The Academy Awards, also known as The Oscars is presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to present awards that recognize cinematic excellence that is determined by their voters. The Oscars are the oldest awards ceremony for entertainment, having started in 1929 which would be why they’re so pompous, pretentious, and hardheaded.
Though it is an honor to win an Oscar, let alone win one, the Academy is an archaic institution that is not plugged into what people are watching. Progress has been made to bring them into the 21st century, there is still a lot of work to do because there have been many iconic and excellent filmmakers over the years that have never won for directing. Here is a list of the ten best that the Academy has passed over.
10Quentin Tarantino
A highly complex director who you either love or hate. Though his movies can be rather obnoxious and loud, he is a filmmaker who wears his inspirations on his sleeve and is one of the best creators of tension. Influenced by spaghetti westerns, Shaw Brothers movies, and theLone Wolf and Cubseries, he is a very intelligent director and writer. The opening scene ofInglourious Basterdsis one of the most tense scenes ever put to film.
The dialogue and the cinematography build an unnerving atmosphere because the audience knows something terrible is about to happen. His offbeat comedy, which may put some off, make him one of the funnier filmmakers to have never won an Oscar for directing. ThoughQuentin Tarantinois on this list, he has a plethora of great filmmaking qualities that should make him an Oscar winner.
9Brian De Palma
A student of Alfred Hitchcock,Brian De Palmais one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.He loved Hitchcock so muchthat De Palma’s work was often mocked for being ripoffs of his work. This is a rather unfair criticism because De Palma is an iconic director of horror and thrillers such asBlow OutandCarrieand was a visionary in his own right. His unique use of long tracking shots, split diopter shots, and split screen firmly supplant him in the pantheon of great directors. Also great at creating tension and a sense of unease through his use of low Dutch angles.
De Palma’s movies were also much more violent and hypersexual than Hitchcock’s.Dressed to Killis the prime example because while the plot is very similar toPsycho, it still has all of De Palma’s visual trademarks and extreme violence that makes it a completely different film. Brian De Palma is one of the best directors of the 20th century and never truly got the recognition he deserved.
8David Lynch
One of thestranger directorsworking in Hollywood is also one of the more iconic.David Lynchis the director of avant-garde horror cinema and television likeBlue VelvetandTwin Peaks. Also, the director of the 1984Dune,starring his favorite actor Kyle MacLachlan, Lynch makes movies that will make you feel uncomfortable and confused all at the same time. He can get actors to act as strangely as possible and has some of the most inventive and bizarre imagery to make you feel like you are in a never ending fever dream.
Similar to Tarantino, Lynch uses his idiosyncratic comedic sensibilities so that you can’t make heads or tails of what is going on from scene to scene. He does this on purpose to play the audience like a fiddle and is completely in control with a firm grasp on the audience’s attention. Though David Lynch is one of the most unique directors of our time, the Academy would never give him an award because his films are just too “odd” to be recognized.
Related:Why David Lynch Is the Master of Nightmares
7Jordan Peele
Jordan Peelehas not had a long career in filmmaking, he has established himself as one of the great directors of our time. With two home runs right out of the gate withGet OutandUs, Peele got a blank check to do whatever movie he wanted and decided to makeNope. About two siblings who own a ranch in rural California and are trying to capture evidence of a UFO that has been killing all the people around them,Nopeis themost ambitious and unique filmsinceThe Matrix. It is a “swing for the fences” kind of movie that may not work for everyone, but Jordan Peele doesn’t care.
He is a confident and original filmmaker that makes what interests him. Peele’s movies also tend to deal with tough topics such as race relations in this country, and some may not be equipped to handle such discussions. Unfortunately, the Academy usually does not recognize horror movies, or people of color for that matter, so Jordan Peele may not be getting that “Best Director” win anytime soon.
6Ridley Scott
The visionary director ofAlien,Blade Runner, and most recently,The Last Duel,Ridley Scottis one of the best storytellers of our time. Incredibly prolific and with a strong passion for filmmaking that hasn’t stopped yet. An impressively long career starting from the late ’70s and is still working to this day, Scott hasn’t lost a step. Still as ambitious as any young filmmaker working today, Scott swings for the fences and whether it works is insignificant because he’s constantly pushing himself.
AlienandBlade Runnerare his most popular movies, but Scott has directed many movies that people didn’t realize he directed. Working in many genres, like the intense war movie,Black Hawk Downand the legendaryThelma & Louise. Even though he is one of the most iconic directors working today, he has still somehow not won an Oscar for it.
