The American Film Academy awards sparkle every year protests and controversy among the “forgotten” members and their supporters. Simply there isn’t enough room for everyone, but this seems even more difficult to accept when the truly deserving appear to be excluded from the final list.
1. Stanley Kubrick
One of the most wronged filmmakers in the history of the cinema remains perfectionist Kubrick. He received no Oscar for best director and was not even nominated in this category in the case of Paths of Glory, Lolita and Full Metal Jacket. His masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey, was completely absent from the list of nominees for Best Film in 1969.
2. Humphrey Bogart
The American Film Institute named him in 1999 the biggest male star in the history of American cinema, but the legendary actor had been repeatedly ignored by the American Film Academy. And in 1941, when he played the role of detective Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon (1941), and in 1948, when, after several other memorable roles (in To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Key Largo) he was transformed into legendary villain in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, he was completely ignored.
3. Citizen Kane
In 1942, at the Oscars ceremony, the story of the media mogul Charles Foster Kane – based on the life of William Randolph Hearst – was rewarded with one award, for Best Adapted Screenplay, although it had been nominated for eight categories.
4. Peter O’Toole, Lawrence of Arabia
The late actor delighted generations of filmmakers in Lawrence of Arabia, Becket, The Lion in Winter, Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Ruling Class, The Stunt Man, My Favorite Year and Venus, just the films for which he received eight nominations in his career. He lost the Oscar every time to actors like Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro and Ben Kingsley. Only in 2003 he received an honorary Oscar for his entire career.
5. Charlie Chaplin
At the first edition of the Oscars in 1929, the legendary and multi -talented Chaplin was nominated in four categories, but the Academy later changed its mind and the nominations were withdrew. He subsequently received nominations (including Best Actor) for The Great Dictator, Monsieur Verdoux (original screenplay), but received only one statue in the gala, one for best soundtrack for Limelight in 1973. His genius was celebrated by two honorary Oscars, first offered in 1929 (a sort of consolation for The Circus) and the other in 1972, awarded for “immeasurable influence in the turn of the century art cinema”.
6. Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver
It is not exaggerated to include Martin Scorsese on the list of the best directors of all time. However, the filmmaker has until now been the recipient of only one statuette for Best Director in 2007 for The Departed. This year, The Wolf of Wall Street earned him the seventh nomination for directing (along with Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, GoodFellas, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Hugo). He deserved a nomination for Taxi Driver, a classic of the 70s.
7. Alfred Hitchcock
Another name omitted by the American Film Academy is the “master of suspense“ Hitchcock. Although he was nominated five times for Best Director – Psycho , Rear Window, Spellbound , Lifeboat and Rebecca – he never won.
8. Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather
1972 is the year of the triumph of The Godfather, but not that of Francis Ford Coppola. The Film Academy gave the award for Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Marlon Brando was named Best Actor, but Coppola was robbed of the award for Best Director by Bob Fosse. He took home the statuette for Best Director for the musical Cabaret. Critics were angry. By comparison, things are clear. With The Godfather, Coppola has redefined a film genre (actually a sub-genre, the gangster crime films).
9. Saving Private Ryan
One of the most acclaimed films of 1998. Sure, it had 11 nominations, one of the statues went to Spielberg, but the film lost the title of best film in front of Shakespeare in Love. How was it possible?
10. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
Cristian Mungiu was close to an Oscar, but the Oscar refused to reach out to him, not giving him a nomination for Best Foreign Film. His film from 2007 was acclaimed at major film festivals, won the Palm d’Or at Cannes and The New York Times called it the best film of the year. Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars’ provided many questionable choices over time.
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