6. 2001: A Space Odyssey
While the Academy has a well-noted bias against genre films, 2001: A Space Odyssey surely should have been the exception to their rule. A staggeringly epic adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s novel of the same name, the film used the limited technology of the era to create a genuinely futuristic masterpiece. The film is so vital that the United States Library of Congress has preserved it. Nevertheless, it received only one Academy Award: the lowly (and often used for a genre film) award of Best Visual Effects.