“There Will be Blood,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic tale of oil, power and greed, was named best picture of 2007 on Saturday by the National Society of Film Critics.

The ambitious adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s “Oil!” also won best director for Anderson, best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis and best cinematography for Robert Elswit.

The drama and Day-Lewis have been gaining momentum this awards season. Last month, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association chose “There Will Be Blood” as the year’s best; Day-Lewis has received numerous critics’ honors including Los Angeles Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle and the Chicago Film Critics Association. “There Will Be Blood” also earned Golden Globe nominations for best dramatic picture and best actor in a drama.

By contrast, one of the Golden Globes’ most nominated movies, “Atonement,” went away empty-handed Saturday.

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” placed second in the best picture category with Joel and Ethan Coen’s “No Country for Old Men” coming in third. The stark Romanian drama “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” took foreign film honors.

Forty-one of the 61 members of the society, which includes critics from major publications across the country, voted Saturday afternoon at the 42nd annual meeting at Sardi’s restaurant in New York.

The film critics’ choices over the past four decades have been far more esoteric than the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ selections. In fact, the groups have agreed only four times on best picture picks in the past 30 years: 1977’s “Annie Hall,” 1992’s “Unforgiven,” 1993’s “Schindler’s List” and 2004’s “Million Dollar Baby.”

The group selected Julie Christie as best actress for her performance as a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s in “Away From Her.” Christie has been a critics’ darling this year, earning best actress nods from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures and the New York Film Critics Circle. Like Day-Lewis, she is nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Casey Affleck took best supporting actor for his role as Jesse James’ killer in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” Affleck is also in contention for a Golden Globe and SAG Award.

Cate Blanchett picked up best supporting actress honors for her gender-bending role as a Bob Dylan-esque singer in Todd Haynes’ off-beat “I’m Not There.” She’s also vying for a Golden Globe and SAG award.

Tamara Jenkins received best screenplay honors for “The Savages.” The non-fiction film award went to the Iraq war documentary, “No End in Sight,” and John Gianvito’s “Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind” was named best experimental film.

AP-NY-01-05-08 1937EST