They won Best Director, but their films didn't win Best Picture?
These are the films in Academy-history that didn't win Best Picture even though the director won an Oscar. Which of these 22 films should have won the Best Picture award?
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22 titles
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsJanet GaynorCharles FarrellBen BardA street cleaner saves a young woman's life, and the pair slowly fall in love until war intervenes.1927/28
William Wellman's Wings won Best Picture instead of Frank Borzage's Seventh Heaven - DirectorNorman TaurogStarsJackie CooperRobert CooganMitzi GreenSkippy, 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.1930/31
Wesley Ruggles' Cimarron won Best Picture instead of Norman Taurog's Skippy - DirectorFrank BorzageStarsJames DunnSally EilersMinna GombellA man and woman, skeptical about romance, nonetheless fall in love and are wed, but their lack of confidence in the opposite sex haunts their marriage.1931/32
Edmund Goulding's Grand Hotel won Best Picture instead of Frank Borzage's Bad Girl - DirectorJohn FordStarsVictor McLaglenHeather AngelPreston FosterIn 1922, an Irish rebel informs on his friend, then feels doom closing in.Frank Lloyd's Mutiny on the Bounty won Best Picture instead of John Ford's The Informer
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsGary CooperJean ArthurGeorge BancroftA 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.Robert Z. Leonard's' The Great Ziefeld won Best Picture instead of Frank Capra's Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsIrene DunneCary GrantRalph BellamyA married couple file an amicable divorce, but find it harder to let go of each other than they initially thought.William Dieterle's The Life of Emile Zola won Best Picture instead of Leo McCarey's The Awful Truth
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaJane DarwellJohn CarradineAn 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.Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca won Best Picture instead of John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartWalter HustonTim HoltTwo 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.Laurence Olivier's Hamlet won Best Picture instead of John Huston's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsJeanne CrainLinda DarnellAnn SothernA 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.Robert Rossen's All the Kings Men won Best Picture instead of Joseph L. Mankiewicz's A Letter to Three Wives
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsMontgomery CliftElizabeth TaylorShelley WintersA poor boy gets a job working for his rich uncle and ends up falling in love with two women.Vincente Minnelli's An American in Paris won Best Picture instead of George Stevens's A Place in the Sun
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraBarry FitzgeraldA 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.Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth won Best Picture instead of John Ford's The Quiet Man
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsElizabeth TaylorRock HudsonJames DeanSprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.Michael Anderson's Around the World in 80 Days won Best Picture instead of George Stevens's Giant
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsDustin HoffmanAnne BancroftKatharine RossA disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.Norman Jewison's In the Heat of the Night won Best Picture instead of Mike Nichols's The Graduate
- DirectorBob FosseStarsLiza MinnelliMichael YorkHelmut GriemA female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather won Best Picture instead of Bob Fosse's Cabaret which set the record for most Oscars (8) without taking the top prize
- DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyDiane KeatonEdward HerrmannA radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.Hugh Hudson's Chariots of Fire won Best Picture instead of Warren Beatty's Reds
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsTom CruiseBryan LarkinRaymond J. BarryThe 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.Bruce Beresford's Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture instead of Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.John Madden's Shakespeare in Love won Best Picture instead of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMichael DouglasBenicio Del ToroCatherine Zeta-JonesA 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.Ridley Scott's Gladiator won Best Picture instead of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsAdrien BrodyThomas KretschmannFrank FinlayDuring 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.Rob Marshall's Chicago won Best Picture instead of Roman Polanski's The Pianist
- DirectorAng LeeStarsJake GyllenhaalHeath LedgerMichelle WilliamsEnnis and Jack are two shepherds who develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Their relationship becomes complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends.Paul Haggis' Crash won Best Picture instead of Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain
- DirectorAng LeeStarsSuraj SharmaIrrfan KhanAdil HussainA 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.Ben Affleck's Argo won Best Picture instead of Ang Lee's Life of Pi
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsSandra BullockGeorge ClooneyEd HarrisDr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first time on a space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave won Best Picture instead of Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity