National Board of Review 2019: ‘The Irishman’ Wins Best Film, Adam Sandler Named Best Actor

Zack Sharf

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Following the Gotham Awards naming Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” the best film of the year, the National Board of Review (NBR) has now weighed in with its picks for the best movies and performances of 2019. The NBR is made up of film enthusiasts, industry professionals, academics, and filmmakers. The group is one of the first organizations to announce its end-of-the-year selections, followed closely by the New York Film Critics Circle and the American Film Institute (both announcing tomorrow, December 4).

Last year, the National Board of Review honored “Green Book” with its top prize. That film controversially went on to win the Best Picture Oscar over “Roma” earlier this year. Nearly every NBR winner for Best Film this decade has earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, including “The Post,” “Manchester by the Sea,” and “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

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Other 2018 NBR winners included Viggo Mortensen for Best Actor (“Green Book”), Lady Gaga for Best Actress (“A Star Is Born”), Sam Elliott for Best Supporting Actor (“A Star Is Born”), and Regina King for Best Supporting Actress (“If Beale Street Could Talk”). All of these actors went on to earn Oscar nominations and King even won the Supporting Actress prize.

The full list of 2019 National Board of Review winners is below.

Best Film: THE IRISHMAN
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
Best Original Screenplay: Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, UNCUT GEMS
Best Adapted Screenplay: Steven Zaillian, THE IRISHMAN
Breakthrough Performance: Paul Walter Hauser, RICHARD JEWELL
Best Directorial Debut: Melina Matsoukas, QUEEN & SLIM
Best Animated Feature: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD
Best Foreign Language Film: PARASITE
Best Documentary: MAIDEN
Best Ensemble: KNIVES OUT
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Roger Deakins, 1917
NBR Icon Award: Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: FOR SAMA
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: JUST MERCY

Top Films (in alphabetical order)
“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”

Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order)
“Atlantics”
“Invisible Life”
“Pain and Glory”
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
“Transit”

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
“American Factory”
“Apollo 11”
“The Black Godfather”
“Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese”
“Wrestle”

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
“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”

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