Recognition from The Academy warrant the followers for any directorial nominee : All of their surveil - up films will be compare to their Oscar gold qualifier and their other work , if not already well - screw , could become swallow up .

The following are ten films from Oscar - nominated directors that either went underseen , were misunderstood , or had less aggregate appeal than their far - reaching counterpart . Each serve as an important reminder that motion picture that fail to draw extensive prize condition are not without merit .

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

After the commercial-grade and critical unsuccessful person that wasThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou(2004 ) , Wes Anderson needed a pick - me - up .

get in 2007’sThe Darjeeling Limited . The storey – Anderson repertory players Owen Wilson , Jason Schwartzman , and Adrien Brody as estranged blood brother reconnecting over a transverse - India train drive   – pulled the same familial abandonment plug his retiring few films had . With down - key execution , it put the Texan - bear stylistic film maker back on track , and Anderson would go on to earn his first good director nomination for 2014 ’s evenly eclectic and overseas - arrange supporting players , Grand Budapest Hotel .

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

It is no mystery there is no love lost between George Lucas and the fans of the " far far forth " galaxy he create ,   withStar war ' polarizing prequel trilogy serve as the adept model .

However , despite mixed reviews for the prequels as a whole , its final leg – Episode III : Revenge of the Sith – received a certified tonic , 80 % postage of approval from Rotten Tomatoes . allot , Lucas receive frequent accusations of phoning in the dialog that built to and existed throughout arguablythe film ’s most iconic moment : The climactic Obi - Wan / Anakin lightsaber duel . Nevertheless , when it comes to judging the prequel trilogy ’s three installment , it is an undeniable fact thatRevenge of the Sithholds the high ground .

Polytechnique (2009)

Denis Villeneuve ’s experimental refreshment of the real - life story 1989 Montreal Massacre schooling shooting rotated storyteller with each act , boldly go as far as to render the effect from the culprit ’s perspective at one distributor point .

The Quebec native ’s telling feel for choreograph solarise pandemonium foreshadowed the vocation he would expend accomplish even more cinematic immenseness on a well - earned larger scale . This , of course of study , included   2016 ’s sci - fi movieArrival , which he depend upon to the line of his first skilful director nominating address .

Unsane (2018)

After his return to feature filmmaking , Steven Soderbergh – love most for helm theOcean’sheist trilogy ( 2001 - 2007 ) , and for bring in two best music director nominating address in one year forErin BrokovichandTraffic(both released 2000 ) – dare to try something novel .

merge the tardy movement in indie filmmaking with his own sensibilities , Soderbergh shotUnsane , starring Claire Foy as a woman wrongfully committed to a psychiatrical ward , entirely on an iPhone . A determination that provided a reality - inducing and sanity - pervert aesthetic , rattling the cage of any in its audience while rewarding them with a average - expatiate mystery / repugnance .

The Outsiders (1983)

An adaption of S.E. Hinton ’s dear coming - of - age novel of the same name , The Outsiderswas subject to vivid scrutiny due to it coming from Francis Ford Coppola ( The Godfather , Apocalypse Now ) .

Its persist bequest : kickstartingthe calling of then - unnamed , future A - lister plough like Tom Cruise , Matt Dillon , Emilio Estevez , Diane Lane , Rob Lowe , Ralph Macchio , and Patrick Swayze . Yet the film itself is worthy of more love than it welcome upon release . Surely , there is something to be say for a Greaser bunch - focused pic that   manage to think about without a unmarried melodic numeral .

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)

Expecting a true - forward extension , many fans screamed bloody murder when David Lynch ’s quasi - prequel / continuation toTwin Peaksfirst stumble theater a twelvemonth after the cult show ’s controversial cancellation .

When take for what it was always think to be , Twin Peaks : Fire Walk With Mereminds die - hards and casual witness alike of the sole reason why Lynch left halfway through the show ’s second time of year . On TV , he faced limitations at every corner ; however , on the ash gray sieve , he could retain the same creative freedom that made his earliest work likeEraserhead(1977 ) andBlue Velvet(1986 ) bona fide classics .

Gerry (2002)

Both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck became picture stars overnight after theirGood Will Huntingscript won grownup at the Oscars in 1998.But this did not stop them from writing whole . While Affleck ready his career ’s second wind as a writer / director , Damon teamed up with theirGood Will Huntingdirector Gus Van Sant and none - other - than Ben ’s buddy Casey for another screenplay , the small - seenGerry .

The light - on - dialogue film star Damon and the younger Affleck as a pair of friends suffer in the desert without urine .

The Walk (2015)

Though the iMax going of Robert Zemeckis’The Walkmost weigh during the act III payoff of its premise – a man ’s pursuit to walk a tightwire between the top floor of the Twin Towers – it played on the bragging screen as a pic deserving the raised price of entrance money .

Sleepers (1996)

Barry Levinson ’s ( Rain Man , The raw ) underseen film seems most comparable to late menu like 2015 ’s good picture winningSpotlightand   the two - part horror update of Stephen King’sIt .

Sleepersfollows four stripling who commit a japery that sound terribly wrong   and lands them in a adolescent detainment center . As adults , they formulate a courtroom coup to go after the sadistic corrections officers who subjugate them to fell ill-treatment . With an all - clip great ensemble consisting of Kevin Bacon , Robert DeNiro , Minnie Driver , Dustin Hoffman , and Brad Pitt , Sleeperstackles expiration ( and reacquisition ) of innocence like no other .

Tape (2001)

Thirteen years prior to garner his first estimable theater director nomination for 2014 ’s groundbreakingBoyhood , Richard Linklater delivered a spellbinding , single - room feature that evoke both Alfred Hitchock’sRopeand Quentin Tarantino’sReservoir Dogs .

Based on the caper of the same name , Linklater operated the camera himself to chaotically photograph the film from many different angles . This allowed the filmmaker to adequately bewitch the wall as they come crashing down around a duad of previous friends , played by Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard , respectively . Over the grade of the motion picture , the duo dance around talk about the fortune involving a long - been - muffle secret that ’s quick creeping back up to the surface in real - meter .

NEXT : Oscars 2020 : 5 Well - Deserved Nominations ( & 5 That Were Snubbed )

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underrated movies oscar nominated directors FEATURE IMAGE

10 DARJEELING LIMITED

9 REVENGE OF THE SITH

A black and white shot of a woman looking to her left in Polytechnique.

7 UNSANE

A cast photo of The Outsiders

5 TP FIRE WALK WITH ME

4 GERRY

3 THE WALK

2 SLEEPERS

1 TAPE

Movies

Star Wars