4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Russ Meyer Edition

Posted on March 21, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

101 years ago, on the very day, Russ Meyer was born in San Leandro, California. Meyer would get his start filming newsreels during World War II, with much of his newsreel footage later showing up in films like the 1970 Oscar winner, Patton. When he returned to the United States, he continued to make films, though the subject matter changed a bit. Meyer was one of the pioneers of the adult film industry, though his once controversial films now seem rather quaint and innocent when compared to the industry’s later films. Meyer’s strong visual sense and his intentionally over-the-top plots made him a favorite amongst underground critics. In the 70s, he was briefly embraced by mainstream Hollywood but, unhappy with having to deal with the studio bosses, Meyer returned to making the type of independent, grindhouse films that made him famous.

Russ Meyer was 82 years old when he died in 2004. He was acclaimed as one of America’s first and most iconic independent filmmakers.

Here are 4 Safe-For-Work Shots From 4 Russ Meyer Films.

4 Shots From 4 Films

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965, dir by Russ Meyer, DP: Walter Schenk)

Motorpsycho (1965, dir by Russ Meyer, DP: Russ Meyer)

Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970, dir by Russ Meyer, DP: Fred J. Koenekamp)

The Seven Minutes (1971, dir by Russ Meyer, DP: Fred Mandl)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special David Cronenberg Edition

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to one of our favorite directors, David Cronenberg! No one has done more to change the way that the world views Canada than David Cronenberg. Last year, Cronenberg came out of a ten-year retirement to film Crimes of the Future. Next up, a film called The Shrouds, a film that is described as being a businessman who discovers a way to communicate with the dead.

Here are….

4 Shots From 4 David Cronenberg Films

Crimes of the Future (1970, dir by David Cronenberg, DP: David Cronenberg)

Scanners (1981, dir by David Cronenberg, DP: Mark Irwin)

Dead Ringers (1988, dir by David Cronenberg, DP: Peter Suschitzky)

Crimes of the Future (2022, dir by David Cronenberg, DP: Douglas Koch)

Lisa Marie’s Way Too Early Oscar Predictions For March

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Now that the 2022 Oscars are over with, it’s time to move on to the 2023 Oscars!

Needless to say, there’s probably nothing more pointless than trying to guess which films are going to be nominated a year from now. I can’t even guarantee that all of the films listed below are even going to be released this year. And, even if they are released this year, I can’t guarantee that they’ll actually be any good or that the Academy will show any interest in them. I mean, Martin Scorsese always seems like a safe bet but we all remember what happened with Silence. For months, everyone said Silence would be the Oscar front runner. Then it was released to respectful but not ecstatic reviews. Audiences stayed away. The film ended up with one technical nomination.

My point is that no one knows anything. As much as I hate quoting William Goldman (because, seriously, quoting Goldman on a film site is such a cliché at this point), Goldman was right.

So, you may be asking, how did I come up with the nominees below? For the most part, I guessed. A few of them I went with because of the people who made the film. Though shooting has wrapped, Ferrari might not even be released this year but it’s a Michael Mann film that stars Adam Driver so, for now, I have to include it. Of course, I had to include Scorsese and Killers of the Flower Moon. Asteroid City is there because the Academy embraced Wes Anderson once and it could always happen again. Fair Play and Magazine Dreams‘s Jonathan Majors are listed because the Sundance Film Festival is still a recent memory. Maestro is there because the Academy seems like to Bradley Cooper. Dune Part Two and Oppenheimer are there because Film Twitter is convinced that they will be.

In other words, there’s no real science to these predictions. It’s too early in the year to do anything but guess. And for now, these are my guesses. A year from now, they’ll be good for either bragging rights or a laugh. Hopefully, they’ll be good for both.

