Was 2019 The Best Year Of All Time For Movies?

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes‘ publication of its definitive ranking of the 300 “best movies of all time” has thrown up some surprising results, including the revelation that – according to this particular metric – 2019 is possibly the best year in movie history.

While the list was intended to focus on the movies themselves, instead of anything more wide-ranging like years or genres, it’s still possible to extrapolate some interesting conclusions from the compilation. However, while it’s hard to argue that 2019 wasn’t an impressive year, there is more to the debate than these results suggest.

As with any attempt to quantify the best movies ever made, Rotten Tomatoes’ specific criteria are central to the final list. According to the website, it’s based on a selection of “Certified Fresh” films, which are then subjected to a “recommendation formula, which considers a movie’s Tomatometer rating with assistance from its Audience Score, illuminating beloved sentiment from both sides.“

This makes the list more nuanced than a ranking of movies based on their critical scores. However, while this process means that universal acclaim isn’t the only factor, it does create some problems – typified by the number of 2019 movies included.

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2019 Has The Most Entries On Rotten Tomatoes’ Best Movies Of All-Time

The Year Was Filled With Classics

Although there are many ways to assess the best years in movie history, Rotten Tomatoes’ methodology has resulted in more movies from 2019 making the final 300 than any other year. In total, 11 2019 films made the cut – putting it comfortably ahead of its nearest competitors (2016 and 2017), both of which have nine films included.

Impressively, this means that a little over 3.5% of the whole list is dominated by 2019 movies – a major proportion considering the list includes over a century of cinema. A closer look at the movies included makes it easy to see why they were selected.

Among the most high-profile movies chosen are the likes of Parasite (which famously became the first foreign-language movie to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards), Little Women (itself nominated for six Oscars), and Avengers: Endgame (at one point the highest-grossing movie of all time and the culmination of over a decade of Marvel movies).

This diversity, supplemented by commercial hits like Knives Out and Toy Story 4, as well as more independent features like Portrait of a Lady on Fire, not only makes 2019 one of the most successful years in movie history, but arguably one of the most eclectic.

2019’s Best Rotten Tomatoes Movie Record Highlights A Major Flaw In The List

It’s Not A Perfect List

There’s no doubt that the movies included on Rotten Tomatoes’ list are worthy of recognition. Not only did each film perform well with critics, but they also resonated with audiences, benefiting from positive word-of-mouth among moviegoers. And yet, while this aspect of the “recommendation formula” was essential to the list, it also demonstrates a major problem with the movies selected.

Because active viewer recommendation forms a key part of choosing the 300 films, there is an inevitable bias towards movies released more recently. Since viewers are naturally more likely to recommend a movie that they remember seeing in a cinema or dominating the social discourse, it’s inevitable that more of them end up being selected.

While many viewers may recognize Citizen Kane as an all-time great movie, it’s impossible to understand the impact it had on contemporary audiences from a distance of 80 years. Therefore, many older movies are underestimated by the Rotten Tomatoes list, skewing its assessment of the best movie year ever.

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How 2019 Compares To Other Great Movie Years

It Has An Argument As One Of The Best

Although 2019 boasts some incredible films, it is far from the only great year in cinema history. Even judging on the basis of Rotten Tomatoes’ own flawed list, it’s clear that there is plenty of competition. From recent memory, both 2016 and 2017 score highly, with each year contributing nine films to the list.

Going further back in time, 2015 has eight movies featured, while 2008, 1993, and 1957 all boast seven apiece. While none can match the quantity of 2019, it’s clear that there are plenty of other consistent years.

Even this assessment, however, ignores the fact that the Rotten Tomatoes’ methodology is far from the best way of analyzing the best years in film history. For starters, the list was never intended to definitively say which years are the greatest – just assess the merits of individual films.

As a result, 2019’s supremacy is a by-product rather than a deliberate outcome. After considering all the factors at play, it’s clear that there is a real problem with saying for certain that 2019 deserves the top spot.

2019 May Not Have Been Cinema’s Greatest Year, But It Was Still Pretty Damn Good

The Year Can Comfortably Compete With Any Other

A key reason why it’s impossible to say for certain that 2019 is the best year in movie history is also why it features so prominently on Rotten Tomatoes’ list in the first place. While the whole concept of “greatness” is a matter of debate, a major factor in achieving such a term has to be longevity.

Just a handful of years on from 2019, it’s impossible to say with certainty which films from that year will go on to have a lasting cultural impact, in the way that older movies from Rotten Tomatoes’ list clearly have.

While it seems inevitable that films like The Godfather will always rank among the best ever, it’s less likely that Knives Out will command the same reverence in the years to come. For this reason, it’s reasonable to suggest that older movies that have stood the test of time should carry more weight than those from the recent past.

That’s because they have both made an impact on contemporary audiences and continued to appeal to later generations. This disparity is something Rotten Tomatoes’ “Best Movies” list fails to reflect.

There’s also the fact that 2019 doesn’t quite figure into the conversation around great movie years. While every film fan has their own opinion, consensus consolidates around era-defining years like 1939 (The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Stagecoach), 1975 (Jaws, Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest), and 1999 (The Matrix, Magnolia, Fight Club).

While Rotten Tomatoes’ choice of 2019 may come to be held in the same regard, it’s fair to say that it hasn’t reached these heights yet.

2019 Had The 21st Century’s Best Movie, According To The New York Times

This Adds To 2019’s Case For Best Film Year

Similar to what Rotten Tomatoes did, The New York Times recently put together their own extensive list. By polling hundreds of actors, directors, producers, and more, they came up with the 100 Best Films of the 21st Century and the movie that earned the top spot is Parasite, from 2019.

Parasite topping the list makes sense given all the accolades it received. It dominated at the Oscars, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature, among so many others at various award shows.

2019 having the top movie of the 21st Century is a feather in the cap for the argument that it’s the best year for film ever. However, Parasite wasn’t the only 2019 release to make the list. Portrait of a Lady on Fire ranks 38th, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is #44, and Uncut Gems sits at #58.

Those rankings certainly help 2019’s case as cinema’s best year. It’s one of only a few years represented so often on the list, which is especially impressive since it’s so recent and films often have to be around for much longer before they’re considered among the best of an era.