These 20 genius filmmakers never won the Oscar for Best Director

David Lynch is a bizarro genius who doesn't make movies for conventional audiences. (For proof of this, go watch "Eraserhead.") Despite his unwillingness to be mediocre, Lynch has gotten some Oscar love, having received directorial nominations for "The Elephant Man," "Blue Velvet" and "Mulholland Drive." Sadly, he's never won.

With a few exception. Terry Gilliam's filmography can hold its own against that of others on this list — "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "The Fisher King," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Brazil" are the standouts. Despite the impressive resume, he's never been nominated for Best Director.

How did Ridley Scott not win for "Gladiator" back 2001?!?!?!

Oh, right, because Steven Soderbergh won for "Traffic." Other nominations that didn't yield wins include "The Martian," "Black Hawk Down and "Thelma & Louise." His movies worthy of a Best Director include the sci-fi classics "Alien" and "Blade Runner."

If you were to go by Oscar nominations, you'd think the only good movie Michael Mann ever made was "The Insider," the 2000 movie about a whistleblower who went after Big Tobacco. (It was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director.) That's simply not true. Mann also directed "The Last of the Mohicans," "Heat" (Pacino vs. De Niro!) and "Collateral," all films worthy enough of at least a nomination.

It's infuriating to see Tarantino on this list, isn't it? I don't blame you. Though he did get nominations for "Pulp Fiction" and "Inglourious Basterds," he lost out to Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump") and Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker"), respectively. How he didn't get — and win — one for "Jackie Brown" or "Kill Bill" is beyond me.

Talk about unlucky! All three of Arthur Penn's Best Director nominations ("The Miracle Worker," "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Alice's Restaurant") came in super-loaded years in this category. In 1958, he lost to David Lean, who directed and won with "Lawrence of Arabia." Ten years later he lost to Mike Nichols, who directed "The Graduate." He lost for a third and final time in 1970 to John Schlesinger, who directed "Midnight Cowboy."

'Il Maestro' is one of a handful of foreign-born directors who should have been honored with an Oscar for their craft. (The others include Kurosawa, who's on this list, and Jean-Luc Godard). Fellini did get Oscar love in the Best Foreign Film category, winning for "Nights of Cabiria," "8 1/2" and "Amarcord," the latter two of which should have been more than enough for the win. 

What does David Fincher have to do to win a Best Director Oscar? Apparently, a movie better than "The Social Network," which is one of only two chances he's ever had at taking the award. (The other was "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," but let's pretend that didn't happen.) Other notable works that deserved directorial recognition include "Zodiac," "Se7en," and yes, even "Fight Club."

"Bloody Sam" has never gotten the proper respect he deserves from film-watching audiences, so it's not surprising he never got any love from Academy members. (He did get one nomination during his career, but that was for writing "The Wild Bunch.") Peckinpah's cultural impact cannot be understated — films like "Straw Dogs" and the cult classic "Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia" are unlike anything Hollywood has ever seen.

Malick's films are esoteric and stunningly beautiful, two wonderful qualities to possess unless your goal is to win a Best Director Oscar. He did get a nomination nod for "The Thin Red Line" and "The Tree of Life," but lost to Steven Spielberg for "Saving Private Ryan" and Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech," respectively.

Spike Lee is not only the best black director of all time, but he's also one of the best directors alive, period. The proud Brooklynite's body of work includes Oscar-worthy movies like "Do The Right Thing," "25th Hour," "Jungle Fever," "He Got Game" and "Malcolm X." Unfortunately, Spike Lee hasn't even been given a chance to win because he's never even been nominated for the award.

Howard Hawks' filmography looks like a syllabus for an "Intro to American Cinema" college class: "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "Red River," "His Girl Friday," "Bringing Up Baby," "Rio Bravo" and "The Big Sleep." His nomination for director didn't come for any of these pictures, although he did get a nod for "Sergeant York" but lost. The Academy did award Hawks an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1975, presented by no less than the man he helped make a star: John Wayne. 

Akira Kurosawa, one of the greatest directors the world has ever seen, received an honorary Oscar in 1990 for his contributions to film. That still doesn't make up for the fact that the Japanese cineaste never even got a single nomination for direction. It's not a big deal. He only made "Seven Samurai," "The Hidden Fortress" and "Rashomon."

There's a reason why Paul Thomas Anderson is often referred to as the modern-day Kubrick. He shepherds every project from idea to completion and is obsessive about every single aspect of it, whether it be the script (he's written every movie he's directed), the acting (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Daniel Day-Lewis career performances under his direction) or the music (having worked with Jon Brion and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood). With the exception of "Hard Eight" and maybe "Punch-Drunk Love," every single one of his movies was the best film of that particular year. PTA is currently nominated for Best Director for "Phantom Thread," which means that his name could be stricken from this list if the Academy makes the right decision.

Sidney Lumet made films that have woven themselves into the American cultural fabric, most notably "Twelve Angry Men" (his film directorial debut!) "Network" (a movie about the exploitative nature of cable television) and "A Dog Day Afternoon," (featuring Al Pacino as his best as a bank robber trying to get money for his partner's gender-confirmation surgery). He got nominations for those three films — as well as for 1983's "The Verdict" — but never took a trophy home. 

Robert Altman made "The Long Goodbye," the best film noir — neo or otherwise — ever made. No Oscar nomination. He also made "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," as brutal and refreshing of a Western as they come, and no nomination. He did get a Best Director nod for "MASH," "Nashville," "The Player," "Short Cuts" and "Gosford Park." Spoiler alert: He went 0-for-5.

"The Little Tramp" is one of the godfathers of cinema, helping usher the medium into the sound era. Chaplin's best "talkie" film, the still prescient "The Great Dictator," received several nods but not one for Best Director. Oscar voters passed on him once again after he made "A King In New York," though by that point, he was banished from America for his political views.

For many, "Citizen Kane" is the best film of all time. Oscar voters in 1941 certainly didn't share that sentiment, choosing to give the Best Picture and Best Director awards to "How Green Is My Valley?" and its director, John Ford. Other films Welles could have won for include "The Magnificent Ambersons" and "Touch of Evil."

"The Master of Suspense" was nominated five times for Best Director — for "Rebecca," "Lifeboat," "Spellbound," "Rear Window" and "Psycho — but lost every single time. Hitchcock's directorial brilliance was eventually recognized by the Academy when he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1968, but that doesn't make up for the gross oversight.

His name is synonymous with genius. There's Stanley Kubrick, and then there's everyone else. Kubrick did it all; mastered every genre. Comedy? "Dr. Strangelove." Horror? "The Shining." Period piece? "Barry Lyndon." Science fiction? "2001: A Space Odyssey." You get the picture. Any single one of his films could've won him a Best Director Oscar, and yet his only win came for Best Visual Effects for "2001: A Space Odyssey." 

You want to be upset with the Academy? Look at his omission and know you're not alone.