List of Big Four film critics awards winners

(Learn how and when to remove this template message)

This is a list of the winners of awards from the four most prestigious American film critics, the so-called "Big Four": the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the National Board of Review, the National Society of Film Critics, and the New York Film Critics' Circle.

Films with all wins from "Big Four"

Best Film

Year Film Producer(s) Ref/s
1993 Schindler's List ≈ Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen, and Branko Lustig [1][2][3][4]
1997 L.A. Confidential ≠ Arnon Milchan, Curtis Hanson, and Michael Nathanson [5][6][3][7]
2010 The Social Network ≠ Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, and Ceán Chaffin [8][9][3][10]

Best Director

Year Director Film Ref/s
1994 Quentin Tarantino Pulp Fiction ≠ [11][12][3][13]
1997 Curtis Hanson L.A. Confidential ≠ [5][6][3][7]
2000 Steven Soderbergh Erin Brockovich ≠ [14][15][16][17]
Traffic ≈
2010 David Fincher The Social Network ≠ [18][19][3][20]
2016 Barry Jenkins Moonlight ≠ [21][22][23][24]

Best Actor

Year Actor Film Ref/s
1995 Nicolas Cage Leaving Las Vegas ≈ [25][26][3][27]
2006 Forest Whitaker The Last King of Scotland ≈ [28][29][3][30]

Best Actress

Year Actress Film Ref/s
1979 Sally Field Norma Rae ≈ [31][32][3][33]
1980 Sissy Spacek Coal Miner's Daughter ≈ [34][35][3][36]
1982 Meryl Streep Sophie's Choice ≈ [37][38][3][39]
1989 Michelle Pfeiffer The Fabulous Baker Boys ≠ [40][41][3][42]
1992 Emma Thompson Howards End ≈ [43][44][3][45]
1993 Holly Hunter The Piano ≈ [46][47][3][48] [46][47][3][48]
2006 Helen Mirren The Queen ≈ [49][50][3][51]

Best Supporting Actor

Year Actor Film Ref/s
1983 Jack Nicholson Terms of Endearment ≈ [52][53][3][54]
2017 Willem Dafoe The Florida Project ≠ [55][56][57][58]

Best Supporting Actress

Year Actress Film Refs
1979 Meryl Streep Kramer vs. Kramer ≈ [59][60][3][61]
The Seduction of Joe Tynan [62][63][3][64]
1985 Anjelica Huston Prizzi's Honor ≈ [65][66][3][67]
1986 Dianne Wiest Hannah and Her Sisters ≈ [a]
2018 Regina King If Beale Street Could Talk ≈
2023 Da'Vine Joy Randolph The Holdovers ≈ [68][69][70][71]

Best Screenplay

National Board of Review for Best Screenplay began in 1998.

Year Writers Film Ref/s
2004 Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor Sideways ≈
2005 Noah Baumbach The Squid and the Whale ≠

Best Documentary or Non-fiction Film

Year Film Director Ref/s
1989 Roger & Me Michael Moore
1994 Hoop Dreams Steve James
1995 Crumb Terry Zwigoff
1999 Buena Vista Social Club ≠ Wim Wenders
2008 Man on Wire ≈ James Marsh
2020 Time ≠ Garrett Bradley

Other films with three wins from "Big Four"

These films won three out of four awards from the "Big Four" American film critics.

Best Film

Year Film LAFCA NBR NSFC NYFCC Ref/s
1975 Nashville ≠ No Yes Yes Yes
1976 All the President's Men ≠ No Yes Yes Yes
1983 Terms of Endearment ≈ Yes Yes No Yes
1990 Goodfellas ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
1994 Pulp Fiction ≠ Yes Yes Yes No
2009 The Hurt Locker ≈ Yes No Yes Yes [72]
2021 Drive My Car ≠ Yes No Yes Yes [73]
2022 Tár ≠ Yes No Yes Yes [72]

