The Dark Knight
If there’s anything that gets a harder time from the Academy than blockbusters, it’s superhero movies. Fortunately, the recent escalation in their popularity and their production has forced the members to take another look. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight has, in the years since its release, become a cinematic classic – I mentioned earlier how difficult it was to point out a classic: The Dark Knight was easy.
With a story following the Caped Crusader and his arch nemesis, the Joker (Heath Ledger), the film made over an astounding $1 billion! Ledger posthumously won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his instantly iconic portrayal as the Clown Prince of Crime, and The Dark Knight has landed the #4 spot on IMDb’s Top 250.
The fans certainly did their part in showing the film the love it deserved, then. However, when Oscar season came, The Dark Knight didn’t land a Best Picture nomination. A very dark portrayal of metropolitan life and terrorism, it’s very possible that this movie was “too disturbing” for the members of the Academy. I’m playing the devil’s advocate here by trying to give reason for this absurd absence, but obviously, this was a flick that they just missed.