Films of the Decade: 90s

As always, I’ll cut to the chase. The 90s, another great decade for film. This list features the most independent films of any of these lists, illuminating the independent boom of the period. A decade featuring some of the most stacked years of all time, let’s see how many of those have made it onto today’s lists.

I must also add that I have recycled certain comments regarding films that appeared on my “Top Ten” piece that opened this blog, pardon my laziness, but this was a herculean task.

15. Batman Returns (Burton, 1992)

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We open with this list with what I see to be two of the most perfect sequels of all time. The first of which being Batman Returns. Now I love Batman (’89), lord knows I do, but Batman Returns trumps it in almost every regard. Nicholson is incredible as The Joker, but Michelle Pfeiffer beats him by giving us the greatest Batman villain performance of all time (Yes, I said it and I mean it). So ingeniously conniving and sexy that we long for her to come back onto the screen as soon as she leaves it. But the film continues to give us great villains, with De Vito’s excellent penguin and the much slept on Max Shreck, played naturally brilliantly by Christopher Walken. But Keaton as Batman is also better here, offering new depths to the duplicity of Batman, that I feel lead him to be the best on-screen Batman/Bruce Wayne that we have had so far. Burton’s touch is amplified here too and the overt extreme gothicness of Gotham is taken to new extremes the film is all the better for it.

14. Addams Family Values (Sonnefield, 1993)

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I make no qualms when I comment that this is one of the most perfect films ever made. I similarly make no qualms when listing this alongside The Godfather Part II as one of the greatest sequels ever made. Every joke lands and every frame is filled with such humour and precision that it is awe-inspiring. The cast of the Addams remains as superb as in the first film; with Huston, Julia, Lloyd, Ricci and Jimmy Workman embodying the ghoulish family to a pitch perfect tee. But it’s the newbies that make this film so truly sensational. The re-casting of granny to Carol Kane leads to a huge improvement and much hilarity. The never-not-wonderful Christine Baranski and Peter MacNicol steal the show for a good thirty minutes as Gary Granger and Becky Martin-Granger whilst we move to Camp Chippewa. But... There is a certain woman who takes this film from a more than solid 8/10 to being one of the most solid 10/10 black comedies out there. That woman is Joan Cussack, portraying the black widow Debbie Jellinsky – one of the finest roles and performances of the entire 90s. I hope you understand in reading this that there is not a single ounce of irony in any of these comments. The film is pure comedy and pure perfection. 

13. Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick, 1999)

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Despite the placement of The Shining on the 80s list being far higher than this, I have to admit that this is by far my favourite Stanley Kubrick film. I know that there is much to do about whether or not this is actually a worthy film in Kubrick’s cannon, but for me there is just no debate. This psycho-sexual odyssey into the heart of jealousy and vulnerability and male insecurity is the peak of both Tom Cruises and Nicole Kidman’s work, albeit Cruise has given a superior performance in a smaller dose in Magnolia and Kidman has given us many superior leading role performances (Birth, To Die For), Cruise has never been better in a role depending on him to hold the screen for the entire film. The film is make or break on the back of his work in it. But Kidman steals the show in a scene bearing absolutely everything in her cannon as an actress, highlighting not only the plight of Alice Hartford, but also the plight of every woman of her generation. Kurbick’s final film is a lot more of a masterpiece than it ever is credited to be and deserves an immediate re-watch if you fall to the thinking that is not deserving of its praise.

12. A Few Good Men (Reiner, 1992)

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From his own play, Aaron Sorkin delivers one of the tightest and most entertaining legal drama thrillers of the decade, in a period where a new one was coming out every other week. A Few Good Men however still feels fresh where others in this genre have grown to be dated, or overlong, yet there is a perfection to A Few Good Men that sets it apart from their films in its ilk. Reiner’s ever underrated hand leads to a film so tense and dramatic that it’s 2 hours and 20 mins fly by every time and have made it still eminently re-watchable to this day. There is I feel going against it the "I’ll have what she’s having" problem, where most people dismiss or don’t watch the film because they know of that famous line, a line that I’m sure everybody reading this is saying in their hands as we speak. But to watch the entirety of the film and to travel with Cruise and Pollack and Moore and to then hear those famous and truly iconic five words... Well the experience is nothing short of mesmerising and never fails to riddle me with Goosebumps.

