Charles Chaplin won three Oscars. But not as a director, even though he made enormous contributions to cinema, both in his use of humor as criticism and in his artistic sensibility. But the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has consistently ignored these achievements. In 1929, when the award was not the same as we know it today, he was given an award for his versatility in filming. This is not the same as directing, as Chaplin recalled at the ceremony, explaining that filmmaking is an intellectual craft.
He received the second prize in 1972, and this time it was an honorary award. Wheelchaired and visibly uncomfortable, the actor accepted the award, which seemed more like a tribute to his return to North America after exile. Finally, the following year he won an Oscar. But for participating in writing the soundtrack to the film light, one of his least known films. The strangest thing: the world premiere of the work took place in 1952. but it was only twenty years later that it was taken into account by the Academy.
The phenomenon repeats itself from time to time. Even the 2024 Oscar nominations have noticeable flaws. From how Greta Gerwig was ignored to how Leonardo DiCaprio was left out of the year’s best actors. There will always be some area where the tribute to cinema remains incomplete. OR At worst, they ignore several important contributions for unclear reasons.
We leave you with five directors who were ignored by the Oscars throughout their careers. From the so-called master of British suspense to the director who revolutionized filmmaking with his optical advances. All of them are noted in the history of the seventh art for their contributions, but apparently this was not enough to convince the Academy. A point of view that has caused all sorts of debate among film lovers and specialized critics.
Alfred Hitchcock, who created the thriller genre, but without an Oscar
The director, who turned the underrated thriller genre into an elegant combination of visual effects and scripts that tell dark stories, never won an Oscar. Even though he was nominated five times. The first one, for Rebecca (1940), which was considered a favorite but was also a personal disappointment for the director. This is because the feature film actually won the award for best film of the year.
But this will not be the only case. Four years later, he was again included in the magazine’s list of the best directors of the year. Eight downstream. But besides the loss, which angered the director more than he ever admitted, according to his biographers, it seemed to condemn him to eternal second place in preferences. In 1944 he was nominated for an award Talk about yourselfin 1950 Rear window and finally in 1960 Psychosis. By that time, the Briton had already given up hope of going on stage and raising the statuette. Which, in the end, was the best thing: the Academy refused to even award him an honorary award.
Stanley Kubrick, film visionary who never won an Oscar
Stanley Kubrick’s absence The man who changed cinema to a more sinister, complex and edgy discourse in the 1960s never won an Academy Award for Best Director. In fact, only one won for special effects. 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1969.
But no one in the Hollywood Voters Guild seemed to recognize his enormous technical achievements in Barry Lyndon, which brought shooting optics to a new level. Much less to Mechanical orange, an auteur exercise that turned cinematic evil into a series of symbols that still exist today. What’s worse is that the director was not only brilliant at creating uncomfortable and raw stories such as Glow — but a visual visionary. This was due to his knowledge of photography and obsession with perfectionism.
There were rumors that Kubrick was ignored because he was self-taught. This was never confirmed, but could explain why the Academy, which was obsessed with cinematic knowledge in the 1950s and beyond, never deigned to recognize his efforts. But, nevertheless, Kubrick went down in history. Not just as a director who redefined the seventh art for a new generation. At the same time, to understand the value of technique and aesthetics as part of the language on the big screen.
Ridley Scott creates worlds but doesn’t take home an Oscar
If with Kubrick it is impossible to understand how the Academy ignored his achievements and contributions, things take things to the next level with Ridley Scott. After all, the director is responsible for two of cinema’s most important sci-fi worlds. On the one side, Alien – Eighth Passenger(who explored primeval evil and visual experiment) and another, blade runner , Center for Research on Bioethical Dilemmas.
But not only was he ignored (which would have been a big deal), but the Academy made it very clear that Scott’s work did not seem to deserve an award. After all, for the first time he was awarded precisely for Gladiator 2000. Whose recognition came not for his work behind the camera, but as a producer, being chosen Best movie. Something that, oddly enough, was repeated at the Oscars in 2024, when Napoleon It was ignored without much pretense, in the most important categories.
Robert Altman ushered in an era of intimate and elegant cinema, but without an Oscar.
Director MASH in 1970, Nashville five years later Player – Rules of the game in 1992, City of Angels in 1993 and Gosford ParkIn 2001, he did not receive a single statuette. That, despite the nomination, the works were of the highest quality and even historical achievements. It opened the door to choral stories that had a direct influence on young directors like Quentin Tarantino.
But the Academy decided that such a feat was not enough, and throughout his career they kept him in the chair of eternal nominees. In 2006, he received an honorary Oscar. This allowed him to celebrate a prolific and illustrious career in style. Or at least he was calm enough not to complain.
Source: Hiper Textual
