11 Directors Who Won Oscars For Completely The Wrong Movie

11. Mel Gibson

Won For... Braveheart

Should Have Won For... Hacksaw Ridge

Of all of the films about Scottish independence and William Wallace, Mel Gibson's Braveheart is probably the best. Even though it takes considerable liberties with the historical facts of the time and features some fairly wishy-washy Scottish accents.

It has a knack for getting under your skin so you really feel its patriotic message even if you're not Scottish, and makes you hate the English even if you are one. It's not Gibson's best film though, and it certainly doesn't deserve to be recognised officially as such.

Both Apocalyptico and Hacksaw Ridge are better directed films, with the former's bravery of particular note. But it's 2017's war epic that really deserves the nod as Gibson's best effort, even with problematic swirls in the air around him: it's an achievement in film that actually learned from Braveheart, so it should rightly be considered a progression from it.