The National Society of Film Critics has named Amour Best Picture of the Year 2012, Michael Haneke Best Director, and Emmanuelle Riva Best Actress.
Before skimming the list of other winners below, take a look at the history of the Society as briefly outlined in Wikipedia: co-founded by Hollis Alpert, Pauline Kael, Joe Morgenstern, and Richard Schickel “in order to counteract the influence of New York Times critic Bosley Crowther, who dominated the New York City film critic scene for many years.” Then jump over to the current “Who We Are” page. That’s a pretty impressive list of names. Note, too, that the members are elected, that the Society, founded in 1966, has produced nine anthologies since 1977, and that it sends “the official critic delegate to the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress and abroad as the official American representative to FIPRESCI, the international federation of members of the film press.” Alright, then:
BEST PICTURE
*1. Amour – 28
2. The Master – 25
3. Zero Dark Thirty – 18
BEST DIRECTOR
*1. Michael Haneke – 27
2. Kathryn Bigelow – 24
2. Paul Thomas Anderson — 24
BEST ACTOR
*1. Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln – 59
2. Denis Lavant – 49
2. Joaquin Phoenix – 49
BEST ACTRESS
*1. Emmanuelle Riva – Amour – 50
2. Jennifer Lawrence — 42
3. Jessica Chastain – 32
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
*1. Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike, Bernie – 27
2. Tommy Lee Jones – 22
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman – 19
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*1. Amy Adams – The Master – 34
2. Sally Field – 23
3. Anne Hathaway – 13
BEST NONFICTION
*1. The Gatekeepers – 53
2. This Is Not a Film – 45
3. Searching for Sugar Man – 23
BEST SCREENPLAY
*1. Lincoln (Tony Kushner) – 59
2. The Master (P.T. Anderson)– 27
3. Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell) – 19
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*1. The Master (Mihai Malaimare, Jr. ) – 60
2. Skyfall (Roger Deakins) – 30
3. Zero Dark Thirty (Greig Fraser) – 21
EXPERIMENTAL
This Is Not a Film (Jafar Panahi)
FILM HERITAGE
• To Laurence Kardish, Senior Film Curator at MoMA, for his extraordinary 44 years of service, including this year’s Weimar Cinema retrospective.
• To Milestone Film and Video for their ongoing Shirley Clarke project.
DEDICATION
This year’s awards are dedicated to the late Andrew Sarris, one of the most original and influential American film critics as well as a founding member of the Society.
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