How Many of These Forgotten Award-Winning Movies Have You Seen?

Every year, during award season, people go wild for movies. Between January and April, they try their best to see every prominent film that’s being mentioned in award ceremonies and even make their own ballots. As wrong as it may sound (there are movies worth watching during the entire year), we can’t help but celebrate the agency of the film industry and how it brings together people to try to see “the best of the best.” If it involves watching more, then it’s all good.

However, what happens when the award season is over, and your favorite movies have or haven’t won? Without using Google, try to remember which films were nominated for Golden Globes or the Academy Awards in the last five years. Yes, it’s a lot, but this doesn’t take away the fact that memory is selective.

In the case of the following movies, most people have completely forgotten them. They have vanished from the collective memory almost entirely, and they remain vestiges of their participation in major award ceremonies, products of nostalgia; films we often look back on if we find on some obscure compilation list.

10 Sling Blade (1996)

In Sling Blade, Karl Childers is a developmentally challenged man who has just been released from a mental institution. He had been locked up since he was 12 years old because he murdered his mother and her lover because they abused him.

Contrary to what he wants (Karl doesn’t know how to be “outside”), Karl is released. When he finds himself connecting with a caring family, he realizes they also suffer under the hands of an abusive man. It won’t be too long until Karl realizes he must do something about the situation.

Sling Blade Won an Academy Award in 1997 for Best Adapted Screenplay

The film sailed through the indie cinema rounds in 1996, and it eventually won almost $10 million from a $1 million budget. Billy Bob Thornton, the man behind the project, directed, wrote, and starred in the film, which was based on his own one-man show called Swine Before Pearls, which he would then adapt into a short film called Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade.

Thornton received a Best Actor nomination as well, but the film would only win Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar that night. Since then, Thornton has moved on to other projects in which he showcases his performance abilities, and Sling Blade is a fantastic drama thriller that not many have seen or remember.

9 Missing (1982)

Costa-Gavras’ Missing tells the story of Ed and Beth Horman, the father and the wife of Charlie Horman, a young man who has gone missing in another country. Working in journalism, Charlie has disappeared in Chile during a military coup in which President Salvador Allende was deposed.

Fearing the worst, Ed and Beth travel to the South American country, and clash over their political views, but ultimately have to find a way to work together in order to find Charlie or find out what happened to him.

Missing Won an Academy Award in 1983 for Best Adapted Screenplay

Upon release, the film was acclaimed by critics and audiences. There was a controversial element as well to Missing because of its depiction of diplomacy playing a role in the coup; it’s widely suspected that the US government had some role in the event. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, with the film’s stars, Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek, having their names mentioned in the Best Actor and Best Actress ballots. It would only win a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar.

Perhaps the reason people forgot about this one is that one year after its release, the film was impossible to see in the United States. That is because the book on which it was based mentioned the participation of a certain politician who sued Universal Pictures and Gavras, and the film had to be taken off the shelves during the trial.

You can stream Missing on The Criterion Channel.

8 Spotlight (2015)

Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight follows the group known as The Boston Globe’s ‘Spotlight’ team as they team up to carry out one of the most important investigations (they won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service at some point). In 2001, the team began investigating the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and they would end up making a horrific discovery that made their story almost impossible to contain: the priests accused of sexual abuse are in the hundreds.

Spotlight Won Academy Awards in 2016 for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture

Based on the brave true story of the Globe team, Spotlight received critical acclaim upon release, and it ended up on many top 10 lists of high-profile movie critics. However, it was accused of being inaccurate in some of its depictions. Regardless, it received six nominations at the Academy Awards and won Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture.

The problem is that Spotlight is almost never revisited, even if it has one of Mark Ruffalo’s best performances, and it portrays a very compelling subject that should be talked about.

7 Death Becomes Her (1992)

In Death Becomes Her by Robert Zemeckis, a lifelong conflict between Helen and Madeline causes them to collide over Ernest, the doctor who was at some point engaged to marry Helen but ended up marrying Madeline instead. Years pass, and each of them is miserable. But when Helen suddenly becomes rejuvenated, Madeline finds out there may be a secret for this: a “fountain of youth” potion that will make them young and beautiful again—and undead as well.

Death Becomes Her Won an Academy Award in 1993 for Best Visual Effects

Funny, scary, and violent, Death Becomes Her is a fantasy comedy starring three actors during their prime: Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, and Bruce Willis. While it was a box office hit with a gross of almost $150 million, the reception by critics wasn’t as good, as they felt the story suffered massively from the attention the special effects got over the consistency of the story and the general tone of the movie.

In a decade where special effects evolved to greatness, Death Becomes Her was a groundbreaking display of technique, and of course, it won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. The problem is that it’s only remembered as a cult film, and not many people give themselves the chance to see what’s genuinely an entertaining film.

6 A River Runs Through It (1992)

A River Runs Through It tells the story of Norman and Paul Maclean, two brothers growing up in Missoula, a rural part of Montana, under the strict ways of their father, Reverend John Maclean. As the boys grow, they each follow their own path, but eventually, they’ll find themselves home again when Norman returns and finds his brother has gotten himself in some trouble. Their days of wondrous fly-fishing, like they did when they were small boys, are over.

A River Runs Through It Won an Academy Award in 1993 for Best Cinematography

Directed by Robert Redford, A River Runs Through It was well-received by critics and audiences, becoming one of Brad Pitt’s prominent films of the 1990s (it was released the same year as Cool World). Although it won an Oscar for Best Cinematography in 1993, somehow beating Unforgiven, the film has been mostly forgotten by audiences.

