The 100 Greatest Oscar Snubs

I've seen the first three performances of the nominees. Also seen what is supposed to be Pigeon's best performance in "Man Hunt." He's pretty dire, Canuck though he is. I'd say Bogart, of the nominees. "The Watch on the Rhine" is a Zeitgeist film, which is to say, it doesn't hold up, though Lukas is good.

"Shadow of a Doubt" is one of Cotten's two great performances: the other is Holly Martens in "The Third Man." I guess the latter is the more difficult role--the innocent a abroad. But the smoothly elegant psychopathic serial killer, Uncle Charlie, in the Hitchcock flick, is a terrific performance. This guy seethes with hatred and rage, and every so often, he flashes the audience a glimpse of what's going on under the facade. Yikes.

 

Actors working with Hitch always had a chance to explore some really interesting characters, huh?

The only one on this list I've seen is Casablanca, which I love and own. I am working on watching tons of Hitch movies but it takes a while to get them through the library.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Bogart's performance in Casablanca was and is very underrated. It's more than schtick.

As for Cotten, he's a great actor. His performance in Citizen Kane remains the best thing about that film. I'll second the mention of Holly Martins and say that heck, yes, he deserved a nomination for Shadow of a Doubt. One of the best villians of all time.

 

I agree re Bogart: especially the long scene in the market with Bergman. Very subtle.

However, don't agree Cotten's the best thing in "Citizen Kane." He hams it a bit as the older Leland.

 

That's a good point, regarding his performance as the older Leland. I'll grant you that, but I still think his performance as the young Leland is the best performance of the film. Most notably, of course, the Love on your own terms speech.

 

I agree on Bogart, absolutely love Casablanca and he's great in that. As for Citizen Kane, I also really love Joseph Cotten in that, definitely my favourite performance of the film.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Glad to see many Joseph Cotten admirers. He had a unique voice and face, but was easy-going and represented the Hollywood "every-man" well.

I loved him in The Third Man and he had one of his best performances in Portrait of Jennie, with Jennifer Jones. He played a poor painter who falls in love with a spirit and becomes a little obsessed from it.

 

73. Bill Murray, "Groundhog Day"


Year: 1993

Best Actor in a Leading Role Winner:
Philadelphia - Tom Hanks

Other Nominees:
In the Name of the Father - Daniel Day-Lewis
The Remains of the Day - Anthony Hopkins
Schindler's List - Liam Neeson
What's Love Got to Do with It - Laurence Fishburne

Well, this certainly was an all-star year. I'm guessing that's the main reason Murray didn't get a nomination, because of the other deserving nominees. But on its own merits, Groundhog Day is one of the best films of the 90s in my opinion. One of those freshly original ideas that comes along and gets played out wonderfully. Great work by Murray, I just think the year was a little tough... but I haven't seen quite all those movies yet, admitedly.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Hanks gave an amazing performance in Philadelphia and I won't contest his winning. The power of this performance shows up his next performance, Forrest Gump, as the dreck that it was. Philadelphia saw Hanks emotionally charged, obviously giving it everything he had.

Daniel Day Lewis always deserves a nomination.

Hopkins was magnificent in Remains of the Day.

Neeson, well, completely brilliant performance. Gorgeous work. And, may I just say, it's about darn time the man got a nomination. He'd been giving great performances for a few years and getting snubbed.

I've not seen the Fishburne movie, but I generally don't care for the man. I might be tempted to substitute Murray for Fishburne, just on the basis of Murray's hilarious performance being so great and the fact that he's one of my favorite comics. Might not be fair to Fishburne, but, well . . . who cares?

 

I don't think Murray's performance deserved a nomination at all. I didn't see him stretch himself beyond the Stripes/Ghostbusters type character he always plays. It was more of the same from him and it didn't deserve even a nomination IMO.

Daniel Day-Lewis' performance in In the Name of the Father is brilliant. It was a much more emotional and animated performance than Hanks in Philidelphia.

 

Yes, but emotional and animated isn't always necessarily the best... I don't know, I haven't seen either of those films yet so don't hurt me please

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

I'll disagree with that. Emotion is always better. Animation is debatable, but emotion is always better.

 

..i think you're confusing late 90's Murray with early 90's Murray..

I didn't even realize there WAS a movement to have Bill Murray nominated for "Groundhog Day"....

 

Murray has something of the same problem as Steve Martin: he isn't really trained as an actor, and can't shed his self-protection, his irony, or his distance from emotion. To him, it feels like exposure. Of course, acting is about exposure, to some degree. That why I felt "Groundhog Day," worked until he was required to do something other than say his lines and be superior and/or frazzled.

And that was an exceptionally strong year in the male category. No injustice that I see, though I liked "Groundhog Day." Until the end, that is.

 

72. Maureen O'Hara, "The Quiet Man"

Year: 1952

Best Actress in a Leading Role Winner:
Come Back, Little Sheba - Shirley Booth

Other Nominees:
The Member of the Wedding - Julie Harris
The Star - Bette Davis
Sudden Fear - Joan Crawford
With a Song in My Heart - Susan Hayward

Not seen it, but I have a friend who's family watches it every year. I've heard good things about the film but not specifically about O'Hara...



