“Zodiac” (2007)
Despite the director’s own self-evident contempt for the circuit, David Fincher’s now thrown off his enfant terrible status and regularly sees his films nominated for Oscars. Even a film as dark and pulpy as “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” won a few, but not so Fincher’s finest film. Despite “Zodiac” arguably being as awards-friendly as anything he’s made (at least from a technical viewpoint), the film was overlooked. One could perhaps blame the film’s release, in March of ’07, but one suspects it wouldn’t have done that well with AMPAS whenever it landed.
Obviously, this is a list that could have kept going on forever: almost as many great films weren’t nominated for Oscars as were. But even dismissing the ones above (including the ones mentioned in passing), the purest genre flicks, and the most hardcore art fare, there are still plenty of omissions. Among the ones that come to mind are “The Big Heat,” “Blood Simple,” “Blue Is The Warmest Color,” “Farewell My Lovely,” Gilda,” “In A Lonely Place,” “Invasion of The Body Snatchers,” “The Killing,” “The Lady Vanishes,” “Medium Cool,” “My Darling Clementine,” “Point Blank,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “Repulsion,” “Ride The High Country,” “The Servant,” “Sullivan’s Travels,” “To Have And Have Not,” “Body Heat,” “The King Of Comedy,” “My Own Private Idaho,” “The Angel At My Table,” “Playtime,” and “Ikiru.” Any others? Let us know in the comments.
