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Won Best Director, but not Best Picture (Academy Awards)

by Senator_Ivan_Alec • Created 8 years ago • Modified 2 years ago
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  • 28 titles
  • 7th Heaven (1927)

    1. 7th Heaven

    19271h 50m
    7.5 (4.4K)
    A street cleaner saves a young woman's life, and the pair slowly fall in love until war intervenes.
    DirectorFrank BorzageStarsJanet GaynorCharles FarrellBen Bard
    1928 - Frank Borzage
    "Wings" won Best Picture, directed by William A. Wellman, who was not nominated for Best Director.
  • Two Arabian Knights (1927)

    2. Two Arabian Knights

    19271h 32mTV-G
    6.6 (1.2K)
    Two American soldiers are captured by the Germans on the Western Front during World War One and escape a POW camp only to stumble into further life-threatening adventures when they come across an Arabian king's daughter while on the lam.
    DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsWilliam BoydMary AstorLouis Wolheim
    1928 - Lewis Milestone
    "Wings" won Best Picture, directed by William A. Wellman, who was not nominated for Best Director.
    "Two Arabian Knights" was not nominated for Best Picture.
  • The Divine Lady (1928)

    3. The Divine Lady

    19281h 39mNot Rated
    6.1 (1K)
    The story of the romance between Emma, Lady Hamilton, and British war hero Admiral Horatio Nelson.
    DirectorFrank LloydStarsCorinne GriffithVictor VarconiH.B. Warner
    1929 - Frank Lloyd
    "The Broadway Melody" won Best Picture, directed by Harry Beaumont.
    "The Divine Lady" was not nominated for Best Picture.
  • Jackie Cooper in Skippy (1931)

    4. Skippy

    19311h 25mPassed
    6.3 (1.1K)
    Skippy, the mischievous son of a wealthy doctor, meets Sooky in poverty-ridden Shantytown, and together they try to save Sooky's pet from a cruel dogcatcher.
    DirectorNorman TaurogStarsJackie CooperRobert CooganMitzi Green
    1931 - Norman Taurog
    "Cimarron" won Best Picture, directed by Wesley Ruggles.
  • Sally Eilers in Bad Girl (1931)

    5. Bad Girl

    19311h 30mApproved
    6.4 (1.7K)
    Two adolescents fall in love and are wed, but misunderstandings born from a lack of trust and communication haunt their marriage.
    DirectorFrank BorzageStarsJames DunnSally EilersMinna Gombell
    1932 - Frank Borzage
    "Grand Hotel" won Best Picture, directed by Edmund Goulding, who was not nominated for Best Director.
  • Margot Grahame and Victor McLaglen in The Informer (1935)

    6. The Informer

    19351h 31mApproved65Metascore
    7.4 (7.6K)
    In 1922, an Irish rebel informs on his friend, then feels doom closing in.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsVictor McLaglenHeather AngelPreston Foster
    1935 - John Ford
    "Mutiny on the Bounty" won Best Picture, directed by Frank Lloyd.
  • Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

    7. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

    19361h 55mApproved
    7.8 (24K)
    A unassuming greeting card poet from a small town in Vermont heads to New York City upon inheriting a massive fortune and is immediately hounded by those who wish to take advantage of him.
    DirectorFrank CapraStarsGary CooperJean ArthurGeorge Bancroft
    1936 - Frank Capra
    "The Great Ziegeld" won Best Picture, directed by Robert Z. Leonard.
  • 1 sheet 27 x 41

    8. The Awful Truth

    19371h 30mApproved87Metascore
    7.7 (22K)
    A married couple files an amicable divorce, but find letting go of each other harder than they originally thought.
    DirectorLeo McCareyStarsIrene DunneCary GrantRalph Bellamy
    1937 - Leo McCarey
    "The Life of Emile Zola" won Best Picture, directed by William Dieterle.
  • Henry Fonda, John Carradine, Jane Darwell, Dorris Bowdon, Frank Darien, and Russell Simpson in The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

    9. The Grapes of Wrath

    19402h 9mApproved96Metascore
    8.1 (105K)
    An Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaJane DarwellJohn Carradine
    1940 - John Ford
    "Rebecca" won Best Picture, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
  • Humphrey Bogart, Tim Holt, and Walter Huston in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

    10. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

    19482h 6mApproved98Metascore
    8.2 (137K)
    Two down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.
    DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartWalter HustonTim Holt
    1948 - John Huston
    "Hamlet" won Best Picture, directed by Laurence Olivier.
  • Kirk Douglas, Linda Darnell, Jeanne Crain, Paul Douglas, Jeffrey Lynn, and Ann Sothern in A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

    11. A Letter to Three Wives

    19491h 43mApproved
    7.7 (11K)
    A letter is addressed to three wives from their "best friend" Addie Ross, announcing that she is running away with one of their husbands - but she does not say which one.
    DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsJeanne CrainLinda DarnellAnn Sothern
    1949 - Joseph L. Mankiewicz
    "All the King's Men" won Best Picture, directed by Robert Rossen.
  • Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, and Shelley Winters in A Place in the Sun (1951)