Best Director

Year Director Film LAFCA NBR NSFC NYFCC Ref/s
2005 Ang Lee Brokeback Mountain ≈ Yes Yes No Yes
1990 Martin Scorsese Goodfellas ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
2009 Kathryn Bigelow The Hurt Locker ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
2014 Richard Linklater Boyhood ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
2020 Chloé Zhao Nomadland ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
1975 Robert Altman Nashville ≠ No Yes Yes Yes

Best Actor

Year Actor Film LAFCA NBR NSFC NYFCC Ref/s
2000 Russell Crowe The Insider ≠ Yes Yes Yes No
2006 Philip Seymour Hoffman Capote ≈ Yes Yes Yes No
1978 Jon Voight Coming Home ≈ Yes Yes No Yes
1980 Robert De Niro Raging Bull ≈ Yes Yes No Yes
1982 Ben Kingsley Gandhi ≈ Yes Yes No Yes
1976 Robert De Niro Taxi Driver ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
1979 Dustin Hoffman Kramer vs. Kramer ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
1981 Burt Lancaster Atlantic City ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
1986 Bob Hoskins Mona Lisa ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
1989 Daniel Day-Lewis My Left Foot ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
2003 Bill Murray Lost in Translation ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
2007 Daniel Day-Lewis There Will Be Blood ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
2008 Sean Penn Milk ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
2018 Ethan Hawke First Reformed Yes No Yes Yes
2019 Antonio Banderas Pain and Glory ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
1975 Jack Nicholson One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ≈ No Yes Yes Yes
2016 Casey Affleck Manchester by the Sea ≈ No Yes Yes Yes
2022 Colin Farrell The Banshees of Inisherin ≠ No Yes Yes Yes

Best Actress

Year Actress Film LAFCA NBR NSFC NYFCC Ref/s
1976 Liv Ullmann Face to Face ≠ Yes Yes No Yes
1983 Shirley MacLaine Terms of Endearment ≈ Yes Yes No Yes
1987 Holly Hunter Broadcast News ≠ Yes Yes No Yes
2004 Imelda Staunton Vera Drake ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
2008 Sally Hawkins Happy-Go-Lucky Yes No Yes Yes
2013 Cate Blanchett Blue Jasmine ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
2016 Isabelle Huppert Elle ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
2022 Cate Blanchett Tár ≠ Yes No Yes Yes [72]
1975 Isabelle Adjani The Story of Adele H. ≠ No Yes Yes Yes
1978 Ingrid Bergman Autumn Sonata ≠ No Yes Yes Yes
2007 Julie Christie Away from Her ≠ No Yes Yes Yes

Best Supporting Actor

Year Actor Film LAFCA NBR NSFC NYFCC Ref(s)
2004 Thomas Haden Church Sideways ≠ Yes Yes Yes No
1987 Morgan Freeman Street Smart ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
1992 Gene Hackman Unforgiven ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
1994 Martin Landau Ed Wood ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
1998 Bill Murray Rushmore Yes No Yes Yes
2009 Christoph Waltz Inglourious Basterds ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
2014 J.K. Simmons Whiplash ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
2016 Mahershala Ali Moonlight ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
2022 Ke Huy Quan Everything Everywhere All at Once ≈ Yes No Yes Yes [72]
1980 Joe Pesci Raging Bull ≠ No Yes Yes Yes

Best Supporting Actress

Year Actress Film LAFCA NBR NSFC NYFCC Ref/s
1980 Mary Steenburgen Melvin and Howard ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
1983 Linda Hunt The Year of Living Dangerously ≈ Yes Yes No Yes
1992 Judy Davis Husbands and Wives ≠ Yes Yes Yes No
1994 Dianne Wiest Bullets Over Broadway ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
2004 Virginia Madsen Sideways ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
2007 Amy Ryan Gone Baby Gone ≠ Yes Yes No Yes
2008 Penélope Cruz Vicky Cristina Barcelona ≈ Yes Yes No Yes
2009 Mo'Nique Precious ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
2011 Jessica Chastain Take Shelter Yes No Yes Yes
The Help ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
The Tree of Life Yes No Yes Yes
2017 Laurie Metcalf Lady Bird ≠ Yes Yes Yes No

Best Screenplay

Year Writers Film LAFCA NBR (Original and Adapted) NSFC NYFCC Ref/s
2010 Aaron Sorkin The Social Network ≈ Yes Yes Yes No
1989 Gus Van Sant and Daniel Yost Drugstore Cowboy Yes Award not yet introduced Yes Yes
1997 Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson L.A. Confidential ≈ Yes Award not yet introduced Yes Yes
2000 Kenneth Lonergan You Can Count on Me ≠ Yes Award not yet introduced Yes Yes
2006 Peter Morgan The Queen ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
2014 Wes Anderson The Grand Budapest Hotel ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
2016 Kenneth Lonergan Manchester by the Sea ≈ No Yes Yes Yes

Best Foreign Language Film

Year Film Country LAFCA NBR NSFC NYFCC Ref/s
1999 All About My Mother ≈ Spain Yes Yes No Yes
1993 Farewell My Concubine ≠ China Yes Yes No Yes
2023 Anatomy of a Fall France Yes Yes No Yes
1994 Wild Reeds France Yes No Yes Yes
1994 Three Colours: Red France/Poland/Switzerland Yes No Yes Yes
2007 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days Romania Yes No Yes Yes
2008 Summer Hours France Yes No Yes Yes
2010 Carlos France/Germany Yes No Yes Yes
2013 Blue Is the Warmest Colour France Yes No Yes Yes
2011 A Separation ≈ Iran No Yes Yes Yes

Best Documentary / Non-fiction Film

Year Film LAFCA NBR NSFC NYFCC Ref/s
2006 An Inconvenient Truth ≈ Yes Yes Yes No
2015 Amy ≈ Yes Yes Yes No
2013 Stories We Tell Yes Yes No Yes
1990 Paris Is Burning Yes No Yes Yes
1996 When We Were Kings ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
1998 The Farm: Angola, USA ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
2001 The Gleaners and I Yes No Yes Yes
2005 Grizzly Man Yes No Yes Yes
2007 No End in Sight Yes No Yes Yes
2011 Cave of Forgotten Dreams Yes No Yes Yes
2014 Citizenfour ≈ Yes No Yes Yes
2017 Faces Places ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
2022 All the Beauty and the Bloodshed ≠ Yes No Yes Yes
2023 Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros Yes No Yes Yes
1988 The Thin Blue Line No Yes Yes Yes
1997 Fast, Cheap & Out of Control No Yes Yes Yes
2000 The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg No Yes Yes Yes
2016 O.J.: Made in America ≈ No Yes Yes Yes

Best Cinematography

The National Board of Review Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography was introduced in 2019, won by Roger Deakins for 1917.

Year Film D.O.P LAFCA NBR NSFC NYFCC Ref/s
2019 Portrait of a Lady on Fire Claire Mathon Yes No Yes Yes

Three critics' awards

Awards in the categories of Best Animated Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Screenplay are each only awarded by three of the four groups.

Best Animated Film

This lists the winners of all three of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film, National Board of Review Award for Best Animated Film, and New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Film. In 2000, the National Board of Review Award for Best Animated Film was announced, won that year by Chicken Run from Aardman Animations.[74] National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Animated Film has yet to be introduced.

Spirited Away (2002) and The Incredibles (2004) are the only two animated films to have won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Year Film Director Ref/s
2000 Chicken Run Peter Lord and Nick Park
2002 Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) ≈ Hayao Miyazaki
2004 The Incredibles ≈ Brad Bird

Best Cinematography (formerly)

This lists the winners of all three of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography, and New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography from 1980 to 2018. The National Board of Review Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography was introduced in 2019.