Best Picture

Asteroid City

The Color Purple

Dune Part Two

Fair Play

Ferrari

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Rustin

Best Director

Chloe Domont for Fair Play

Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer

Alexander Payne for The Holdovers

Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon

Denis Villeneuve for Dune Part Two

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper in Maestro

Colman Domingo in Rustin

Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers

Jonathan Majors in Magazine Dreams

Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer

Best Actress

Emily Blunt in Pain Hustlers

Carey Mulligan in Maestro

Da’Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers

Julia Roberts in Leave the World Behind

Teyana Taylor in A Thousand and One

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali in Leave The World Behind

Willem DaFoe in Poor Things

Matt Damon in Oppenheimer

Ethan Hawke in Strange Way Of Life

Jesse Plemons in Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Supporting Actress

Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer

Tantoo Cardinal in Killers of the Flower Moon

Taraji P. Henson in The Color Purple

Florence Pugh in Oppenheimer

Tilda Swinton in Asteroid City

A Few Thoughts On The 95th Oscar Ceremony

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This year’s Oscar ceremony was all about the Slap.

Don’t get me wrong. No one got slapped during the ceremony. No one got yelled at. There wasn’t any major controversy at all, beyond the question of whether Everything Everywhere All At Once actually deserved all of those Oscars. Most of the awards speeches were nice. Ke Huy Quan was a highlight, calling his story “an American dream.” Much as when Gary Oldman praised America upon winning his Oscar for Best Actor, you could tell the audience at the ceremony wasn’t sure how to react to unironic praise of America but I can promise you that his speech touched the hearts of almost everyone watching. Compared to previous ceremonies, there wasn’t a lot of political blathering and the orchestra did its job and kept people from rambling on for too long. Obviously, the Academy learned its lesson from the Soderbergh Oscars and that guy who wouldn’t shut up about his octopus.

That said, from the start, it was obvious that The Slap and preventing another incident was on everyone’s mind. As opposed to last year’s Oscars, the entire ceremony felt tightly controlled. Jimmy Kimmel kept his jokes light and only poked fun at people who didn’t show for the ceremony, like James Cameron and Tom Cruise. Amongst the presenters, there was a definite lack of comedians or, really, anyone who might threaten to go off script and say something controversial. The show was carefully constructed to keep anything shocking from happening and, as a result, it was a bit dull. For all the drama and controversy that surrounded the Slap, it was probably one of the few truly spontaneous moments that we’ve seen on the Oscars. Certainly, more people talked about the Slap last year than are going to be talking the ceremony this year.

This year was safe and boring, though it was never as downright dull as the Soderbergh Oscars. Most of the victories felt inevitable. I guess the biggest upset was Jamie Lee Curtis winning Best Supporting Actress over Angela Bassett. (Though I appreciated that Curtis epitomized everything that normal people hate about the IRS, I was rooting for Kerry Condon.) There was a brief moment of excitement when it seemed like All Quiet On The Western Front might upset Everything Everywhere All At Once but that ended up as soon as All Quiet lost the Adapted Screenplay Oscar to Women Talking.

As far as the speeches go, Ke Huy Quan won the evening by giving a genuine, heartfelt acceptance speech. The Daniels got to give three acceptance speeches and they both seemed to get just a little bit more impressed with themselves with each speech. (A lot of people are going to have their knives out when the Daniels get around to making their third film.) EEAAO‘s editor went on for a bit too long, which is actually kind of a funny thing for an editor to do. Michelle Yeoh’s speech was classy and should be used as a guide who ever wonders what to say when accepting an award.

I was kind of dreading the prospect of Jimmy Kimmel hosting but I thought he did a good job. Other than throwing in a few heavy-handed political jabs towards the end, Kimmel struck the right tone for the show. Jimmy certainly seemed to have a better handle on things than Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall did last year. Of course, unlike those three, Kimmel didn’t have to deal with any nominees walking on stage and striking a presenter.

As far as the musical performances go, the performance of RRR‘s nominated song was a lot of fun and I also thought Lady Gaga did a wonderful job with her song. The other performances didn’t do much for me, though none of them were particularly bad. They were just kind of safe. The fact that EEAAO got a nomination for that song should have been everyone’s first clue that the Academy was going to love the movie.

The ceremony this year was controlled and boring and, most importantly, it’s now over. Now, we can start talking about what’s going to win in 2024!

