30 times the Oscars got it wrong

In 1942, the Academy thought that "How Green Was My Valley," a melodrama about a Welsh mining family living in the heart of the South Wales Valleys during the 19th century, was somehow better than "Citizen Kane," Orson Welles' magnum opus largely considered (by some) to be the greatest film of all time.

Largely a theme of the times, the Academy would rather choose a musical, "An American in Paris" as the best film for the 1952 Oscars, snubbing acting powerhouse "A Streetcar Named Desire," featuring some of the greatest performances of the decade, if not ever, in Marlon Brando (who was also snubbed for Best Actor in favor of Humphrey Bogart) and Vivien Leigh, who set screens on fire in this adaptation of Tennessee Williams' classic play.

Oscar snubs became a yearly occurrence, as the Academy chose circus flick "The Greatest Show on Earth" over "High Noon," possibly one of the best Westerns ever made, largely due to screenwriter Carl Foreman being accused of being a communist and subsequently blacklisted for failing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee. Gary Cooper won Best Actor honors, but the film was the victim of an unwarranted conservative backlash in favor of a film people barely remember today.

"Around the World in 80 Days," a film that boasted a massive cast, colorful costumes and numerous locations but not much else, managed to steal Best Picture away from far better films "The Ten Commandments" and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I." One could argue that when it came to Oscar snubs, the 1950s had some of the most egregious.

It's hard to divine how or why it is an actor wins an Oscar, at least in terms of performance, but the 1977 show is a curiosity all of its own. Instead of Jodie Foster winning a much-deserved Oscar for her role as a lost little girl turned prostitute in Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver," Beatrice Straight took the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for a six-minute performance in "Network." While Foster went on to a long, successful career (and her own Oscar win for 1988's "The Accused"), Straight would work on only 10 other films before retiring in the early '90s.

Even though Martin Scorsese exists as one of our most celebrated directors, he apparently didn't have many fans in the Academy, as "Raging Bull," a tour de force not only for Scorsese but also for stars Robert De Niro (who won Best Actor for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta) and Joe Pesci, was snubbed in favor of family drama "Ordinary People," actor Robert Redford's directorial debut. Despite it being Redford's first time directing, he managed to beat out Scorcese for Best Director as well. 

There are a number of injustices in which 1985's "The Color Purple" suffered when it came to awards season, but the Oscar shutout was probably the biggest. Nominated for 11 awards, including Best Picture, "The Color Purple" came away completely empty-handed. Adding insult to injury, director Steven Spielberg wasn't even nominated for Best Director.

Even though it was a clear critical favorite, director Spike Lee's powerful film about neighborhood racial tensions during the hottest day of the year was virtually ignored by the Academy, save for two nominations, Best Supporting Actor for Danny Aiello and Best Original Screenplay for Lee. During that year's Oscars telecast, Kim Basinger whipped up a bit of controversy when she called out the Academy for the snub while presenting an award, saying, “the best film of the year is not even nominated, and it's 'Do the Right Thing.'”

Not only did Audrey Hepburn not win Best Actress for "My Fair Lady," a film that won Best Picture, but she also wasn't even nominated. Her performance as Eliza Doolittle was the centerpiece of the classic film, but in a shot of irony, Julie Andrews won for her role in "Mary Poppins" after being passed over for the role Hepburn made her own.

Here was another year when the Academy chose to overlook Martin Scorsese, whose "Goodfellas," considered to be his best film ever, was passed over for Kevin Costner's "Dances With Wolves." As per usual, Scorsese himself also lost Best Director honors to Costner for a film that's aged far worse than Scorsese's mafia classic.

In a year when Steven Spielberg finally got the Academy respect due to him as "Schindler's List" nearly swept the Oscars, Ralph Fiennes was notably snubbed for his memorable performance as Nazi despot Amon Göth. Instead, the Academy chose Tommy Lee Jones' performance as Sam Gerard in the action film "The Fugitive."

At the time of its release, "The Shawshank Redemption," an adaptation of a Stephen King short story, flew under the radar with most audiences. This may largely explain how it was snubbed in favor of crowd favorite "Forrest Gump." With the benefit of hindsight, it's hard to believe that "Forrest Gump" bested this now-classic film about a wrongly imprisoned man whose determination to hang on to hope went on to save more than just himself.

Nick Nolte, an actor with a number of ups and downs, had his best year ever, as his incendiary performance as a lawman coming unraveled in Paul Schrader's "Affliction" represents his best work ever. Unfortunately the Academy thought Italian funnyman Roberto Benigni was better for his performance as a Jewish Italian bookshop owner trying to shield his family from the horrors of WWII in "Life Is Beautiful."

Of all the years the Oscars seemed to get it wrong, this appeared to be a red-letter one. For all the many little atrocities, Gwyneth Paltrow beating Cate Blanchett for Best Actress may have been the largest, outside of Best Picture, which we'll get into shortly. Critics loved Blanchett's unique portrayal of a young Queen Elizabeth I in "Elizabeth," so when Paltrow pulled off the upset in period romance "Shakespeare in Love," many threw their hands up in disgust and disbelief.

Speaking of "Shakespeare in Love," few believe that the Academy could possibly think it was a better film than Steven Spielberg's WWII epic, "Saving Private Ryan." In fact, "Saving Private Ryan" took home five of 11 nominations, including a Best Director win for Spielberg, making Best Picture seem like a shoo-in. But it was not to be, as the "Shakespeare in Love" awards marketing campaign seemed to sneak in and win the day, albeit unjustly.

Kate Hudson was considered a guarantee for Best Actress for her work as uber groupie Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe's classic rock fable "Almost Famous." Instead of conventional wisdom, the Academy decided on Marcia Gay Harden's smaller role in Ed Harris' "Pollock." The surprise outcome didn't do much for either one's career, as Hudson found herself cast into rom-com land, and Harden ended up undercast in general.

