Sci-fi films nominated for Oscars other than effects
The list of Sci-fi films nominated for an Oscar for best picture is very small. We are used to seeing good sci-fi be nominated for special effects, and that's about it. I thought I would single out those that also received Oscar nominations in categories aside from visual and sound effects, make-up, or costumes. Please note that I embrace all forms of sci-fi, from realistic adventures, to social sci-fi, to working with one invention, to societies with very advanced technology. All descriptions are of nominations; if someone won (rare), I will indicate it. Of note is that the Academy was favorable to nominating fantasy films prior to 1950, but not sci-fi itself. This list shows that, for all the bad rep sci-fi gets, it has been recognized for its impact on the look and sound of cinema, and for good story telling.
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- DirectorIrving PichelStarsJohn ArcherWarner AndersonTom Powers"Destination Moon", tells the tale of when Doctor Charles Cargraves and retired General Thayer approach Jim Barnes, the head of his own aviation construction firms to help build a rocket that will take them to the moon.Best Art Direction (color).
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsRichard DerrBarbara RushPeter HansenAs a new star and planet hurtle toward a doomed Earth, a small group of survivalists frantically work to complete the rocket which will take them to their new home.Best Cinematography (color).
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsAlec GuinnessJoan GreenwoodCecil ParkerAn altruistic chemist invents a fabric which resists wear and stain as a boon to humanity, but big business and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.Best Adapted Screenplay.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsKirk DouglasJames MasonPaul LukasA ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.Best Editing, Best Art Direction (color) (WON).
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsJames MasonPat BooneArlene DahlAn Edinburgh professor and assorted colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center.Best Art Direction (color). I understand that this starts out as sci-fi, and then goes back-and-forth between fantasy adventure and sci-fi. Still counts.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsJerry LewisJoan BlackmanEarl HollimanThe weirdest alien of the galaxy pays a visit to Earth...Best Art Direction (black and white).
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsFred MacMurrayNancy OlsonKeenan WynnA college professor invents an anti-gravity substance which a corrupt businessman wants for himself.Best Cinematography (black and white), Art Direction.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsStephen BoydRaquel WelchEdmond O'BrienWhen a blood clot renders a scientist comatose, a submarine and its crew are shrunk and injected into his bloodstream in order to save him.Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Art Direction (color) (WON).
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterWhen a mysterious artifact is uncovered on the Moon, a spacecraft manned by two humans and one supercomputer is sent to Jupiter to find its origins.Best Director, Original Screenplay, Art Direction.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsCliff RobertsonClaire BloomLilia SkalaAn intellectually disabled man undergoes an experiment that gives him the intelligence of a genius.Best Lead Actor (WON). Explores the impact of a fictional, experimental surgery to improve intelligence, run by scientists.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsCharlton HestonRoddy McDowallKim HunterAfter being kept in hypersleep during a long expedition into deep space, an astronaut crew crash-lands in the 40th century on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved.Best Original Score.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsGregory PeckRichard CrennaDavid JanssenThree American astronauts are stranded in space when their retros won't fire. Can they be rescued before their oxygen runs out?Best Cinematography
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesAlex DeLarge and his droogs barbarize a decaying near-future.Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing. Social sci-fi that also describes a psychological/technological procedure and its after-effects.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJames OlsonArthur HillDavid WayneTop scientists work feverishly in a secret, state-of-the-art laboratory to discover what killed the citizens of a small town and how the deadly contagion can be stopped.Best Editing, Art Direction.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsGeorge C. ScottTrish Van DeverePaul SorvinoA marine biologist teaches his dolphins to communicate in English but shady characters plan to kidnap the trained mammals for a more sinister purpose.Best Original Score.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsGene WilderMadeline KahnMarty FeldmanAn American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.Best Adapted Screenplay. Yes, this is mostly a horror comedy, but a story of a scientist using a machine to revive a corpse, and the ensuing effects, falls under sci-fi.
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsMichael YorkJenny AgutterRichard JordanA police officer in the future uncovers the deadly secret behind a society that worships youth.Best Art Direction.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Editing (WON), Score (WON), Art Direction (WON). Yes, it has fantasy elements (as well as elements from almost all of the existing film genres), but its treatment of technology is rather serious, including robots, terra-farming, space travel, computers, video games, and a planetary weapon.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRichard DreyfussFrançois TruffautTeri GarrRoy Neary, an Indiana electric lineman, finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches.Best Director, Supporting Actress, Cinematography (WON), Editing, Score, Art Direction.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGregory PeckLaurence OlivierJames MasonA Nazi hunter in Paraguay discovers a sinister and bizarre plot to rekindle the Third Reich.Best Editing, Score.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtAfter investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin, the crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform.Best Art Direction.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyWhen an alien spacecraft of enormous power is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk resumes command of the overhauled USS Enterprise in order to intercept it.Best Original Score, Art Direction.
- DirectorGary NelsonStarsMaximilian SchellAnthony PerkinsRobert ForsterA research vessel finds a missing ship, commanded by a mysterious scientist, on the edge of a black hole.Best Cinematography.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsWilliam HurtBlair BrownBob BalabanA psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.Best Original Score.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Empire overpowers the Rebel Alliance, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda. At the same time, Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett pursue his friends across the galaxy.Best Original Score, Art Direction.