Here Are Your Oscar Winners

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Best Picture — Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Director — The Daniels, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Actor — Brendan Fraser, The Whale

Best Actress — Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actor — Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actress — Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Adapted Screenplay — Women Talking

Best Original Screenplay — Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Animated Feature Film — Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

Best International Film — All Quiet On The Western Front

Best Documentary Feature Film — Nalvany

Best Live Action Short — An Irish Goodbye

Best Animated Short — The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse

Best Documentary Short — The Elephant Whisperers

Best Original Score — All Quiet On The Western Front

Best Original Song — RRR

Best Cinematography — All Quiet On The Western Front

Best Costume Design — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Best Editing — Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Makeup and Hairstyling — The Whale

Best Production Design — All Quiet On The Western Front

Best Sound — Top Gun: Maverick

Best Visual Effects — Avatar: The Way of Water

10 Oscar Snubs From The 2010s

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

And now, we reach the present day! A lot has changed over the past few decades but one thing has remained consistent. No matter how hard the Academy tries, some good movies and performances are always going to get snubbed. Here are ten snubs from the previous decade.

2011: Shame Is Totally Ignored

Despite being critically acclaimed and receiving nominations from other groups, Steve McQueen’s Shame was totally ignored by the Academy. My theory is a lot of people looked at Michael Fassbender playing an emotionally detached, self-destructive sex addict and they basically saw aspects of themselves that they didn’t want to acknowledge. Shame caused too much shame amongst the voters.

2012: The Master Is Not Nominates For Best Picture

When The Master was first released, a lot of people didn’t really know what to make of Paul Thomas Anderson’s barely disguised portrait of Scientology. The film received only three nominations, for Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. It deserved quite a bit more but, in 2012, I imagine the film’s portrait of a charismatic cult leader taking advantage of his wealthy followers seemed a bit too familiar to some voters.

2013: Tom Hanks Is Not Nominated For Best Actor For Captain Phillips

Looking over today’s list of snubs, a recurring theme seems to be actors who were not nominated because the Academy took them and their talent for granted. That’s the only possible reason that I can come up with for the Academy to have not nominated Tom Hanks for his outstanding lead performance in Captain Phillips. Just consider the scene at the end of the film, when the shellshocked and exhausted Captain Phillips is examined by a nurse and he can’t stop talking about the blood on his clothes. It’s a devastating scene, largely because the audience doesn’t feel as if they’re watching Tom Hanks give a performance. At that moment, they feel that they are watching a man who has just been through the worst experience of his life and who, even though he is now safe, will be forever haunted by what he has witnessed.

2014: Guardians of the Galaxy Is Not Nominated For Best Picture

Seriously, if any MCU film deserved to be nominated for Best Picture, it was Guardians of the Galaxy. It was a fun movie with a charismatic cast and, despite what some critics claimed, it actually did have something to say about the importance of tolerance and individual freedom. It even holds up well to repeat viewings, which is not exactly something that you can say about a few of the other MCU film.

2016: Amy Adams Is Not Nominated For Best Actress For Arrival

Much as they did with Tom Hanks and his performance in Captain Phillips, the Academy took Amy Adams for granted and failed to nominate her for Arrival, despite the fact that it was her best performance to date. At this point, if I’m Amy Adams, I would be wondering just what it is that I’m going to have to do to finally get my Oscar.

2017: Ethan Hawke Is Not Nominates For Best Actor For First Reformed

This is another snub that I can’t get my head around. Ethan Hawke has been nominated in the past. The Academy is obviously not resistant to honoring Ethan Hawke. So how was it that one of his best performances went unnominated? For that matter, how is it that First Reformed itself only received one Oscar nomination?

2019: The Souvenir Is Ignored

Despite being one of the best films of the past ten years, The Souvenir was ignored by Academy. The things that made the film work, like its low-key but honest performances and its refusal to pass easy judgment on its characters, are probably the same things that caused the Academy to overlook it.

2020: The Assistant Is Ignored

This was a powerful film and it featured an award-worthy performance from Julia Garner. It was also about Harvey Weinstein so I guess I shouldn’t be too shocked that the Academy snubbed it. The Assistant is a film that probably hit too close to home for many members of the Academy.

2021: Val Is Not Nominated For Best Documentary Feature

Val is one of the most affecting documentaries that I’ve ever seen but the Documentary Branch failed to even give it a nomination. Maybe, like The Assistant, Val just hit too close to home for some of the voters.

2021: Mass Is Ignored

Again, I will never understand how the Academy can fail to give even one nomination to a film as good as Mass. As with The Souvenir, I can only guess that the Academy did not know how to react to Mass’s honest approach to its subject matter. Mass worked because it avoided easy judgments and solutions. That’s probably the same thing that led to the Academy ignoring both the film and its outstanding cast.

