The National Board of Review, a group of elusive academic elites and film enthusiasts that has handed out awards since 1930, unveiled their winners for the best in film of 2019. The Irishman was the big winner, taking Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay for Steven Zaillian and the NBR Icon Award for all three of Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino. NBR also offered nice boosts to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Richard Jewell, and Uncut Gems, which scored three mentions apiece.
Since 2008, only two Best Film winners here have gone on to win Best Picture at the Oscars: Slumdog Millionaire and last year’s Green Book. Something to keep in mind as award season continues to march onward.
Here’s the full list of National Board of Review winners for 2019:
Best Film
The Irishman
Top 10 Films (which excludes the Best Film winner)
1917
Dolemite Is My Name
Ford v Ferrari
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Richard Jewell
Uncut Gems
Waves
Best Director
Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Actor
Adam Sandler — Uncut Gems
Best Actress
Renée Zellweger — Judy
Best Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt — Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates — Richard Jewell
Breakthrough Performance
Paul Walter Hauser — Richard Jewell
Best Original Screenplay
Uncut Gems – Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, and Ronald Bronstein
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Irishman – Steven Zaillian
Best Directorial Debut
Melina Matsoukas – Queen & Slim
Best Ensemble
Knives Out
Best Animated Feature
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Best Documentary
Maiden
Top 5 Documentaries (excluding Best Documentary winner)
American Factory
Apollo 11
The Black Godfather
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
Wrestle
Best Foreign Language Film
Parasite
Top 5 Foreign Language Films (excluding Best Foreign Language Film winner)
Atlantics
Invisible Life
Pain and Glory
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Transit
Top 10 Independent Films
The Farewell
Give Me Liberty
A Hidden Life
Judy
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Midsommar
The Nightingale
The Peanut Butter Falcon
The Souvenir
Wild Rose
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Roger Deakins – 1917
NBR Icon
Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino – The Irishman
NBR Freedom of Expression
For Sama
Just Mercy