Jean-Luc Godard with his cinematographer Raoul Coutard shooting “Breathless”. Sometimes this film is listed under 1959, but technically it’s release came a year later.

When somebody asks a question - what was the best year in cinema history - there are two popular answers: 1939 or 1959. Both were spectacular years for cinema-goers so lets take a look at some films each year produced:

1939

Gone with the Wind (dir. Victor Fleming, George Cukor)
Stagecoach (dir. John Ford)
The Rules of the Game (dir. Jean Renoir)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (dir. Frank Capra)
The Wizard of Oz (dir. Victor Fleming)
Ninotchka (dir. Ernst Lubitsch) 
Wuthering Heights (dir. William Wyler)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (dir. William Dieterle)
Destry Rides Again (dir. George Marshall)

1959

North by Northwest (dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
400 Blows (dir. Francois Truffaut)
Some Like it Hot (dir. Billy Wilder)
Anatomy of a Murder (dir. Otto Preminger)
Shadows (dir. John Cassavetes)
The World of Apu (dir. Satyajit Ray)
Pickpocket (dir. Robert Bresson)
Hiroshima Mon Amour (dir. Alan Resnais)
Rio Bravo (dir. Howard Hawks)
Floating Weeds (dir. Yasujiro Ozu)
Imitation of Life (dir. Douglas Sirk)

As poll in 2000 revealed, 1939 is both fan and critic favorite and I can see why. It is very America-centered and holds few films (Gone with the Wind and Wizard of Oz) that are dear to couple generations and even became household names. On the other hand, 1959 trumps 1939 easily if you prefer art over entertainment and truth over melodrama and comedy.