Agree? Disagree? Do you have any bigger Oscar snub that you’d like to mention? Let us know in the comments!

And now, get ready to enjoy the show! And, if you don’t care about the Oscars, fear not! My review of The Black Godfather will be posting in an hour.

10 Oscar Snubs From The 2000s

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to the aughts. The new century started out with the terror of 9-11 and it ended with the collapse of the world’s economy. In between, a lot of films were released. Some of them were really good. A few of them were nominated for Best Picture. Most of them were not. As always, there were snubs aplenty.

2000: Michael Douglas Is Not Nominated For Wonder Boys

I recently saw someone online bemoaning the fact that Michael Douglas appears to be fated to end his career as a supporting character in the MCU as opposed to playing the type of “mature” roles with which he made his reputation. And I actually think that person had a good point. Michael Douglas, whose performances once epitomized the last few decades of the 20th Century, does seem a bit out of place surrounded by CGI and responding to the overly quippy dialogue of the MCU. If you want to see a truly good Michael Douglas performance that doesn’t involve anyone shrinking, check him out in Curtis Hanson’s Wonder Boys. Though Wonder Boys won the Oscar for Best Original Song and picked up nominations for Editing and Adapted Screenplay, Michael Douglas’s wonderful lead performance was overlooked.

2001: Mulholland Drive Is Almost Totally Ignored

Considering the reverence with which it is now viewed, it’s interesting to note that Mulholland Drive only received one Oscar nomination, for David Lynch’s direction. The film was not nominated for Best Picture. Naomi Watts and Laura Harring both went unnominated. At the time, I imagine the film was too strange for Academy voters and its origin as a television pilot probably worked against it. Today, it is regularly cited as one of the best films ever made.

2002: Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks Are Not Nominated For Catch Me If You Can

Catch Me If You Can was that rarest of movies, an underrated Steven Spielberg production. Christopher Walken was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and the film’s score was nominated as well. But both Leonard DiCaprio and Tom Hanks went unnominated, despite doing some of the best work of their careers.

2002: Robin Williams Is Not Nominated For One Hour Photo

One Hour Photo featured what I consider to be Robin Williams’s best and most poignant performance. It was also perhaps his most frightening performance, which probably explains why the Academy shied away from honoring it.

2003: Scarlet Johansson Is Not Nominated For Best Actress For Lost In Translation

Though Bill Murray got most of the awards attention, Scarlet Johansson’s performance was just as important to the success of Lost In Translation.

2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Is Not Nominated For Best Picture or Best Actor

Even before he decided to present himself as being an expert on vaccines and modern art, I wasn’t a huge fan of Jim Carrey’s. That said, even I have to admit that he deserved a nomination for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film itself was only nominated for two Oscars. Kate Winslet was nominated for Best Actress and Charlie Kaufman won the Oscar for Original Screenplay. The film deserved quite a bit more.

2007: Once Is Not Nominated For Best Picture

This is one snub that I haven’t quite gotten over. Once, a beautiful independent film from Ireland, deserved far more love than it received from the Academy. That said, it did win the Oscar for Best Original Song and Glen Hansard gave one of the best acceptance speeches in Oscar history. So, there is a little justice.

2008: The Dark Knight Is Not Nominated For Best Picture

If ever there was a comic book movie that deserved to be nominated for Best Picture, it was this one. To me, I think the main reason why The Dark Knight is superior to so many other comic book movies is because, even with Batman and the Joker running around, it still feels as if it’s taking place in the real world. The smartest decision that Christopher Nolan made was to use a real city for Gotham instead of constructing a phony-looking set. The fact that The Dark Knight received 8 nominations without also receiving a nomination for Best Picture leaves little doubt that the film’s lack of a nomination was due to its origins as a comic book movie. There was such an uproar about The Dark Knight failing to pick up a Best Picture nomination that the Academy increased the number of Best Picture nominees to ten. (Of course, that’s didn’t do much to help anything.)

