National Board of Review of Motion Pictures

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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, Pathe 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.^[1]

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 125-strong membership- composed of knowledgeable film buffs and academics in the New York metropolitan area - and subsequently tabulated by a certified public accountancy firm in order to decide the winners. In addition, the Exceptional Photoplay Committee helps to determine the special achievement awards presented at the annual gala.