Year-End Lists

Todd McCarthy: The Best Films of 2019, as published by The Hollywood Reporter

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
   Quentin Tarantino
2. Uncut Gems
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
3. Little Women
   Greta Gerwig
4. The Irishman
   Martin Scorsese
5. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
   Céline Sciamma
6. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
   Joe Talbot
7. Ford v Ferrari
   James Mangold
8. 1917
   Sam Mendes
9. Les Misérables
   Ladj Ly
10. Cold Case Hammarskjöld
    Mads Brügger

Honorable mentions

• Apollo 11
  Todd Douglas Miller
• Ash is Purest White
  Jia Zhang-ke
• Dolemite Is My Name
  Craig Brewer
• Honey Boy
  Alma Har'el
• Marriage Story
  Noah Baumbach
• Mustang
  Deniz Gamze Ergüven
• Rolling Thunder Revue
  Martin Scorsese
• Richard Jewell
  Clint Eastwood
• Transit
  Christian Petzold
• The Two Popes
  Fernando Meirelles

Kenneth Turan: Best Movies of 2019, as published by The Los Angeles Times

[see also 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2012]

1. Ford v Ferrari
   James Mangold

The Rest Alphabetically

• The Irishman
  Martin Scorsese

Israeli/Palestinian cinema

• Working Woman
  Michal Aviad
• The Reports on Sarah and Saleem
  Muayad Alayan
• The Other Story
  Avi Nesher
• Tel Aviv on Fire
  Sameh Zoabi
• Synonyms
  Nadav Lapid
• Incitement
  Yaron Zilberman

• Little Women
  Greta Gerwig
• Maiden
  Alex Holmes
• The Cave
  Firas Fayyad
• Marriage Story
  Noah Baumbach
• 1917
  Sam Mendes
• Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
  Quentin Tarantino
• Pain and Glory
  Pedro Almodóvar
• Toy Story 4
  Josh Cooley
• I Lost My Body
  Jérémy Clapin

A Second 10

• Birds of Passage
  Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra
• Blinded by the Light
  Gurinder Chadha
• Bombshell
  Jay Roach
• Captain Marvel
  Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck
• Fast Color
  Julia Hart
• Dolemite Is My Name
  Craig Brewer
• Late Night
  Nisha Ganatra
• The Edge of Democracy
  Petra Costa
• Sea of Shadows
  Richard Ladkani
• Les Misérables
  Ladj Ly
• Peterloo
  Mike Leigh
• Richard Jewell
  Clint Eastwood
• The Two Popes
  Fernando Meirelles

Justin Chang: Best Movies of 2019, as published by The Los Angeles Times

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. Parasite
   Bong Joon-ho
2. Knives Out
   Rian Johnson
3. Ash is Purest White
   Jia Zhang-ke
4. The Irishman
   Martin Scorsese
5. The Souvenir
   Joanna Hogg
6. Marriage Story
   Noah Baumbach
7. I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians
   Radu Jude
8. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
   Quentin Tarantino
9. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
   Céline Sciamma
10. Little Women
    Greta Gerwig
11. Long Day's Journey Into Night
    Bi Gan
12. An Elephant Sitting Still
    Hu Bo
13. High Life
    Claire Denis
14. A Hidden Life
    Terrence Malick
15. Synonyms
    Nadav Lapid
16. Transit
    Christian Petzold
17. Give Me Liberty
    Kirill Mikhanovsky
18. By the Grace of God
    François Ozon
19. Her Smell
    Alex Ross Perry
20. Uncut Gems
    Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie

Five favorite documentaries

• American Factory
  Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
• Black Mother
  Khalik Allah
• Honeyland
  Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov
• One Child Nation
  Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang
• What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire?
  Roberto Minervini

15 honorable mentions

• Atlantics
  Mati Diop
• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
  Marielle Heller
• Clemency
  Chinonye Chukwu
• Diane
  Kent Jones
• The Farewell
  Lulu Wang
• Fighting with My Family
  Stephen Merchant
• The Last Black Man in San Francisco
  Joe Talbot
• The Lighthouse
  Robert Eggers
• Midsommar
  Ari Aster
• The Nightingale
  Jennifer Kent
• Pain and Glory
  Pedro Almodóvar
• Peterloo
  Mike Leigh
• Sorry Angel
  Christophe Honoré
• Us
  Jordan Peele
• Waves
  Trey Edward Shults

Polygon: The Best Movies of 2019

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021]

• Ad Astra
  James Gray
• Apollo 11
  Todd Douglas Miller
• The Farewell
  Lulu Wang
• A Hidden Life
  Terrence Malick
• The Irishman
  Martin Scorsese
• The Last Black Man in San Francisco
  Joe Talbot
• The Lighthouse
  Robert Eggers
• Little Women
  Greta Gerwig
• The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
  Terry Gilliam
• Marriage Story
  Noah Baumbach
• Midsommar
  Ari Aster
• Parasite
  Bong Joon-ho
• Uncut Gems
  Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
• Under the Silver Lake
  David Robert Mitchell
• Us
  Jordan Peele

Ann Hornaday: Best Movies of 2019, as published by The Washington Post

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015]

