These Best Picture Nominees Made Us Wish For An Oscars Mix-Up

At this past Sunday’s Academy Awards, something unthinkable happened for the first time in the history of the ceremonies: a presenter was handed the wrong envelope, causing them to read the wrong movie, and the acceptance speeches had to be stopped to acknowledge the correct film. The La La Land filmmakers had to hand their Oscars over to the filmmakers behind Moonlight for the rightfully earned accolades.

There have been other mistakes throughout the history of the Oscars, but nothing quite as momentous as this one. However, this is far from the first time a film won where audiences disagreed with the outcome and wished someone could abort the honors and give the award to a more deserving film.

We think the following films deserved to have won the award for Best Picture, even if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences felt otherwise.

What movies do you think should have won Best Picture that didn’t? Let us know in the comments!

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Citizen Kane (1941)

Citizen Kane is often considered the greatest movie ever made, but in 1941, the Academy thought the honor of Best Picture deserved to go to How Green Was My Valley. This snub at the 14th Academy Awards is proof that most of the time, the voters have no idea what they’re doing.

[H/T YouTube, Movieclips Trailer Vault]

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

To say that 2001: A Space Odyssey was ahead of its time would be an understatement. The film featured incredible special effects, spanned the course of human existence, and warned humanity about the dangers of technology. The Academy couldn’t appreciate the film at the time, instead opting to give the Best Picture award to Oliver!, the Charles Dickens inspired film.

[H/T YouTube, Stanley Kubrick]

Pulp Fiction/The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Pulp Fiction marked the comeback of John Travolta and solidified Quentin Tarantino’s unique blend of violence, black comedy, and hip soundtracks. The Shawshank Redemption explored the value of the prison system and how, by entering it, you are dooming a man’s existence, no matter how hard he tries to survive. Both of these films are considered classics and some of the seminal films of all parties involved, whereas Forrest Gump was a non-confrontational story of one man’s journey through history. It’s not that Forrest Gump is a bad film, per se, but if you were to ask most film fans which of the three is their favorite, odds favor the two films that didn’t win.

 

[H/T YouTube, Paramount Movies]

Fargo (1996)

Much like Pulp Fiction did in 1994, Fargo was a breath of fresh air for Hollywood as the Coen brothers, who had found success with previous films, gave audiences a hilariously dark story of a kidnapping gone wrong and an all-time great performance from Frances McDormand. The English Patient, on the other hand, felt like pure Oscar fodder meant to appeal to the voters’ sensibilities.

[H/T YouTube, Movieclips Trailer Vault]

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

With Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg gave one of the biggest, most honest, and most heartbreaking stories set in World War II as Tom Hanks’ character led a squad of soldiers across Europe to bring one man home, whose three brothers had all been killed. Private Ryan contained everything you expect from a Best Picture, from incredible performances to masterful direction, but instead, the Oscar went to a romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love.

[H/T YouTube, thecultbox]

Gangs of New York (2002)

Martin Scorcese has often told tales of organize crime and corruption throughout the ages, but with Gangs of New York, he went back to the roots of the city to show how the city was founded on violence. With incredible set pieces and a captivating performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, it seemed like a sure thing, but the historical epic instead lost to the film adaptation of Chicago.

[H/T YouTube, Movieclips Trailer Vault]

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Although Brokeback Mountain might not have been one of the absolute best films of the ’00s, it was definitely an incredible accomplishment in 2005. Featuring strong performances from Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as two men in love who felt they couldn’t embrace their desires, Ang Lee gave an untraditional love story that represented individuals not often seen on screen. Even if Brokeback wasn’t a perfect film, it was easily better than Crash, the heavy-handed tale of racism’s effects on people from various backgrounds, a go-to example of a film that didn’t deserve the acclaim. 

[H/T YouTube, Movieclips Trailer Vault]

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of the book Oil! gave audiences one of the absolute best performances in any movie thanks to Daniel Day-Lewis. There Will Be Blood‘s tale of greed and villainy in the search for riches is one of the best movies of the last two decades and is a masterclass in acting. TWBB lost the Oscar to No Country For Old Men, which is also a fantastic film, but didn’t have the same scope as the more deserving film.

[H/T YouTube, Movieclips Trailer Vault]

Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Arguably Quentin Tarantino’s best film and most deserving of recognition, Inglorious Basterds featured all the blood, laughs, and style that the director has become known for. The filmmaker rewrote history with this story of Jewish soldiers banding together to kill Nazis at all cost, giving audiences one of the most satisfying films of the year. Instead, the award went to The Hurt Locker, a much more political movie about the effects of war on a soldier.

[H/T YouTube, Movieclips Trailer Vault]

Black Swan (2010)

This psychological thriller from Darren Aronofsky gave Natalie Portman a deserved Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a ballet dancer who begins to descend into madness in pursuit of perfection. Black Swan was an incredible achievement in both story, direction, and acting, but it lost the another Oscar-fodder movie, The King’s Speech, about a man trying to overcome a stutter.

[H/T YouTube, FoxSearchlight]

Mad Max: Fury Road (2016)

Earning more nominations than any other film that year, Mad Max: Fury Road became an instant classic with its story of a group of women escaping a tyrannical savage across a post-apocalyptic landscape. The film gave us some of the best action sequences of the decade, the iconic badass Furiosa (Charlize Theron), and breathtaking direction. Spotlight took home the Oscar for its story of journalists uncovering child molestation within the church, which was an incredible story, but knowing how close Fury Road got to earning the Oscar makes you wish it could get nominated every year.

[H/T YouTube, Movieclips Trailers]