Oscar Shouldawons

In honor of the Oscars this Sunday...

ELEVEN MOVIES THAT DIDN'T WIN BEST PICTURE, BUT SHOULD HAVE
(presented chronologically)

1. Citizen Kane (1941) - The Maltese Falcon was also up for Best Picture in 1941, but the prize went to How Green Is My Valley, a film by director John Ford. I can't attest to the quality of HGWMV, having not seen it, but there is no doubt that Citizen Kane's long term impact far outweighs that of the Oscar winner. For its technical merits, there has never been another film like it.
   
2. High Noon (1952) - The Greatest Show On Earth, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, is sometimes called the worst movie ever to win the Best Picture Oscar. Personally, I think High Noon is one of the best Westerns ever made, so I'm happy to give it my vote instead of TGSOE
   
3. Dr. Strangelove (1964) - This is a controversial choice for me, as My Fair Lady, 1964's Oscar winner, is so popular. I don't care for it. And Dr. Strangelove is just such a wonderful satire, I can't imagine any other film that year being better.
   
4. Fiddler on the Roof (1971) - This is another controversial choice. The French Connection is undoubtedly a great film, but it's not something I can watch over and over again. Give an award to Gene Hackman for his role, maybe another one for the car chase, but give the Best Picture to a classic musical, Fiddler on the Roof.
   
5. Raging Bull (1980) - Robert Redford's directorial debut, Ordinary People, won the Oscar in 1980. But Raging Bull is such a classic, while Ordinary People is largely forgotten, which puts it on my list. This is the first of two times a Martin Scorcese movie appears on my list.
   
6. Field of Dreams (1989) - Maybe I just have a soft spot for Field of Dreams, but I can't imagine why Driving Miss Daisy won in 1989. It's been a long time since I saw Miss Daisy, but it was largely forgettable to me.
   
7. Goodfellas (1990) - This classic gangster movie got shafted. Dances With Wolves beat Goodfellas? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Kevin Costner over Martin Scorcese? I'll give Costner Field of Dreams, but he has never made or been in another movie I liked.
   
8. Fargo (1996) - Fargo was the best movie of 1996, but the Coen brothers' style was a little too obscure for people. Hopefully, they'll finally get an Oscar this year with No Country For Old Men, but I'll pick Fargo over The English Patient any day of the week.
   
9. Saving Private Ryan (1998) - Shakespeare In Love. WHAT? Spielberg wins best director, but Shakespeare In Love was a better movie than Saving Private Ryan? WHAT?!? This is the biggest travesty since Goodfellas lost.
   
10. Traffic (2000) - I know I'm among the minority, but I hated Gladiator. I had a friend who swore up and down that it was the greatest movie ever, but I hated it. I walked out thinking I had wasted three and a half hours of my life, only to find that it had only been two and a half hours. No, Traffic was much more interesting, and should have won the Oscar.
    
11. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) - A Beautiful Mind was Ron Howard's reward for all his years in Hollywood. Maybe there wasn't another director more deserving, but The Fellowship of the Ring was just so good. And the series only got better. Return of the King won the Oscar for all of them in 2003.
    

I'm going to give a bonus honorable mention to Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption for 1994. They both could have won Best Picture Oscars in a lot of years, but there were three deserving films that year, with Forrest Gump taking the prize. I'm not saying Forrest Gump should have lost, just that Pulp Fiction and Shawshank deserve equal recognition.