NOTÍCIAS

- Críticos de Nova Iorque coroam "O Senhor dos Anéis"





O Círculo de Críticos de Nova Iorque, composto por jornalistas dos grandes jornais e revistas , conhecido por escolher filmes de cariz mais independente e menos "comercial", mais "intelectuais" e ao arrepio das escolhas mais tradicionais dos Oscares, escolheu The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King/"O Senhor dos Anéis - O Regresso do Rei", o tomo final de uma saga que custou mais de 300 milhões de dólares e que estreia esta quarta-feira em todo o mundo, como o seu melhor filme de 2003.

Esta escolha é tanto mais surpreendente quanto a história de fantasia e o espectáculo de efeitos especiais não podia ser mais diferente em relação às restantes escolhas que o grupo fez. Um dos seus membros disse que o filme "era lindíssimo, puro cinema, tem uma dimensão épica no drama, nas cenas de batalhas, bastante envolvimento emocional, personagens verdadeiramente complexas e desenvolvidas, e alívio cómico quando é necessário". Outro membro acrescentou: "Todos os filmes que costumamos distinguir costumam ser projectos ambiciosos que correm riscos. Fazer algo a esta escala -todos os três filmes ao mesmo tempo, a New Line a apostar a sua própria existência no sucesso do projecto e ter-se tornado muito melhor do que as pessoas imaginavam- é muito semelhante ao que fizeram alguns dos nossos anteriores vencedores."

Ainda assim, esta escolha deixou muitos analistas desconcertados e alguns até chocados. O filme de Peter Jackson é agora considerado um dos principais concorrentes ao Oscar de melhor filme. Outros finalistas considerados pelo Círculo de Críticos de Nova Iorque foram Mystic River, American Splendor e Lost in Translation.

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Os restantes prémios atribuídos foram:

* Realização: Sofia Coppola (Lost In Translation)

* Actor: Bill Murray (Lost In Translation)

* Actriz: Hope Davis (American Splendor e The Secret Lives of Dentists)

* Actor Secundário: Eugene Levy (A Mighty Wind)

* Actriz Secundária: Shohreh Ashdaghloo (House of Sand and Fog)

* Melhor Primeiro Filme: American Splendor

* Argumento: The Secret Lives of Dentists

* Melhor Filme Estrangeiro: Cidade de Deus (Brasil)

* Documentário: Capturing the Friedmans

* Melhor Filme de Animação: The Triplets of Belleville

* Fotografia: Harris Savides (Elephant e Gerry)


Um pouco de história do NYFCC ...

John Huston once called their award "the greatest honor that anyone in my profession can receive," and John Ford even admitted, "it means more to me than any other honor." For sixty-five years the New York Film Critics Circle have consistently recognized, championed and defended films that may otherwise have been slighted by audiences and the entertainment industry. Founded in part as a response to the Academy Awards' sometimes dubious selections for the annual best in cinema, the NYFCC has from the start prided itself on striving to recognize a higher standard of film.

Compared with the Oscars, the group's Best Picture track record speaks for itself: "Citizen Kane" over "How Green Was My Valley;" "A Clockwork Orange" over "The French Connection; " "Day for Night" over "The Sting;" "Goodfellas" over "Dances with Wolves." Its announcement of winners weeks in advance of the Oscar nominations even points to the group's natural role as a prize harbinger: since 1935, the Academy Awards has given Best Picture to 43% of the NYFCC's picks.

Twenty years before the Academy Awards started doling out Oscars for best foreign film, the NYFCC was recognizing and heralding movies from other countries, including "Grand Illusion," "Rome, Open City," and "Diabolique." The NYFCC was the first organization in the States to celebrate "The 400 Blows" and fought censorship when the Catholic Church banned the 1948 omnibus "Ways of Love" for its inclusion of Rosselini's sacrilegious episode "The Miracle." The NYFCC even spawned another kudos-driven organization: in 1966, a few restless members like Joe Morgenstern left the group and started the National Society of Film Critics.

Traditionally people are either invited into the group, or they apply for membership. 130 critics have been members since the group began, among them alumni like Pauline Kael, Judith Crist, Renata Adler, and Frank Rich, who reviewed movies for Time in the 1970s; screenwriter Jay Cocks ("The Age of Innocence") was even once a member. And some have shown remarkable longevity: The New York Times' Bosley Crowther stayed for 30 years, and seminal critic Andrew Sarris is beginning his fourth continuous decade in the group.

Membership, which over the years has fluctuated from 11 to 31 people, was once strictly limited to critics published in daily New York newspapers. But the city's newspaper strike in 1962 crippled the industry and forced the group to extend its reach to include magazines, where many of their newly-unemployed members had landed jobs. By the end of the 1960s, critics writing for national magazines like Newsweek, Playboy, The Saturday Review, and TV Guide were members. And when, in 1987, Time critic Richard Schickel moved to Los Angeles, membership broadened itself geographically, to the point where the group now enjoys three expatriates on the West Coast.

From the lively debates of the early years to today's silent ballot, the NYFCC have always made stimulating choices every year. Strongly opinionated, passionately fervent about movies, and rarely in agreement on anything, The NYFCC has time and again remained at the crest of critical opinion in this country, leaving in its wake a rich and vibrant history.

Membros do NYFCC :

Thelma Adams
US WEEKLY

John Anderson
NEWSDAY

David Ansen
NEWSWEEK

Michael Atkinson
VILLAGE VOICE

Jami Bernard
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Dwight Brown
SAVOY MAGAZINE

Bob Campbell

Richard Corliss
TIME

Mike D'Angelo
TIME OUT NEW YORK

David Denby
THE NEW YORKER

Marshall Fine
THE JOURNAL NEWS

Jonathan Foreman
NEW YORK POST

Owen Gleiberman
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

J. Hoberman
VILLAGE VOICE

Andrew Johnston
US WEEKLY

Dave Kehr
FILM COMMENT

Stewart Klawans
THE NATION

Nathan Lee
THE NEW YORK SUN

Megan Lehman
NEW YORK POST

Dennis Lim
VILLAGE VOICE

Joe Morgenstern
WALL ST. JOURNAL

Peter Rainer
NEW YORK MAGAZINE

Rex Reed
THE NEW YORK OBSERVER

Leah Rozen
PEOPLE MAGAZINE

Andrew Sarris
THE NEW YORK OBSERVER

Richard Schickel
TIME

Lisa Schwarzbaum
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Matt Zoller Seitz
NEW YORK PRESS/THE STAR-LEDGER

Gene Seymour
NEWSDAY

David Sterritt
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

Jan Stuart
NEWSDAY

Peter Travers
ROLLING STONE

Armond White
NEW YORK PRESS

Stephen Whitty
NEWHOUSE NEWSPAPERS/THE STAR-LEDGER

Em 2002, Far From Heaven/"Longe do Paraíso" foi considerado o melhor filme e em 2001 foi escolhido Mulholland Drive, de David Lynch.

Cumprimentos cinéfilos,
Tiago Teixeira.