2004 National Society of Film Critics Awards



39th NSFC Awards January 9, 2005

Best Film:  Million Dollar Baby 

The 39th National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 9 January 2005, honored the best in film for 2004.

Best Picture
1. Million Dollar Baby (50) 2. Sideways (44) 3. Before Sunset (28)

Best Director
1. Zhang Yimou – House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu) and Hero (Ying xiong) (33) 2. Alexander Payne – Sideways (31) 3. Clint Eastwood – Million Dollar Baby (30)

Best Actor
1. Jamie Foxx – Ray and Collateral (31) 2. Paul Giamatti – Sideways (29) 3. Clint Eastwood – Million Dollar Baby (26)

Best Actress
1. Imelda Staunton – Vera Drake (TIE) (52) 1. Hilary Swank – Million Dollar Baby (TIE) (52) 3. Julie Delpy – Before Sunset (40)

Best Supporting Actor
1. Thomas Haden Church – Sideways (55) 2. Morgan Freeman – Million Dollar Baby (54) 3. Peter Sarsgaard – Kinsey (19)

Best Supporting Actress
1. Virginia Madsen – Sideways (58) 2. Cate Blanchett – The Aviator and Coffee and Cigarettes (37) 3. Laura Linney – Kinsey (18)

Best Screenplay
1. Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor – Sideways (60) 2. Charlie Kaufman – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (55) 3. Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke – Before Sunset (29)

Best Cinematography
1. Zhao Xiaoding – House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu) (39) 2. Christopher Doyle – Hero (Ying xiong) (31) 3. Dion Beebe and Paul Cameron – Collateral (18)

Best Foreign Language Film
1. Moolaadé (29) 2. House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu) (27) 3. Notre musique (15)

Best Non-Fiction Film
1. Tarnation (27) 2. The Story of the Weeping Camel (Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel) (25) 3. Bright Leaves (16)

Special Citation

 * Richard Schickel, Brian Jamieson, and Warner Home Video for their reconstruction of Samuel Fuller's The Big Red One
 * Turner Classic Movies for the breadth and intelligence of its film programming and its commitment to film history

Film Heritage Awards (to new DVDs)

 * 1) The Leopard (The Criterion Collection) – for assembling a stunning edition for the home video debut of Visconti's masterpiece.
 * 2) John Cassavetes – Five Films (Criterion) – for bringing together a core collection of work from America's most influential independent filmmaker
 * 3) Fritz Lang Epic Collection (Kino) and M (Criterion) – for the ongoing, revelatory work of the German Film Archives and making it available to Kino and Criterion for excellent editions.
 * 4) "More Treasures from American Film Archives" (National Film Preservation Foundation) – for drawing much deserved attention to the excellent work of America's national and regional film archives.