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National Board of Review

{{Short description|American film industry organization}}

{{About|the film organization|other uses|National Review (disambiguation)}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2019}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = National Board of Review of Motion Pictures

| image = The National Board of Review Logo.png

| caption = Official logo of the NBR

| map =

| motto =

| formation = {{start date and age|1909|1}} (as New York Board of Motion Picture Censorship)

| extinction =

| type = Film organization

| status =

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| headquarters = United States

| image_border =

| size = 220px

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| abbreviation = NBR

| location = 405 Lexington Avenue, 26th Floor
New York City, New York 10174

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| website = {{url|nationalboardofreview.org}}

}}

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the film awards season that culminates in the Academy Awards.[https://www.awardsdaily.com/2023/12/04/oscars-2024-national-board-of-review-preview-predictions-and-contest/ Oscars 2024: National Board of Review Preview, Predictions and Contest!]

Origins

The organization, which is now a private organization of film enthusiasts, has its roots in 1909 when Charles Sprague Smith and others formed the New York Board of Motion Picture Censorship to make recommendations to the Mayor's office concerning controversial films.[https://archives.nypl.org/mss/2100 "National Board of Review of Motion Pictures records 1907–1971", NYPL] It quickly became known as the National Board of Motion Picture Censorship. In an effort to avoid government censorship of films, the National Board became the unofficial clearinghouse for new movies.{{cite book |last=Sklar |first=Robert |title=Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies |publisher=Vintage Books |edition=2nd |year=1994 |location=New York City |pages=31–32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N4WLDQAAQBAJ |isbn=0-679-75549-7}} The Board's stated purpose was to endorse films of merit and champion the new "art of the people", which was transforming America's cultural life. In March 1916 the Board changed its name to the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures to avoid the controversial word "censorship".{{cite journal |last=Chris |first=Cynthia |title=Censoring Purity |journal=Camera Obscura |volume=27 |issue=1 (79) |pages=97–98, 105 |publisher=Duke University Press |date=2012 |url=https://www.academia.edu/6752337 |url-access=registration |issn=0270-5346 |doi=10.1215/02705346-1533457 |access-date=13 June 2020}}

Producers submitted their films to the board before making release prints; they agreed to cut any footage that the board found objectionable, up to and including destroying the entire film. Thousands of films carried the legend "Passed by the National Board of Review" in their main titles from 1916 into the 1950s, when the board began to lose financial support, partly due to the NBR being overshadowed by the MPAA regarding film censorship.{{cite magazine|title=Exit: 'Passed by National Board of Review'|magazine=Boxoffice|issue=January 19, 1952|publisher=Associated Publications|date=January 19, 1952|page=25}}

In 1930, the NBR was the first group to choose the 10 best English-language movies of the year and the best foreign films, and is still the first critical body to announce its annual awards. In 1936 executive secretary Wilton A. Barrett explained the Board's workings:

The National Board is opposed to legal censorship regarding all forms of the motion picture...It believes that far more constructive ...is the method of selecting the better pictures, publishing descriptive, classified lists of them and building up audiences and support for them through the work of community groups...{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2262947 | jstor=2262947 | title=The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures--How It Works | last1=Barrett | first1=Wilton A. | journal=The Journal of Educational Sociology | date=1936 | volume=10 | issue=3 | pages=177–188 | doi=10.2307/2262947 | url-access=subscription }}

Publications

The NBR has also gained international acclaim for its publications, which collectively constitute the oldest film review and commentary publication in the US. Many back issues can now be viewed at the Media History Digital Library.

  • 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)
  • Films in Review (print: 1950–1997; [https://www.filmsinreview.com/ online]: 1997–present){{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/02/01/archives/screen-magazine-bows-films-in-review-published-by-national-board.html|title=SCREEN MAGAZINE BOWS; Films in Review, Published by National Board, Out Today|date=1 February 1950|work=The New York Times|access-date=16 February 2010}} {{ISSN|0015-1688}}

Award categories

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See also

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{official website|https://www.nationalboardofreview.org}}
  • [https://www.filmsinreview.com/ Films in Review]

{{NBR Awards Chron}}

{{american film critic org}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:American film critics associations

Category:Organizations established in 1909

Category:1909 establishments in New York City