First, the bad news. It has been almost twenty-five years since the 1990s came to a close.
Now, the good news. Since then, many of the movies we loved from that decade have become undisputed classics. In fact, many cinephiles count 1999 among the best movie years ever.
The 1990s saw the influx of indie movies, all-time great romantic comedies and animated films, and films that represented the peak of the cinematic arts. Time and again, critics cite these ‘90s films as works that stand the test of time.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp Fiction isn’t the first film by writer/director Quentin Tarantino. Reservoir Dogs came out a few years earlier, and Tarantino worked on scripts for True Romance, Crimson Tide, and others.
But Pulp Fiction best captured the cinematic revolution he inaugurated. The movie brought back John Travolta, made an A-lister out of Samuel L. Jackson, and combined B-movie material with impeccable craft.
The Matrix (1999)
Anyone who lived through the 2000s knows that The Matrix changed everything. For years after the first film’s release, tons of imitators tried their own version of slow-motion fight scenes and leather-clad heroes.
But no one outdid directors Lana and Lilly Wachowski, who matched the film’s legendary visuals with meditations on Continental Philosophy and the nature of reality.
The Iron Giant (1999)
In 1999, The Iron Giant flopped in theaters. In 2023, the hit sitcom Ted Lasso included a scene in which macho athletes bawl over the cartoon’s climactic moment.
The Ted Lasso joke underscores the vast change in The Iron Giant’s reception. Over the years, more and more people discovered director Brad Bird’s empathetic adaptation of the Ted Hughes poem, co-written by Tim McCanlies.
Titanic (1997)
“I’m the king of the world,” director James Cameron shouted at the ceremony for the 70th Academy Awards, during which Titanic took home eleven Oscars. Titanic broke box office records and won over critics, so much so that some snobs tried to dismiss the film as lowbrow pandering.
But now, decades later, no one can deny the power of the central love story or the precision of Cameron’s direction. Titanic has, indeed, made him the king of the world.
Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
After a burst of popularity in the '90s and 2000s, the romantic comedy has become a rarity in theaters, leaving many nostalgic for the genre. And no film better captures the charms of the ‘90s rom-com like Sleepless in Seattle.
Directed by Nora Ephron, who co-wrote the screenplay with David S. Ward and Jeff Arch, Sleepless in Seattle stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan at their charismatic best, the ideal romantic match.
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
Boyz n the Hood hit theaters with such immediacy that it earned John Singleton a Best Director nomination, the youngest person to ever receive such an honor. Furthermore, Boyz n the Hood established the urban tragedy genre, which continues to hold sway over pop culture today.
Singleton achieves his masterpiece with the help of an outstanding cast, which includes Ice Cube, Regina King, Morris Chestnut, and Cuba Gooding Jr.
Forrest Gump (1995)
Like Titanic a few years later, Forrest Gump would win critical and commercial acclaim, as well as a critical backlash against few years later. Yet, Forrest Gump’s detractors too often miss the film’s complex morality, missing the shades of gray in which it works.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth, based on the novel by Winston Groom, Forrest Gump captures the Baby Boomer imagination, complete with a trip through history and a soundtrack full of radio hits.
Jurassic Park (1993)
In 1975, Steven Spielberg created the best creature feature for the Me Generation with Jaws. He did it again, this time for Generation X in 1993 with Jurassic Park.
To this day, Jurassic Park stands as not just a masterpiece of thrilling filmmaking, but also as the best example of using effects well, combining tried-and-true practical effects with cutting-edge digital imagery.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
On one hand, The Shawshank Redemption earned its classic status in part from repeated airings on the TNT Network. On the other hand, The Shawshank Redemption is an indisputable crowd-pleaser, complete with charismatic leads in Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.
Writer/director Frank Darabont amps up the emotion of the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, making a movie that drives dads everywhere to tears.
Fargo (1996)
Joel and Ethan Coen are a pair of oddball Midwesterners, a duo with a cynical worldview, an off-beat sense of humor, and a love for old-timey genres. They also happen to be two of the most talented filmmakers who ever lived, which is how Fargo became a classic.
It shouldn’t work. Fargo has a strange tone that pokes (loving) fun at Northern Minnesotans and North Dakotans with a bleak crime plot involving a kidnapping gone wrong. Against all odds, the combination continues to draw more and more viewers each year.
Malcolm X (1992)
For most directors, the biopic is a stodgy, safe genre. But Spike Lee has never been most directors.
Working from a script he co-wrote with Arnold Perl, based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley, Lee captures the humanity and passion of the central character, a feat achieved with Denzel Washington at his best.
Clueless (1995)
On the surface, Clueless follows a gaggle of vapid teens, led by Cher (Alicia Silverstone), who live lives of privilege in Southern California. But writer/director Amy Heckerling has more complex themes in mind for Clueless, a loose adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Emma.
Like Austen, Heckerling and her co-creators poke fun at the absurdities of social life. But the satire comes in such a fun, quotable package that Clueless entertains, even at its most acidic.