11. Beauty and the Beast (Wise & Trousdale, 1991)

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The first animated film to ever be nominated for Best Picture and for me the greatest animated film of all time, or at least the finest Disney film. The animation and characters sore through this beautiful vision of a world of romance and wonder, whilst never ignoring the depth of great danger and pain in the existences of the characters in this world.  But the greatest aspect of the film is peak of the incredible collaboration of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, giving us some of the most beautiful, funny and sweepingly epic songs ever put into the Disney (or musical) catalogue. A true feast for the eyes, soul and ears. 

10. Groundhog Day (Ramis, 1993)

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There is a feeling that is left with you after watching or re-watching Groundhog Day that is almost cosmically virtuous. The film is naturally a showcase for Murray’s great comedic talent, but also it’s another prime example of his dramatic prowess. The film is also naturally very funny, being written, directed and starring three just plain hilarious individuals. But I return to this feeling; this almost incomparable feeling as if a weight has been lifted. I’m not an overly spiritual man, but I am an overly emotional one and I can see completely the reasoning why the this film has been adopted by multiple religions and multiple depression based courses – the film relieves you, as we view the story unravel and Phil Connors unravel along with it. I struggle to describe the transcendental of this up-raucous comedy come deeply heart-warming drama.

9. The Truman Show (Weir, 1998)

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Most turn to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind when it comes to discussing Jim Carrey’s dramatic work, but I have always felt that although Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is similarly stunning it’s self-reflexive and mind-bending concept, that the zenith of Carrey’s career was with Peter Weir’s 1998 tour-de-force The Truman Show. I have found in recent years that the film has garnered a very similar station to The Shawshank Redemption, with everybody undeniably adoring the film, no matter the age or any other variable. Although I rate The Shawshank Redemption higher, as you will come to find later in this list, I do not disagree with the immense appeal of The Truman Show, for it is similarly dramatic and comedic and goes at an ungodly pace. The Truman Show succeeds in it the minute and the epic, from the abundance of tiny details fleshing out the world we are in, to the grand sweeping set-pieces that conclude the film and are the meat of its second act. But perhaps the three greatest moments of the film are the three ever-painful conversations Truman shares with his friend, wife and god – as he slowly comes to the realisation that all three are but concepts of real life, and that true love and true friendship have as yet eluded him. All of which is swept up by a sensational Phillip Glass score, a wonderful film quite simply. 

8. There’s Something About Mary (The Farrelly brothers, 1998) and The Birdcage (Nichols, 1996)

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Time now for the two best comedies of the decade; sure, I cheated. If I had to rank them, I’d probably put Birdcage higher, but that would mean losing Batman Returns and that’s just not gonna happen. In a way though the two are linked inseparably; both films are huge ensemble comedies that have moments ranging from the broadest slapstick to the tightest of witty back and forths, both are written and helmed by masters of the genre (Albeit Nichols and May’s talent far outweighs the Farrelly brothers). But both chiefly succeed so well due to an abundance of heart and human drama. At the core of both films is a fundamental romance with great challenges in its way, but in both films love wins out, but never to expense of comedy. For both of these films, the comedy is king, but luckily for us the truth and warmth that cements them both into masterworks of the comedy genre is more than present too.

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And Birdcage wise, what a cast! Williams, Lane, Hackman, Wiest, Azaria, Flockhart, BARANSKI. Just flawless stuff. Just marvellous. With all those players on top form, how can you not have a work of sheer genius? And There's Something About Mary wise; who doesn’t feel like dancing to Build Me Up Buttercup at the end, that is you can stand after the belting your ribs just took. And the both just so happen to share a beautiful Miami setting. 

