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The Oscar has been criticized for many years for being politicized and dependent on public opinion, calling it almost corrupt.
The merit of the victory of some films, directors and actors is highly doubtful, but the winners, as you know, are not judged, so we will talk about the losers.
The name Michel Hazanavicius is almost unknown to the average viewer, while everyone knows Ridley Scott. The difference between them is not only in the level of popularity, but also in the fact that the first in 2012 became the best director with the tape “Artist”, and the second has never received a statuette in his half-century career, no matter how strange it may seem at first glance.
Let’s remember other iconic directors who are ignored by the Oscar committee.
10 Darren Aronofsky
This director can be safely called one of the most extraordinary in modern Hollywood for his love to shock the audience.
He shocks not with his behavior, but with his films: his works have been repeatedly booed at prestigious festivals, and the situation when the audience at the premiere screenings leave the hall in the middle of the screening is generally normal for Aronofsky.
Nevertheless, many excellent works can be found in his track record: the unique Requiem for a Dream, The Black Swan, which brought actress Natalie Portman an Oscar, and others.
In the case of Aronofsky, it can be assumed that he will still receive his prize, since he is only 50 years old, and he still has a lot of ideas.
9. Paul Thomas Anderson
Without exaggeration, a unique case: the director has shot 8 feature films and has 8 Oscar nominations, but has not yet received the coveted statuette.
Among his works are the debut film The Fatal Eight, the drama Magnolia, which Anderson himself calls his best work, as well as Oil and Phantom Thread.
Back in 2007, Total Film included the director in the top 20 of all time, although at that time he was just over 30. Now he is 48 years old, so, as in the case of Aronofsky, he has every chance of getting reward in the future.
8. David Lynch
“The Elephant Man”, “Eraserhead”, “Dune”, “Wild at Heart” – all these films, as well as the TV series “Twin Peaks”, glorified David Lynch forever.
Never striving for the mainstream, the director captivates the viewer with his unique style, ideas and presentation, which at first glance may seem strange and even wild, but still memorable.
The Oscar committee also appreciates Lynch, but at the moment he has only 3 nominations and 0 awards, although he has dozens of other film awards.
7. Tim Burton
Another director with a unique author’s style, whose work can be recognized without much difficulty.
Working after studying at Walt Disney Studios, Tim quickly realized that he needed to “steer” the filming process himself, so he devoted himself entirely to directing.
In the period from the late 80s to the late 90s, he directed Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow and the Batman duology, which brought him worldwide fame.
Then there were “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Alice in Wonderland”, “Big Fish” and others.
Self-sufficient and extraordinary, he was nominated for an Oscar twice, both times for animation projects, but even here the award passed him by.
6. George Lucas
The creator of two cult franchises, Star Wars and Indiana Jones, was nominated 4 times for the award: two nominations for American Graffiti (1973 tragicomedy, one of his debut films) and the same number for A New Hope.
In fairness, it is worth noting that the work of Lucas has never been focused on prestigious awards, but they have always been accompanied by commercial success.
In 1992, he received an Oscar for his contribution to the development of cinema, for which he really did a lot, but honorary awards, although significant, are still “not the right coat.”
5. Alfred Hitchcock
This man has done no less for cinema, if not more. The “Father of the Thriller”, as he is sometimes called, took the genre to a new level.
All the techniques used by modern directors, in one form or another, were invented by Hitchcock: escalating the situation when something terrible is about to happen is now called suspense, and its creator in the cinema is Alfred Hitchcock.
“Psycho”, “Rebecca”, “Rear Window” – for these and other tapes the director claimed the award 6 times, and always in the main nomination, but never received it.
4. Christopher Nolan
One of the most popular directors of the early XNUMXs does not have an Oscar for reasons that are incomprehensible to millions.
Just think: a man made “Remember”, “Inception”, “Interstellar”, “The Prestige”, “Insomnia”, “Dunkirk” and was never recognized as the best.
And for the first time, he was nominated for the main director’s award only in 2018 for Dunkirk, which is objectively not his strongest picture.
At that time, the award went to Guillermo del Toro for The Shape of Water, becoming his first prize. If not for this, then he would certainly have been mentioned in our list.
We deliberately do not focus on the Batman trilogy: despite all the coolness, these films are clearly “not the format”, unlike others.
3. David Fincher
Remembering the creator of the thriller genre, Alfred Hitchcock, it is simply impossible not to talk about the person who popularized it in our time.
In just 7 years, Fincher made a name for himself with The Game, Fight Club, Seven, and then made a notable noise with The Incredible Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, Gone Girl, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo “.
For inexplicable reasons, awards have always bypassed him: he only has a Golden Globe for The Social Network and a British Academy Film Award for it.
2. Ridley Scott
This man had a huge impact on several genres of cinema: first he created the cult “Alien”, which by the standards of 1979 looked simply incredible, then he directed “Blade Runner” – the first full-fledged cyberpunk in history, and in 2000 rolled out “Gladiator”, which returned popularity of the peplum genre.
Then there were “Gangster”, “Hannibal” and others, but none of the works brought him the main award.
1. Frank Darabont
It is impossible to find a person who has not watched or at least not heard of The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption or The Mist.
All these films, occupying the tops of the tops with the best tapes of all time, were shot by Darabont, but they never received an Oscar.
Now there is a popular joke on the topic that if he filmed The Green Mile now, in an era of total tolerance, the picture would have every chance of becoming a record holder in the number of awards, but in 1999 a black actor in the lead role did not yet have such importance as in modern the world.