across the world like Do the Right Thing is.” Exactly.
6. Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick Never Win Best Director
These ones share this slot as they are two of the most influential directors ever. Though the Academy apparently didn’t pay attention.
Alfred Hitchcock was the man behind Notorious (1946), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), and many more. Stanley Kubrick had classics to his name like Dr. Strangelove (1964), Barry Lydon (1975), The Shining (1980), and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Some of those are listed among the greatest of all time, and yet somehow, these directors never got the Best Director Oscar. Kubrick did win for Best Special Effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Hitchcock received an honorary award, but this just does not cut it.
By the way, here’s a bonus Oscar mistake for this slot. 2001: A Space Odyssey wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture that year, an award that was given to the musical film Oliver! Talk about ridiculous.
5. Shakespeare in Love Beats Saving Private Ryan
It’s not even necessary to say what other films were nominated. This one still has people outraged over two decades later. Shakespeare on Love is undoubtedly a fine film but is everyone is still amazed by it nearly 25 years after its release. No. They are talking about the beautiful, inspiring, and gritty war epic that was Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan. To the Academy’s credit, they gave Spielberg the Best Director Oscar. Still, this was a robbery.
4. Al Pacino Wins Best Actor for Scent of a Woman
Al Pacino is obviously a great actor. And to be clear, he is excellent in Scent of a Woman, playing a blind man who forms a bond with his new assistant played by Chris O’Donnell. However, there’s nothing about this performance that is particularly remarkable. Compared to his earlier work in films such as The Godfather (1972), Serpico (1973), and Dog Day Afternoon (1975), this one pales in comparison. Moreover, some felt that Denzel Washington’s delivery in Malcolm X was much more deserving.
3. Citizen Kane Doesn’t Win Best Picture of 1941
No, that wasn’t a joke. Citizen Kane was not awarded best picture. The film, widely regarded as the greatest film of all time, a film that 81 years later still serves as a significant influence to filmmakers, did not win Best Picture. Orson Welles’ directorial debut mixed superb acting, outstanding cinematography, and a compelling story of a man’s life into a film that remains a cinematic milestone. And yet it lost the Best Picture award to How Green Was My Valley. If you haven’t heard of that film, you’re not alone. It’s only famous for having beaten Citizen Kane at the Oscars.
2. Crash Wins Best Picture of 2005
This one is considered a notorious Oscar mistake that even the writer and director, Paul Haggis, said it didn’t deserve to win. And the whole world agrees with him. Brokeback Mountain was thought to be a shoo-in to win Best Picture that year. It had the most nominations, and when Ang Lee won Best Director, the night’s outcome seemed sealed. But to everyone’s shock, Crash made an upset and took home the big award.
Fun fact: even the conservative magazine Christianity Today gave three stars out of four (essentially a B) to Brokeback Mountain, disagreeing with the message but praising the filmmaking and performances. Their review for Crash was not so kind. This is a pretty good sign Paul Haggis created a major mess. Moreover, the other three nominees (Munich, Good Night and Good Luck, and Capote) were substantially better than Crash, which is so offensively bad that even one of the film’s stars has denounced it. Crash constantly ranks on people’s worst Oscar mistakes lists for a good reason.
1. Martin Scorsese Waits 30 Years for Best Director
This one is a bit of a twofer for ranked Oscar mistakes, as not only was Martin Scorsese robbed of a Best Director Oscar too many times, but the films he made should have taken home the award for Best Picture.
Martin Scorsese is widely considered the most incredible working director, having directed films that are listed among the all-time greats. Yet the Academy made him wait 30 years for the Oscar for Best Director. Here are some of the following mistakes on the Academy’s part:
- 1976: Scorsese directs Taxi Driver and loses Best Picture and Director to Rocky (John G. Avildsen)
- 1980: Scorsese directs Raging Bull and loses Best Picture and Director to Ordinary People (Robert Redford)
- 1990: Scorsese directs Goodfellas and loses Best Picture and Director to Dances With Wolves (Kevin Costner)
One could argue he should have won for 2002’s Gang’s of New York, but it’s hard to knock Roman Polanski’s brilliant work on The Pianist. Regardless, even when Scorsese deservedly won Best Director for 2006’s The Departed, it still didn’t make up for the three Oscars he was still owed. The man is the living master of the craft, and the Academy has screwed him over too many times, which is the greatest Oscar mistake of all.
Not So Honorable Mentions:
The weak academy decisions don’t stop there. Here are a few more Oscar mistakes that didn’t quite rank on this list, but they are definitely big ones:
- Apocalypse Now loses Best Picture of 1979 to Kramer Vs. Kramer
- John Cazale isn’t nominated for Best Supporting Actor for playing Fredo Corleone in The Godfather Part II
- The Dark Knight isn’t nominated for Best Picture of 2008
- Marissa Tomei (sorry Aunt May fans) wins Best Supporting Actress for My Cousin Vinny (1992)
- Whoopi Goldberg wins Best Supporting Actress for Ghost over Lorraine Bracco for Goodfellas
- E.T. loses Best Picture of 1982 to Gandhi
Honestly, there are several more, but you get the point. The Academy has made several mistakes and withheld the statue from more deserving films, performers, and directors. Hopefully, they will learn to try a bit harder.
Do you agree with our Oscar mistakes list? What do you think is the worst Academy Award decision ever? Share your thoughts on The Nerd Stash Facebook page and @TheNerdStash on Twitter. And don’t forget to like and follow.