Both were critically adored foreign films that were in contention for Best Foreign Feature (The Lives of Others won while City of God wasn't nominated) released stateside early the following year. As such, they both popped up in multiple years lists of Best Picture. The year after it was snubbed Best Foreign Film (or is IMDB wrong, I had previously been sure it had been nominated), City of God received four nominations: Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director. Now while I would be shocked if The Lives of Others performed so well, does anyone else think it stands a shot at picking up some nominations this year? It was loved enough to beat Pan's Labyrinth for Best Foreign Film last year, but maybe where City of God was nominated so much to make up for it's lack of attention, people will feel The Lives of Others has been suitably awarded.

EDIT: Well I guess it's ineligible this year, which is a real damn shame. Ah well, it'll always be remembered as the asshole film that took Pan's Labyrinth's Best Foreign Feature award.

Are you sure City of God was eligible the first year? I can't imagine them not nominating it if it was.

Considering a film can't be nominated twice in two different years (Hence why Bruno Ganz wasn't in Oscar consideration two years ago)...no.

Hmm, so why did this film get it? I know it's old and obscure, and I only know about it 'cuz I recently watched it, but it got a Foreign Language nod one year and a Screenplay nod the next. Have they changed the rules since then?

I'm sure they have, as such eligibility rules were brought up with Hero (Nominated in 2002, not released in the US until 2004) and Downfall (Nominated in 2004, released here in 2005).

Jon is correct; The Lives of Others isn't eligible for any Oscars this year.

The dream has died.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is something like this year's City of God.

It's much more a spin-off of the series City of Men:

http://imdb.com/title/tt0364801/