ANNOUNCED in Los Angeles yesterday, the Oscar nominations for 1996 cinema releases in the US mark a triumph for independent productions, which take four of the five places on the shortlist for best picture, and in particular for Anthony Minghella's film of the Booker Prize-winning novel by Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient, which leads the field with 12 nominations. It is followed by Fargo and Shine, with seven nominations each, Evita, Secrets And Lies and Jerry Maguire, with five each.

In what was regarded as the most unpredictable Oscars in very many years, there were some major surprises, and none more surprising than the omissions in the best actress category where the hotly fancied Madonna failed to get a nomination for Evita. Another singer-turned-actress, Courtney Love, also failed to make that shortlist, as did veteran Debbie Reynolds for her comeback in Mother.

There was little cheer for Irish films in the Oscar nominations, with Michael Collins getting just two nods - to Chris Menges for best cinematography and to Elliott Goldenthal for best original dramatic score. The film's other best prospect, Liam Neeson, did not make it onto the shortlist for best actor while a relatively unknown outsider, Billy Bob Thornton, took one of the five places on that list for the low-budget Sling Blade.

Many of the high-profile literary adaptations fared poorly with Hamlet getting four nominations and Emma, The Crucible and The Portrait Of A Lady picking up just two nominations each. And in a year when modestly budgeted productions swept the board, the hugely expensive blockbusters, Independence Day and Twister which were the box-office champions around the world last year, took just two technical nominations each.

This is how the nominations lined up in the major categories. There are five nominees in each category, unless otherwise stated.

BEST PICTURE

WITH the Golden Globe for best picture (drama) in the bag and a total of 12 Oscar nominations, The English Patient is now firmly in place as the front- runner for Oscars night next month. In addition to best picture, it is nominated for best director and in three of the four acting categories. The film goes on Irish release on March 14th.

Joining The English Patient on the shortlist for best picture are Joel Coen's dark-humoured kidnapping tale, Fargo; Scott Hicks's film of the troubled Australian pianist, David Helfgott, in Shine; and Mike Leigh's picture of an emotionally distraught Englishwoman encountering the daughter she gave up for adoption in Secrets And Lies, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year.

Completing the line-up is the only Hollywood studio film on the shortlist, Jerry Maguire, directed by Cameron Crowe and starring Tom Cruise as a disillusioned sports agent.

BEST DIRECTOR

IN a truly international line-up, there is only one American among the final five - Joel Coen for Fargo.

There are two Englishmen - Mike Leigh for Secrets And Lies and Anthony Minghella for The English Patient - and an Australian, Scott Hicks, for Shin

The fifth place goes to the only former winner, the Czech director, Milos Forman, who previously won Oscars for One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus and is nominated for The People Vs Larry Flynt, which many regarded as this year's front- runner up to a few weeks ago. However, the film's depiction of Flynt - a pornographer who set up Hustler magazine - as a symbol of free speech has been the subject of a vigorous backlash in the American media in recent weeks, and the film ended up with just two nominations.

BEST ACTRESS

THIS was by far the most competitive category this year and yielded the most surprises. Madonna (Evita), who last month won the Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy, is the most conspicuous omission closely followed by Courtney Love (Larry Flynt), Debbie Reynolds (Mother) and Meryl Streep (Marvin's Room). However, former winner Diane Keaton, who costars with Streep in Marvin's Room is on the shortlist, as Frances McDormand for Fargo.

British actresses take three of the five places: Kristin Scott Thomas for The English Patient; Cannes prize-winner Brenda Blethyn for Secrets And Lies and Emily Watson for her screen debut in Breaking The Waves.

BEST ACTOR

GEOFFREY Rush (Shine) has already collected a shelf-full of awards and was sure of a nomination here, as were Tom Cruise (Jerry Maguire), Woody Harrelson (Larry Flynt) and Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient).

The big surprise is the nomination of Billy Bob Thornton for the low-profile Sling Blade, which he also directed.

Liam Neeson was unlucky not to be nominated for Michael Collins, and given that all five best actor nominees are up for films released in the US during the last two months of 1996, it might have benefited Neeson and Neil Jordan had Michael Collins opened in America later in the year.

Among the other contenders who did not make the final five were Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet), Nathan Lane (The Birdcage), Daniel Day-Lewis (The Crucible), Mel Gibson (Ransom), and despite a big promotional push, Eddie Murphy (The Nutty Professor).

SCREENPLAY

THIS is often an area where smaller films get their recognition and it's good to see John Hodge (Trainspotting) and John Sayles (Lone Star) on the shortlists.

Hodge is nominated for best screenplay based on material previously produced or published, along with Arthur Miller (The Crucible), Anthony Minghella (The English Patient), Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet) and Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade).

Joining Sayles in the nominations for the other screenplay award for best original screenplay - are Jan Sardi (Shine), Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire), Mike Leigh (Secrets And Lies) and Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

GOLDEN Globe winner Lauren was a certain nominee for her performance as Barbra Streisand's mother in the Mirror Has Two Faces and, given the 71-year-old Bacall's recurring reminders that she's never won an Oscar before, she must be the front-runner in this category. The other four places are taken by Joan Allen (The Crucible), Barbara Hershey (Portrait Of A Lady), Juliette Binoche (The English Patient) and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Secrets And Lies).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

THE favourite here is the gifted young newcomer, Edward Norton, who was eligible for three movies Primal Fear (for which he got the nomination), Larry Flynt and Everyone Says I Love You. The other four places go to Cuba Gooding jnr (Jerry Maguire), William H. Macy (Fargo), James Woods (Ghosts Of Mississippi) and Armin Mueller-Stahl who pipped his Shine co-star, Noah Taylor.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

THERE were not as many surprises as usual in this often bizarre I category, and the three front-runners were all nominated: the Czech Kolya, the French Ridicule and the Russian Prisoner Of The Mountains. The other two slots went to the Norwegian Other Side Of Sunday and a film from Georgia, A Chef In love.

OTHER CATEGORIES

THE least deserving of all the nominees in other categories has to be the shortlisting of the hideous Barbra Streisand/Bryan Adams "duet", I Finally Found Someone from The Mirror Has Two Faces as best original song, while Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello failed to get nominated for their excellent song, God Give Me Strength from Grace Of My Heart. The other nominated songs: are Because You Loved Me (from Up Close And Personal), For The First Time (One Fine Day), Your Must love Me (Evita) and the title tune from That Thing You Do!

Joining Elliott Goldenthal's Michael Collins music in the final five for best original dramatic score are Shine, Sleepers, Hamlet and The English Patient. Chris Menges, who previously won the cinematography Oscar for The Killing Fields and The Mission, is nominated in that category for Michael Collins; the other nominees are Darius Khondji (Evita), Roger Deakins (Fargo), Caleb Deschanel (Fly Away Home) and John Seale (The English Patient).

And for all their massive box-office success, Independence Day and Twister ended up with a mere two nominations, both in the categories of best sound and best visual effects.