5 underrated movies that never won Oscar, but deserved one
The Academy Awards are considered to be the highest recognition any film can get. The more number of Oscars a production has the greater the film's standing. However, the Academy has also had its fair share of misses through the years, where it failed to recognize true gems. Thus, we look at five movies that got snubbed at the Oscars.
'The Shining' (1980)
Given the Academy deals with creative arts, it is highly contradictory that some genres are weighted higher than others. Take, for example, Stanley Kubrick's horror classic, The Shining. Based on Stephen King's legendary novel, the film did not receive even a single nod. To even imagine Jack Nicholson missing out on the Best Actor trophy for his performance as Jack Torrance is revolting!
'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994)
Although The Shawshank Redemption is now considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time, when it came out in 1994, it bombed at the box office. Oscars recognized its potential though, as it bagged seven nominations, including best picture and cinematography. However, it failed to win in any of the categories. More shocking is perhaps the disregard Morgan Freeman's performance faced.
'American Psycho' (2000)
Speaking of Academy's apparent disdain for the psychological thriller/horror genre, we present our next entry, American Psycho. Mary Harron's spine-chilling spectacle came up without a single nod, despite having brilliant acting performances and excellent cinematography. Christian Bale more than deserved an Oscar for this one. And, another film that got snubbed in the same year was Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love.
'Leon: The Professional' (1994)
Every single frame in Leon: The Professional is breathtaking. Add to it the stylish action scenes and acting (hello, Natalie Portman was all but 11 years old!), and you have a major winner. But Oscars didn't think so. The Luc Besson directorial wasn't fortunate enough to get any nomination. If not anything else, Gary Oldman's deranged detective act was totally worthy of the statuette.
'The Wolf of Wall Street' (2013)
Everyone was elated when Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Oscar for The Revenant (2015), but let's face it, it should have come way sooner and for better performances (there I said it). And, it should have been with The Wolf of Wall Street. However, the Martin Scorsese-helmed modern classic failed to convert either of its five nominations into victories. Tough luck, indeed!
