With the Academy Awards just upon us, everybody is making their predictions for this year, but without any doubt, there are going to be some surprises at the ceremony, and some movies which totally deserve the award will not get it. This is the point of today’s list, while there are many brilliant films that do win an Oscar for Best Picture there are also many genius movies that also deserve the award. So in today’s list, we are going to mention my 10 favorite films that should have won the Academy Award for Best Picture but didn’t.
Citizen Kane
Synopsis: 1940. Alone at his fantastic estate known as Xanadu, 70-year-old Charles Foster Kane dies, uttering only the single word Rosebud. So ends the odyssey of a life … and begins a fabulous tale of the rise to wealth and power–and ultimate fall–of a complex man: A boy abandoned by his parents inherits a fortune, builds a global newspaper empire and aspires to become President of the United States, but he loses everything over an affair with an untalented nightclub singer. This fascinating story unfolds through the eyes of the people important to the tycoon–each showing a different aspect of Citizen Kane. Frequently regarded as the best American film ever made; winner of an Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay; and nominated for an additional eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Synopsis: Journey back to the magic and adventure of “one of the great American films” (Leonard Maltin) with E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the beloved masterpiece from Academy Award®-winning director Steven Spielberg. Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore and Robert MacNaughton star in the unforgettable story of a lost alien and the 10-year-old boy who helps him find his way home. Digitally remastered for optimal picture and sound, this astounding story is sure to thrill viewers of all ages again with its timeless message of trust, courage, and the overwhelming power of friendship.
Saving Private Ryan
Synopsis: Seen through the eyes of a squad of U.S. soldiers, the story begins with World War II’s historic D- Day invasion, then moves beyond the beach as the men embark on a dangerous special mission. Captain John Miller must take his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Faced with impossible odds, the men question their orders. Why are eight men risking their lives to save just one? Surrounded by the brutal realities of war, each man searches for his own answer – and the strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honor, decency and courage.
Raiders of The Lost Ark
Synopsis: Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is no ordinary archeologist. When we first see him, he is somewhere in the Peruvian jungle in 1936, running a booby-trapped gauntlet (complete with an over-sized rolling boulder) to fetch a solid-gold idol. He loses this artifact to his chief rival, a French archeologist named Belloq (Paul Freeman), who then prepares to kill our hero. In the first of many serial-like escapes, Indy eludes Belloq by hopping into a convenient plane. So, then: is Indiana Jones afraid of anything? Yes, snakes. The next time we see Jones, he’s a soft-spoken, bespectacled professor. He is then summoned from his ivy-covered environs by Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) to find the long-lost Ark of the Covenant. The Nazis, it seems, are already searching for the Ark, which the mystical-minded Hitler hopes to use to make his stormtroopers invincible. But to find the Ark, Indy must first secure a medallion kept under the protection of Indy’s old friend Abner Ravenwood, whose daughter, Marion (Karen Allen), evidently has a “history” with Jones. Whatever their personal differences, Indy and Marion become partners in one action-packed adventure after another, ranging from wandering the snake pits of the Well of Souls to surviving the pyrotechnic unearthing of the sacred Ark. A joint project of Hollywood prodigies George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, with a script co-written by Lawrence Kasdan and Philip Kaufman, among others, Raiders of the Lost Ark is not so much a movie as a 115-minute thrill ride. Costing 22 million dollars (nearly three times the original estimate), Raiders of the Lost Ark reaped 200 million dollars during its first run.
Pulp Fiction
Synopsis: Starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, and Samuel L. Jackson, ‘Pulp Fiction’ follows the mission of two hitmen, Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega, out to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their employer, mob boss Marsellus Wallace. Wallace has also asked Vincent to take his wife Mia out a few days later when Wallace himself will be out of town. Butch Coolidge is an aging boxer who is paid by Wallace to lose his next fight. Honey Bunny and Pumpkin are a couple of young lovers and small time thieves who decide they need a change of venue. The lives of these seemingly unrelated people are woven together in a wildly entertaining and exhilarating motion picture adventure that both thrills and amuses.
Reservoir Dogs
Synopsis: Described by Empire as “the greatest independent film of all time,” this classic feature film debut of Quentin Tarantino follows six participants of an ill-fated jewel heist as they try to figure out which of them is a traitor. Starring Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, and Michael Madsen. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Goodfellas
Synopsis: Gangsters never refer to themselves as gangsters. They are made-men, wiseguys or Goodfellas. Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese exposes the fascinating, mysterious and violent underworld of New York’s Mafia families through the life of insider Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) as he rises from smalltime thug to mobster under the guidance of Jimmy Conway (Academy Award winner Robert De Niro) in this searing, epic crime drama based on the chilling true-life best seller Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi.
Fight Club
Synopsis: Sick of his dead end, white bread, corporate career and disgusted with the empty consumer culture of his generation, a confused young man serendipitously meets Tyler Durden. Together they create a new club where young men come to relieve their frustrations by beating each other to a pulp. Two rules govern the club: no more than two men per fight and no one is to mention fight club to any outsiders. Reverse-psychology proves it’s power, as the latter rule instantaneously spreads the news of fight club throughout the underworld sub-culture. Tyler Durden, the ringleader, quickly becomes a cult hero of epic proportions, a new messiah for a dead generation. Meanwhile, Jack manages to get involved in a twisted love triangle with Tyler and a girl named Marla, who is also at odds with reality.
The Social Network
Synopsis: The Social Network, directed by David Fincher, is the stunning tale of a new breed of cultural insurgent: a punk genius who sparked a revolution and changed the face of human interaction for a generation, and perhaps forever. Shot through with emotional brutality and unexpected humor, this superbly crafted film chronicles the formation of Facebook and the battles over ownership that followed upon the website’s unfathomable success. With a complex, incisive screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and a brilliant cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, THE SOCIAL NETWORK bears witness to the birth of an idea that rewove the fabric of society even as it unraveled the friendship of its creators. Nominated for 8 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture (2010).
The Big Lebowski
Synopsis: From the Academy Award®-winning Coen Brothers comes The Big Lebowski – the hilariously quirky comedy-thriller about bowling, avant-garde art, nihilistic Austrians, and a guy named… The Dude. Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski doesn’t want any drama in his life… heck, he can’t even be bothered with a job. But, in a case of mistaken identity, a couple of thugs break into his place and steal his rug (you gotta understand, that rug really tied the room together). Now, The Dude must embark on a quest with his crazy friends to make things right and get that rug back! Starring Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, John Goodman, John Turturro and Steve Buscemi, The Big Lebowski has become a cultural phenomenon.
