Spike Lee is calling out a bad call from the Academy more than 30 years later: The auteur, along with most cinephiles, is convinced that Denzel Washington was snubbed for the Best Actor Oscar for “ Malcolm X .” Al Pacino instead won over Washington for “Scent of a Woman.”

Spike Lee believes that Denzel Washington deserved his flowers from the Academy Awards for 1993 biopic Malcolm X. Washington portrayed the civil rights activist and Muslim minister in the Lee-directed film,

At a Cannes press conference for his new film "Highest 2 Lowest" on Tuesday, Spike Lee reflected on his five collaborations with Denzel Washington - and said he should have won the best actor Oscar in 1993 over Al Pacino.