25 best movies that never won an Oscar

11. Boogie Nights

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice that one of this list’s themes has been now-accomplished directors being overlooked for their breakthrough projects. That pattern continues with Boogie Nights, the film that made Paul Thomas Anderson a major player in Hollywood and forced the industry to take Mark Wahlberg seriously as an actor.

Another theme that became apparent with these directorial debuts: They’re largely about aggressively inaccessible subjects. Anderson chose to make a raunchy film about the ’70s porn industry, which was entertaining and well-made but not exactly the sort of thing that automatically entices Academy voters. The fact it got awards consideration at all is a testament to the film’s expert construction.

Boogie Nights was up for Best Supporting Actor (Burt Reynolds), Best Supporting Actress (Julianne Moore) and Original Screenplay (Anderson) at the 1998 Oscars. Reynolds and Anderson lost fair-and-square to Good Will Hunting‘s Robin Williams and amazing script, respectively. Moore has a legitimate gripe, as she was arguably better in Boogie Nights than winner Kim Basinger was in L.A. Confidential.

It’s a shame that Wahlberg wasn’t nominated for Best Actor, though he would’ve had to contend with Matt Damon for Good Will Hunting and winner Jack Nicholson’s performance in As Good As It Gets. There’s also a debate to be had that Boogie Nights was the best film of 1997, but it never stood a chance at Best Picture because of a tiny film called Titanic. You might’ve heard of it.