The Oscars used to be widely regarded as the pinnacle of cinematic recognition, with cinephiles – and even the general public – putting a lot of weight on the Academy’s decisions. This has waned in recent years for a number of reasons, with the award ceremony seeming to lose relevance with every year. Still, even in its heyday, the Oscars were prone to making mistakes. This included bestowing gold on movies that were forgotten years later, or completely overlooking films that would change the game and later be recognized as classics.
With this in mind, this looks at some of the very best movies that received no Oscar nominations at all. Despite being snubbed, the following films exerted a massive influence. Many of them became cult favorites, continuing to charm fans years or even decades later. Others inspired subsequent filmmakers, helping to reshape cinema forever. All of them are essential, and prove that the movies that receive the best reviews today are not necessarily the ones that will be recognized as the masterpieces of tomorrow.
10
‘Léon: The Professional’ (1994)
Directed by Luc Besson
“Is life always this hard, or is it just when you’re a kid?” “Always like this.” Among Luc Besson‘s very best movies, Léon: The Professional follows the unlikely bond between Léon (Jean Reno), a stoic hitman, and Mathilda (Natalie Portman in a breakout performance), a young girl seeking vengeance for her family’s murder. The duo navigates a dangerous underworld, slowly forming a surrogate family.
The outstanding performances do most of the heavy lifting, but Besson’s script is also engaging and genuinely thrilling, and the director’s visual flair is very much on display. Gary Oldman also delights with his villain performance (a sentence that could be used to describe countless films). The finished product is a slick urban thriller with a lot of heart (even if it’s occasionally a touch sentimental). Not for nothing, the movie quickly became a cult classic, and its energy remains infectious three decades later.
Léon: The Professional
- Runtime
-
110 Minutes
- Writers
-
Luc Besson
9
‘The Shining’ (1980)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Stanley Kubrick’s filmography is studded with masterpieces, not least his towering Stephen King adaptation. The Shining chronicles Jack Torrance’s (Jack Nicholson) descent into madness while caretaking the isolated Overlook Hotel with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and son, Danny (Danny Lloyd). Kubrick serves up a steady stream of iconic imagery, from the blood-filled elevators to the chilling maze chase.
Indeed, The Shining towers over most ’80s horror movies, pulling off a great balance of psychological realism and hard-hitting scares (the old woman in the bathroom being perhaps the prime example). The author might not have liked the movie’s ambiguity when it came to whether the hauntings were real or not, but this approach works to the film’s benefit. Overall, The Shining is a cinematic maze, disorienting the viewer with an overload of stimuli, contexts, and interpretable details. Despite opening to mixed reviews, it was quickly recognized as a high watermark for the genre.
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
- Cast
-
Jack Nicholson
, Shelley Duvall
, Danny Lloyd
, Scatman Crothers
, Barry Nelson
, Philip Stone - Runtime
-
146 minutes
8
‘Before Sunrise’ (1995)
Directed by Richard Linklater
“If there’s any kind of magic in this world, it must be in the attempt of understanding someone, sharing something.” Richard Linklater has a stacked filmography, including everything from the trippy philosophizing of Waking Life to the real-life grandeur of Boyhood. His finest achievement, however, might be the Before trilogy, his sprawling romantic drama series starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. Any of the three could have made this list, but the first movie is particularly sweet.
It’s about Jesse, an American traveler, and Céline, a French student, who meet on a train and decide to spend a night together in Vienna. As they wander the city, the two share profound conversations about life, love, and destiny. It’s a story that feels both profoundly personal and universally relatable. Taken together, the Before movies make for one of the cinematic trilogies that can give Lord of the Rings a run for its money.
A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.
- Runtime
-
101 minutes
- Writers
-
Richard Linklater
, Kim Krizan
7
‘The Big Lebowski’ (1998)
Directed by Joel Coen
“That rug really tied the room together.” This hilarious effort by the Coen brothers is a quirky, genre-defying odyssey, boasting one of Jeff Bridges’s strongest performances. He plays Jeff Lebowski, aka “The Dude”, a laid-back slacker who becomes embroiled in a convoluted kidnapping plot after a case of mistaken identity. Bridges imbues the character with effortless charm and vulnerability, as well as an almost naive boyishness.
From here, The Big Lebowski expands into the zaniest of crime comedies, boasting memorable lines, absurd twists, a groovy soundtrack, and a stream of surreal sequences. Indeed, the fantasy scenes are really well done, especially the vibrant Hollywood-style musical numbers with Julianne Moore. All these wacky elements add up to a masterpiece of stoner noir. Although a cult favorite now, many critics with lukewarm toward the film on release, and it was completely overlooked at that year’s Oscars.
Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
- Runtime
-
117 Minutes
- Writers
-
Ethan Coen
, Joel Coen
6
‘Breathless’ (À bout de souffle) (1960)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
“Informers inform, burglars burgle, murderers murder, lovers love.” This revolutionary French New Wave film follows Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a small-time criminal on the run after killing a police officer, and his romantic entanglement with Patricia (Jean Seberg), an American journalist. Jean-Luc Godard tells their story with stylistic daring, including jump cuts, pop culture references, rhythmic dialogue, self-absorbed protagonists, and breakneck pace.
The film represented a deliberate rejection of formulaic filmmaking, embracing a more improvisational and avant-garde approach. The plot reflects this too, favoring an organic flow of events that mirrors real-life interactions. On top of all that, the movie explores deep themes, including existentialism, freedom, and the fleeting nature of relationships, making it a great blend of arthouse sensibilities and entertainment value. Breathless‘s freewheeling spirit was deeply influential, inspiring countless filmmakers to come, and it’s now frequently ranked among the best movies of all time.