Year Film D.O.P Ref/s
1984 The Killing Fields ≈ Chris Menges
1988 Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) Henri Alekan
1991 Barton Fink Roger Deakins
1993 Schindler's List ≈ Janusz Kamiński
1994 Ed Wood Stefan Czapsky
2002 Far from Heaven ≠ Edward Lachman
2009 The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) Christian Berger
2011 The Tree of Life ≠ Emmanuel Lubezki
2016 Moonlight ≠ James Laxton
2018 Roma ≈ Alfonso Cuarón

Best Screenplay (formerly)

This lists the winners of all three of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay, and New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay from 1980 to 2018. The National Board of Review Award for Best Original and Adapted Screenplays were introduced in 2000 and 2002, respectively.

Year Film Type Writers Ref/s
1977 Annie Hall ≈ Original Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
1978 An Unmarried Woman ≠ Original Paul Mazursky
1981 Atlantic City ≠ Original John Guare
1982 Tootsie ≠ Original Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal
1988 Bull Durham ≠ Original Ron Shelton
1989 Drugstore Cowboy Original Gus Van Sant and Daniel Yost
1993 The Piano ≈ Original Jane Campion
1994 Pulp Fiction ≈ Original Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary
1997 L.A. Confidential ≈ Adapted Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson
2000 You Can Count on Me ≠ Original Kenneth Lonergan

Milestone

Whitaker, Mirren, Randolph, Payne (left to right), and Taylor (off-pictured).

Only three films have won all four, all based on novels: Schindler's List, L.A. Confidential, and The Social Network.[75] Schindler's List is the only film also to have won the Academy Award for Best Picture, in addition of Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Producers Guild of America Award; all those for Best Picture category except the Critics' Choice.

Only eight people have won all four and also won all of the three most prestigious annual awards (Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA) for a single film: Emma Thompson (1992's Howards End), Holly Hunter (1993's The Piano), Quentin Tarantino (1994's Pulp Fiction),[b] Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor (2004's Sideways), Forest Whitaker (2006's The Last King of Scotland), Helen Mirren (2006's The Queen), and Da'Vine Joy Randolph (2023's The Holdovers). Whitaker, Mirren, Randolph, Payne and Taylor are the only people in respective categories to swept all major award ceremonies in each single years, including Critic's Choice and Guild Awards.

Steven Soderbergh is the only director to have won all four while receiving the Academy Award for Best Director nominations in two films, Erin Brockovich and Traffic, which the latter won.

Man on Wire, for those one of six films have swept the critics' awards, is the only documentary film to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[76]

Goodfellas, Schindler's List, L. A. Confidential, The Hurt Locker, The Social Network, Drive My Car, and Tár are the seven films in history selected the Best Film by the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the National Society of Film Critics, named as such from the nation's top critics' groups, the so-called "trifecta".[77] Schindler's List and The Hurt Locker are also won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Drive My Car became the first Japanese and non-English-language film to be also selected.[73]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Tied with Cathy Tyson from the 1986 film Mona Lisa at Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress.
  2. ^ Quentin Tarantino also swept in two different categories in his work of Pulp Fiction; the "Big Four" in Best Director while winning Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA for Best Screenplay.

