The Academy's history of Oscar nominations is not short of controversies. Either snubbing a groundbreaking performance or completely disregarding a whole movie genre, the Academy often falls out of grace with the public due to their choices for Oscar nominees. In every iteration of the Oscars, there are fine examples of snubs in all the categories.
However, some of those movies, which were denied a single nod from the Academy, stood the test of time and proved to be timeless classics. Those are movies that pleased audiences, were innovative and revolutionary, or were just undeniably fantastic films.
American Psycho (2000)
Mixing morbid humor with a tiny bit of horror, American Psycho (which is an adaptation of a novel of the same name) tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a New York City yuppie who lives a double life as a sadistic serial killer. Bateman was Christian Bale's role that made him grow exponentially in popularity, and that is for no bad reason. Bale absolutely rocked that role, making it one of the most recognized, quoted, and memed cinema characters to date. One could argue that his portrayal of the psychopathic Patrick Bateman is what elevated American Psycho to its cult classic status in the pop culture of the 21st century. Even if Bale eventually went on to become not only a nominee, but an Oscar winner, his iconic role in American Psycho was inexcusably underrated by the Academy.
Before Sunrise (1995)
The first entry in Richard Linklater's Before Trilogy, Before Sunrise is a film about two young adults, an American man and a French woman, who meet by chance in a train and engage in a deep conversation, which leads them to spend a whole day together in Vienna, until they have to go their separate ways by the sunrise. Making a movie that revolves around pretty much just dialogues is no easy feat, but Linklater manages to do just that, and with a script that is rich with philosophic, life-changing quotes. If the script, written by Linklater and Kim Krizan, is what fuels this movie, the chemistry between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy is what propels it forward and makes viewers not lose their interest in the story at all. However, the Academy did seem to recognize their snub, as both the second and third installments of the trilogy, Before Sunset and Before Midnight, got nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Halloween (1978)
It is no surprising news that the horror genre was always historically overlooked by the Academy, which relegated horror movies to a place of "culturally poor works". If those snubs still occur today, it should shock no one that the same happened to Halloween, the movie that single-handedly reshaped the horror genre in cinema. John Carpenter's slasher masterpiece tells the story of a high school student (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends as they get silently stalked by a masked murderer who escaped from imprisonment. Today, Halloween is one of the go-to references for contemporary horror filmmakers, but back in its release, it was criminally overlooked by the Academy, not receiving any nominations at all. Not the best direction nod, or even a score nod for the chilling, ominous, universal Michael Myers theme song.
Heat (1995)
Michael Mann’s expertly crafted, perfectly directed, and superbly written crime drama got a total of zero Oscar nominations, even with a loaded cast composed of names like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, and Natalie Portman, all of which gave tremendous performances. In this high-octane thriller action and emotional rollercoaster, a veteran LAPD detective (Pacino) plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an ingenious criminal (De Niro). Even though the two of them have the utmost respect for each other's adherence to their respective principles, they reckon that a life-and-death confrontation between them is inevitable. This masterpiece of the cop thriller genre is no short of memorable dialogues, three-dimensional characters, and jaw-dropping set pieces. A true shame for the Academy to not have shown recognition back then.
In the Mood for Love (2000)
There is no one that does what Wong Kar-Wai does. His cinema is uniquely moving, and undeniably touching. In The Mood for Love is an incredible work of the writer director from Hong Kong that further shows his talent for crafting heartbreaking romance films. In this movie, a man, Mr. Chow, moves into an apartment building and meets his neighbor Mrs. Chan. When the two realize that their respective spouses are having an affair with each other, they grow closer trying to figure out what to do. Often mentioned as one of the most important directors of recent times, it is truly puzzling how Wong Kar-Wai was not nominated by the Academy for this film. Not to mention the unbelievable performances by the duo of Tony Chiu-Wai Leung and Maggie Cheung, the outstanding cinematography, and the pitch-perfect editing.