Best Films of The 90s (V2) [Poll][Dead] - Movies & TV

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting, plus some of these really need a revisit, plus inevitably some I haven't seen or have never rated that should be added. So there will likely be some changes before the deadline...

1. Underground - Emir Kusturica (1995)
3. The Kingdom - Lars Von Trier (1995) [Part 1]
4. Lost Highway - David Lynch (1997)
5. Satantango - Bela Tarr (1994)
6. Pulp Fiction - Quentin Tarantino (1994)
7. The Color of Paradise - Mahid Majidi (1998)
8. Europa - Lars Von Trier (1991)
9. Peppermint Candy - Lee Chang-dong (1999)
10. Reservoir Dogs - Quentin Tarantino (1992)
11. City of Lost Children - Jean-Marie Jeunet (1995)
12. Conspirators of Pleasure - Jan Svankmajer (1996)
13. Leon: The Professional - Luc Besson (1994) [Original Cut, 110 minutes]
14. Funny Games - Michael Haneke (1997)
15. Being John Malkovich - Spike Jonze (1999)
16. After Life - Hirokazu Kore-eda (1998)
17. Eternity and a Day - Theo Angelopoulos (1998)
Three Colors: Red - Krzysztof Kieslowski (1994)
18. Face/Off - John Woo (1997)
19. LA Confidential - Curtis Hanson (1998)
20. Fargo - Joel Coen (1996)
21. Maborosi - Hirokazu Kore-eda (1995)
22. Dr. Akagi - Shohei Imamura (1998)
23. Twelve Monkeys - Terry Gilliam (1995)
24. Black Cat, White Cat - Emir Kusturica (1998)
25. Ulysses' Gaze - Theo Angelopoulos (1995)
26. Leaving Las Vegas - Mike Figgis (1995)
27. The Double Life of Veronique - Krzysztov Kieslowski (1991)
28. Dead Man - Jim Jarmusch (1995)
29. Dogma - Kevin Smith (1999)
30. Breaking the Waves - Lars Von Trier (1996)
31. King of New York - Abel Ferrara (1990)
32. The Sweet Hereafter - Atom Egoyan (1997)
33. Perfect Blue - Satoshi Kon (1997)
34. Life is Beautiful - Roberto Benigni (1997)
35. American Beauty - Sam Mendes (1999)
36. Natural Born Killers - Oliver Stone (1994) [Director's Cut, 123 minutes]
37. Hard Boiled - John Woo (1992)
38. Delicatessen - Jean-Marie Jeunet (1991)
39. Pi - Darren Aronofsky (1998)
40. La Haine - Mathieu Kassovitz (1996)
41. Forrest Gump - Robert Zemeckis (1994)
42. Wild at Heart - David Lynch (1990)
43. Naked - Mike Leigh (1993)
44. Casino - Martin Scorsese (1995)
46. The Piano - Jane Campion (1993)
47. Miller's Crossing - Joel Coen (1990)
48. Chungking Express - Wong Kar-wai (1994)
49. The Truman Show - Peter Weir (1998)
50. The Game - David Fincher (1998)
51. The Thin Red Line - Terrence Malick (1998)
52. The Big Lebowski - Joel & Ethan Coen (1998)
53. Blue - Krzysztov Kieslowski (1993)
54. Once Were Warriors - Lee Tamahori (1994)
55. Strange Days - Kathryn Bigelow (1995)
56. Schindler's List - Steven Spielberg (1993)
57. Trainspotting – Danny Boyle (1996)
58. Barton Fink - Joel & Ethan Coen (1991)
La Femme Nikita - Luc Besson (1990)
59. Magnolia - Paul Thomas Anderson (1999)
60. Following - Christopher Nolan (1998)
61. Days of Being Wild - Kar-Wai Wong (1991)
62. Fight Club - David Fincher (1999)
63. Goodfellas - Martin Scorsese (1990)
64. The Mirror - Jafar Panahi (1997)
65. Funny Bones - Peter Chelsom (1995)
66. Exotica - Atom Egoyan (1994)
67. Basic Instinct - Paul Verhoeven (1992)
68. Ice Storm - Ang Lee (1997)
69. Raise of the Red Lantern - Zhang Yimou (1991)
70. Silence of the Lambs - Jonathan Demme (1991)
71. Thelma & Louise - Ridley Scott (1991)
72. Amateur - Hal Hartley (1994)
73. Run Lola Run – Tom Twyker (1998)
74. Shallow Grave - Danny Boyle (1994)
75. Saving Private Ryan - Steven Spielberg (1998)
76. Lone Star - John Sayles (1995)
77. Eyes Wide Shut - Stanley Kubrick (1999)
78. The Pillow Book - Peter Greenaway (1996)
79. All About My Mother - Pedro Almodovar (1999)
80. Sonatine - Takeshi Kitano (1993)
81. A Taste of Cherry - Abbas Kiarostami (1997)
82. Central Station - Walter Salles (1998)
83. The Fifth Element - Luc Besson (1996)
ADDED--->Scream - Wes Craven (1996)
Dark City – Alex Proyas (1998)
84. Devil's Advocate - Taylor Hackford (1997)
85. Edward Scissorhands - Tim Burton (1990)
86. Secrets and Lies - Mike Leigh (1995)
87. Usual Suspects - Bryan Singer (1995)
88. To Die For - Gus Van Sant (1995)
89. Boogie Nights – Paul Thomas Anderson
90. Heat - Michael Mann (1995)
ADDED ---> Falling Down - Joel Schumacher (1993)
91. Seven - David Fincher (1995)
ADDED ---> Boyz n' The Hood - John Singleton (1991)
93. Batman Returns - Tim Burton (1992)
94. Europa Europa - Agnieszka Holland (1990)
95. Rebels of the Neon God - Tsai Ming-liang (1992)
96. The Eel - Shohei Imamura (1997)
ADDED ---> Contact - Robert Zemeckis (1997)