Breathless
- Cast
-
Jean-Paul Belmondo
, Jean Seberg - Writers
-
Jim McBride
5
‘Frances Ha’ (2012)
Directed by Noah Baumbach
“I’m so embarrassed. I’m not a real person yet.” Greta Gerwig has gone on to mega-success in recent years, but her sweetest project might still be the Noah Baumbach-directed Frances Ha. It features Gerwig as the title character, an aspiring dancer in New York City, as she navigates friendships, career setbacks, and the struggles of adulthood. Shot in black and white, the film evokes a nostalgic, almost dreamlike quality while capturing the vibrant energy of modern urban life.
There isn’t really a plot here so much as a string of intimate moments and snappy conversations. The protagonist is messy and likable, totally drawing the viewer into her humdrum struggles. It’s a winning combination of relatable storytelling, Gerwig’s magnetic performance (Adam Driver is great too), and striking visuals. In addition, Frances Ha is a great artifact from the early 2010s, capturing that moment in time beautifully. It’s possibly even something of a millennial touchstone.
Frances Ha
Frances Ha follows an aspiring dancer living in New York City as she navigates friendships, career aspirations, and her identity. Facing numerous challenges to achieve her dreams, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery that delves into the complexities of modern life’s personal and professional intersections.
- Cast
-
Greta Gerwig
, Mickey Sumner
, Michael Zegen
, Adam Driver
, Charlotte d’Amboise
, Patrick Heusinger
, Michael Esper
, Grace Gummer
, Josh Hamilton
, Maya Kazan
, Justine Lupe
, Britta Phillips
, Juliet Rylance
, Dean Wareham
, Hannah Dunne
, Daiva Deupree
, Isabelle McNally
, Vanessa Ray
, Lindsay Burdge
, Marina Squerciati
, Christine Gerwig
, Gordon Gerwig
, David Salem - Runtime
-
85 Minutes
4
‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ (1966)
Directed by Sergio Leone
“You see, in this world, there’s two kinds of people, my friend: those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.” The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is so iconic that it’s practically synonymous with the Western genre. This scrappy spaghetti Western follows three gunslingers—Blondie (Clint Eastwood), Tuco (Eli Wallach), and Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef)—as they search for a buried treasure during the chaos of the American Civil War. Their uneasy alliances and betrayals form the backbone of a tense, sprawling narrative filled with unforgettable showdowns and larger-than-life imagery.
The film is frequently cited as one of the best in its genre, but its reputation wasn’t always so great. Many critics looked down on spaghetti Westerns at the time; Roger Ebert, for example, later admitted that he had greatly underrated the movie on release. The Academy might have ignored it, but The Good, the Bad and the Ugly left a lasting imprint on Westerns, and spawned countless imitators.
- Cast
-
Clint Eastwood
, Eli Wallach
, Lee Van Cleef
, Aldo Giuffrè
, Luigi Pistilli - Runtime
-
161 minutes
3
‘In the Mood for Love’ (2000)
Directed by Wong Kar-wai
“It is a restless moment. She has kept her head lowered… to give him a chance to come closer.” In the Mood for Love focuses on Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung), neighbors in 1960s Hong Kong who suspect their spouses are having an affair. As they form a close bond, their mutual attraction grows, but cultural expectations and personal hesitations keep them from fully acting on their feelings.
Their story becomes a meditation on love, longing, and missed opportunities, elevated by a smart script, tender performances, and lush visuals. The evocative cinematography by Christopher Doyle and Ping Bin Lee perfectly complements its melancholy story. Leung won the Best Actor award at Cannes, but the Oscars completely shut out this move. However, In the Mood for Love has since appeared on multiple publications’ lists of the best films ever made. Several filmmakers have cited it as an inspiration, including Sofia Coppola, Barry Jenkins, and the Daniels.
In the Mood For Love
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
- Cast
-
Tony Leung Chiu-wai
, Maggie Cheung
, Siu Ping-Lam
, Tung Cho ‘Joe’ Cheung
, Rebecca Pan - Runtime
-
98 Minutes
- Writers
-
Kar-Wai Wong
2
‘Reservoir Dogs’ (1992)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
“Let’s go to work.” Quentin Tarantino‘s debut landed like a lightning bolt, earning instant attention with its unorthodox structure, colorful dialogue, and spectacular violence. The tale unfolds non-linearly, chronicling the aftermath of a botched robbery orchestrated by a group of criminals who use color-coded aliases, as trust breaks down and paranoia sets in. Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, and Michael Madsen rise to the occasion with career-highlight performances.
1
‘Touch of Evil’ (1958)
Directed by Orson Welles
“A policeman’s job is only easy in a police state.” While Citizen Kane may receive more attention, Touch of Evil is another masterwork by Orson Welles, ranking among the very best noir movies. It begins with a bomb exploding in a car, setting off an investigation led by Mexican detective Vargas (Charlton Heston). As Vargas clashes with the corrupt and manipulative Captain Quinlan (Welles), the film unravels a web of deceit and power struggles that blur the lines between good and evil.
The acting is top-notch across the board: Heston brings gravitas to his park, Janet Leigh is compelling in hers, and Welles steals scenes with his repugnance. The film’s visual storytelling is also fantastic, most famously in the wordless, extended opening sequence. Overall, Touch of Evil has aged fairly well thanks to the twisting, labyrinthine plot and moody, evocative visuals, and it remains a lot more accessible than many of its peers.
A stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping and police corruption in a Mexican border town.
