“The Sting,” which swept the Oscars, competed with a diverse group of films: George Lucas' “American Graffiti,” Bergman's Swedish-language drama. “Cries and Whispers,” William Friedkin's special-effects horror saga, “The Exorcist,” and the British romantic comedy, “A “Touch of Class,” for which Glenda Jackson received her Second Best Actress in three years.

In 1999, “The Cider House Rules” competed with four films for the Best Picture: “American Beauty,” which won most of the important awards, including Best Picture, “The Green Mile,” “The Insider,” and “The Sixth Sense.”

The nominations caused a scandal when the helmer of “Children of a Lesser God,” Randa Haines, failed to receive a Best Director nod, probably because of the gender; similar discrimination occurs when both Penny Marshall and Barbra Streisand were snubbed by the Director Branch, despite the fact that their pictures, “Awakenings” and “The Prince of Tides,” respectively, did get Best Picture nominations.

In 1943, no less than ten films competed for the Best Picture Oscar: “Casablanca,” which won, “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Heaven Can Wait,” “The Human Comedy,” “In Which We Serve,” “Madame Curie,” “The More the Merrier,” “The Ox-Bow Incident,” “The Song of Bernadette,” and “Watch on the Rhine.” Of the ten nominees, William A. Wellman's “Ox-Bow Incident” was the only film to receive just one nod, for Best Picture.

William Hurr has been nominated for four Oscar Awards, including the most recent nomination for Supporting Actor in David Cronenberg‚Äôs 2005 “A History of Violence.”