5Michael Bay
A controversial pick, however,Michael Bayis an auteur. Yes, he makes big, loud, childish, and borderline incomprehensible movies, but they are all distinctly Micheal Bay. Like most directors, Bay started off making music videos for many artists like Meat Loaf, Tina Turner, and Vanilla Ice and eventually moved up to making masterpieces.Bad Boys II,The Rock, andArmageddonare all masterclasses in blockbuster filmmaking if you ignore the weird sexual humor that he loves to inject into all of his movies. However, Bay does use a majority of practical effects, in a world where cinema is dominated by CGI-laden superhero movies that have no weight to the action.
Even in theTransformersmovies that he directed, he used practical effects a lot for the CGI robots to give them weight in the world in which they exist. Those movies became muddled when they became thebig city-destroying battlesthat were 100% CGI. Though Michael Bay has his flaws, he still has a very clear vision that is unlike anyone else and is still able to get films made and work in the Hollywood system. Michael Bay has a style that in a perfect world would be recognized by the Academy.
4Christopher Nolan
A bit of a tough nut to crack,Christopher Nolanis a very cerebral filmmaker in that he likes to deal with high-concept sci-fi that not everyone will be on board for. Yet he still manages to make incredibly populist movies that are almost universally adored. Nolan has made some of the highest-grossing movies of all time and has carte blanche to make whatever he wants. For instance,Tenetshould not have been a summer blockbuster release because it is a complex, way up-its-own-ass time travel thriller, but because it was directed by Nolan, it was.
It was also under a tremendous amount of pressure from the media to “bring back movie theaters” during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a burden most other directors would not have had. Even now with his upcoming movie,Oppenheimer, which would normally be a fall release, is a summer release and has his name plastered all over the marketing. Like it or not, Christopher Nolan is arguably the most important filmmaker of our time and is here to stay. Nolan has been nominated for directing before and has yet to win, but with the amount ofhype that is aroundOppenheimer, this could be his year.
Related:Warner Bros. Trying to Bring Back Christopher Nolan and Peter Jackson
3Wes Anderson
The extraordinary, scarf-wearing, genius that isWes Andersoncreated a style that is all his own. It is so his own that he is one of the few modern filmmakers who have their style attributed to them. Anderson’s obsession with detail and visual symmetry is so unique that he is currently being taught by film professors everywhere. With a tendency to direct dark screwball comedies with strange characters, Anderson is a master at mixing tones and threading the needle in a way that none of it ever feels out of place. Though his comedies tend to be darker and deal with somber themes, they are always brightly lit and overwhelmingly colorful.
In addition, he uses miniatures and stop-motion animation throughout his films to make the audience feel like they’re in a cartoon or a dream that is completely separate from reality. Though he is beloved by critics and has been nominated for seven Oscars he has yet to win one for directing, but maybe his newest entryAsteroid Citywill finally get him one.
2Sam Raimi
One of the most iconic directors in recent memory and also has one of the most distinct visual styles. Known for directing theEvil Deadtrilogy as well as theSpider-Mantrilogy, both incredibly beloved by fans and critics,Sam Raimihas not won an Oscar. Came up alongside the Coen Brothers, Raimi was part of the early 2000s wave of nerd culture, taking over popular culture accompanied by Peter Jackson and hisLord of the Ringstrilogy. Similar to Jackson in that they both started out making horror movies for very low budgets but managed to stretch the little money they were given to make horror classics.
Raimi has also worked in pretty much every genre includingWestern, drama, and superhero, he is one of the most versatile directors out there while staying true to his roots. Even though he has trafficked in every genre, he likes to inject horror elements to remind the audience that they are watching a Sam Raimi movie. His iconic “Raimi cam”, originating in Evil Dead, and his use of Dutch angles are the trappings of his particular style. Sam Raimi has never been nominated for an Oscar, probably because the Academy doesn’t view him as an auteur, but Raimi most certainly is.
1Stanley Kubrick
Warner Bros.
Easily the most shocking director to land on this list,Stanley Kubrickhas directed what are widely considered the greatest movies of all time. From2001: A Space OdysseytoThe Shining, Kubrick has one of the most fascinating careers ever. He very much liked to be in control, but was never the best at communicating with his actors, which is why he used to have them do dozens and dozens of takes until he got what he wanted out of them. Though his career spanned decades, he did not make that many films because his movies took so long to make due to his perfectionism. For instance, he book-ended the ’80s with only two movies,The Shiningin 1980 andFull Metal Jacketin 1987.
Also known for his visual symmetry and long tracking shots, Kubrick also inspired filmmaking innovations in the Steadicam. Though the Steadicam was invented in 1975, he needed to use it at low angles to follow Danny through the halls of the Overlook inThe Shining. This greatly increased the mobility and amount of creative angles that could be shot with the Steadicam. Stanley Kubrick is the most important and groundbreaking director of all time, and the fact that he has never won an Oscar for his contributions to film shows how the Academy constantly gets it wrong.
