Spike Lee’s ‘Da 5 Bloods’ Named Best Film by National Board of Review

Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods took the top honor Tuesday from the National Board of Review.

The New York-based film group named the Vietnam War drama best film of 2020, with Lee also picking up the best director award. The film additionally won best ensemble for its cast which included Chadwick Boseman, Delroy Lindo, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis and Jonathan Majors.

For his role as Commander Norman Earl “Stormin’ Norman” Holloway in the Netflix film, Boseman was posthumously awarded the NBR Icon Award, which “celebrates the work of leading cinematic artists who contribute meaningfully to the history, culture, an excellence of motion pictures” the board said in a statement.

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“Da 5 Bloods is not only a unique portrait of the experience and lingering trauma of Black Vietnam War veterans, but also a moving story of enduring friendship, a suspenseful jungle treasure hunt, and a powerful reckoning with the American dream,” NBR president Annie Schulhof said. “We are also honored to present the posthumous NBR Icon Award to Chadwick Boseman, an extraordinary talent who represented the best of what an actor could be no matter what the role.”

Da 5 Bloods follows four African-American veterans who return to Vietnam in search of a buried treasure and the remains of their fallen squad leader played by Boseman. Lee worked on the script with BlacKkKlansman collaborator, Kevin Willmott, along with Danny Bilson, Paul DeMeo and Matt Billingsly.

The film was released in June and has won a string of critics awards. Read the full list of NBR winners below:

Best Film
DA 5 BLOODS

Best Director
Spike Lee, DA 5 BLOODS

Best Actor
Riz Ahmed, SOUND OF METAL

Best Actress
Carey Mulligan, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Best Supporting Actor
Paul Raci, SOUND OF METAL

Best Supporting Actress
Youn Yuh-jung, MINARI

Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Greengrass & Luke Davies, NEWS OF THE WORLD

Best Original Screenplay
Lee Isaac Chung, MINARI

Breakthrough Performance
Sidney Flanigan, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

Best Directorial Debut
Channing Godfrey Peoples, MISS JUNETEENTH

Best Animated Feature
SOUL

Best Foreign Language Film
LA LLORONA

Best Documentary
TIME

NBR Icon Award
Chadwick Boseman

NBR Freedom of Expression Award
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

NBR Spotlight Award
Radha Blank for writing, directing, producing and starring in THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION

Best Ensemble
DA 5 BLOODS

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Joshua James Richards, NOMADLAND

Top Films
(in alphabetical order)
First Cow
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Judas and the Black Messiah
The Midnight Sky
Minari
News of the World
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Soul
Sound of Metal

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(in alphabetical order)
Apples
Collective
Dear Comrades
The Mole Agent
Night of the Kings

Top 5 Documentaries
(in alphabetical order)
All In: The Fight for Democracy
Boys State
Dick Johnson is Dead
Miss Americana
The Truffle Hunters

Top 10 Independent Films
(in alphabetical order)
The Climb
Driveways
Farewell Amor
Miss Juneteenth
The Nest
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
The Outpost
Relic
Saint Frances
Wolfwalkers