-sj loves kevin spacey

 

This is a year of the dark horse, apparently. Susan Hayward, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis . . . all powerhouse names and all, if I recall, Oscar winners at some time. Even Julie Harris, though not as famous today, was a relatively big name at the time. And the winner is Shirley Booth, who I must confess I've never even heard of!

Still, for all the big names, I'll admit that I've seen none of these films except The Quiet Man. O'Hara was wonderful therein, but perhaps I shouldn't comment since I haven't seen the others.

Oh, never mind that. Yeah, she deserved a nomination. We can say that now for certain, considering that O'Hara's is the only performance that survived to the present day . . .

 

As much as I like Maureen O'Hara, I don't claim that she's a great actress or anything, though she's given more pleasure to people than many a better one.

But I can't be trusted on the subject of "The Quiet Man" which is one of my favorite films. And she is terrific in it (the casting is perfect) and she has great chemistry with Wayne. So yeah, why not? Nobody can tell me that the Davis, Crawford and Hayward performances are better.

I have seen "Come Back, Little Sheba" in which Shirley Booth is good, and I haven't seen "A Member of the Wedding."

 

71. Alfre Woodward, "Crooklyn"

Year: 1994

Best Actress in a Leading Role Winner:
Blue Sky - Jessica Lange

Other Nominees:
The Client - Susan Sarandon
Little Women - Winona Ryder
Nell - Jodie Foster
Tom & Viv - Miranda Richardson


Maybe I'm just having a little trouble taking a movie with the title "Crooklyn" seriously. I usually like Alfre Woodward in her roles, though, so maybe I should give it a shot. Idon't konw. Never seen it, but this year seems to be pretty full of well-known nominees...





-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Seems that this year was up earlier. I'll reiterate what I said with the added note that I've not seen Crooklyn . . .

Sarandon, though a fine actress, is hamstrung by a not great script in The Client. Not a good film, not a good performance.

Foster gave everything she had in Nell. A brilliant performance. Liam Neeson should have been nominated for his performance in that film as well, but of course he wasn't, because, hey, he's Liam Neeson . . .

 

Not much I can say here, because I've only seen the Sarandon and Ryder movies, and neither were much to write home about. A particularly weak year, and the winning movie was shelved for years.

 

70. Robert Walker, "Strangers on a Train"

Year: 1951

Erm, since this is a co-starring thing I'm not really sure what category this should be but I'm assuming lead... correct me if I'm wrong.

Best Actor in a Leading Role Winner:
The African Queen - Humphrey Bogart

Other Nominees:
Bright Victory - Arthur Kennedy
Death of a Salesman - Fredric March
A Place in the Sun - Montgomery Clift
A Streetcar Named Desire - Marlon Brando





Am I allowed to add that I love Farley Granger? What can I say... I think most of Hitchcock's films have such great material for actors. And he certainly knew how to pick great people for the parts. He and his crews and actors were far under-appreciated in their days, in my opinion. I think his films probably have the most representations on this list.

Of coures, this year boasts some other excellent performances as well. Bogart, Brando...

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

It's a great performance. Walker played sweet juveniles for years before this, and it was his last complete performance. (He died--of alcoholism--a few months later.) You have wonder how Hitchcock ever cast him, but Walker was terrific. I know why he wasn't even nominated, though: just watch the movie. He's downright scary, especially in the stalking scenes. He also, to put it politely, plays up Bruno's obvious homosexuality, which must have been shocking in those days. Love the scene where he pops the little boy's balloon with his cigarette.

Hitchcock himself thought Grainger wasn't strong enough as the hero and wanted William Holden. I have to agree with that assessment.

 

This isn't the film Bogart should have gotten an Oscar for. The Maltese Falcon, maybe, but not this one. The Treasure of the Sierra Madres was his best performance.

Brando was riveting. He probably deserved the win this year, in my opinion.

Clift, a great and underrated actor, was wonderful in Place in the Sun, though his best performance is in From Here to Eternity, for which he should have won.

As for Walker, heck, yes. It's a bang up acting job. Kick Bogart out and give Walker his slot.

 

69. Vincent D'Onofrio, "Full Metal Jacket"

Year: 1987


Best Actor in a Supporting Role Winner:
The Untouchables - Sean Connery

Other Nominees:
Broadcast News - Albert Brooks
Cry Freedom - Denzel Washington
Moonstruck - Vincent Gardenia
Street Smart - Morgan Freeman


Many actors I generally love were in this category: Connery, Washington, Freeman. I like Brooks in most cases as well. Unfortunately, I haven't really seen the entire length of any of these movies, so I can't judge these specific roles. However, I also think Vincent D'Onofrio is a splendid actor. I wouldn't put a nomination beyond him by any means.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Connery is magnificent in The Untouchables, as he usually is.

Personally, though, Broadcast News was the film that got royally screwed over this year, so it would have been nice to see Albert Brooks win for his heartfelt performance.

Also, where's Andy Garcia for the Untouchables? His performance is the equal of Connery's in my opinion. Ah, well, another great actor, unfairly maligned.

As for D'Onofrio, his presence in this film is one of the sole saving graces. The other one is R. Lee Ermey, who also deserved a nomination. Tragically, the film doesn't treat either of them right, writing them both out after a measly forty-five minutes and entering a standard format John Wayne shoot em up phase. Yes, he deserved a nod and so did Ermey and so did Garcia for that matter, which just about fills the category up, I think, if we keep Connery and Brooks. I should run the Academy . . .