References

  1. ^ "Awards for 1993 - LAFCA". Retrieved Dec 18, 2022.
  2. ^ "1993 Archives".
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Past Awards". 19 December 2009.
  4. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1993)". IMDb.
  5. ^ a b "Awards for 1997 - LAFCA".
  6. ^ a b "1997 Archives".
  7. ^ a b "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1997)". IMDb.
  8. ^ "Awards for 2010 - LAFCA". Retrieved Dec 18, 2022.
  9. ^ "2010 Archives".
  10. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (2010)". IMDb.
  11. ^ "Awards for 1994 - LAFCA".
  12. ^ "1994 Archives".
  13. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1994)". IMDb.
  14. ^ "The 26th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  15. ^ "2000 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  16. ^ Cardwell, Diane (January 7, 2001). "Critics Group Honors Quirky List of Film Favorites". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  17. ^ Holden, Stephen (2000-12-14). "'Traffic' Captures Awards From New York Film Critics". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  18. ^ "Awards for 2010 - LAFCA".
  19. ^ "2010 Archives".
  20. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (2010)". IMDb.
  21. ^ "Awards for 2016 - LAFCA".
  22. ^ "2016 Archives".
  23. ^ "Search Results for "2016"".
  24. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (2016)". IMDb.
  25. ^ "Awards for 1995 - LAFCA".
  26. ^ "1995 Archives".
  27. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1995)". IMDb.
  28. ^ "Awards for 2006 - LAFCA".
  29. ^ "2006 Archives".
  30. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (2006)". IMDb.
  31. ^ "Awards for 1979 - LAFCA".
  32. ^ "1979 Archives".
  33. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1979)". IMDb.
  34. ^ "Awards for 1980 - LAFCA".
  35. ^ "1980 Archives".
  36. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1980)". IMDb.
  37. ^ "Awards for 1982 - LAFCA".
  38. ^ "1982 Archives".
  39. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1982)". IMDb.
  40. ^ "Awards for 1989 - LAFCA".
  41. ^ "1989 Archives".
  42. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1989)". IMDb.
  43. ^ "Awards for 1992 - LAFCA".
  44. ^ "1992 Archives".
  45. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1992)". IMDb.
  46. ^ a b "Awards for 1993 - LAFCA".
  47. ^ a b "1993 Archives".
  48. ^ a b "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1993)". IMDb.
  49. ^ "Awards for 2006 - LAFCA".
  50. ^ "2006 Archives".
  51. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (2006)". IMDb.
  52. ^ "Awards for 1983 - LAFCA".
  53. ^ "1983 Archives".
  54. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1983)". IMDb.
  55. ^ "Awards for 2017 - LAFCA".
  56. ^ "2017 Archives".
  57. ^ "Search Results for "2017"".
  58. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (2017)". IMDb.
  59. ^ "Awards for 1979 - LAFCA".
  60. ^ "1979 Archives".
  61. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1979)". IMDb.
  62. ^ "Awards for 1979 - LAFCA".
  63. ^ "1979 Archives".
  64. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1979)". IMDb.
  65. ^ "Awards for 1985 - LAFCA".
  66. ^ "1985 Archives".
  67. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards (1985)". IMDb.
  68. ^ Davis, Clayton (December 10, 2023). "'The Zone of Interest' Wins Best Picture at Los Angeles Film Critics Awards, Four Women Take Acting Prizes (Full Winners List)". Variety. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  69. ^ n.a. "'Past Lives' named best picture of 2023". National Society of Film Critics. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  70. ^ Davis, Clayton (30 November 2023). "New York Film Critics Awards: 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Wins Best Film, Christopher Nolan Takes Director (Full List)". Variety. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  71. ^ "Best Supporting Actress Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  72. ^ a b c d Davis, Clayton (2023-01-07). "Cate Blanchett, Ke Huy Quan and 'Tár' Win National Society of Film Critics, Completing Rare Major Critics Awards Trifecta". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  73. ^ a b "'Drive My Car' deserves a best picture Oscar. Do academy voters agree?". Los Angeles Times. 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  74. ^ "'Quills' Named Best Film by National Board of Review". Los Angeles Times. 2000-12-07. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  75. ^ Lyman, Rick (1998-01-05). "'L.A. Confidential' Wins National Critics' Awards". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  76. ^ "'Tense' Oscar-winning film with perfect rating that had viewers 'clenching their butt cheeks'". LADbible. 2024-03-07. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  77. ^ Davis, Clayton (2023-01-07). "Cate Blanchett, Ke Huy Quan and Tár Win National Society of Film Critics, Completing Rare Major Critics Awards Trifecta". Variety. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-10.