The Academy Awards celebrates the best that the movie industry has to offer in a given year. However, it's not uncommon for audiences or cinephiles to feel that the Best Picture trophy should go to another nominee. Sometimes, it's a case of politics, other times it's simply a matter of preference, or it's just because of the voting system, but those reasons can lead to the movie that takes home the award not necessarily being the best one according to popular opinion. This can lead to some of the most memorable films in cinema being overlooked by the Academy, only to be regarded higher than the winners of their respective years.
Reddit is one of the go-to destinations for movie discussions and a popular spot for film enthusiasts to share their thoughts on classic and modern films. With such a passionate community of movie lovers who regularly discuss influential, landmark films, this topic is not lost on them. Numerous posts have been made to discuss this topic with users naming their picks on which movie should have won the coveted award more than the actual winners.
1 'Citizen Kane' (1940)
Widely recognized as the great American classic, Citizen Kane follows the life of a newspaper tycoon, and the enigma surrounding "Rosebud." But the Best Picture winner that year was How Green Was My Valley which tells the story of a Welsh mining family over several decades, seen through the eyes of the youngest son.
One of the Redditors, theofficialbagel, mentioned that Citizen Kane is an "obvious choice" to win the award over How Green Was My Valley. This remains one of The Academy's biggest oversights, but in their defense, Orson Welles' film was not a public favorite until several years after its initial release.
2 'All That Jazz' (1979)
Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, All That Jazz is an extravagant musical that also doubles as a semi-biopic for its director Bob Fosse. It went up against Kramer vs Kramer, a critical darling and that year's top-grossing film in North America. Both films were head-to-head that night, receiving nine nominations in 1980.
In a year that also saw Apocalypse Now nominated, user stumper93 thought that All That Jazz is on another level among the nominees. Fortunately, All That Jazz did not come home empty-handed. It still won four awards and left a lasting impact on cinema.
3 'Raging Bull' (1980)
Directed by Martin Scorsese and presented in black and white, Raging Bull is a biopic that follows a middleweight boxer, Jake LaMotta (Robert DeNiro). It was a strong contender but Robert Redford's directorial debut, Ordinary People, was much more low-key and connected with The Academy more.
Raging Bull ranks as one of Scorsese's best films so it is natural that Redditors went to defend this film. The user jre239 said "Ordinary People is great, but Raging Bull is [an] all-time great." This was one of Scorsese's earlier Oscar losses until his subsequent win for The Departed.
4 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption follows the wrongful conviction of an inmate (Tim Robbins), his friendship with a fellow inmate (Morgan Freeman) and his eventual escape. The movie lost the prize to Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks, a crowd-pleaser and a critics' favorite.
As the highest-rated film on IMDb, The Shawshank Redemption is the internet's favorite film. The Redditor tigerowltattoo was one of the audiences disappointed with the upset. This user thought that the film had "extraordinary structure, acting, dialogue and direction." Similar to Citizen Kane, this loss could be because the movie did not find its audience until several years later on home video.
5 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998)
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Saving Private Ryan follows a group of soldiers on a mission to find a soldier behind enemy lines during World War II – it went against the more light-hearted Shakespeare in Love. As the title suggests, the eventual winner shows a young William Shakespeare and his love affair with a woman who inspires him to write Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare in Love infamously pulled an upset over Steven Spielberg's film in 1998 thanks to the studio's effective campaigning to win the trophy. This was one of the most discussed upsets on Reddit, spawning numerous posts and comments. According to DickiesAndChucks, Saving Private Ryan has a "lasting impact" and influence that surpasses Shakespeare in Love's recognition.
6 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005)
Directed beautifully by Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain is a classic Western romance movie that depicts a forbidden love affair between two cowboys played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, while the winner Crash explores racial tensions in Los Angeles through the ordeals of multiple characters performed by an ensemble cast.
The user ggroover97 wrote that "Brokeback Mountain not winning over Crash is a big one from the 21st century," while Jazzbo64 took it further and said that Crash might be the worst film to win. Ang Lee's campaign was hurt by censorship and conservative media's criticism of the film. So while Crash might be superficial in its exploration of heavy themes, it was the safe winner of the night.
7 'The Social Network' (2010)
Released just mere years after Facebook became popular, The Social Network chronicles the creation of the social media site. It's the kind of public figure biopic that The Academy loves, and it also ushered in a new era of digital filmmaking. As the winner of the night, the historical drama The King's Speech was much more traditional.
The Redditor a5269 argues that The Social Network should have won because it is "the movie that represents the period we live in now." David Fincher's film captures the beginning of the social media craze and catapulted Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield to stardom.
8 'Boyhood' (2014)
Filmed over the course of 14 years, Boyhood captures the experiences and relationships of a young boy with his family and friends as he grows up. The actual winner is also ambitious in its own way as it was filmed to look like it was shot in one take – Birdman follows actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) as he prepares for a comeback.
With a tight competition against Alejandro G. Inarittu's film, Boyhood only won one trophy for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars. On Reddit, user bjroa, who also regarded Birdman highly, said that the Richard Linklater film should have won because it "feels so singular in its ambition" and also has an "existential quality" that invites the audience to reflect on their own lives.
9 'Get Out' (2017)
Jordan Peele surprised everyone when he took the leap from comedy to direct the socio-commentary horror Get Out, which follows a young Black man who uncovers a sinister scheme when he visits his white girlfriend's family. It went on to receive four nominations at the Oscars but lost the big prize to Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water.
In a year filled with stacked competition from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri to Dunkirk, The Shape of Water's win was a refreshing choice for the Academy that rarely awarded genre films. However, there are audiences, such as Words2MyMother, who thought Shape of Water "did not deserve it over Get Out."
10 'Roma' (2018)
Alfonso Cuaron's deeply personal masterpiece Roma depicts the life of a housekeeper employed in the household of a doctor's family in Mexico City in the 1970s. It lost the Oscar to Green Book, a drama about the friendship of Don Shirley and his driver-bodyguard Tony Lip, starring Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen.
Roma's chances to win diminished as it was released as a Netflix original – The Oscars were not as kind to streaming services as it was three years later. Nevertheless, it does not stop vocal audiences to praise the black-and-white film over Green Book. A Redditor mentioned that "Roma was a much better film and the work of a truly visionary auteur."