7. Rushmore (Anderson, 1998)

 

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Without a doubt my favourite Wes Anderson and without a doubt my favourite Bill Murray, perhaps even my favourite Brian Cox (if only for that hospital visit scene alone).  There is the obvious complaint with Anderson that his works consists wholly of style over substance, and although I might agree with this sentiment when it comes to certain films in his oeuvre, I couldn’t agree less when it comes to his second feature and my personal favourite, Rushmore. The narrative strive and the arcs of every character in the piece is flawlessly acted and written and just plain entertaining. Max Fischer is one hell of a creation and in the creation of Herman Blume, as his foil, we have a brilliant film, propelled by an oddly believable love triangle with the wonderful and just plain great Olivia Williams as Rosemary Cross. Every joke hits, hard and every dramatic shift plays with ease. Of course it’s hyperbolic, but I’d even consider putting the film on this list for its tagline alone: “all’s fair when love is war”. 

6. Magnolia (Anderson, 1999)

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When people try and tell me that Tom Cruise is a bad actor, I tell them to watch Magnolia. When people tell me that 3hr8m is too long for a film, I tell them to watch Magnolia and that Avengers: Endgame is bad. When people want to watch the best multiple story movie, I tell them to watch Magnolia. When people ask for Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s performance (not that they would ask that), I tell them to watch Magnolia, then watch Doubt (No.2), and then The Master (No.1). When people tell me that the frogs are bad, I tell them to watch Magnolia again and again. Something clicks down the line and suddenly the film can end no other way in your head. When I watched whatever Hunger Games film it was after the passing of Hoffman, the whole way though the film I kept thinking about how I’d much rather be watching Hoffman and Julianne Moore in Magnolia, or another film that may be showing up later. For me, I wouldn’t cut a frame and I know that Paul Thomas Anderson disagrees with me, despite it being his own film. But for me this film is ideal in its length, its mightiness and its supreme quality. 

5. Titanic (Cameron, 1997)

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Now, there are those who think that this film is bad. Opinions are opinions, of course. I’ll be the first to comment on some of this film's, shall we say, less prestigious moments. The movie is corny in elements, even down-right groan-worthy in parts. But what cannot be taken away from this film is the sheer achievement of it. To pardon the pun, but that fact that this film, with its huge budget, floundering critical lambasting after lambasting (before release) swam rather that sunk, is a testament to the incredible power of James Cameron as a director. But all that removed, the movie just works so well. In its romance, in its tension. The amount of people who comment on the final half of this film and how they forget almost immediately about how it’s all going to end and they’re back to hoping that everybody will survive and maybe this time the ship will miss the iceberg, just solidifies the immense craft of the film.  And yes, I weep, like a new-born babe every time. Perhaps there is an overriding sense of nostalgia with this choice, as I used to watch the film on repeat most days as a child. However, when I take a step-back from all the mindless jabbering about the film’s more lacklustre parts, I see nothing but a miraculous achievement in movie-making and a bloody good film that still works to this day. 

4. Goodfellas (Scorsese, 1990)

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There was a long time when I considered Casino to be my favourite Scorsese/gangster/De Niro/Pesci/Pileggi film. That time has since passed. Albeit I do still have great fondness for that film and find it eminently re-watchable, Goodfellas has really secured it’s spot for me atop Scorsese mount.  It’s not like it crept up on me or anything, it’s always been there and it’s always been excellent and it’s always been a favourite, but now it’s dead firm. The last time I watched this film before writing this piece was with friends and it simply astounded me that every time we cut to a different scene and every time we cut to a different character, it excited me as I recalled instantaneously the majesty of the filmmaking and performance I was about to view. Pesci’s great, De Niro’s brilliant, but for me, there’s just no argument and I find it very odd when people either forget or disagree; this is Ray Liotta’s movie, perhaps even more than it is Scorseses’ and the strength of his back means that this film (all two and half hours of it) reaches it’s finish line with grace, grit and guts every time. Brief note to end, the lack of admiration and acclaim for Lorraine Bracco will similarly always baffle me, but that’s the brilliance of the film I guess, there’s just too much quality to even surmise. 