2008: Robert Downey, Jr. Is Not Nominated For Best Actor For Iron Man

The MCU is now so big that it’s easy to forget that, if Robert Downey, Jr. hadn’t been a convincing Tony Stark in 2008, the whole thing would have never happened. Going back and watching the early MCU films, before they got bogged down in their own formula, can be an eye-opening experience. Downey’s performance in the first Iron Man holds up extremely well. He goes from being an irresponsible businessman to being a hero and he’s convincing at every turn. He gave such a good performance that it convinced even those of us who weren’t comic book readers to stick around and see what was coming up next in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

2009: George Wyner Is Not Nominated For Best Supporting Actor For A Serious Man

Not all snubs involve big stars or famous actors. Some of them involve talented character actors like George Wyner who totally knock their one scene out of the park but who still don’t get the recognition that they deserve. In A Serious Man, Wyner plays the rabbi who tells Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) the parable of the dentist who found Hebrew phrases on the teeth of one of his patients. It’s a mesmerizing scene, thanks to George Wyner’s skill as a storyteller.

Agree? Disagree? Have a snub of your own that you’d like to mention? Let us know in the comments!

Coming up next, we go from the 2010s to the present day!

10 Oscar Snubs From the 1980s

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Ah, the 80s! Ronald Reagan was president. America was strong. Russia was weak. The economy was booming. The music was wonderful. Many great movies were released, though most of them were not nominated for any Oscars. This is the decade that tends to drive most Oscar fanatics batty. So many good films that went unnominated. So many good performers that were overlooked. Let’s dive on in!

1980: The Shining Is Totally Ignored

Admittedly, The Shining was not immediately embraced by critics when it was first released. Stephen King is still whining about the movie and once he went as far as to joke about being happy that he outlived Stanley Kubrick. (Not cool, Steve.) Well, none of that matters. The Shining should have been nominated across the board. “Come and play with us, Danny …. AT THE OSCARS!”

1981: Harrison Ford Is Not Nominated For Best Actor For Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders received a lot of nominations. Steven Spielberg was nominated for Best Director. The film itself was nominated for Best Picture. (It lost to Chariots of Fire.) But the man who helped to hold the film together, Harrison Ford, was not nominated for his performance as Indiana Jones. Despite totally changing the way that people looked at archeologists and also making glasses sexy, Harrison Ford was overlooked. I think this was yet another case of the Academy taking a reliable actor for granted.

1982: Brian Dennehy Is Not Nominated For Best Supporting Actor For First Blood

First Blood didn’t receive any Oscar nominations, not even in the technical categories. Personally, I think you could argue that the film, which was much more than just an action film, deserved to be considered for everything from Best Actor to Best Director to Best Picture. But, in the end, if anyone was truly snubbed, it was Brian Dennehy. Dennehy turned Will Teasle into a classic villain. Wisely, neither the film nor Dennehy made the mistake of portraying Sheriff Teasle as being evil. Instead, he was just a very stubborn man who couldn’t admit that he made a mistake in the way he treated John Rambo. Dennehy gave an excellent performance that elevated the entire film.

1984: Once Upon A Time In America Is Totally Ignored

It’s not a huge shock that Once Upon A Time In America didn’t receive any Oscar nominations. Warner Bros. took Sergio Leone’s gangster epic and recut it before giving it a wide release in America. Among other things, scenes were rearranged so that they played out in chronological order, the studio took 90 minutes off of the run time, and the film’s surrealistic and challenging ending was altered. Leone disowned the Warner Bros. edit of the film. Unfortunately, in 1984, most people only saw the edited version of Once Upon A Time In America and Leone was so disillusioned by the experience that he would never direct another film. (That said, even the edited version featured Ennio Morricone’s haunting score, which certainly deserved not just a nomination but also the Oscar.) The original cut of Once Upon A Time In America is one of the greatest gangster films ever made, though one gets the feeling that it might have still been too violent, thematically dark, and narratively complex for the tastes of the Academy in 1984. At a time when the Academy was going out of its way to honor good-for-you films like Gandhi, it’s probable that a film featuring Robert De Niro floating through time in an Opium-induced haze might have been a bridge too far.

1985: The Breakfast Club Is Totally Ignored

Not even a nomination for Best Screenplay! It’s a shame. I’m going to guess that the Academy assumed that The Breakfast Club was just another teen flick. Personally, if nothing else, I would have given the film the Oscar for Best Original Song. Seriously, don’t you forget about me.

