The National Board of Review, consisting of film enthusiasts, academics, and other industry-working movie professionals, has officially named Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, starring Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, and Benny Safdie, as the best film of 2021.
This honor, among the other categories of the NBR’s list, has been considered a stepping stone on the path for many potential Oscar contenders.
The complete list of 2021 NBR winners is as followed:
Best Film: Licorice Pizza
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson — Licorice Pizza
Best Actor: Will Smith — King Richard
Best Actress: Rachel Zegler — West Side Story
Best Supporting Actor: Ciarán Hinds — Belfast
Best Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis — King Richard
Best Original Screenplay: Asghar Farhadi — A Hero
Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen — The Tragedy of Macbeth
Breakthrough Performance: Alana Haim & Cooper Hoffman — Licorice Pizza
Best Directorial Debut: Michael Sarnoski — Pig
Best Animated Feature: Encanto
Best Foreign Language Film: A Hero
Best Documentary: Summer of Soul
Best Ensemble: The Harder They Fall
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Bruno Delbonnel — The Tragedy of Macbeth
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Flee
Top Films (in alphabetical order)
Belfast
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
The Last Duel
Nightmare Alley
Red Rocket
The Tragedy of Macbeth
West Side Story
Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order)
Benedetta
Lamb
Lingui, The Sacred Bonds
Titane
The Worst Person in the World
Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
Ascension
Attica
Flee
The Rescue
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
The Card Counter
C’mon C’mon
CODA
The Green Knight
Holler
Jockey
Old Henry
Pig
Shiva Baby
The Souvenir Part II
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