That is an excellent question, but I have absolutely no clue, other than the Oscars are generally a joke.
Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

I know Without the absolute heavenly score the movie is nothing. The Oscars have always beep up the Original Score category, and they continue to do it.

As some others have mentioned, the soundtrack is unfortunately not always best-suited to the scenes that are being depicted.
It may well be Morricone's best composition, but as a melding of images and sound I can understand how it didn't win the oscar.
Apparently many directors had this problem with Morricone. He kind of took over the film and did his own thing regarding the scoring, whether the director liked it or not.
His "best" work is probably all in the Sergio Leone movies, simply because the two of them were on the same page all the time. Check out Once Upon a Time in the West and you'll see a soundtrack that fits perfectly with the images.
By itself I agree The Mission soundtrack is incredible music, but a tad unwieldy in the film.

I completely agree with this whole thread I don't know anybody who listens to this score and doesn't fall in love with it. However, I also agree that in the movie itself, there are some editing issues that mess with the score a little bit. Everybody should definitely get the soundtrack and listen to it on its own.

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It's no surprise here - this wasn't the Academy's only big oversight regarding Morricone, they blatantly ignored all of his masterful work before
The Mission
. He received an Honorary Award a few years ago, but that was injustice if you ask me
The prostitution rests.

• Kelly Bundy

I always wondered the same thing! it's one of Morricone's finest score, and easily one of the greates of all time!!!
Prostitute: What the beep are you doing?
Johnny: I'm gonna kill a bunch of people.

Because Morricone usually compose the music before the movie's finished. He works that way, or atleast that's what I heard.

I felt that the score was edited badly with the images I saw on screen, with weird transitions and incomplete phrases. The juxtaposition of the climax scene with the boat fights and melee brawls on the mountain did not flow very well musically and there was no emotional coherence. Having said that, I love the soundtrack as a stand alone. I think the music itself represents the movie's themes very well, but the music is just not perfectly integrated with the film on a shot by shot basis.

Because Round Midnight won which is one of the great movie scores of all time. I love the Mission soundtrack but if one was going to beat it then it would be this.

the Mission score is like it was composed in heaven it is an ost that surpasses it's main source (movie) espesially the falls track no comment who were the oscar voters to judge this ost?there were not worthy to vote it

well my friend the academy is guilty for the biggest "crimes" especially in the original score category f.e. last of the mohican(not even nominated due to copyright issues) the Piano?!!!!(also copyright),BRAVEHEART(Did not win-unbelievable),the rock 1996,blade runner,1492,dracula,the passion of the christ,gladiator,last samurai,legends of the fall,alexander 2004,300,apocalypto.missing 1982,mutiny on the bounty.godfather and many morea lot of these should have won or at least get a nom,the original score category is the most unfair category of the oscars ,personally i don't give a s''t what the oscars say anymore