The choice of a frivolous comedy as the 1973 Oscar winner resulted in many controversies. Once again, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) found itself under severe attack from its more serious critics. Eyebrows were raised and questions asked: Is “The Sting” truly Oscar-caliber Is it the sort of film to be honored with the Oscar, presumably the most prestigious award in the world

The film was nominated for the Best Foreign-Language Oscar (Yugoslavia), but lost to Costa-Gavras' political thriller “Z.”

“Batman Returns,” also directed by Tim Burton, lost in each of the categories it was nominated: Makeup and Visual Effects.

Tim Burton's “Batman” was nominated and won the Art Direction-Set Decoration Oscar for Anton Furst and Peter Young.

Sharon Stone's star vehicle, the psycho-sexual thriller “Basic Instinct” was nominated for 2 Oscars: Film Editing by Frank J. Urioste, and Original Score by Jerry Goldsmith.