3. Boogie Nights (Anderson, 1997)

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Now, you just can’t beat Boogie Nights. My favourite film of my favourite director, featuring many of my favourite performances of many my favourite actors. It’s simply a feast of talent on display, a feast for the eyes and a feast for film lovers everywhere. I have been in the company of those who are alienated by the porn world in which this film is set; however, I refer to the excellent joke in New Girl. Jess and Coach have just finished watching the film and while Jess comments on how “it’s actually about family”, Coach comments on the exact running time of the film and how the DVD lied. The Coach joke aside, the sentiment remains. The film is about family, no matter how perverse. But also the film is about so much more than that; it is about fame and the price of it, addiction in all of its guises, hedonism and its place in the modern world, art and it’s place in the modern world, as well as, above all else, the lives of multiple actors thrown into a world that some didn’t really want to be in. It’s a film that is simply endlessly re-watchable and discussing it here makes me pause to recall the last time I watched the film. Although I now realise that it was only two months back, I still think I will watch it again tonight. 

2. The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991)

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The perfect thriller. Perhaps I should have saved the word "perfect" for this film. Not a single frame is wasted and not a single step is wrong-footed. The film truly is flawless, but I’ve said that about a lot of films on this list so far, so what makes this film even more flawless, if that’s possible? For me, it’s the construction, starting from the effortless adaptation of Harris’s novel by Ted Tally, to the way the Jonathon Demme put it to the screen, to way that Foster, Glenn, Levine, and of course, Hopkins, bring those horrifyingly intelligent words off the page and inhabit the brutality, wit, humour and scariness of each and every character in this exceptional motion picture. I’m noticing again that as this list continues, what I have to say about each film is waning, whereas surely it should be the other way around. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I feel the films more than speak for themselves, or at least, that’s what I’ll say is the reason.  

1. The Shawshank Redemption (Darabont, 1994)

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It’s my favourite film, what can I say. But have faith that this bias hasn’t blinded my judgment on this matter, I do still believe this to be the greatest film of the decade.  There was a long period of time where I felt a touch of shame saying that this is my favourite film. I saw people’s eyes roll when this self-professed film fan came out with the most basic answer ever. Did they expect Bergman? Did they expect one of Hitchcock’s silent movies? There is just no denying. It is my favourite film and that is that. Whether it’s halfway through, ten minutes in, ten minutes from the end, or just starting, I will watch it and always until the end. I feel no shame anymore. The reason that this is so many people’s favourite films is because (maybe even more so than Casablanca) it may just be the greatest film ever made.

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Second tier honourable mentions: Con Air, Die Hard 2, Total Recall, The Exorcist 3, Wild at Heart, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, Reservoir Dogs, Malice, Interview with the Vampire, Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Dolores Claiborne, The American President, Evita, Dazed and Confused, Trainspotting, Primal Fear, Scream, Air Force One, The Devil’s Advocate, In and Out.

Top tier mentions: Election, Misery, Postcards from the Edge, Edward Scissorhands, Basic Instinct, The Player, Death Becomes Her, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Ed Wood, Being John Malkovich, Jerry Macguire, Seven, Heat, Fargo, The English Patient, L.A. Confidential, Waiting for Guffman, The Big Lebowski, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Fight Club, Cape Fear, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Defending Your Life, Hearts of Darkness, Glengarry Glen Ross, Pulp Fiction, Malcolm X, The Fugitive, Dave, In The Line Of Fire, Casino, True Romance, Serial Mom, Quiz Show, Brassed Off, The Green Mile, Good Will Hunting.

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And so concludes what modern film fans refer to as the greatest film decade of all time and this time for my list I can admit there are some huge omissions, no Tarantino? No Jonze? All I can do is profusely apologise, but surely this just proves what an all-out stellar year this was.

-          - Thomas Carruthers