From 'Psycho' to 'E.T.', here are some of the most infamous Best Picture snubs in Oscars history

The Oscars have a long history, associated with and recognising some of the world's best cinema since 1929. However, there have been times when the Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences failed to recognise the merits of great cinema, causing some to lose out on the prestigious Best Picture award.

DH brings to you 10 such films that should have won, but did not.

City Lights (1931)

Considered one of Charlie Chaplin's greatest works, City Lights followed the Tramp as he made friends with a millionaire and fell in love with a blind girl, going to great lengths to help her.

Unfortunately for Chaplin, the motion picture industry had moved to sound in cinema, and while that may not have been the reason the Academy gave him the cold shoulder, it remains a great mark of shame that the film received no nominations, let alone Best Picture, which ultimately went to 'Gone with the Wind'.

Citizen Kane (1941)

Orson Welles' legendary quasi-biopic on William Randolph Hearst, though received well in it released, failed to make its mark on the box office in 1941, partly due to Hearst's own campaign against the film, which he thought was a 'very unflattering portrait', and, according to reports, block voting by screen extras cost it the coveted best picture award, which went toHow Green Was My Valley.

Ultimately, the film went on to win the best original screenplay.

3. High Noon (1952)

Many critics have lambasted the Academy's choice of winner for Best Picture in 1952, as circus drama The Greatest Show on Earth took the coveted prize for itself, beating out Stanley Kramer's Western, which saw Gary Cooper's Will Kane, a retiring town marshal with a fierce sense of duty, being forced to choose between stopping a gang and leaving with his wife for a new life.

Psycho (1960)

Much like Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock has rarely got any love from the Academy, if at all. However, for all his legendary cinema, many consider worst snub he ever faced to be Psycho - the legendary psychological horror/slasher film.

The film featured some of the most deranged characters seen in cinema in Norman Bates, and has been considered to have set new standards for violence in film, with the murder of Marion Crane in the shower being widely regarded as one of the most well-known scenes of all time.

The film lost out to Billy Wilder's 'The Apartment', and was nominated for four awards at the Oscars, though it won none.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Stanley Kubrick's seminal piece of science fiction cinema, 2001: A Space Odyssey, was praised by many for its legendary use of mind-bending special effects and existentialism and artificial intelligence as central themes long before most science fiction tried to use them.

Unforunately, the Academy did not reciprocate the feelings of the public and critics, with the film not even being considered for Best Picture, which was won by the musical drama Oliver!. HAL 9000 was clearly not happy with this outcome.

Taxi Driver (1976)

Martin Scorsese and Alfred Hitchcock are kind of like two peas in a pod, as far as non-recognition for Best Picture goes. Taxi Driver, considered to be one of Scorsese's most influential pieces of cinema, is no exception.

The film followed Travis Bickle, an insomniac taxi driver, who gets infatuated with the volunteer for presidential candidate Charles Palantine in a post-Vietnam War New York City. The film gained an infamy for casting Jodie Foster, then a 12-year-old, as a child prostitute, and was noted for its use of violence and Bickle's slow descent to insanity.

Fortunately, the film only lost out to John G. Avildsen's revered sports drama Rocky,starring Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Childhood, friendship, love. These were the messages that Steven Spielberg espoused in E.T. when it released in 1982.

Following the adventures of Elliott, a 10-year-old,who finds and befriends a lost alien in the woods near his home in California and has to punch above his weight to keep his newfound friend safe, the film set high benchmarks in the use of music to convey emotion, and remains widely regarded as one of Spielberg's best films ever. 'E.T. phone home' remains to this day one of cinema's most iconic scenes, alongside the scene where Elliott and E.T cycle in the air with the moon in the background.

The film lost out to Richard Attenborough's biopic Gandhi,a fact that Attenborough himself lamented, saying "E.T. should have won Best Picture".

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

There are few words that can describe the film that is The Shawshank Redemption.Released in 1994, Frank Darabont's adaptation of Stephen King's short story took the world by storm, with critics lavishing it with endless praise and, despite a mediocre theatrical run, elevated to cult status through word-of-mouth and rentals.

Unfortunately, the film was did not win at the Oscars, having lost out on all seven nominations to others, with the Best Picture win going to Robert Zemeckis' Forrest Gump.

The Green Mile (1999)

Yet another Stephen King adaptation that made it to the Best Picture nomination, The Green Mile,much like The Shawshank Redemption is a film many consider something to be experienced rather than talked about.

It followed the days of John Coffey, a giant black man who is sentenced to death for the supposed murder of two young white girls, and his interactions with the officers at Cold Mountain Penitentiary, particularly Paul Edgecomb, who comes to form a special friendship with the gentle giant. The role of John Coffey is considered to be one of late Michael Clarke Duncan's greatest performances.

The film was received immensely despite its long runtime, and was a smashing success at the box office. However, it lost at the Oscars to American Beauty.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Many will agree that Slumdog Millionaire winning Best Picture in 2008 was merited for its acting or directing or music, but many will also argue that there were better choices that deserved that award. One of those is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a film about a man who ages in reverse, set across various backdrops. It featured acclaimed performances by Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button, the aforementioned man who ages in reverse, alongside a rich cast and a story about love against hardships.

While there were other strong contenders that year, such asThe Dark Knight, Benjamin Button's shunting at the Best Picture is a certain shame.