The 1973 Critics Consensus Awards
Never mind a Golden Age of American filmmaking, the 1970s were a decade of cinematic excellence the world over, and their year-end critics awards and polls reflected that. Thus we turn to 1973, and the Critics Consensus Award winner Day for Night in Best Picture. This year is the first year, and one of the rare few, where two non-English language titles win awards here, as Liv Ullmann also takes a prize: Best Actress for The New Land. You may recall that picture as the second in Jan Troell's early-'70s double-bill; the first was The Emigrants, for which Ullmann received an Oscar nomination the year prior. Given that they overlooked her for The New Land, then, Ullmann becomes the first actor to win a Critics Consensus Award without a corresponding Oscar nod, and Day for Night the first Best Picture winner without one - the first of 11 to date in 50 years (2018's as-yet-unconfirmed winners aside). So 1973's winners are...
Best Picture
Day for Night (Marcel Berbert and Francois Truffaut)
Best Director
Francois Truffaut (Day for Night)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Liv Ullmann (The New Land)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Al Pacino (Serpico)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Valentina Cortese (Day for Night)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
John Houseman (The Paper Chase)
Best Screenplay
Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and George Lucas (American Graffiti)
Image Credit: MovieStillsDB