1986: Alan Ruck Is Not Nominated For Best Supporting Actor For Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Poor Cameron!

1986: Blue Velvet Is Not Nominated For Best Picture

Considering the type of films that the Academy typically nominated in the 80s, it’s something of a shock that David Lynch even managed to get a Best Director nomination for a film as surreal and subversive as Blue Velvet. Unfortunately, that was the only recognition that the Academy was willing to give to the film. It can also be argued that Kyle MacLachlan, Laura Dern, Isabella Rossellini, and Dean Stockwell were overlooked by the Academy. Dennis Hopper did receive a Supporting Actor nomination in 1986, though it was for Hoosiers and not Blue Velvet.

1987: R. Lee Ermey Is Not Nominated For Best Supporting Actor For Full Metal Jacket

One of the biggest misconceptions about Full Metal Jacket is that R. Lee Ermey was just playing himself. While Ermey was a former drill instructor and he did improvise the majority of his lines (which made him unique among actors who have appeared in Kubrick films), Ermey specifically set out to play Sgt. Hartmann as being a bad drill instructor, one who pushed his recruits too hard, forgot the importance of building them back up, and was so busy being a bully that he failed to notice that Pvt. Pyle had gone off the deep end. Because Ermey was, by most accounts, a good drill instructor, he knew how to portray a bad one and the end result was an award-worthy performance.

1988: Die Hard Is Not Nominated For Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor, or Director

Die Hard did receive some technical nominations but, when you consider how influential the film would go on to be, it’s hard not to feel that it deserved more. Almost every action movie villain owes a debt to Alan Rickman’s performance as Hans Gruber. And Bruce Willis …. well, all I can say is that people really took Bruce for granted.

1989: Do The Right Thing Is Not Nominated For Best Picture

Indeed, it would take another 30 years for a film directed by Spike Lee to finally be nominated for Best Picture.

Agree? Disagree? Do you have an Oscar snub that you think is even worse than the 10 listed here? Let us know in the comments!

Up next: It’s the 90s!

10 Oscar Snubs From the 1970s

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Ah, the 70s. The decade started with the collapse of the studio system and the rise of the so-called movie brats. For the first half of the decade, Hollywood was producing the type of challenging films on which they would never again be willing to take the risk. The 70s were indeed a second cinematic golden age, full of anti-heroes and dark endings. Then, in 1977, Star Wars changed all of that and ushered in the era of the blockbuster. The 1970s gave the world disco, The Godfather, and some of the best Oscar winners ever. It also gave us more than a few snubs.

1971: Dirty Harry Is Totally Ignored

Dirty Harry may be one of the most influential films ever made but the Academy totally snubbed it. My guess is that, with The French Connection coming out that same year, the Academy only had room for one morally amibiguous cop film in its heart. Still, Dirty Harry has certainly held up better than the nominated Nicholas and Alexandra. Both Clint Eastwood and Andrew Robinson gave performances that were award-worthy as well. Say what you will about Eastwood’s range, I defy anyone not to smile at the way Harry snarls when he discovers that the man he’s talking to teaches a constitutional law course at Berkley.

1971: Gimme Shelter Is Not Nominated For Best Documentary Feature

Considering that Woodstock won the Documentary Oscar the previous year, it only seems appropriate the Gimme Shelter should have won the following year. In the end, the Academy decided to celebrate the best of the 60s while snubbing the worst of it.

1972: Burt Reynolds Is Not Nominated For Deliverance

If you’ve ever seen Deliverance, you know how important a character Lewis Medlock (played by Burt Reynolds) was. Not only was he the one who persuaded everyone to spend the weekend risking their lives on a canoeing trip but he also set the standard for “manlinness” that the rest of his friends tried to live up to. When Lewis ends up getting a compound fracture and is forced to spend the rest of the film deliriously lying in a canoe, it’s a reminder that nature and fate don’t care how confident or outspoken you are. Reynolds was perfectly cast. 1972 was a strong year with a lot of worthwhile nominations and, to be honest, there’s really not a bad or an unworthy performance to be found among the acting nominees. Still, it’s hard not to feel that the Academy should have found some room for Burt Reynolds.

