`No Country` Wins First Film Award in Oscar Season

George Clooney won the best actor award for `Michael Clayton` and Julie Christie won the best actress award for `Away From Her.`

Grim crime thriller "No Country for Old Men," from brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, was named best film of 2007 by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures on Wednesday in the first major award of the Oscar season.

George Clooney won the best actor award for "Michael Clayton" and Julie Christie won the best actress award for "Away From Her."

Tim Burton took the best director award for "Sweeney Todd," featuring his wife Helena Bonham Carter and "Pirates of the Caribbean" star Johnny Depp.

Amy Ryan won the best supporting actress award for Ben Affleck's "Gone Baby Gone," which secured the best directorial debut award for Affleck. His brother Casey Affleck won the best supporting actor award for "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."

Julian Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" won the best foreign film award. "Body of War" won best documentary and "Ratatouille" was named best animated feature.

Emile Hirsch won an award for breakthrough performance by an actor for Sean Penn's "Into the Wild," and Ellen Page took the breakthrough performance by an actress award for "Juno."

"Juno" and "Lars and the Real Girl" tied for best original screenplay, and "No Country for Old Men" won awards for best adapted screenplay and best ensemble cast.

The board also presented a career achievement award to Michael Douglas, an Oscar winner for best actor for "Wall Street" in 1988. He and Saul Zaentz shared a best picture Oscar for producing "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in 1976.

The awards can be an indicator of what to expect for the Academy Awards, the top honors of the film business, which will be presented in February.