[mc32]

I can't tell from the summary and have not read IMDB to follow the timelines, but it appears that the Deer Hunter had already been made, but flopped in initial screenings, so they held it back and instead of an initial wide release they showed it to critics who loved it and got it nominated. In other words it wasn't initially made-to-order to cater to an Oscar, but ex-post did it that way because initial audiences hated it.