A River Runs Through It is actually a very “sober” drama by Redford and features Craig Sheffer in the lead, an actor who was huge in the ’90s but who has since fallen out of the public eye.

5 The English Patient (1996)

Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient follows Hana, a Royal Canadian Army nurse who starts taking care of a horribly burned patient who can’t even remember his name. His personal effects are cryptic, and the only way he can be identified is through his thick English accent.

Through flashbacks, the film allows viewers to discover who the mysterious man is and why his plane was shot down, and he suffered those terrible burns. Meanwhile, his nurse finds some loving of her own with a British Indian soldier who joins them.

The English Patient Won an Academy Award in 1997 for Best Picture, Among Eight Other Oscars That Night

The English Patient was a highly successful film in 1996; it grossed over $230 million at the box office, and the critical acclaim was instant. Its presence at the Academy Awards was also notable, as it won several categories, including Best Picture and Best Director.

However, the film is seldom remembered today as a noteworthy 1990s Oscar winner. Many people only know it because of the Seinfeld episode in which Elaine hates it, and everyone else seems to dig it.

You can stream The English Patient on Kanopy.

4 Gods and Monsters (1998)

1998’s Gods and Monsters takes a lot of creative liberties and depicts the final days of Hollywood director James Whale. Whale, famous for making Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein in the 1930s, was going through a rough time; he was fragile and traumatized, and Hanna, his maid and only partner, didn’t agree with his secret: Whale was openly gay.

When the director forms a friendship with his gardener, Clayton, but when the young man doesn’t respond to his advances, this sends Whale down a spiral that will only end tragically.

Gods and Monsters Won an Academy Award in 1999 for Best Adapted Screenplay

Starring Brendan Fraser in one of his best roles and Ian McKellen in an Academy Award-nominated performance, anyone would have thought it would be more successful. However, it was a box office flop that failed to connect with audiences due to its subject matter and probably the fact that it manipulates Whale’s final days for dramatic purposes.

Strangely, this same piece of material, Christopher Bram’s novel, Father of Frankenstein, was the basis for the single Academy Award win of Gods and Monsters. Today, no one seems to remember Gods and Monsters as a late ’90s worthy drama starring two very good actors.

3 Innerspace (1987)

In Innerspace, a soldier called Tuck Pendleton submits himself to an experiment after a botched career in the Navy. The government has planned to experiment with miniaturization techniques, and they’re able to bring Pendleton and his ship to the size of an ant in order to be injected into a rabbit for study purposes. The problem is that terrorists storm the lab and kill the scientists.

Only one of them escapes with the syringe carrying Tuck’s ship, and before dying, he injects a supermarket employee with the liquid in question. Now, it’s up to Tuck and the hypochondriac Jack Putter to try to find a way to get Tuck out of Putter’s body.

Innerspace Won an Academy Award in 1988 for Best Visual Effects

Directed by Joe Dante and with the support of Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, the very underrated Innerspace is a wild 1980s ride that consists of state-of-the-art special effects and the comedic language of Martin Short (Jack Putter). It received acclaim from critics who connected with Dante’s signature style of blending comedy with just about every other genre out there.

It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1988, but today, the film has been sadly forgotten by most, and only 1980s enthusiasts know of its existence.

You can stream Innerspace on Kanopy.

2 The Descendants (2011)

The Descendants follows Matt King, an attorney in Honolulu who sits on a valuable piece of land he doesn’t want to get rid of, contrary to what his family wants him to do. His wife, Elizabeth, has a boating accident and is left comatose and about to die.

When Matt tries to tell his estranged daughters that their mother will be disconnected from life support systems, the oldest one, Alex, tells him that Elizabeth was having an affair, and she caught her. Matt’s views of his life, his wife, and his daughters are then shifted to fit with the reality of the circumstance.

The Descendants Won an Academy Award in 2012 for Best Adapted Screenplay

The script by Jim Rash, Nat Faxon, and Alexander Payne, who also directed and produced the film, won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in a ceremony in which the film was nominated in five categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. It was a blockbuster of a movie, grossing $177.2 million at the box office that year.

Nevertheless, few people remember it outside of it being a showcase for George Clooney and Shailene Woodley, the two leads who truly elevated the film above its indie production value.

1 The Reader (2008)

The Reader tells the story of Michael Berg, a young man who finds out he has scarlet fever when a stranger takes care of him after an attack. When he gets cured, Michael visits Hanna and brings her flowers. The problem is that they start having an affair, and she’s 20 years older than him. When he reads to her, she becomes infatuated with the teenager.

Some years after, they’ve become estranged, and Michael finds out the truth about Hanna when he sees she’s one of the defendants in a trial where SS guards are judged for crimes they committed during the Nazi holocaust.

The Reader Won an Academy Award in 2009 for Best Actress

The 2008 romantic drama wasn’t acclaimed by critics, and yet it earned a decent amount of money at the box office. Most people had an issue with the film’s depiction of a clearly problematic sexual relationship, but also with the portrayal of a war criminal that somehow audiences felt sympathy for.

Even though it won Kate Winslet (Hanna) an Academy Award for Best Actress, the film has faded from public memory. Perhaps it’s because of its controversial plot, or perhaps it just isn’t that good to remember.