People Are Sharing The Biggest Oscar Snubs Of All Time, And Yes, Some Of Them Will Make You Irrationally Angry

Recently, on one of my favorite subreddits, r/movies, user u/phantom_avenger asked, "What is the biggest Oscar snub in film history? Whether it’s someone you think should’ve been nominated or should’ve won, in your opinion?" and movie lovers came through with some truly criminal-level snubs!

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So, with that in mind, here are just a few of the most popular actors, movies, and other award snubs shared, starting with OVERALL FILMS:

1.The Color Purple (1985)

"It was majorly snubbed, I think. It should have won Best Picture, and Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover were deserving of awards for their performances."

—u/Big-Performance6972

Here's a glimpse at the film:

2.Saving Private Ryan (1998)

"I think we all know Shakespeare in Love should have lost 'Best Picture' to Saving Private Ryan."

—u/le_suck

Here's a glimpse at the film:

3.Brokeback Mountain (2005)

"It should have won 'Best Picture' over Crash in 2006."

—u/LaMyranator

Here's a glimpse at the film:

4.Princess Mononoke (1997)

"Princess Mononoke not even getting nominated for Best Foreign Language film was a huge snub. In my opinion, it was more groundbreaking than any other Studio Ghibli film. Incredibly mature and philosophical, jaw-dropping animation, beautiful art direction, no character is inherently evil or bad. I don't think animated feature was an award until 2001."

—u/emcconnell11

Here's a glimpse at the film:

5.Raging Bull (1980)

"The answer is always this losing 'Best Picture' to Ordinary People."

—u/BrowsingWhileBrown

Here's a glimpse at the film:

6.The Lego Movie (2014)

"It was, at the time, extraordinarily innovative, funny, touching, and genuine. My husband and I both cried in the theater when we saw it. We couldn't stop recommending it to other adults. However, its only Oscar nomination was for its intentionally stupid song. For it to not even be nominated in any meaningful category was the beginning of my total disenchantment with the Oscars. It felt like they dismissed the entire thing as a Lego ad and called it a day."

—u/ColorMeStunned

Here's a glimpse at the film:

7.The Dark Knight (2008)

"It should have won 'Best Picture.' It was such a well done movie that also happened to include superheroes. That's it."

—u/spacecashcow

Here's a glimpse at the film:

8.Do the Right Thing (1989)

"It not being nominated for 'Best Picture' was a huge snub, but Driving Miss Daisy eventually winning that year was a real kick in the teeth."

—u/frightened_by_bark

Here's a glimpse at the film:

9.The Lighthouse (2019)

"Both Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson not getting nominated was a huge snub. The acting in that movie may very well be the best I’ve ever seen. Dafoe should’ve been a lock for a nomination, at the very least."

—u/descartesdoggy

Here's a glimpse at the film:

10.Vertigo (1958)

"It wasn't even nominated for any Oscars, apart from 'Sound' and 'Art Direction.' These days, it's considered by many to be the greatest movie ever made."

—u/Earlvx129

Here's a glimpse at the film:

Next up, ACTORS (some for specific roles, and some just in general):

11.Samuel L. Jackson

"Samuel L. Jackson has only been nominated once for Pulp Fiction, which was well-deserved, but I feel like he had gotten a whole lot better as his career progressed following that role. For example, his performances in the other Quentin Tarantino films Jackie Brown and Django Unchained should’ve at least earned him a nomination a piece. He was sharing a lot of scenes with Robert De Niro in Jackie Brown, and he completely outshined him. Also, with his role in Django Unchained, he really dived deep at making his character complex."

—u/phantom_avenger

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

12.Steve Buscemi

"Steve Buscemi has never even been nominated for an Oscar. He for sure should have been at least nominated for Fargo."

—u/electriclarryland91

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

13.Lupita Nyong'o

"What a performance in Us, and she wasn’t even nominated."

—u/quirkyorcdork

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

14.Liam Neeson

"I still have no idea how Liam Neeson didn’t win that Oscar for Schindler’s List. The 'I could have got more' scene alone should have been enough."

—u/Munkie91087

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

15.Al Pacino

"He should've won for The Godfather: Part II. It went to Art Carney. Unbelievable. I don’t mean to say that Art Carney was awful, or that Harry and Tonto was bad, only that I think Pacino gave an all-time acting performance."

—u/vestigialfree

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

16.Alan Rickman

"He was never even nominated."

