6. Paris, Texas (1984)
Paris, Texas had its first screening at the Cannes Film Festival in May of 1984, winning 3 awards including the unanimous choice of Palme d'Or. The positive critical reception for the film was overwhelming, and when released in November of 1984 during the peak of the Oscar race it was no doubt it would be a front runner. The film, a haunting portrait of a man (Harry Dean Stanton) who resurfaces after a 4 year disappearance to reconnect with his abandoned son (Hunter Carson) and wife (Nastassja Kinski), is the kind of stuff the Academy eats up. However, when the Academy Award nominations were announced in February of 1985, Paris, Texas was grossly overlooked. Paris, Texas should have been a front runner for the Best Picture award, as well as nominations for Best Director (Wim Wenders), Best Actor (Stanton), Best Supporting Actor (Dean Stockwell) and Best Original Screenplay (Kit Carson and Sam Shepard). Even Robby Muller's vast and beautiful cinematography or Ry Cooder's original guitar score failed to pique Academy interest. All involved delivered top notch work, but it just didn't seem to strike a chord with voters as it became one of the biggest Oscar snubs of the 80's.