So, you’ve lost the Oscar for Best Picture? Well, congratulations, you’re in great company! There are so many brilliant films that were nominated for that coveted award but walked away empty-handed. This list will feature my personal top ten losing Best Picture nominees. Some of them should have won (if this was a just world), some faced competition that simply proved too stiff, but all of them prove that winning the Oscar isn’t everything.
- “Citizen Kane” (1941)
“Citizen Kane” is a perfect example of a film that was brutally robbed in my humble, humble
opinion. It is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time to this day, and it should have won, hands down. ‘Citizen Kane’ is the story of Charles Foster Kane, a powerful media tycoon who was reportedly based on William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. The story is framed through the eyes of a reporter who is attempting to discover the meaning behind Kane’s last word before his death, “Rosebud.” It is a moving, thought provoking and tragic story that explores the emptiness of material wealth and the importance of love and family. I am still fuming about the loss, and I don’t think my grandparents were even alive when it first premiered.
- “The Red Shoes” (1948)
This is one of the most stunning films I have ever seen. The bold colors, the dance sequences, the beautiful score, the costuming … I could go on and on. It lost to Laurence Olivier’s “Hamlet” which, despite my love for the Shakespeare play, I cannot agree with. ‘The Red Shoes’ is a drama film about an aspiring ballerina who struggles with balancing her dreams of being a prima ballerina with her love for a music composer. It perfectly portrays the internal battle that many artists face and features real ballet dancers.
- “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951)
If you want to see an acting masterclass, look no further than Streetcar. Streetcar is the story of Blanche DuBois, a troubled Southern Belle, who moves in with her sister, Stella, and Stella’s husband, Stanley. Stanley proceeds to torment Blanche, causing her world and mind to begin to descend into madness. Every performance in this film is top of the line, but Vivien Leigh’s performance as Blanche and Marlon Brando’s performance as Stanley are particularly
disturbing, heartbreaking and honest. I would especially recommend watching the uncensored director’s cut if you can get your hands on it.
- “12 Angry Men” (1957)
I just can’t get enough of a good legal drama, and this is the best of the best. ‘12 Angry Men’ has a quiet kind of power, using its claustrophobic setting and sharp script to get across its themes about the justice system, mob mentality and the biases that we all carry with us. The film concerns a jury that is trying to reach a verdict in the case of a son accused of murdering his father. I’ve watched this film more times than I can count, and I get something new out of it
every time.
- “Dr. Strangelove” (1964)
This is political satire done right. “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” is the kind of dark comedy that carries real weight and never pulls its punches. It mocks Cold War hysteria by pushing all of that paranoia to its logical extreme. In the movie, an unstable Air Force general named Jack Ripper attempts to begin a preemptive nuclear attack on the USSR because he believes that the Russians are altering the “bodily fluids” of American men. It’s hilarious, whip smart and ever relevant.
- “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” (1966)
This movie should have won off the backs of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s
performances alone. I have nothing against “A Man for All Seasons” (the winner for that year), but nothing can compare to this skin-crawling, deeply unsettling window into the world of the most toxic couple of all time. It’s like a crash; you can’t look away.
- “Cabaret” (1972)
Now, this is a perfect example of an amazing film facing an adversary that was just too strong to overcome. “Cabaret” had the misfortune of having to go head-to-head with “The Godfather.” Still, Fosse works his magic in this dark musical movie about a cabaret in Weimar Republic Germany. The musical numbers are simultaneously creepy and beautiful, and the movie perfectly illustrates the slow creep of fascism as the Nazis begin their rise to power in the background of all of the wild debauchery.
- “Raging Bull” (1981)
This is my personal favorite Scorsese movie, and I sob every time I watch it. It is the tragedy of Jake LaMotta, a boxer played beautifully by Robert De Niro, who is consumed by
self-destructive urges, envy and rage. It somehow manages to be incredibly violent and
incredibly touching and heartbreaking at the same time.
- “Goodfellas” (1990)
Yes, it’s another Scorsese film. Sue me. “Goodfellas” is the legend of one man’s rise and fall as he becomes embedded in the Mafia. It’s an absolutely riveting cinematic rollercoaster ride. It lost to “Dances with Wolves,” which is something that you should never bring up in front of my dad unless you want to deal with the awe-inspiring rage of a middle-aged man who went to school for film.
- “The Favourite” (2018)
I think that any of the films that went against “Green Book” would have been a better choice for the Oscar, but “The Favourite” is my personal favorite from that year. It’s Yorgos Lanthimos at his darkly comedic best, starring Olivia Coleman as a sickly Queen Anne trapped in a toxic love triangle with two ambitious women vying for her affections.
Well, that’s all folks! And remember, if anyone ever calls you a loser (although, since you go to
Brandeis, I’m sure that this has never happened), so was “Citizen Kane”!
