The Elephant Man is a deeply moving movie, so it's surprising that it was shutout at the Oscars. At the very least, one would expect that the artists who designed star John Hurt's makeup would have won an Oscar for Best Makeup. Unfortunately, Makeup didn't become an Oscar category until the following year's Oscars as a response to the outcry over The Elephant Man not receiving an honorary award for its work. Equally surprising was that the inventive black and white cinematography of Freddie Francis was not awarded a nomination. In the categories that it was actually nominated for at the 1981 Oscars, The Elephant Man faced stiff competition from Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull. But Raging Bull faced even stiffer competition from Ordinary People, an Oscar-bait movie directed by Robert Redford that is mostly remembered today for winning the Oscars that Raging Bull should have won. While The Elephant Man is behind Raging Bull in the "Movies That Should Have Won More Oscars in 1981" line, The Elephant Man should have won something. Had there been a Best Makeup Oscar it undoubtedly wouldn't be on this list. But at the very least The Elephant Man is responsible for forcing the Academy to recognize makeup artists at future ceremonies.