“Killers of the Flower Moon” was named the best film of the year by the National Board of Review, adding to the early awards-season haul of Martin Scorsese’s Osage epic.
The National Board of Review, a long-running organization comprised of film enthusiasts and academics, also on Wednesday named Scorsese best director and Lily Gladstone best actress. That follows recent honors for the film and for Gladstone from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Gotham Awards.
“Killers of the Flower Moon is a stunning masterpiece from one of our greatest filmmakers, Martin Scorsese. The NBR is proud to award this complex, important, and deeply resonant epic as our best film and Scorsese as our best director,” Annie Schulhof, president of the board, said in a statement.
Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” was also roundly honored by the group, which named Paul Giamatti best actor, Da’Vine Joy Randolph best supporting actress and David Hemingson’s script best screenplay. Payne’s film is set at a New England boarding school over the holiday break in the 1970s.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ dark fantasy “Poor Things” came away with multiple awards, too. Mark Ruffalo was named best supporting actor, while Tony McNamara’s script, from Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel, was honored for best adapted screenplay.
Bradley Cooper, star, co-writer and director of the Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro,” will be given the NBR Icon award. The awards will be presented to winners in a New York ceremony on Jan. 11, hosted by Willie Geist.
Other winners include: Teyana Taylor (“A Thousand and One”) for breakthrough performance; Celine Song (“Past Lives”) for directorial debut; “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” for animated feature; “Anatomy of a Fall” for international film; “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” for documentary; and the cast of “The Iron Claw” for best ensemble.
Additionally, Rodrigo Prieto, the cinematographer of both “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Barbie,” will be honored for outstanding achievement in cinematography.
Last year, the National Board of Review named “Top Gun: Maverick” best film.
Here is a full list of the 2023 award recipients:
Best Film: Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Actor: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Best Actress: Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
NBR Icon Award: Bradley Cooper
Best Original Screenplay: David Hemingson, The Holdovers
Best Adapted Screenplay: Tony McNamara, Poor Things
Breakthrough Performance: Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One
Best Directorial Debut: Celine Song, Past Lives
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best International Film: Anatomy of a Fall
Best Documentary: Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Best Ensemble: The Iron Claw
Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry:
Director Chad Stahelski and Stunt Coordinators
Stephen Dunlevy & Scott Rogers, John Wick: Chapter 4
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography:
Rodrigo Prieto, Barbie & Killers of the Flower Moon
Top Films (in alphabetical order):
Barbie
The Boy and the Heron
Ferrari
The Holdovers
The Iron Claw
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Top 5 International Films (in alphabetical order):
La Chimera
Fallen Leaves
The Teachers’ Lounge
Tótem
The Zone of Interest
Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order):
20 Days in Mariupol
32 Sounds
The Eternal Memory
The Pigeon Tunnel
A Still Small Voice
Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order):
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
All of Us Strangers
BlackBerry
Earth Mama
Flora and Son
The Persian Version
Scrapper
Showing Up
Theater Camp
A Thousand and One