    12. A Place in the Sun

    19512h 2mApproved76Metascore
    7.7 (26K)
    A poor boy gets a job working for his rich uncle and ends up falling in love with two women.
    DirectorGeorge StevensStarsMontgomery CliftElizabeth TaylorShelley Winters
    1951 - George Stevens
    "An American in Paris" won Best Picture, directed by Vincente Minnelli.
  • Maureen O'Hara, John Wayne, Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald, and Victor McLaglen in The Quiet Man (1952)

    13. The Quiet Man

    19522h 9mApproved85Metascore
    7.7 (44K)
    A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraBarry Fitzgerald
    1952 - John Ford
    "The Greatest Show on Earth" won Best Picture, directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
  • James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson in Giant (1956)

    14. Giant

    19563h 21mG84Metascore
    7.6 (44K)
    Sprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.
    DirectorGeorge StevensStarsElizabeth TaylorRock HudsonJames Dean
    1956 - George Stevens
    "Around the World in Eighty Days" won Best Picture, directed by Michael Anderson.
  • Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft in The Graduate (1967)

    15. The Graduate

    19671h 46mPG83Metascore
    8.0 (297K)
    A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
    DirectorMike NicholsStarsDustin HoffmanAnne BancroftKatharine Ross
    1967 - Mike Nichols
    "In the Heat of the Night" won Best Picture, directed by Norman Jewison.
  • Cabaret (1972)

    16. Cabaret

    19722h 4mPG80Metascore
    7.8 (62K)
    A female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.
    DirectorBob FosseStarsLiza MinnelliMichael YorkHelmut Griem
    1972 - Bob Fosse
    "The Godfather" won Best Picture, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
  • Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty in Reds (1981)

    17. Reds

    19813h 15mPG76Metascore
    7.3 (26K)
    A radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.
    DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyDiane KeatonEdward Herrmann
    1981 - Warren Beatty
    "Chariots of Fire" won Best Picture, directed by Hugh Hudson.
  • Tom Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

    18. Born on the Fourth of July

    19892h 25mR75Metascore
    7.2 (120K)
    The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.
    DirectorOliver StoneStarsTom CruiseBryan LarkinRaymond J. Barry
    1989 - Oliver Stone
    "Driving Miss Daisy" won Best Picture, directed by Bruce Beresford, who was not nominated for Best Director.
  • Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, and Edward Burns in Saving Private Ryan (1998)

    19. Saving Private Ryan

    19982h 49mR91Metascore
    8.6 (1.6M)
    Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
    DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom Sizemore
    1998 - Steven Spielberg
    "Shakespeare in Love" won Best Picture, directed by John Madden.
  • Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Dennis Quaid, Benicio Del Toro, and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Traffic (2000)

    20. Traffic

    20002h 27mR86Metascore
    7.5 (225K)
    A conservative judge is appointed by the President to spearhead America's escalating war against drugs, only to discover that his teenage daughter is a crack addict. Two DEA agents protect an informant. A jailed drug baron's wife attempts to carry on the family business.
    DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMichael DouglasBenicio Del ToroCatherine Zeta-Jones
    2000 - Steven Soderbergh
    "Gladiator" won Best Picture, directed by Ridley Scott.
  • Adrien Brody in The Pianist (2002)

    21. The Pianist

    20022h 30mR85Metascore
    8.5 (968K)
    During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
    DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsAdrien BrodyThomas KretschmannFrank Finlay
    2002 - Roman Polanski
    "Chicago" won Best Picture, directed by Rob Marshall.
  • Brokeback Mountain (2005)

    22. Brokeback Mountain

    20052h 14mR87Metascore
    7.7 (401K)
    Two shepherds fall for each other, but their relationship becomes complicated when they both get married to their respective girlfriends.
    DirectorAng LeeStarsJake GyllenhaalHeath LedgerMichelle Williams
    2005 - Ang Lee
    "Crash" won Best Picture, directed by Paul Haggis.
  • Suraj Sharma in Life of Pi (2012)

    23. Life of Pi

    20122h 7mPG79Metascore
    7.9 (685K)
    A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.
    DirectorAng LeeStarsSuraj SharmaIrrfan KhanAdil Hussain
    2012 - Ang Lee
    "Argo" won Best Picture, directed by Ben Affleck, who was not nominated for Best Director.
  • Gravity (2013)

    24. Gravity

    20131h 31mPG-1396Metascore
    7.7 (882K)
    Dr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.
    DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsSandra BullockGeorge ClooneyEd Harris
    2013 - Alfonso Cuarón
    "12 Years a Slave" won Best Picture, directed by Steve McQueen.
  • Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant (2015)

    25. The Revenant

    20152h 36mR76Metascore
    8.0 (911K)
    A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.
    DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsLeonardo DiCaprioTom HardyWill Poulter
    2015 - Alejandro González Iñárritu
    "Spotlight" won Best Picture, directed by Tom McCarthy.

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