The Best Movie That Came Out the Year You Graduated, According to Critics
Based on Rotten Tomatoes scores, these are the greatest movies from 1950 to 2019.

We all have our personal favorites when it comes to the movies we grew up with, and we might not always agree with the critics. After all, sometimes a movie with great reviews just isn't for you, and other times you find that a critically reviled movie is close to your heart. Still, review aggregator sites like Rotten Tomatoes offer a general consensus, and with their annual breakdown of top-rated movies, we can discover the best movie every year, at least according to critics.
To compile our list, we narrowed it down to the years 1950 through 2019. It's important to note that the top-rated movie for any given year on Rotten Tomatoes may not be the movie with the highest score overall; these scores are weighted by the number of reviews a film received, and the critics who wrote them. We also limited our list to movies that got a wide release in U.S. theaters that year.
With that in mind, take a look at what critics decided was the best movie of the year when you graduated high school—and every year before and after. See if any of your favorites made the cut. And for a look at how more beloved films stack up, we're Ranking Every Disney Animated Movie, From Worst Reviewed to Best.
1950: All About Eve

Rotten Tomatoes score: 99 percent
And for movies the critics weren't as kind to, These Are the Movies on Rotten Tomatoes With 0 Percent Ratings.
1951: A Streetcar Named Desire

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
1952: Singin' in the Rain

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent
And to see how more modern movies got scored, we're Ranking Every Marvel Movie, From Worst Reviewed to Best.
1953: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
1954: Rear Window

Rotten Tomatoes score: 99 percent
And for more classic films that capture the season, these are The 20 Best Summer Movies of All Time.
1955: The Night of the Hunter

Rotten Tomatoes score: 99 percent
1956: Seven Samurai

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent
1957: 12 Angry Men

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent
And for another walk down memory lane, revisit these 40 Movies Turning 40 This Year.
1958: Touch of Evil

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95 percent
1959: North by Northwest

Rotten Tomatoes score: 99 percent
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1960: Psycho

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
1961: Breathless

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent
1962: Lawrence of Arabia

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
1963: 8 1/2

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
1964: A Hard Day's Night

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
1965: Repulsion

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95 percent
1966: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95 percent
1967: The Battle of Algiers

Rotten Tomatoes score: 99 percent
1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92 percent
1969: Midnight Cowboy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 89 percent
1970: Patton

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94 percent
1971: The Last Picture Show

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent
1972: The Godfather

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
1973: Playtime

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
1974: Chinatown

Rotten Tomatoes score: 99 percent
1975: Jaws

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
1976: Taxi Driver

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
1977: Annie Hall

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
1978: Halloween

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
1979: Alien

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
1980: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94 percent
1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95 percent
1982: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
1983: The Right Stuff

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
1984: The Terminator

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent
1985: Ran

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent
1986: Aliens

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent
1987: The Princess Bride

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent
1988: Big

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent
1989: Henry V

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent
1990: Goodfellas

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
1991: The Silence of the Lambs

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
1992: Unforgiven

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
1993: Schindler's List

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent
1994: Three Colors: Red

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent
1995: Toy Story

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent
1996: Fargo

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94 percent
1997: L.A. Confidential

Rotten Tomatoes score: 99 percent
1998: The Truman Show

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95 percent
1999: Toy Story 2

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent
2000: Chicken Run

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent
2001: Monsters, Inc.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95 percent
2003: Finding Nemo

Rotten Tomatoes score: 99 percent
2004: The Incredibles

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent
2005: Murderball

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
2006: Casino Royale

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95 percent
2007: Ratatouille

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
2008: The Dark Knight

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94 percent
2009: Up

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
2010: Toy Story 3

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
2011: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
2012: Argo

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
2013: Gravity

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
2014: Boyhood

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent
2015: Mad Max: Fury Road

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent
2016: Moonlight

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
2017: Lady Bird

Rotten Tomatoes score: 99 percent
2018: Black Panther

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98 percent
2019: Parasite

Rotten Tomatoes score: 99 percent