After three years of development and filming, 2001 saw the first part of director Peter Jackson's epic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Of the three films, the first, "Fellowship of the Ring," remains the strongest, and despite the massive box office and critical acclaim, the Academy somehow thought Ron Howard's "A Beautiful Mind" was the better film. Two years later, the Academy found a way to fix its mistake while snubbing a better film in the process.

As mentioned in the previous slide, 2003 saw the close of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and the Academy finally rewarded Peter Jackson for his epic feat by crowning "Return of the King" Best Picture. Unfortunately, unlike "Fellowship of the Ring," "Return of the King" was not the best film of the year; rather it was "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," Peter Weir's epic nautical adventure starring Oscar darling Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey. Despite being the superior film, it would have been a crime not to award Jackson for his massive achievement.

Without question, Ang Lee's heartbreaking drama of a star-crossed pair of gay cowhands was the best film of 2005, and practically every awards presentation confirmed that. But after its successful run at the Golden Globes, the Academy shut down "Brokeback Mountain" in favor of "Crash," possibly the most maligned Best Picture winner since 1952's "The Greatest Show on Earth" won over "The Quiet Man," "Singin' in the Rain" and "High Noon." 

Some years the Academy can blow it to a degree that defies explanation. The Academy blew it pretty hard when it decided that Sandra Bullock's performance as a white savior/mother figure in "The Blind Side" was somehow better than the absolutely heartrending performance of newcomer Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious."

How can a film like "Argo," which had a big year at the Oscars, winning three of seven nominations, not even garner a nomination for director and mastermind Ben Affleck? Sure, Affleck was no stranger to winning an Oscar, as he and writing partner Matt Damon took home the gold for 1997's "Good Will Hunting." It makes little sense to praise a film and leave out its driving force, but as we know it's not the first time, and it probably won't be the last.

Having a weak and poorly budgeted awards marketing campaign was considered the culprit for Robert Redford being completely snubbed by the Academy for his amazing performance of a man being lost at sea in the superior "All Is Lost." As the only character, Redford holds up the film in a way few actors could (including Tom Hanks, who managed to get nominated for a similar role in 2000's "Cast Away"). Of all the Oscar snubs, this is one that's really surprising for an actor with Redford's résumé.

Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity" was a one-of-a-kind technological achievement, and the Academy rewarded it handsomely with 10 nominations. However, despite winning seven Oscars, when the time came to name Best Picture, it was "12 Years a Slave" that came away with the big prize, shocking many. Few films offered an experience quite like "Gravity," and to snub it where it counts, it feels like an injustice that is every bit as cold as space itself.

Everyone loves a great comeback story, and 2015 was supposed to be Sylvester Stallone's year. After being a surprise winner in 1977 as the underdog "Rocky" won over everyone during awards season, Stallone chose a path of big-budget blockbusters. So having him become an awards darling again for playing an aged version of his most iconic character, everyone seemed to be in his corner. After a win at the Golden Globes, Stallone seemed all but guaranteed for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. But it was not to be, as Mark Rylance came out of nowhere to upset Stallone with his minor performance in "Bridge of Spies."

Tom Ford's "Nocturnal Animals," a surreal and harrowing tale of revenge and love lost, found itself at the top of a number of "best of" lists in 2016. Yet when the nominations were announced, the film received only one, for Michael Shannon in the Best Supporting Actor category. Left out in the cold were frequent snubs Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal, along with Golden Globe winner Aaron Taylor-Johnson and director Ford. 

In a year when Oscar literally got it wrong when "La La Land" was announced as Best Picture but the award actually went to "Moonlight," the snub that really happened was when "Hell or High Water," possibly the best film in the pack, lost out altogether. Starring Chris Pine and Ben Foster as a pair of small-time bank robbers who have a much higher goal in mind, "Hell or High Water" was considered an early Oscar favorite but virtually disappeared once its nomination was announced, with focus moving to "La La Land" and "Moonlight."

Possibly the most visionary film of the last decade, "Blade Runner 2049," despite a less-than-stellar box office, seemed like a shoo-in to get a Best Picture nomination. However, despite earning a number of technical nominations, including the 14th for cinematographer Roger Deakins (who is almost annually snubbed), "Blade Runner 2049" was left out in the cold where it counts: Best Picture and Best Director. Compared to some of the other films that did make it in, to leave out this film feels like a bigger crime than in most years.

In 2017, Jordan Peele's "Get Out" was a cultural phenomenon and breakout success. For a first-time director making a studio film on a shoestring budget of $4.5 million, it turned into a cultural flashpoint that grossed more than $250 million. Beloved by critics and filmgoers alike, it was considered a favorite during award season. However, the night of the Oscars went surprisingly different, as Guillermo del Toro's ode to fish sex, "The Shape of Water," somehow shut out "Get Out" from the top prize.

Much like the previous year's "Get Out" disappointment, 2019 offered its own inexplicable deal. For the first time in Oscars history, three films nominated for Best Picture —"Black Panther", "BlacKkKlansman" and "Green Book" — directly dealt with subject matter focusing on people of color. Despite two of the films being written and directed by black men, "Green Book," a tepidly received film with a script based on a questionable story, won out.

Considered by many to be his finest work since 1989's "Do the Right Thing," Spike Lee should've been a shoo-in for Best Director honors from "BlacKkKlansman," but instead the statue went to Alfonso Cuarón for his snooze fest, "Roma." While Lee didn't leave empty-handed, winning his first Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, on a night that should've signaled a long-delayed coronation for Lee, he was left out in the cold in the category that, as an auteur, likely mattered most.