Trying to crown one year as the best in cinematic history is fun but also a bit futile. It’s possible to select contenders, but the reality is that every year in the history of the medium has something good to offer. Without picking a single year, 1939 is iconic (The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Stagecoach), as is 1994 (Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, The Lion King), but more recently – or at least as far as the 21st century is concerned – 2019 was kind of an all-time good year for movies.
Plenty of filmmakers took risks that paid off, there were good smaller movies, there were some amazing blockbusters, and international cinema thrived to a particularly notable extent. It’s also a strong year in hindsight because much of the 2020s has been plagued by certain large-scale events that have impacted film productions and release dates (like the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike). Anyway, not every great film from 2019 is considered below (apologies to the worthy honorable mentions, including the likes of Little Women, Booksmart, Joker, John Wick: Chapter 3, and Midsommar), but these titles are intended to represent the absolute best of the best.
10
‘Knives Out’ (2019)
Directed by Rian Johnson
Rian Johnson’s directorial career has been pretty fascinating to date, as he’s tackled time travel (Looper), Star Wars (the divisive The Last Jedi), and directed for Breaking Bad (helming arguably its greatest episode, “Ozymandias”). Since 2019, he’s been big on comedic and surprising murder mysteries, with this being the year the first Knives Out was released (another followed in 2022, and a third is scheduled for release in 2025).
The first Knives Out remains the best, though, and it’s remarkable what it manages to do with what initially seems to be a well-worn murder-mystery premise. It works on that front, and also proves surprisingly funny; not necessarily in a way that feels like an outright parody of mystery films, but in a manner that feels balanced and fitting. Knives Out is fun to both watch and rewatch, for the surprise factor involved with the former and the further appreciation for the storytelling that comes when doing the latter.
9
‘1917’ (2019)
Directed by Sam Mendes
Coming out just over a century on from when it was set, 1917 finds ways to breathe life into the war genre, feeling especially radical by the standards of a World War I movie (they’re less common – and sometimes less impactful – than World War II ones). It’s a very linear movie, and is shot in a way that gives the impression the whole film is one take. 1917 isn’t literally one take, but the illusion is often convincing, with many of the shots still being impressively long.
The narrative boils down to something simple: there’s a message that needs to be delivered, which will save lives, but there’s a very short amount of time to do it, and the two soldiers assigned with the task have to venture through No Man’s Land. The presentation of 1917 makes this journey feel all the more arduous and suspenseful, making for a powerful viewing experience. The fact it’s also one of the most technically impressive movies of the 2010s certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
8
‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Avengers: Endgame certainly felt like a grand finale to what had been, up until that point, the entire MCU as a series. Of course, there have been numerous superhero movies within that cinematic universe released since, but Endgame nevertheless feels like a good wrap-up for the first three major phases of the MCU. Things that began in 2008, with Iron Man, reach some level of closure here.
It’s not the worst place to bow out, all things considered, because as of 2025, people are still waiting for something to hit quite as hard as Avengers: Endgame did. It was the biggest cinematic event of 2019, it seemed to please pretty much everyone, it had big moments and emotional catharsis, and it was extremely well-paced for something that ran for approximately three hours. There have been big blockbusters since Endgame, but nothing that had quite the same level of widespread anticipation around it.
7
‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ (2019)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Bringing his signature style to the late 1960s, though also slowing things down a little in a way he hadn’t since 1997’s Jackie Brown, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is another winning and distinctive film by Quentin Tarantino. Much of it’s a hangout kind of film, following a struggling actor and his loyal friend/stuntman, but there’s always something sinister bubbling in the background, thanks to the presence of the Manson Family.
But, as the title implies, this is something of a fairytale in the end, and the point at which Once Upon a Time in Hollywood chooses to break free of reality is simultaneously shocking, funny, and emotional. This is not the kind of film most filmmakers would be granted the budget to make on such a scale, but at least there are a few filmmakers still out there, like Tarantino, who can do just about anything they want (and just about anything they make, it turns out, proves worth watching).
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- Release Date
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July 26, 2019
- Runtime
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159 minutes
6
‘The Lighthouse’ (2019)
Directed by Robert Eggers
Settings for films don’t get much more restrictive than the one in The Lighthouse, given this film takes place on a tiny island with just two people living there: a pair of lighthouse keepers. There’s tension straight away between the pair, and both unravel in different ways psychologically as the days drone on, the film in turn bouncing between various genres and emotions to make the whole thing anything but mundane for the viewer.