REMOVED
Enemy of the State – Tony Scott (1996)
The Insider – Michael Mann (1999)
Wag the Dog – Barry Levinson (1997)
Wayne's World - Penelope Spheeris (1992)
_________________
Best Classical
Best Films
Best Paintings

Last edited by AfterHours on 10/13/2020 11:26; edited 9 times in total

Hayden

Location: CDMX

Awesome, thanks Afterhours Smile

Tallied. (juuuust caught that edit regarding Europa Europa, but it's all good cause you had Europa on there anyway, etc).

Just a reminded to everyone to label your 'Blue's and 'Europa's. Particularly the Blues.

I think I have my pre-watchlist list ready. I'll have it up in a bit.

Def need to get around to Peppermint Candy.

BozoTyrannus

Gender: Male
Age: 31

I'm happy to see a much stronger presence of non-English films this time around.

Aaaand now that I've said that, I'm awaiting the inevitable excess of people overly praising Kevin Smith, the Matrix, etc.
_________________
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And take Sean Bean
Put 'em in a blender
And make Sean Pean

Hayden

Location: CDMX

1. Leon The Professional (1994)
2. Chungking Express (1994)
3. Fight Club (1999)
4. A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
5. Before Sunrise (1995)
6. The Lion King (1994)
7. Eternity And A Day (1998)
8. Satantango (1995)
9. Underground (1995)
10. The Double Life of Veronique (1991)
11. La Belle Noiseuse (1991)
12. Fallen Angels (1995)
13. Beauty And The Beast (1991)
14. Pulp Fiction (1994)
15. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
16. Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
17. Barton Fink (1991)
18. Dead Man (1995)
19. The Lovers On The Bridge (1991)
20. La Haine (1995)
21. Three Colours Blue (1993)
22. Princess Mononoke (1997)
23. Mother & Son (1997)
24. Schindler's List (1993)
25. Toy Story (1995)
26. Rushmore (1998)
27. Vive L'Amour (1994)
28. Taste of Cherry (1997)
29. The Corridor (1995)
30. After Life (1998)
31. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
32. Naked (1993)
33. Cyclo (1995)
34. Happy Together (1997)
35. A Summer's Tale (1996)
36. Groundhog Day (1993)
37. Funny Games (1997)
38. The Big Lebowski (1998)
39. Whisper of The Heart (1995)
40. Magnolia (1999)
41. The Straight Story (1999)
42. Ghost Dog (1999)
43. Khrustalyov, My Car! (1998)
44. Rosetta (1999)
45. Breaking The Waves (1996)
46. Fireworks (1997)
47. The Piano (1993)
48. Wild At Heart (1990)
49. Dreams (1990)
50. Three Colours Red (1994)
51. Fargo (1996)
52. Night On Earth (1991)
53. Europa (1991)
54. The Promise (1996)
55. Sonatine (1993)
56. To Live (1994)
57. Ratcatcher (1999)
58. Rebels Of The Neon God (1992)
59. Perfect Blue (1997)
60. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
61. The Hole (1998)
62. Days of Being Wild (1990)
63. Only Yesterday (1991)
64. American History X (1998)
65. The Rose Seller (1998)
66. The Iron Giant (1999)
67. Beau Travail (1999)
68. Delicatessen (1991)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Kikujiro (1999)
71. The Little Girl Who Sold The Sun (1999)
72. Boogie Nights (1997)
73. The Long Day Closes (1992)
74. Goodbye South Goodbye (1996)
75. Maborosi (1995)
76. A Borrowed Life (1994)
77. The Match Factory Girl (1990)
78. The Eel (1997)
79. Aladdin (1992)
80. The Celebration (1998)
81. Good Will Hunting (1997)
82. Black Is Black Ain't (1994)
83. Raise The Red Lantern (1991)
84. Hyenas (1992)
85. The Ear (1990)
86. Crumb (1994)
87. In The Name of The Father (1993)
88. Close-Up (1990)
89. City of Lost Children (1995)
90. The Day A Pig Fell Into The Well (1996)
91. The Juniper Tree (1990)
92. Conspirators of Pleasure (1996)
93. The Wind Will Cary Us (1999)
94. Ju Dou (1990)
95. Central Station (1998)
96. The Quince Tree Sun (1992)
97. A Scene At The Sea (1991)
98. Naked Lunch (1991)
99. Mahjong (1996)
100. Ossos (1997)

(I'll be making some changes...)

https://letterboxd.com/tepitome/list/90s/

I cut about 20 films that deserve to be there. Might post those later. Eat Drink Man Woman should really be on there somewhere...

