National Board of Review Award for Best Film

The National Board of Review Award for Best Film is one of the annual awards given (since 1932) by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.[1]

Winners

1930s

YearWinnerDirector(s)
1932I Am a Fugitive from a Chain GangMervyn LeRoy
1933Topaze §Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast
1934It Happened One NightFrank Capra
1935The InformerJohn Ford
1936Mr. Deeds Goes to TownFrank Capra
1937Night Must Fall §Richard Thorpe
1938The CitadelKing Vidor
1939Confessions of a Nazi Spy §Anatole Litvak

1940s

YearWinnerDirector(s)
1940The Grapes of WrathJohn Ford
1941Citizen KaneOrson Welles
1942In Which We ServeNoël Coward and David Lean
1943The Ox-Bow IncidentWilliam A. Wellman
1944None But the Lonely Heart §Clifford Odets
1945The True Glory §Carol Reed
1946Henry VLaurence Olivier
1947Monsieur Verdoux §Charlie Chaplin
1948Paisan (Paisà)Roberto Rossellini
1949Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette)Vittorio De Sica

1950s

YearWinnerDirector(s)
1950Sunset BoulevardBilly Wilder
1951A Place in the SunGeorge Stevens
1952The Quiet ManJohn Ford
1953Julius CaesarJoseph L. Mankiewicz
1954On the WaterfrontElia Kazan
1955MartyDelbert Mann
1956Around the World in 80 DaysMichael Anderson
1957The Bridge on the River KwaiDavid Lean
1958The Old Man and the Sea §John Sturges
1959The Nun's StoryFred Zinnemann

1960s

YearWinnerDirector(s)
1960Sons and LoversJack Cardiff
1961Question 7 §Stuart Rosenberg
1962The Longest DayKen Annakin, Andrew Marton, Gerd Oswald, and Bernhard Wicki
1963Tom JonesTony Richardson
1964BecketPeter Glenville
1965The Eleanor Roosevelt Story §Rick Kaplan
1966A Man for All SeasonsFred Zinnemann
1967Far from the Madding Crowd §John Schlesinger
1968The Shoes of the Fisherman §Michael Anderson
1969They Shoot Horses, Don't They? §Sydney Pollack

1970s

YearWinnerDirector(s)
1970PattonFranklin J. Schaffner
1971Macbeth §Roman Polanski
1972CabaretBob Fosse
1973The StingGeorge Roy Hill
1974The ConversationFrancis Ford Coppola
1975Barry LyndonStanley Kubrick
NashvilleRobert Altman
1976All the President's MenAlan J. Pakula
1977The Turning PointHerbert Ross
1978Days of Heaven §Terrence Malick
1979Manhattan §Woody Allen

1980s

YearWinnerDirector(s)
1980Ordinary PeopleRobert Redford
1981Chariots of FireHugh Hudson
RedsWarren Beatty
1982GandhiRichard Attenborough
1983Betrayal §David Jones
Terms of EndearmentJames L. Brooks
1984A Passage to IndiaDavid Lean
1985The Color PurpleSteven Spielberg
1986A Room with a ViewJames Ivory
1987Empire of the Sun §Steven Spielberg
1988Mississippi BurningAlan Parker
1989Driving Miss DaisyBruce Beresford

1990s

YearWinnerDirector(s)
1990Dances with WolvesKevin Costner
1991The Silence of the LambsJonathan Demme
1992Howards EndJames Ivory
1993Schindler's ListSteven Spielberg
1994Forrest GumpRobert Zemeckis
Pulp FictionQuentin Tarantino
1995Sense and SensibilityAng Lee
1996ShineScott Hicks
1997L.A. ConfidentialCurtis Hanson
1998Gods and Monsters §Bill Condon
1999American BeautySam Mendes

2000s

YearWinnerDirector(s)
2000Quills §Philip Kaufman
2001Moulin Rouge!Baz Luhrmann
2002The HoursStephen Daldry
2003Mystic RiverClint Eastwood
2004Finding NeverlandMarc Forster
2005Good Night, and Good Luck.George Clooney
2006Letters from Iwo JimaClint Eastwood
2007No Country for Old MenJoel Coen and Ethan Coen
2008Slumdog MillionaireDanny Boyle
2009Up in the AirJason Reitman

2010s

YearWinnerDirector(s)
2010The Social NetworkDavid Fincher
2011HugoMartin Scorsese
2012Zero Dark ThirtyKathryn Bigelow
2013HerSpike Jonze
2014A Most Violent Year §J. C. Chandor
2015Mad Max: Fury RoadGeorge Miller
2016Manchester by the SeaKenneth Lonergan
2017The PostSteven Spielberg
2018Green BookPeter Farrelly[2]
2019The IrishmanMartin Scorsese[3]

2020s

YearWinnerDirector(s)
2020Da 5 Bloods[4] §Spike Lee
2021Licorice Pizza[5]Paul Thomas Anderson
2022Top Gun: Maverick[6]Joseph Kosinski
2023Killers of the Flower Moon[7]Martin Scorsese

Multiple winners (3 or more)

References