The Oscar is the most valuable award in the world of cinema, and anyone who is somehow connected with it wants to receive it.
Most often, the best statuette is received by the best in the past year, however, film academics sometimes make mistakes, making strange decisions and awarding the victory not to those who really deserve it.
Today we have collected 10 films that have received awards at different times, while others, often more worthy of the picture, were left with nothing.
Just a reservation: frankly bad films are not here. All of them are good in their own way, but their competitors were better, although they went unnoticed.
10. Chauffeur Miss Daisy | 1989
This story of a black driver (Morgan Freeman) working for an elderly Jewess (Jessica Tendy) received 4 figurines: for the best film, female role, make-up and adapted script.
In practice, this is a rather boring picture, consisting almost entirely of unworked dialogs that even such talented actors are unable to revive.
In fairness, it should be noted that that year there were no really strong contenders, but even “Born on the Fourth of July” or “My Left Leg” were at least no worse.
9. 12 years of slavery | 2014
A classic example of the cowardice of film academics who were simply afraid to ignore the drama about a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery.
This is a beautiful and inspiring story, but its problem is that it is commonplace. There is not a single unexpected turn or something out of the ordinary: there are hundreds of similar stories in Hollywood.
The Wolf of Wall Street, which was risky and eye-catching, was much more worthy, like Captain Phillips with Tom Hanks or the Dallas Buyers Club. Unfortunately, due to excessive tolerance, they remained out of work.
8. The king says! | 2010
King of England, suffering from speech defects - why not a story worthy of an Oscar? That was probably what the voters of this film thought, if they thought at all. Is this movie famous? Not really. Did he become a cult? Absolutely not.
But the “Beginning” of Christopher Nolan is still being discussed and will be discussed for more than one year. Directing, acting, plot twists and suspense - all this in the Beginning is a cut above, but the jury decided otherwise.
7. Dancing with the wolves | 1990
"Dancing with the Wolves" Kevin Costner grabbed as many as 7 statuettes in 1991, and was nominated for a total of 12. Is he deserved? The reward for the "best film" he definitely got out of business.
The sterile to the grinding of teeth story of the white conquerors with a predictable ending can not be compared with what Martin Scorsese showed in his film "Goodfellas." This picture has become the standard of criminal drama, which the directors are still guided by, while now there are few who dare to replay the Dancer, especially given its wild timing.
Separate indignation can be expressed about the fact that Costner became the best director that year, and Scorsese was even given a ride.
6. Deer Hunter | 1978
The highly overrated director of this creation, Michael Cimino, also received an award for his work, but this is a dubious reason for pride: his victory is still considered one of the most undeserved.
The drama about the Vietnam War lasting 3 hours is not a sight for the faint of heart, and the point is not in the horrors of the war, but in the banal boredom that the film conjures up.
“Heaven Can Wait” by Warren Beatty or “Midnight Express” by Alan Parker looked much fresher and more original.
5. Chicago | 2002
Musicals are a rather specific product, so their victory at film awards almost always causes a lot of controversy.
If the recent La La Land by Damien Chazella really deserved an Oscar, then Chicago in 2002 definitely didn’t.
That year, The New York Gangs by Martin Scorsese and The Lord of the Rings: Two Fortresses by Peter Jackson came out, which made a much greater contribution to the cinema than any musical.
The “pianist” by Roman Polanski, by the way, also came out that year, but at least the director and leading actor, Adrian Brody, was awarded there.
4. Gandhi | 1982
In 1983, at the Oscars, the film Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough, was a real triumph, taking 9 statuettes in 11 nominations. The best were the film itself and the leading actor Ben Kingsley, as well as the script, direction, editing, camera work, etc.
The picture went around Tutsi, which received only 1 award in 10 categories (Jessica Lang was recognized as the best supporting actress), Alien and Missing.
The biopic even entered the top 100 best films according to the British Film Institute, although for which such honors are not entirely clear to him.
3. Collision | 2004
With a budget of $ 6.5 million, Paul Haggis’s drama raised almost 100 million at the box office, but that wasn’t enough for her, and she also took 3 Oscars, including the main one for the best film.
The main contender was the movie “Brokeback Mountain” by Ang Lee, which, despite all its scandalous controversy, was filmed perfectly, and the questions were raised rather sharply. But, film academics know best, as they say.
2. Shakespeare in love | 1998
The tragedy of John Madden about the romantic hobbies of the young William Shakespeare gathered a decent cash, but did not win much sympathy from the audience. According to the classics of the genre, films that the viewer did not appreciate were "appreciated" for awards, giving her the main prize.
In the same year, two excellent military dramas were nominated for the statuette - “Saving Private Ryan” and “The Thin Red Line”, which became role models, while “Shakespeare in Love” became only a controversial winner and no more.
1. Lord of the storm | 2008
That year was rich in good premieres, which, without a doubt, include the drama "The Storm Lord", which tells about the difficult life of American sappers in Iraq.
We included the picture in this list for one simple reason: it competed with James Cameron's Avatar, as well as District 9, The Invisible Side and Up. Against this backdrop, the history of American peacekeepers no longer seems so amazing, does it?