Last edited by Hayden on 10/01/2020 17:04; edited 1 time in total

Skinny
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1. Miller's Crossing (1990; dir. the Coen brothers)
2. Jackie Brown (1997; dir. Quentin Tarantino)
3. Dead Man (1995; dir. Jim Jarmusch)
4. Barton Fink (1991; dir. the Coen brothers)
5. Rushmore (1998; dir. Wes Anderson)
6. Face/Off (1997; dir. John Woo)
7. Malcolm X (1992; dir. Spike Lee)
8. Paris Is Burning (1990; dir. Jennie Livingston)
9. Reservoir Dogs (1992; dir. Quentin Tarantino)
10. Goodfellas (1990; dir. Martin Scorsese)
11. Toy Story (1995; dir. John Lasseter)
12. Jurassic Park (1993; dir. Steven Spielberg)
13. Groundhog Day (1993; dir. Harold Ramis)
14. Get on the Bus (1996; dir. Spike Lee)
15. Chasing Amy (1997; dir. Kevin Smith)
16. The Big Lebowski (1998; dir. the Coen brothers)
17. Being John Malkovich (1999; dir. Spike Jonze)
18. Léon: The Professional (1994; dir. Luc Besson)
19. Showgirls (1995; dir. Paul Verhoeven)
20. The Virgin Suicides (1999; dir. Sofia Coppola)
21. The Witches (1990; dir. Nicolas Roeg)
22. Night on Earth (1991; dir. Jim Jarmusch)
23. Out of Sight (1998; dir. Steven Soderbergh)
24. Fargo (1996; dir. the Coen brothers)
25. Speed (1994; dir. Jan de Bont)
26. Heat (1995; dir. Michael Mann)
27. James and the Giant Peach (1996; dir. Henry Selick)
28. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999; dir. Jim Jarmusch)
29. Dazed and Confused (1993; dir. Richard Linklater)
30. Kids (1995; dir. Larry Clark)
31. Hard Boiled (1992; dir. John Woo)
32. Pulp Fiction (1994; dir. Quentin Tarantino)
33. Point Break (1991; dir. Kathryn Bigelow)
34. Lone Star (1996; dir. John Sayles)
35. Ed Wood (1994; dir. Tim Burton)
36. Con Air (1997; dir. Simon West)
37. The Truman Show (1998; dir. Peter Weir)
38. L.A. Confidential (1997; dir. Curtis Hanson)
39. Demolition Man (1993; dir. Marco Brambilla)
40. Boyz n the Hood (1991; dir. John Singleton)
41. Clueless (1995; dir. Amy Heckerling)
42. Small Soldiers (1998; dir. Joe Dante)
43. La Haine (1995; dir. Mathieu Kassovitz)
44. In the Mouth of Madness (1994; dir. John Carpenter)
45. Cube (1997; dir. Vincenzo Natali)
46. The Fifth Element (1997; dir. Luc Besson)
47. Hoop Dreams (1994; dir. Steve James)
48. The Shawshank Redemption (1994; dir. Frank Darabont)
49. Perfect Blue (1997; dir. Satoshi Kon)
50. Dogma (1999; dir. Kevin Smith)
51. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994; dir. the Coen brothers)
