Director Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers" companion film "Letters From Iwo Jima" was named as the National Board of Motion Pictures' top film pick of 2006, the organization announced Wednesday.

The film, which tells of the battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese perspective, was originally scheduled to be released in February of 2007, but was recently moved up to Dec. 20 by studio Warner Bros.

"Flags of Our Fathers," Eastwood's film that chronicles the lives of the famed Iwo Jima flag raisers after the iconic photo was taken, was also named to the NBR list.

The film, produced by Eastwood and Steven Spielberg, was met with critical acclaim when it was released in October, but its box office draw fell short of expectations.

The board's other top films were listed in alphabetical order: "Babel," "Blood Diamond," "The Departed," "The Devil Wears Prada," "The History Boys," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Notes on a Scandal" and "The Painted Veil."

Martin Scorsese was tapped by the NBR as Best Director for "The Departed."

In the acting categories, the organization named Forrest Whitaker Best Actor for playing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland," and Helen Mirren Best Actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen."

Catherine O'Hara was named Best Supporting Actress for playing an actress sucked in by Oscar hype in the comedy satire "For Your Consideration." Djimon Hounsou grabbed Best Supporting Actor honors for playing the father of a kidnapped son amid the civil war in Sierra Leone in the late 1990s in "Blood Diamond."

The board also named Al Gore's global warming film "An Inconvenient Truth" as Best Documentary and "Cars" as Best Animated Feature.

Established in 1909, the National Board of Motion Pictures consists of film historians, students and educators.