By Roger Warner
Let’s take a look at some films that are now considered classics that never earned an Oscar at the time of their release, as a reminder that critical recognition isn’t everything.
The Shawshank Redemption
It may surprise the millions of fans of this movie to learn that in spite of being nominated across a whopping seven categories at the 1995 Academy Awards, it didn’t take home a single one of these potential prizes.
The Best Picture category was packed with a strong set of competitors that year, with Forrest Gump beating out The Shawshank Redemption, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction and Quiz Show.
It’s worth remembering that at the time, this adaptation of a Steven King story did not set the box office alight; it only took $58.3 million against its $25 million budget. It’s only in the years since its release that it has gained such a huge following.
Casino
Martin Scorsese’s mid-’90s gangster epic has it all; a psychotic performance from Joe Pesci, a compelling period setting in fabulous Las Vegas, and a plot that involves betrayal, bloodshed and bad decisions.
It’s sad to think that the land-based casinos portrayed in this cult classic are slowly dwindling. In their place, online equivalents like casumo are growing in popularity in the digital era.
It’s also a shame that the only Oscar nod Casino received was a nomination for Sharon Stone’s stunning performance. She lost out to Susan Sarandon on the night, and had to make do with winning a Golden Globe instead.
Psycho & Rear Window
This is an Alfred Hitchcock thriller double bill; two of his best-known movies which were firmly shunned by Academy members when it came to the crunch.
Psycho caused major controversy upon its release in 1960 for its content, but was at least nominated in the Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction categories. Obviously it missed out on an award in all cases.
Rear Window, released six years earlier, saw Hitchcock in the running for Best Director, but was again overlooked. While he’d already won Best Picture with Rebecca back in 1940, the lack of a Best Director gong would hang over him until his death in 1980.
Die Hard
Arguably the best action movie of all time, Die Hard actually managed to get a total of four Oscar nominations in 1989, for sound, editing and visual effects.
Unfortunately, the performances by Bruce Willis as the put-upon New York cop John McClane and by Alan Rickman as his cunning criminal nemesis Hans Gruber weren’t seen as worthy enough to warrant awards recognition.
The quality of the sequels has dipped significantly from this initial high, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that the original Die Hard is a beacon of brilliant ’80s action cinema.
It’s a Wonderful Life
This Christmas classic is a family favourite around the world, but none of the five categories in which it received a nomination back in 1946 managed to earn it an Academy Award.
This is all the more incredible given that it managed to tackle so many tricky topics in its 130 minute run time. Perhaps its poor performance at the box office put paid to its award show chances; it took just $3.3 million against its $3.18 million budget, falling foul of the same problem as The Shawshank Redemption in this respect.
The Shining
Most people look back on The Shining as a masterpiece of horror and suspense, with Stanley Kubrick directing Jack Nicholson in a role that would come to define him.
However, at the time of its release it got snubbed at the Oscars and was lambasted by critics who failed to see the value of its weirdness and intensity.
Fans have helped to build The Shining’s reputation over the decades, to the point that it now seems bizarre that it was so criminally ignored at the time.