1974: John Huston Is Not Nominated For Chinatown

In the role of Chinatown‘s Noah Cross, John Huston gave one of the great villainous performances. Cross represented pure avarice and moral decay, a man who committed terrible crimes but who, the film suggested, was also responsible for creating not only modern Los Angeles but also providing a home for Hollywood. Admittedly, there were a lot of good performances to choose from and I certainly can’t complain that the Academy awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor to Robert De Niro, who deserved it. Still, in retrospect, John Huston’s evil turn was at least as strong as Fred Astaire’s likable (and nominated) turn in The Towering Inferno.

1974 and 1975: John Cazale Is Not Nominated For Best Supporting Actor

John Cazale had a brief but legendary career. A noted stage actor, Cazale made his film debut in 1972 with The Godfather. He played Fredo, the Corleone son who couldn’t get any respect. He final film, released after his early death from cancer, was 1978’s The Deer Hunter. Cazale appeared in a total of five films, every one of which was nominated for Best Picture. That this talented actor was never nominated for an Oscar just doesn’t seem right. But for which film should he have been nominated?

Godfather Part II received three nominations for Best Supporting Actor: Robert De Niro, Lee Strasberg, and Michael V. Gazzo. Personally, I would probably replace Gazzo with Cazale. Cazale’s performance as Fredo was one of the strongest parts of Godfather Part II. Who can forget Fredo’s legendary meltdown about always being overlooked? I would also say that Cazale deserved a nomination for his performance in Dog Day Afternoon, in which he played Sal and provided the film with some of its saddest and funniest moments. Neither Fredo nor Sal survive their films and, in both cases, it’s impossible not to feel that they deserved better than the world gave them.

1975: Steven Spielberg Is Not Nominated For Jaws

Seriously, what the Heck? Jaws totally reinvented the movies. It received a deserved nomination for Best Picture but the true star of the film, Steven Spielberg, was somehow not nominated.

1976: Martin Scorsese is Not Nominates For Taxi Driver

Seriously, what the Heck? Taxi Driver totally reinvented the movies. It received a deserved nomination for Best Picture but the true star of the film, Martin Scorsese, was somehow not nominated.

1977: Harrison Ford Is Not Nominates For Star Wars

Harrison Ford, despite having had the type of career for which most actors would sacrifice their soul, has never had much success with the Oscars. He’s been nominated exactly once, for Witness. That he’s never won an Oscar just feels wrong. The fact that he wasn’t even nominated for playing either Han Solo or Indiana Jones feels even more wrong. In the role of Solo, Ford bring some much needed cynicism to Star Wars. His decision to return and help the Rebels destroy the Death Star is one of the best moments in the film.

1978: National Lampoon’s Animal House Is Totally Ignored

This film deserved a nomination just for the scene in which John Belushi destroyed that annoying folk singer’s guitar. Seriously, though, this is another film that, more or less, defined an era. I’m not saying it deserved to win but it at least deserved a few nominations.

1979: Dawn of the Dead Is Not Nominated For Best Picture

Considering the Academy’s general resistance to honoring horror, it’s not really a shock that Dawn of the Dead was not nominated for Best Picture but still, it would have been nice if it had happened.

Agree? Disagree? Do you have an Oscar snub that you think is even worse than the 10 listed here? Let us know in the comments!

Up next: The 80s arrive and the snubs continue!

Dawn of the Dead (1978, dir by George Romero)

10 Oscar Snubs From The 1960s

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Ah, the 60s. Both the studio system and the production code collapsed as Hollywood struggled to remain relevant during a time of great social upheaval. The Academy alternated between nominating films that took chances and nominating films that cost a lot of money. It led to some odd best picture lineups and some notable snubs!

1960: Psycho Is Not Nominated For Best Picture and Anthony Perkins Is Not Nominated For Best Actor

To be honest, considering that the Academy has never really embraced horror as a genre and spent most of the 60s nominating big budget prestige pictures, it’s a bit surprising that Psycho was actually nominated for four Oscars. Along with being nominated for its production design and its cinematography, Psycho also won nominations for Alfred Hitchcock and Janet Leigh. However, Anthony Perkins was not nominated for Best Actor, despite giving one of the most memorable performances of all time. The film literally would not work without Perkins’s performance and, considering that Perkins pretty much spent the rest of his career in the shadow of Norman Bates, it’s a shame that he didn’t at least get a nomination for his trouble. Psycho was also not nominated for Best Picture, despite being better remembered and certainly more influential than most of the films that were.

