10: Giant (1956)
Lost to: Around the World in 80 Days
I feel like this is a great place to start. "Giant" is such an epic film. The scope, the granduer, the social themes and the cast. Oh god, the cast! George Stevens poured everything into this movie, and it bursts at the seams with talent. I put this on the bottom of the list for one reason: I didn't completely hate "Around the World in 80 Days". Here is a fun family film that has some merits, but let's be honest, if it didn't win Best Picture, no one would be talking about it today. David Niven did a fine job in it, and the source material is always a delight, but this was a waste as Best Picture. It's a C at best, and nowhere near worthy of such a prestigious accolade.
9. As Good as it Gets (1997)
Lost to: Titanic
James L. Brooks gave the world "Terms of Endearment" (Best Picture - 1983) and "Broadcast News" (Best Picture Nominee - 1987), and then he gave us "As Good as it Gets". This film is so charming on so many levels, it's hard to not love it. Brooks' writing is crisp and clever as it has ever been, and the award-winning cast gives to every inch, and it pays off in dividends. The directing is laid back, the way a romantic-comedy should be. It isn't the kind of movie that needs eye-popping cinematography and other exciting effects to make the audience swoon, because the actors do most of he work for you. Which is exactly why I don't like "Titanic". Everything that "As Good as it Gets" was, "Titanic" was the exact opposite. But, Cameron's movie didn't deserve to beat any of the four films it was up against. Case in point...
8. L.A. Confidential (1997)
Lost to: Titanic... again...
SERIOUSLY! This WAS the best film of '97! It was almost a modern day "Chinatown". The writing was superb, there wasn't a bad performance from the more than capable cast, and Curtis Hanson's directing has never been as good since this film (as much as I did love "Wonder Boys"). If "As Good as It Gets" was everything "Titanic" wasn't, this was everything "Titanic" should have been. It's tense, engaging, and a great period piece. I could watch this movie once a week, and never get bored with anything in it. It nabbed awards for screenplay and supporting actress (Basinger owned this movie), but failed to bring home the top prize. What a shame.
7. High Noon (1952)
Lost to: The Greatest Show on Earth
Fred Zinnemann directed some the most memorable and iconic films to win Academy Awards, but his MOST iconic failed to get the top trophy, but picked up four others (including Gary Cooper winning best actor). It is true that the following year he would grab a directing award for "From Here to Eternity", which would also nab Best Picture, but "High Noon" losing to Cecil B. Demille's "The Greatest Show on Earth" was a real punch in the gut. "Show" was a bright, flashy spectacle of a film that was the sort of big-budget star-filled movie made to entertain mass audiences, and not to grab up awards over such thoughtful films like "High Noon".
6. Field of Dreams (1989)
Lost to: Driving Miss Daisy
Okay... I kind of like "Driving Miss Daisy". It is, however, far from a great film. The acting in "Daisy" is the saving grace of the film, but the white people are so great to black people story is a little grating, and help set the stage for films like "The Blind Side" and "The Help", all films that were recognized by the academy to make old white voters feel great about themselves. "Field of Dreams", on the other hand, was a gripping story about a family in dire straits, trying to find a way to save themselves. What better way than let ghosts play on baseball diamond built on a corn field? Ray Kinsella's (Kevin Costner) obsession spreads, not only through the characters in the story, but through the audience. This film means so much to its fans, and fans of the sport, that they still visit the field in Dyersville, Iowa, and teams like the Quad Cities River Bandits have their player enter through a small corn field. I don't see anyone visiting the street where Morgan Freeman follows Jessica Tandy home.
5. Apocalypse Now (1979)
Lost to: Kramer vs. Kramer
"The Deer Hunter" won Best Picture in 1978, so the Academy was not in the mood to give another Vietnam film the top prize. So, instead, they gave it to a middling divorce drama starring Dustin Hoffman. "Apocalypse Now" is steeped in legend. The making was as close to hell as anyone one crew could ever get, and Murphy's Law was the rule on set. The film itself is journey deep into the darkest parts of the soul of men, set against the backdrop of a truly horrific war. It's pretty easy to see that the voters didn't want to look like they were just giving awards to anyone who had something to say about this terrible conflict, but they could have at least given Best Picture to "Norma Rae".
4. Fargo (1996)
Lost to: The English Patient
Here are a list of great films released in 1996: "Trainspotting", "Bottle Rocket", "The Birdcage", "Primal Fear", "That Thing You Do", "Big Night", "Waiting For Guffman", "Sleepers", "The People Vs. Larry Flint". And these are just the films I consider worthy contenders for the Best Picture Oscar. None of these were nominated for the award, and they were snubbed for "The English Patient", the longest, most boring film to ever get crowned by the Academy. The Coen Brothers, on the other side of the aisle, created one of their finest films to date with "Fargo". This film was funny, tragic, and full of Steve Buscemi getting shoved into a woodchipper. The Coens won Best Original Screenplay, but it would be another decade before they would get their Best Picture due with "No Country for Old Men".
3. Raging Bull (1980)
Lost to: Ordinary People
Widely consider the greatest sports film of all time, and arguably Scorsese's best film (my pick is "Taxi Driver"), "Raging Bull" is anything you could ever want in an underdog sports film. You have well shot fight scenes, top notch acting, and a main character is who absolutely crazy! With "Ordinary People", Redford gave the same-old-same-old with nothing new brought to the table. It was a safe bet for a lot of Academy voters, because it didn't challenge anything. "Bull" was a hard, gritty portrayal of an unlikable human being, that didn't make anybody feel good about themselves, not even Jake La Motta.
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Lost to: Chariots of Fire
I warn you, a lot of Spielberg love is about to happen. Look at any list of the greatest films ever made, and tell me what you see, aside from "Citizen Kane". That's right! "Raiders" is on there, and "Chariots of Fire" isn't. Do you know why? Because "Chariots" is a boring movie about young boys racing. The Spielberg/Lucas classic, on the other hand, has lived on in the hearts and minds of anybody with an imagination, or a pulse, or both for that matter. This is the perfect case of the Academy not taking a genre seriously. Here you have a beautifully crafted film, well shot and acted, and a hell of a lot of fun, but it's an action film. So, it loses to forgettable crap, because that crap didn't have Nazis getting chopped up by plane propellers.
1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Lost to: Shakespeare in Love (no, seriously)
There is no reason! NOT ONE! That a film as perfectly made as "Saving Private Ryan" should have lost to anything. Let alone John Madden's worst film. I don't even get how that movie was nominated, because it wasn't very good, at all! "Ryan" had everything going for it. Spielberg, Hanks, Damon, Kaminski, John Williams! What the bloody hell? They got it right for best director, and then dropped all of their senses. Did the Academy decide that we're only allowed to give Spielberg one best picture award a decade? They screwed that up when they gave the award to "Crash" instead of "Munich". Or did they just not enjoy the realism of battle put on screen, making people feel all icky? Whatever the case may be, they need to go back, just this once, and set it right.
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