National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
Encyclopedia
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City
, just 13 years after the birth of cinema
, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr.
's revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve
1908. The mayor (son of the famous Civil War general) believed that the new medium degraded the morals of community. To assert their constitutional freedom of expression, theatre owners led by Marcus Loew
and film distributors (Edison, Biograph
, Pathé
and Gaumont
) joined John Collier of The People's Institute at Cooper Union
and established the New York Board of Motion Picture Censorship, which soon changed its name to the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures to avoid the taint of the word "censorship".
Its stated purpose was to endorse films of merit and champion the new "art of the people", which was transforming America's cultural life. In an effort to avoid government censorship of films, the National Board became the unofficial clearinghouse for new movies. From 1916 into the 1950s thousands of motion pictures carried the legend "Passed by the National Board of Review" in their main titles. However, the Board was a de facto censorship organization. Producers submitted their films to the Board before making release prints; they agreed to cut out any footage that the Board found objectionable, up to and including destroying the entire film.
In 1929, the NBR was the first group to choose the ten best English-language movies of the year and the best foreign films, and is still the first critical body to announce its annual awards. The NBR has also gained international acclaim for its publications: Film Program (1917-1926); Exceptional Photoplays (1920-1925); Photoplay Guide to Better Movies (1924-1926); National Board of Review Magazine (1926-1942); New Movies (1942-1949); and Films in Review, which published its first issue in 1950. Influencing generations of filmmakers and film lovers, these journals have fostered commentary on all aspects of cinema production and history, counting among contributors Alfred Hitchcock
, Fritz Lang
, Harold Robbins
, Tennessee Williams
, Dore Schary
, William Saroyan
, James Agee
, Manny Farber
, William K. Everson
, Alistair Cooke
, and Pearl Buck.
To determine the NBR's annual awards, ballots are sent in by the 110 members - select knowledgeable film enthusiasts, academics, filmmakers, and students in the New York metropolitan area - and subsequently tabulated by a certified public accountancy firm in order to decide the winners. In addition, the Awards Jury helps to determine the special achievement awards presented at the annual gala in January.
The organization also works to foster commentary on all aspects of film production, as well as underwriting educational film programs and seminars for film students. In 2008, the NBR expanded its student grant giving to twelve schools, and reached out to the community through the Children's Aid Society, Reel Works Teen Filmmaking,The Ghetto Film School and the Educational Video Center (as of 2010) through grants as well as providing available seats at G, PG, and PG-13 screenings.
and partner Joe Anderson
, under the corporate name Then and There Media LLC, and is currently maintained as a webzine with an archive of the hardcopy magazine going back up to 60 years.
Note: Until 1945, there were only awards for Best Picture and intermittent awards for Best Documentary and Best Foreign Film.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, just 13 years after the birth of cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr.
George B. McClellan, Jr.
George Brinton McClellan, Jr., was an American politician, statesman, and educator. The son of American Civil War general and presidential candidate George B...
's revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
1908. The mayor (son of the famous Civil War general) believed that the new medium degraded the morals of community. To assert their constitutional freedom of expression, theatre owners led by Marcus Loew
Marcus Loew
Marcus Loew was an American business magnate and a pioneer of the motion picture industry who formed Loews Theatres and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .-Biography:...
and film distributors (Edison, Biograph
Biograph
Biograph may refer to:* An early form of the cinematograph, made by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928* Biograph , a 1985 box set compiling music by Bob Dylan...
, Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
and Gaumont
Gaumont Film Company
Gaumont Film Company is a French film production company founded in 1895 by the engineer-turned-inventor, Léon Gaumont . Gaumont is the oldest continously operating film company in the world....
) joined John Collier of The People's Institute at Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
and established the New York Board of Motion Picture Censorship, which soon changed its name to the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures to avoid the taint of the word "censorship".
Its stated purpose was to endorse films of merit and champion the new "art of the people", which was transforming America's cultural life. In an effort to avoid government censorship of films, the National Board became the unofficial clearinghouse for new movies. From 1916 into the 1950s thousands of motion pictures carried the legend "Passed by the National Board of Review" in their main titles. However, the Board was a de facto censorship organization. Producers submitted their films to the Board before making release prints; they agreed to cut out any footage that the Board found objectionable, up to and including destroying the entire film.
