10 Times The Oscars Recognized 'Cool' Movies

10. Jaws

Notable Nominations: Best Picture

Nowadays, Steven Spielberg getting nominated for a few Oscars is almost expected, but there was a time when he was just a young, unproven director in charge of a B-movie about a killer shark.

In all honesty, if not for the immense talents of Spielberg, Jaws could have been just a passably enjoyable genre film. Thanks to his visionary talent behind the camera and a malfunctioning mechanical shark, though, the story of a Great White terrorizing a small island community became a cinematic classic and ushered in the blockbuster era.

The film was a massive hit at the box office, but even more surprisingly, it was lauded as a genuinely great piece of filmmaking. It was a blend of thrills, scares and adventure that would become signature in Spielberg's later works.

Audiences weren't the only ones to eat up the film. Jaws ended up being nominated for a few awards at the 1976 Oscars, including Best Picture. While it ultimately lost the award to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, it marked the first time such a film was up for the main prize.