1962: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Is Almost Totally Snubbed

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was not totally snubbed by the Academy. It received a nomination for Best Costume Design. But still, it deserved so much more! John Ford, James Stewart, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Vera Miles, and the picture itself were all worthy of nominations. Admittedly, 1962 was a year full of great American films and there was a lot of competition when it came to the Oscars. Still, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance definitely deserved a best picture nomination over the bloated remake of Mutiny on the Bounty. Today, if the first Mutiny on the Bounty remake is known for anything, it’s for Marlon Brando being difficult on the set. But The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is still remembered for telling us to always print the legend.

1964: From Russia With Love Is Totally Snubbed

The same year that the Academy honored George Cukor’s creaky adaptation of My Fair Lady, it totally ignored my favorite James Bond film. From Russia With Love is a Bond film that works wonderfully as both a love story and a thriller. Sean Connery, Lotte Lenya, Robert Shaw, and Terence Young all deserved some award consideration. From Russia With Love was released in the UK in 1963. In a perfect world, it would have also been released concurrently in the U.S., allowing From Russia With Love to be the film that gave the the Academy the chance to recognize the British invasion. Instead, Tom Jones was named the Best Picture of 1963 and From Russia With Love had to wait until 1964 to premiere in the U.S. It was snubbed in favor of one of old Hollywood’s last grasps at relevance.

1964: Slim Pickens Is Not Nominated For Best Supporting Actor

Playing three separate roles, Peter Sellers dominates Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb. But, as good as Sellers is, the film’s most memorable image is definitely Slim Pickens whooping it up as he rides the bomb down to Earth. George C. Scott and Sterling Hyaden also undoubtedly deserved some award consideration but, in the end, Pickens is the one who brings the film to life even as he helps to bring society to an end.

1967: In Cold Blood Is Not Nominated For Best Picture

In Cold Blood, though not a perfect film, certainly deserved a nomination over Dr. Doolittle. In Cold Blood is a film that still has the power to disturb and haunt viewers today. Dr. Doolittle was a box office debacle that was nominated in an attempt to help 20th Century Fox make back some of their money.

1967: Sidney Poitier Is Not Nominated For Best Actor For In The Heat Of The Night

In 1967, Sidney Poitier starred in two of the films that were nominated for Best Picture but somehow, he did not pick up a nomination himself. His restrained but fiercely intelligent performance in In The Heat Of The Night provided a powerful contrast to Rod Steiger’s more blustery turn. That Poitier was not nominated for his performance as Virgil Tibbs truly is one of the stranger snubs in Academy history. (If I had to guess, I’d say that the Actors Branch was split on whether to honor him for In The Heat of the Night or Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner or even for To Sir With Love and, as a result, he ended up getting nominated for none of them.)

1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes Are Not Nominated For Best Picture

Neither one of these classic science fiction films were nominated for Best Picture, despite the fact that both of them are far superior and far more influential than Oliver!, the film that won that year.

1968: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly Is Totally Ignored

Not even Ennio Morricone’s score received a nomination!

1968: Petulia Is Totally Snubbed

Seriously, I don’t know what was going on with the Academy in 1968 but it seems they went out of their way to ignore the best films of the year. Richard Lester’s Petulia is usually cited as one of the definitive films of the 60s but it received not a single Oscar nomination. Not only did the film fail to receive a nomination for Best Picture but Richard Lester, George C. Scott, Julie Christie, Shirley Knight, Richard Chamberlain, and the film’s screenwriters were snubbed as well.

1969: Easy Rider Is Not Nominated For Best Picture

Yes, I know. Easy Rider is a flawed film and there are certain moments that are just incredibly pretentious. That said, Easy Rider defined an era and it also presented a portrait of everything that was and is good, bad, and timeless about America. The film may have been produced, directed, and acted in a drug-razed haze but it’s also an important historical document and it was also a film whose success permanently changed Hollywood. Certainly, Easy Rider’s legacy is superior to that of Hello, Dolly!

Agree? Disagree? Do you have an Oscar snub that you think is even worse than the 10 listed here? Let us know in the comments!

Up next: It’s the 70s!