28 Great Films That Didn't Win Oscars

Often, time will serve as the best indicator of greatness. Sure, there are award ceremonies, big box office, and rave reviews to indicate whether a film is worthy of praise or not. But the true test is to judge a movie ten, twenty, thirty, forty years down the line. Are people talking about the film in terms of being a classic? Does the story hold up? Is it a rewatchable film? How about the direction, cinematography, acting? Sometimes, the most deserving films don’t win awards. Heck, sometimes the best films of all time aren’t even nominated. This is a list of 28 great movies that didn’t win a single Academy Award.

Oscar snubs happen every year, but it’s still hard to believe that masterpieces like The Shining, Singin’ in the Rain, and Do the Right Thing did not win a single Academy Award. The Shining is often cited as the greatest horror film ever made. Singin’ in the Rain is #1 on the American Film Institute’s list of the Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time. And Spike Lee’s joint Do the Right Thing is considered one of the most seminal films on race relations in the history of cinema.

We can now see the greatness and power of those films. However, The Shining did not receive a single Academy Award nomination, Singin' in the Rain did not receive a nod for Best Picture in 1953, and neither did Do the Right Thing in 1989.

This list is not about who should have won at the Oscars. Whether or not we think that The Shawshank Redemption should have beat Forrest Gump in the Best Picture category in 1995 is irrelevant. This list is simply pointing out that these (mostly) time-tested movies that people still discuss and put on “best of” lists did not earn a single Academy Award in any category.

Maybe they got robbed, maybe they really were just second best that year. Either way, some of the films that made this list will shock you. Be sure to make your voice heard by voting up the best films that deserved to win at least one Oscar.