In 1929, the NBR was the first group to choose the ten best English-language movies of the year and the best foreign films, and is still the first critical body to announce its annual awards. The NBR has also gained international acclaim for its publications: Film Program (1917-1926); Exceptional Photoplays (1920-1925); Photoplay Guide to Better Movies (1924-1926); National Board of Review Magazine (1926-1942); New Movies (1942-1949); and Films in Review, which published its first issue in 1950. Influencing generations of filmmakers and film lovers, these journals have fostered commentary on all aspects of cinema production and history, counting among contributors Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
, Harold Robbins
Harold Robbins
Harold Robbins was one of the best-selling American authors of all time. During his career, he wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages....
, Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, Dore Schary
Dore Schary
Isadore "Dore" Schary was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright who became head of production at MGM and eventually president of the studio...
, William Saroyan
William Saroyan
William Saroyan was an Armenian American dramatist and author. The setting of many of his stories and plays is the center of Armenian-American life in California in his native Fresno.-Early years:...
, James Agee
James Agee
James Rufus Agee was an American author, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S...
, Manny Farber
Manny Farber
Emanuel "Manny" Farber was an American painter, film critic and writer. Often described as "iconoclastic" , Farber developed a distinctive prose style and set of theoretical stances which have had a large influence on later generations of film critics; Susan Sontag considered him to be "the...
, William K. Everson
William K. Everson
William Keith "Bill" Everson was an English-American archivist, author, critic, educator, collector and film historian. He often discovered lost films.-Early life and career:...
, Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke
Alfred Alistair Cooke KBE was a British/American journalist, television personality and broadcaster. Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and Alistair Cooke's America, he was well known in the United States as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theater from 1971 to 1992...
, and Pearl Buck.
To determine the NBR's annual awards, ballots are sent in by the 110 members - select knowledgeable film enthusiasts, academics, filmmakers, and students in the New York metropolitan area - and subsequently tabulated by a certified public accountancy firm in order to decide the winners. In addition, the Awards Jury helps to determine the special achievement awards presented at the annual gala in January.
The organization also works to foster commentary on all aspects of film production, as well as underwriting educational film programs and seminars for film students. In 2008, the NBR expanded its student grant giving to twelve schools, and reached out to the community through the Children's Aid Society, Reel Works Teen Filmmaking,The Ghetto Film School and the Educational Video Center (as of 2010) through grants as well as providing available seats at G, PG, and PG-13 screenings.
Films in Review
The boards's official magazine had existed in several forms and different names since it inception. In 1950 the magazine changed its name from Screen Magazine, and launched the first issue as Films in Review on February 1, 1950. When the non profit NBR sold the magazine due to increased operating expenses, it was purchased by Roy FrumkesRoy Frumkes
Roy Frumkes is an independent filmmaker. Frumkes directed the 1985 documentary Document of the Dead, a film detailing the production of Dawn of the Dead.-Biography:The cooperation of George A...
and partner Joe Anderson
Joe Anderson
Joe Anderson is an English film actor, probably best known for his performances in Across the Universe, Becoming Jane, Control, The Ruins and The Crazies.-Personal Life:...
, under the corporate name Then and There Media LLC, and is currently maintained as a webzine with an archive of the hardcopy magazine going back up to 60 years.
Award categories
- NBR Freedom of Expression
- William K. Everson Film History Award
- Best ActorNational Board of Review Award for Best ActorAn incomplete list of the winners of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award for Best Actor :-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
- Best ActressNational Board of Review Award for Best ActressThe National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award for Best Actress is one of the annual film awards given by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.-1940s:-1950s:- 1960s :- 1970s :- 1980s :- 1990s :- 2000s :-2010s:...
- Best Supporting ActorNational Board of Review Award for Best Supporting ActorThe National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the annual film awards given by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.- 1950s :- 1960s :- 1970s :- 1980s :-1990s:- 2000s :-2010s:...
- Best Supporting ActressNational Board of Review Award for Best Supporting ActressThe National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress is one of the annual film awards given by the National Board of Review.-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
- Best Animated Feature
- Best DirectorNational Board of Review Award for Best DirectorAn incomplete list of the winners of the National Board of Review Award for Best Director made by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures:-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
- Best Directorial Debut
- Best Film and Top Ten Films
- Best Documentary and Top Five Documentaries
- Best Foreign-Language Film and Top Five Foreign-Language Films
- Best Adapted Screenplay
- Best Original Screenplay
- Breakthrough Performance Actor
- Breakthrough Performance Actress
- Best Acting by an Ensemble
- Spotlight Award
- Career Achievement
- Billy Wilder for Excellence in Direction
- Special Filmmaking Achievement
- Career Achievements in Production: Cinematography, Music, FX
- Special Achievement in Producing
Note: Until 1945, there were only awards for Best Picture and intermittent awards for Best Documentary and Best Foreign Film.
External links
- National Board of Review of Motion Pictures - official website.