The Irishman Named The Best Film Of The Year By The National Board Review

Since its release last month, The Irishman has received rave reviews, with fans and critics falling over themselves with praise.

And quite rightly. Martin Scorsese's gangster epic saw three of the most iconic actors of all time - Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci - back together again.

It's now been named the best film of 2019 by the National Board of Review, a US organisation founded in 1909. Previous winners of the prestigious award are Green Book, The Post and Mad Max: Fury Road.

The honour is voted for by a group of film professionals, academics, filmmakers, enthusiasts and students.

Speaking about the film, NBR president Annie Schulhof said the cast and crew were all on 'top form'.

She said: "We are thrilled to award The Irishman as our best film - Martin Scorsese's masterful mob epic is a rich, moving, beautifully textured movie that represents the best in what cinema can be.

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"We are also excited to be presenting Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino with our inaugural Icon Award - they are the true definition of cinematic icons, each with their own exceptional body of work, and all in top form in The Irishman."

Scorsese's three-and-a-half hour movie is based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt and tells the story of Frank Sheeran, a gangster, hitman and World War Two veteran.

Sheeran (played by De Niro in the film) finds himself mixed up with some of the most notorious people of the 20th century.

The synopsis says: "The film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino), and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organised crime."

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The movie spans decades, as Frank reflects back on his mobster career, with particular focus on the disappearance of his old friend and controversial union leader Hoffa - and his potential involvement in the crime.

Speaking earlier this year, Scorsese said The Irishman is completely different to any of his previous gangster movies.

He told The Independent: "This is different, I think it is. I admit that there are - you know, Goodfellas and Casino have a certain style that I created for them - it's on the page in the script, actually.

"Putting Goodfellas together was almost like an afterthought. At times I was kind of rushing, I felt I'd already done it because I'd played it all out in terms of the camera moves and the editing and that sort of thing.

"The style of the picture, the cuts, the freeze-frames, all of this was planned way in advance, but here it's a little different."

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, US News, Netflix

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

@SmithersDom