Fight Club (1999)
Believe it or not, Fight Club flopped in theaters. Moviegoers couldn’t see the value in a story of an absurd terrorist movement birthed out of the pathetic Narrator (Edward Norton) and his flashy alter ego Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt).
However, Fight Club became an instant hit on DVD and a dorm room staple. While many of its first mega fans missed the social satire that director David Fincher and writer Jim Uhls, adapting the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, underscore, Fight Club lives on as a powerful look at Gen X ennui.
The Piano (1993)
In response to the flashy blockbusters of the 1980s, the ‘90s saw an influx of independent and foreign movies, as audiences hungered for smaller, more personal stories. The New Zealand drama The Piano, written and directed by Jane Campion, helped drive that movement.
Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin star as Ada McGrath, a Scotswoman who refuses to speak, and her daughter Flora. Ada navigates her forced marriage to a cruel frontiersman (Sam Neill) and her romance with a retired sailor (Harvey Keitel), communicating by playing the piano.
Goodfellas (1990)
Goodfellas oozes with style and violence, a flashy and shocking tale of the rise and fall of mobster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta). While those surface elements distract some viewers, director Martin Scorsese has far more going on below the surface.
Co-written by Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi, adapting his own non-fiction book, Goodfellas doesn’t shy away from the awful aspects of mob life, even if too many get caught up in the glitz and glamour.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Uncles everywhere in the 1990s loved to say “Oh behave” and “Yeah baby!” and other quotes from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. The constant impressions muted a lot of the humor in Mike Myers's spoof of ‘60s spy movies, but years later, the movie’s comic genius stands out.
Director Jay Roach lets Mike Myers go nuts, for the better. Almost every joke hits, thanks to Myers’s dual performance as the swinging Austin and his arch-nemesis Dr. Evil.
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
While Americans were perfecting the rom-com with Sleepless in Seattle, the Brits offered their own version with Four Weddings and a Funeral. True to its name, Four Weddings and a Funeral takes a group of friends through a series of life events, where Charles (Hugh Grant) pursues American Carrie (Andie MacDowell).
The script by Richard Curtis and direction from Mike Newell leaves plenty of space for character moments, letting the comedy come from viewers’ warm feelings toward the leads.
Toy Story 2 (1999)
The first Toy Story from 1995 blew audiences away with its novel computer animation and clever idea about toys coming to life. Pixar does so much more in the sequel Toy Story 2, directed by John Lasseter from a screenplay credited to Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin, and Chris Webb.
Toy Story 2 goes into the backstory of cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks) to embrace the pathos of aging, without losing any of the adventure that made the first film such a delight.
Friday (1995)
With Friday, director F. Gary Gray and writers Ice Cube and DJ Pooh find absurd comedy in the same landscapes that Boyz n the Hood mined for tragedy. Chris Tucker co-stars with Ice Cube in a film based, in part, on the latter’s own youth.
The slice-of-life narrative makes regular stops for ridiculous jokes from a great ensemble cast, including Tiny Lister as the hulking bully Deebo and John Witherspoon as a wacky, but caring, father.
Boogie Nights (1997)
In addition to Quentin Tarantino, the 1990s also saw the rise of Paul Thomas Anderson, one of the most important filmmakers of the current generation.
Next to Anderson’s masterpieces There Will Be Blood and The Master, Boogie Nights is an immature work. But its portrayal of the 1970s adult film industry shows the signs of the filmmaker Anderson will become, with its flashy sequences and high emotions.
Pretty Woman (1990)
Directed by Garry Marshall and written by J. F. Lawton, Pretty Woman exemplifies 1990s style, with its high fashions and fancy stores. At the same time, there’s something timeless to its fairy tale trappings.
Pretty Woman traces the romance between rich man Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) and the street worker Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts). While some might take issue with the movie’s strange politics, the chemistry between Gere and Roberts makes Pretty Woman an enduring great.
Paris Is Burning (1990)
With the 1990s indie boom came a rise in Queer Cinema, movies that allowed members of the LGBTQ+ community to tell their own stories.
At the forefront of the movement was the documentary Paris is Burning, directed by Jennie Livingston. Paris is Burning used the history of drag celebrations in New York City to explore issues of class, race, and gender, providing a more nuanced cinematic look at queer life than often seen before.
Chungking Express (1994)
The indie boom also prompted an interest in movies from outside the U.S., which came just in time for Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai to shift from crime movies. Wong’s first masterpiece came with Chungking Express, which tells two stories about lovelorn policemen (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung) and the women they love (Brigitte Lin and Valarie Chow).
Chungking Express features all of the hallmarks of Wong’s style, including his luscious visuals and deft use of pop music.
The Truman Show (1998)
In 1994, Jim Carrey had three mega-hits in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. But the true measure of Carrey’s talent came with The Truman Show, a cerebral comedy written by Andrew Niccol and directed by Peter Weir.
Foregrounding our current era of excessive reality TV, The Truman Show stars Carrey as a man who doesn’t realize that his entire life is a television show. Full of heart and pathos, The Truman Show reinvents Frank Capra’s populism for the ‘90s.
