National Board of Review, AFI announce best movies of 2023 honorees including 'Killers of the Flower Moon'
"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 that comprises 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.
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.
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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.
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The American Film Institute also recognized "Killers of the Flower Moon," "The Holdovers," "Past Lives" and "Poor Things" when it named 10 films that will receive AFI awards in January.
The organization is recognizing a wide swath of the year's best films, with blockbusters, animated films, indies and movies released by both streamers and traditional studios.
"As our nation and our world continue to navigate difficult times, AFI is honored to shine a proper light upon these works of art that lift us up and, ultimately, lead us to empathy," said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. "That we do so without competition is AFI's hallmark, and we are proud to gather this community of artists together — as one — to celebrate their extraordinary contributions to our time."
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AFI also gives honors to 10 television shows. They are: "Abbott Elementary"; "The Bear"; "Beef"; "Jury Duty"; "The Last of Us"; "The Morning Show"; "Only Murders in the Building"; "Poker Face"; "Reservation Dogs"; and "Succession."
Jurors included directors like Gina Prince-Bythewood, Paris Barclay, authors and film scholars Mark Harris and Leonard Maltin, as well as critics Ann Hornaday, Janet Maslin, Mary McNamara and Peter Travers.
Winners will be celebrated at a private luncheon in Los Angeles on Jan. 12.
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Contributing: Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press