The Lighthouse might well be the best feature film to date that Robert Eggers has directed, and that’s certainly saying something. It’s one that feels like it’ll be considered even more of a classic one day, because there’s little else quite like it, and the chances of it being replicated in any way in the future seem unlikely. The Lighthouse is The Lighthouse. It’s bizarre, funny, scary, nonsensical, surreal, and weirdly relatable. It defies expectations and cinematic norms in the best of ways.
5
‘Marriage Story’ (2019)
Directed by Noah Baumbach
The word “Marriage” is in the title, sure, but Marriage Story is all about divorce, showing the entire process in a fairly grounded – perhaps even exhaustive – way. Things kick off with reminiscences on love, then comes the actual separating, and then there’s some catharsis by the end; a sense of moving on, and at least a little by way of hope for the future.
Along the way, Marriage Story is obviously emotionally challenging, but it’s more than worthwhile and proves rewarding for those willing to sit through something quite serious. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson are phenomenal in the lead roles, and everyone in the supporting cast shines, too. Even with the subject matter, Marriage Story is still the most approachable and broadly engaging film Noah Baumbach has directed to date, and probably stands as his overall best, too.
Marriage Story
- Release Date
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December 6, 2019
- Runtime
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136 minutes
- Director
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Noah Baumbach
4
‘Uncut Gems’ (2019)
Directed by Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie
Calling Uncut Gems a stressful movie would be a massive understatement, because it’s so constantly intense, in-your-face, and uncomfortable… but also oddly funny. Adam Sandler’s never been better than he is here, playing a man whose life keeps spiraling out of control because of the risky decisions he makes financially, persistently making big gambles and continually running out of people he can consider friends.
By the end of the 2010s, A24 had established itself as a production/distribution company to be reckoned with, and Uncut Gems is one of the absolute best films linked to A24 to date. It admittedly might not be for everyone, because you have to prep yourself, to some extent, for something this relentless. But anyone after an unpredictable thrill ride of a film should find plenty to appreciate here.
3
‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ (2019)
Directed by Céline Sciamma
In just about any other year, Portrait of a Lady on Fire would’ve been a shoo-in for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, but its main competitor in 2019 just so happened to be that year’s Best Picture winner. As a result, this is probably one of the best runner-ups in the history of the Foreign Film Oscar, as it already feels like an instant classic as far as romantic dramas go.
The story is mostly centered on two people in a relatively isolated location, but unlike the two characters in The Lighthouse, Portrait of a Lady on Fire sees its two primary characters gradually falling in love… a love that, because of the time the movie’s set, inevitably can’t last forever. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is emotional, quiet, and visually bold, all at once, and one of the undeniable best films of 2019.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
- Release Date
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September 18, 2019
- Runtime
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120 minutes
- Director
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Céline Sciamma
2
‘The Irishman’ (2019)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese is no stranger to making some of the best movies of all time, and honestly, The Irishman is one of his greatest efforts… yes, even with the imperfect aging effects. This is a late-career movie done right, with the entire film being about looking back in more ways than one. Primarily, a hitman looks back on his violent life, but so too do some of the actors here revisit the kinds of roles they’re famous for playing, and Scorsese himself deconstructs certain gangster movie conventions like never before.
As such, The Irishman is also a very dark film, and it builds towards a tragic final act that leaves one feeling unsettled, miserable, and maybe even despondent. But it’s great art; indeed, it’s cinema, coming out the same year Scorsese made some comments about certain types of movies not really being cinema. With The Irishman, the legendary director successfully put his money where his mouth was, so to speak.
1
‘Parasite’ (2019)
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Parasite is pretty much perfect across the board, with phenomenal acting, a masterful screenplay, and consistently enthralling storytelling/pacing. It crosses genres and unravels with a certain lack of predictability that you seldom see in movies of any kind, be they old or newer. It was revolutionary back in 2019, and a deserved Best Picture winner, and there’s an argument to be made that little made in the 2020s so far has hit quite the same (to be fair, though, the still-young decade hasn’t been without some instant classics).
It’s thrilling in a particularly unique way, and not just one of the best international films of all time, but perhaps one of the best movies ever made, regardless of the country of origin. And, yes, this might sound dangerously close to hyperbole, but Parasite has more than earned the right to have ridiculous amounts of praise heaped upon it. It’s that good. Deal with it.
