Top AFI Film Picks That Were Not Oscar Nominees

Sunrise, Sophie's Choice, Do the Right Thing, King Kong, Easy Rider

© John K. Davis

Jul 25, 2008

These seven films ignored for best picture by the Oscars include three dramas, three adventure films, and a science fiction flick that has become a cult favorite.

(Note: This article originally included Martin Scorsese's GoodFellas (1990). However, one reader who knows her movies noted that that film actually did receive a nomination. GoodFellas has duly been removed.)

Dramas Not Nominated for Oscars

• Sunrise (1927). This story of a man who gains redemption after plotting to murder his wife is ranked #82 by the AFI. George O’Brien’s overwrought histrionics as the husband are fortunately neutralized by the subdued acting of Janet Gaynor as the wife. Gaynor received an Oscar for best actress and the film was given a “unique and artistic production” award. German director F. W. Murnau gives this silent picture a definite European feel.
• Sophie’s Choice (1982). Meryl Streep gives an Oscar winning performance as Sophie, a guilt filled Nazi concentration camp survivor who is haunted by the past. Sometimes slow moving, the film is a tour-de-force for the actress . Although not nominated for best picture, the movie is ranked #91 in the AFI’s top 100 movies.
• Do the Right Thing (1989). African-American director Spike Lee’s movie depicts a hot summer day in Brooklyn that erupts in racial strife. This film with a provocative ending was nominated for two Oscars: best supporting actor (Danny Aiello) and writing (Lee). Not ranked in the original 1997 AFI list, it now sits at #96.

Adventure Movies Not Nominated for Oscars

• King Kong (1933). The special effects may not be up to today’s standards, but, neverless, this original “beauty and the beast” movie still holds up well today. And, nobody has ever equaled Fay Wray as the Queen of Scream. Ranked #41 overall by the AFI, the film was followed by a poor remake in 1976 and an excellent one in 2005. The original did not receive any Oscar nominations.
• The African Queen (1951). This movie, set during World War I, was nominated for four major Oscars (best actor, best actress, best director, and best screenplay), but surprisingly not best picture. It’s a fun filled adventure of a seedy boat captain (Humphrey Bogart, who won an Oscar), a missionary spinster (Katherine Hepburn) and their battles with the African environment, the Germans, and each other. Ranked #65 by the AFI.
• Easy Rider (1969). This story of two “hippie” bikers (Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper) who journey across the country in a search for the “real” America was one of the first counter-culture films. It’s a little outdated today, but it still reflects the mood of that time period. Ranked #84 overall, the movie did garner writing nominations for Fonda, Hooper, and Terry Sothern and Jack Nicholson’s first acting nomination for his role as an alcoholic lawyer.

Science Fiction Film Not Nominated for an Oscar

• Blade Runner (1982). Ranked #97 by the AFI overall and #6 in science fiction, the movie is set in a bleak and dreary Los Angeles of 2019 where it is impossible to tell humans from humanoids. Still not appreciated by some critics such as Leonard Maltin (2007 Movie Guide), the film, starring Harrison Ford as a bounty hunter forced out of retirement, has developed a strong following, due in part to a better version released in 1992. The movie is based on Philip K. Dick’s science fiction novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Related articles: Films Not Nominated as Best Picture, Hitchcock & Chaplin Overlooked by the Oscars, The Academy Awards Neglected Actors.

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