52. Crooklyn (1994; dir. Spike Lee)
53. The Straight Story (1999; dir. David Lynch)
54. Human Traffic (1999; dir. Justin Kerrigan)
55. Gattaca (1997; dir. Andrew Niccol)
56. Jumanji (1995; dir. Joe Johnston)
57. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1998; dir. Werner Herzog)
58. Friday (1995; dir. F. Gary Gray)
59. Election (1999; dir. Alexander Payne)
60. A Room for Romeo Brass (1999; dir. Shane Meadows)
61. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998; dir. Guy Ritchie)
62. Mimic (1997; dir. Guillermo del Toro)
63. A Little Princess (1995; dir. Alfonso Cuarón)
64. The Full Monty (1997; dir. Peter Cattaneo)
65. Starship Troopers (1997; dir. Paul Verhoeven)
66. Total Recall (1990; dir. Paul Verhoeven)
67. Toys (1992; dir. Barry Levinson)
68. From Dusk till Dawn (1996; dir. Robert Rodriguez)
69. The Iron Giant (1999; dir. Brad Bird)
70. Man on the Moon (1999; dir. Miloš Forman)
71. Snake Eyes (1998; dir. Brian De Palma)
72. Bad Lieutenant (1992; dir. Abel Ferrara)
73. The Game (1997; dir. David Fincher)
74. The Commitments (1991; dir. Alan Parker)
75. Clerks (1994; dir. Kevin Smith)
76. Falling Down (1993; dir. Joel Schumacher)
77. 12 Monkeys (1995; dir. Terry Gilliam)
78. Matilda (1996; dir. Danny DeVito)
79. Ratcatcher (1999; dir. Lynne Ramsay)
80. Sister Act (1992; dir. Emile Ardolino)
81. The Pagemaster (1994; dir. Joe Johnston, Pixote Hunt)
82. Cronos (1993; dir. Guillermo del Toro)
83. The Sandlot (1993; dir. David Mickey Evans)
84. The Matrix (1999; dir. the Wachowskis)
85. Desperado (1995; dir. Robert Rodriguez)
86. Fly Away Home (1996; dir. Carroll Ballard)
87. Romeo + Juliet (1996; dir. Baz Luhrmann)
88. Men in Black (1997; dir. Barry Sonnenfeld)
89. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990; dir. Joe Dante)
90. Meet Joe Black (1998; dir. Martin Brest)
91. Babe (1995; dir. Chris Noonan)
92. Strange Days (1995; dir. Kathryn Bigelow)
93. Fear of a Black Hat (1993; dir. Rusty Cundieff)
94. Boys Don't Cry (1999; dir. Kimberly Peirce)
95. The Basketball Diaries (1995; dir. Scott Kalvert)
96. Home Alone (1990; dir. Chris Columbus)
97. Mars Attacks! (1996; dir. Tim Burton)
98. Trainspotting (1996; dir. Danny Boyle)
99. Space Jam (1996; dir. Joe Pytka)
100. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994; dir. Mike Newell)
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2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.