1. American Factory
   Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
2. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
   Marielle Heller
3. The Farewell
   Lulu Wang
4. Waves
   Trey Edward Shults
5. Queen & Slim
   Melina Matsoukas
6. Little Women
   Greta Gerwig
7. The Mustang
   Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
8. Jim Allison: Breakthrough
   Bill Haney
9. Blinded by the Light
   Gurinder Chadha
10. Give Me Liberty
    Kirill Mikhanovsky

Joe Morgenstern: The Best Films of 2019, as published by The Wall Street Journal

[see also 2018 • 2017]

• Little Women
  Greta Gerwig

Other Choices in Alphabetical Order

• Apollo 11
  Todd Douglas Miller
• Booksmart
  Olivia Wilde
• The Irishman
  Martin Scorsese
• Knives Out
  Rian Johnson
• Marriage Story
  Noah Baumbach
• Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
  Quentin Tarantino
• Pain and Glory
  Pedro Almodóvar
• Parasite
  Bong Joon-ho
• The Two Popes
  Fernando Meirelles

RogerEbert.com: Ten Best Films of 2019, as selected by the site’s regular film critics and assistant editors

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. The Irishman
   Martin Scorsese
2. Parasite
   Bong Joon-ho
3. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
   Quentin Tarantino
4. Pain and Glory
   Pedro Almodóvar
5. Marriage Story
   Noah Baumbach
6. Uncut Gems
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
7. Us
   Jordan Peele
8. The Souvenir
   Joanna Hogg
9. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
   Joe Talbot
10. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
    Céline Sciamma

Runner-ups

• Ad Astra
  James Gray
• Apollo 11
  Todd Douglas Miller
• Black Mother
  Khalik Allah
• The Farewell
  Lulu Wang
• A Hidden Life
  Terrence Malick
• High Life
  Claire Denis
• Little Women
  Greta Gerwig
• Long Day's Journey Into Night
  Bi Gan
• Midsommar
  Ari Aster
• The Nightingale
  Jennifer Kent

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• RogerEbert.com: Allison Shoemaker: Top 10 Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Ben Kenigsberg: Top Ten Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Brian Tallerico: Top Ten Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Christy Lemire: Top 10 Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Justine Smith: Top 10 Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Kristen Lopez: Top 10 Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Kristy Puchko: Top 10 Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Matt Zoller Seitz: Top Ten Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Monica Castillo: Top Ten Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Nell Minow: Top 10 Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Odie Henderson: Top Ten Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Sheila O’Malley: Top Ten Films of 2019
• RogerEbert.com: Tomris Laffly: Top 25 Films of 2019

Film Comment: Best Films of 2019, a poll of the magazine's contributors and editors

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Parasite
   Bong Joon-ho
2. The Irishman
   Martin Scorsese
3. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
   Quentin Tarantino
4. Transit
   Christian Petzold
5. Atlantics
   Mati Diop
6. The Souvenir
   Joanna Hogg
7. High Life
   Claire Denis
8. Ash is Purest White
   Jia Zhang-ke
9. Pain and Glory
   Pedro Almodóvar
10. Uncut Gems
    Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
11. Marriage Story
    Noah Baumbach
12. La Flor
    Mariano Llinás
13. An Elephant Sitting Still
    Hu Bo
14. Long Day's Journey Into Night
    Bi Gan
15. Synonyms
    Nadav Lapid
16. Asako I & II
    Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
17. Us
    Jordan Peele
18. The Image Book
    Jean-Luc Godard
19. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
    Céline Sciamma
20. Ad Astra
    James Gray

This year’s installment of David Ehrlich’s video countdown: The 25 Best Films of 2019

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
   Céline Sciamma
2. Parasite
   Bong Joon-ho
3. Little Women
   Greta Gerwig
4. Ad Astra
   James Gray
5. The Farewell
   Lulu Wang
6. The Souvenir
   Joanna Hogg
7. Uncut Gems
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
8. Synonyms
   Nadav Lapid
9. Her Smell
   Alex Ross Perry
10. Knives Out
    Rian Johnson
11. The Irishman
    Martin Scorsese
12. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
    Quentin Tarantino
13. Pain and Glory
    Pedro Almodóvar
14. Midsommar
    Ari Aster
15. High Life
    Claire Denis
16. Varda by Agnès
    Agnès Varda
17. Diamantino
    Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt
18. Transit
    Christian Petzold
19. Atlantics
    Mati Diop
20. A Hidden Life
    Terrence Malick
21. I Lost My Body
    Jérémy Clapin
22. The Beach Bum
    Harmony Korine
23. The Hottest August
    Brett Story
24. Us
    Jordan Peele
25. Hustlers
    Lorene Scafaria

Dana Stevens: The 10 Best Movies of 2019, as published by Slate

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

• The Chambermaid
  Lila Avilés
• Honeyland
  Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov
• The Irishman
  Martin Scorsese
• Little Women
  Greta Gerwig
• Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
  Quentin Tarantino
• Parasite
  Bong Joon-ho
• Peterloo
  Mike Leigh
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire
  Céline Sciamma
• Us
  Jordan Peele
• Varda by Agnès
  Agnès Varda

Runners-Up

• Atlantics
  Mati Diop
• In Fabric
  Peter Strickland
• Knives Out
  Rian Johnson
• Marriage Story
  Noah Baumbach
• Pain and Glory
  Pedro Almodóvar