—u/knockatize

Here's a glimpse at one of their best performances (IMHO):

17.Glenn Close

"Glenn Close should have won one by now: Fatal Attraction, The Natural, Dangerous Liaisons, Albert Nobbs, Hillbilly Elegy, etc."

—u/super_jeenyus

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

18.Michael Clarke Duncan

"He should've won for The Green Mile."

—u/LA_viking

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

19.Val Kilmer

"He should've won for Tombstone."

—u/RandyTravesty

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

20.Edward Norton

"Edward Norton should have won for Primal Fear. Nope, instead Cuba Gooding Jr. won for basically playing himself in Jerry Maguire that year."

—u/Takodanachoochoo

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

21.Cillian Murphy

"He has been throwing heaters for years in both lead and supporting performances, and has gotten no love from the Academy."

—u/HOBTT27

Here's a glimpse at one of their best performances (IMHO):

22.Mickey Rourke

"He should have won for The Wrestler, hands down."

—u/Ramoncin

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

23.Sean Astin

"His never being nominated for 'Best Supporting Actor' for The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a huge snub."

—u/jgpalanca

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

24.Robert Downey Jr.

"Robert Downey Jr. was absolutely robbed for his role in Chaplin. Instead the award went to Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman, his most over-the-top performance, which he has continued to play in every role since. Pacino certainly should have won an award for many of his other stellar performances, but that year, they gave it to him as a sort of 'it’s your time' award."

—u/TheDapperDaddy

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

25.Pam Grier

"When you mention Jackie Brown, it's worth noting that Pam Grier didn't even get a Best Actress nomination for that, despite delivering a performance for the ages. In a better world, Jackie Brown should have given her the career renaissance that John Travolta experienced after Pulp Fiction."

—u/GodFlintstone

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

26.Angela Bassett

"The fact that she lost for What's Love Got to Do with It. I will forever be salty about this loss."

—u/ComfortableSleep5

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

27.Toni Collette

"She didn't even get nominated for her role in Hereditary. She should've WON that year."

—u/isaaclian11

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

28.Rosamund Pike

"For Gone Girl. No one remembers Julianne Moore's performance in Still Alice."

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

29.Jonathan Majors

"He deserved at least a nomination for 'Best Supporting Actor' for The Last Black Man in San Francisco."

—u/stophanator

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

30.Idris Elba

"For Beasts of No Nation (2015), he was fucking scalding in it, and the Academy didn't even notice."

—u/pxlcrow

Here's a glimpse at their mentioned performance:

31.Peter O'Toole

"It's the easy answer. He's one of Hollywood's most legendary actors. He was nominated eight times for 'Best Actor,' the most acting nominations ever without winning. Lawrence of Arabia. One of the all-time iconic roles in an epic movie. He would have won any year but that one, since the 1962 Best Actor award went to Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird. He went up against Atticus Finch! And arguably, should have won! Two giant performances in cinema history. If people thought it was odd how long it took Leonardo DiCaprio to get his Oscar, it was nothing compared to O'Toole. He eventually received an Honorary Award for his lifetime contribution to film. He initially tried to reject it, as he desperately wanted to win one himself outright, but he was convinced to accept it by his children."

—u/Shadowbanned24601

Here's a glimpse at (one of) their mentioned performance(s):

And finally, a couple of miscellaneous MUSIC-related ones that people felt passionate about:

32.Kenny Loggins

"I’m annoyed that Kenny Loggins doesn’t have a 'Best Original Song' Oscar. The dude was the Michael Jordan of movie songs. 1981: He wasn’t nominated for 'I’m Alright' in Caddyshack. 1985: He was nominated for Footloose, but lost to 'I Just Called to Say I Love You' by Stevie Wonder (which is also a great song). 1987: He wasn’t nominated for 'Danger Zone' and lost to 'Take My Breath Away.' That is an outrage. 'Take My Breath Away' has zero cultural impact in 2023. I hope he gets an honorary award down the road. His contribution to movies is incredible."

—u/JagsFanTO

You can listen to the iconic song mentioned here:

33.John Williams

"Over the span of two years (1981 and 1982), John Williams created two of the most iconic film scores in history: The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark. The former lost to Fame, the latter to Chariots of Fire. 'The Imperial March' from The Empire Strikes Back is one of the greatest themes in the history of motion pictures."

—u/synchronicityii

You can listen to the iconic themes mentioned here:

And here:

You've read their examples, but now, it's your turn! Which ones did they miss? Share yours in the comments below!

Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. H/T: Reddit.