Michael Haneke’s AMOUR Wins Best Picture From The National Society of Film Critics

The National Society of Film Critics today voted Michael Haneke’s AMOUR the best film of 2012. From Sony Pictures Classics, AMOUR revolves around a husband and wife living out their final years and when one is paralyzed after suffering a stroke, the couple’s bond of love is severely tested.

Called “A Masterpiece” by Manohla Dargis in her NY Times review, the film previously won the Palm D’Or – 2012 Festival de Cannes, named best feature at The European Film Awards and has been embraced by the Broadcast Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics, Washington DC Area Film Critics Assocation, New York Online Film Critics and Boston Society of Film Critics. AMOUR (Love), Austria’s official selection for the 85th Academy Awards, is considered by most to be the front-runner for the best foreign-language Oscar.

A full list of the other awards follows, with the winner designated by an asterisk and the first and second runners up listed with the number of votes each received.

BEST ACTOR
*1. Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln – 59 (Dreamworks/Touchstone)
2. Denis Lavant – 49
2. Joaquin Phoenix – 49

BEST ACTRESS
*1. Emmanuelle Riva – Amour – 50 (Sony Classics)
2. Jennifer Lawrence – 42
3. Jessica Chastain– 32

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
*1. Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike (Warner Bros.), Bernie (Millennium Entertainment) – 27
2. Tommy Lee Jones – 22
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman – 19

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*1. Amy Adams – The Master (The Weinstein Co.) – 34
2. Sally Field – 23
3. Anne Hathaway – 13

BEST PICTURE
*1. Amour (Sony Classics) – 28
2. The Master – 25
3. Zero Dark Thirty – 18

BEST DIRECTOR
*1. Michael Haneke (Amour) – 27
2. Kathryn Bigelow – 24
2. Paul Thomas Anderson – 24

BEST NONFICTION
*1. The Gatekeepers – Sony Pictures Classics – 53
2. This Is Not a Film – 45
3. Searching for Sugar Man – 23

BEST SCREENPLAY
*1. Lincoln (Dreamworks/Touchstone) – Tony Kushner – 59
2. The Master (P.T. Anderson)– 27
3. Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell) – 19

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*1. Master (Mihai Malaimare, Jr. ) – 60
2. Skyfall (Roger Deakins) – 30
3. Zero Dark Thirty (Greig Fraser) – 21

The award for best experimental film was given to Jafar Panahi’s “This Is Not a Film,” from Iran. Film Heritage Awards were given to Laurence Kardish, Senior Film Curator at MoMA, for his extraordinary 44 years of service, including this year’s Weimar Cinema retrospective, and to Milestone Film and Video for their ongoing Shirley Clarke project. This year’s award were 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 as well as a founding member of the National Society.

The NSFC is made up of 60 of the country’s most prominent writers on film. Last year the group chose “Melancholia” as Best Picture, Kristin Dunst as best actress for her performance in Lars von Trier’s film, and Brad Pitt as best actor for his work in “Moneyball” and “The Tree of Life.”