Hayden

Location: CDMX

Thanks Skinny, tallied Smile

Miller's Crossing is another one that should probably be on my list.... Anxious

the 90s are tough.

Skinny
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Hayden wrote:

Thanks Skinny, tallied Smile

Miller's Crossing is another one that should probably be on my list.... Anxious

the 90s are tough.

I had to cull quite a few films I really love (though less than for the 2000s, probably due to volume of films seen). I think a lot of big-budget Hollywood films often took lots of weird stylistic risks which made them enormously fun and infectiously watchable, even if they weren't necessarily "good" films by any traditional metric. They were often loud and garish and stylised in ways that were ugly and quasi-hallucinatory, frequently embracing their most ridiculous, hyper-commercial urges, always at the expense of nuance and sometimes even at the expense of competent storytelling. Simultaneously, there was an emerging generation of writer-directors in the independent world whose entire focus seemed to be on verbal communication, resulting in a number of films - some modest, some obviously more ambitious - that were about nothing so much as the act of talking itself, and the nuances inherent in that, presenting themselves as the obvious antithesis to those gaudy blockbusters for whom dialogue was a secondary consideration at best. These films were sometimes roughly made and meandering, often lacking arresting visuals and, like the bizarro blockbusters I spoke about before, competent storytelling. However, for all their flaws, the films in these two distinct categories felt new and interesting, perhaps not masterpieces of cinema but rather brave experiments, creating puzzle pieces in real time that future generations were able to hone and piece together, making films that are maybe "better" (and certainly that make more sense most of the time), but which sometimes also feel formulaic and lacking in the sort of wild, untamed flair - be that visual or writerly - that made, and continue to make, those 1990s films so exciting to me. I can't lie and say that I really paid much attention to films from outside of these bubbles, almost certainly to my own detriment, but even outside of the obvious lure of nostalgia I really do believe that the majority of the films on my list are, if not particularly skillful in the conventional sense, delirious and engaging for one reason or another.

(I think this was my attempt to defend my Kevin Smith and Matrix selections. Sorry, Bozo!)
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2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.

Spyglass
Resident Metalhead

Gender: Male
Location: The red dot on the map

I don't mind putting mainstream movies in my list at all, like Toy Story, which is my number 2. But I love the more artsy side of cinema; the best 90's example might be Satantango. However, I need to re-evaluate a lot of the movies that I might put on the list, especially the less blockbuster-type movies. I still haven't even seen Sleepless in Seattle.
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Skinny
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Spyglass wrote:

I don't mind putting mainstream movies in my list at all, like Toy Story, which is my number 2. But I love the more artsy side of cinema; the best 90's example might be Satantango. However, I need to re-evaluate a lot of the movies that I might put on the list, especially the less blockbuster-type movies. I still haven't even seen Sleepless in Seattle.

Oddly, I rewatched Sleepless in Seattle for the first time in years a couple of nights ago. I found it much more limp and lifeless than I remembered, and Ephron as a director lacked the breezy, smooth pacing that Reiner brought to When Harry Met Sally. Similarly, Billy Crystal's sharp cynicism was able to act as a counterpoint to that film's gooey centre, whereas Tom Hanks is altogether too likeable to save Seattle from devolving into clichéd romcom silliness. It has its charms - not least a sardonic, constantly eye-rolling turn from Rosie O'Donnell - but it generally hasn't held up particularly well.
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2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.

BozoTyrannus

Gender: Male
Age: 31

Skinny wrote:

(I think this was my attempt to defend my Kevin Smith and Matrix selections. Sorry, Bozo!)

But you have variety, which is the positive thing.

Those aren't necessarily bad films, I just know too many people who only like things from that wheelhouse and compare everything else to them and refuse to give attention to something if they're not like it

I have the same beef with Tarantino fans, but I still included some Tarantino on my list, because it's impossible to deny those films are great
_________________
I wanna take Sean Penn
And take Sean Bean
Put 'em in a blender
And make Sean Pean