Cinematheque Ontario's Best Films of the 1990s
by mymovieslists | created - 18 Sep 2011 | updated - 02 Aug 2012 | PublicList source
At the end of the decade, Cinematheque Ontario (the former name of TIFF) polled 60 film curators, archivists, and programmers and asked them to pick the best films of the decade.
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1. Dream of Light (1992)
133 min | Documentary, Biography
The artist Antonio López tries to capture the sunlight hitting his quince tree all autumn, but the struggle seems futile.
Director: Víctor Erice | Stars: Antonio López, María Moreno, Enrique Gran, María López
Votes: 2,122
2. And Life Goes On (1992)
Not Rated | 95 min | Adventure, Drama
A director and his son return to a region damaged by the Guilan earthquake, hoping to find the children who appeared in his film a few years earlier.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Farhad Kheradmand, Pouya Payvar, Behrouz Abedini, Shahin Abzan
Votes: 7,460
3. Through the Olive Trees (1994)
G | 103 min | Drama
A depiction of the off-screen relationship between the actors who play the newlyweds in the film And Life Goes On (1992).
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Mohamad Ali Keshavarz, Farhad Kheradmand, Zarifeh Shiva, Hossein Rezai
Votes: 9,991 | Gross: $0.04M
4. Drifting Clouds (1996)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
The recession hits a couple in Helsinki.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki | Stars: Kati Outinen, Kari Väänänen, Elina Salo, Sakari Kuosmanen
Votes: 9,057
5. Close-Up (1990)
Not Rated | 98 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The true story of Hossain Sabzian, a cinephile who impersonated the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf to convince a family they would star in his so-called new film.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Hossain Sabzian, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abolfazl Ahankhah, Mehrdad Ahankhah
Votes: 23,012 | Gross: $0.00M
6. Breaking the Waves (1996)
R | 159 min | Drama
Oilman Jan is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when Jan urges her to have sex with another.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, Katrin Cartlidge, Jean-Marc Barr
Votes: 71,556 | Gross: $4.04M
7. Satantango (1994)
Not Rated | 439 min | Drama
On the eve of a large payment, residents of a collapsing collective farm see their plans turn into desolation when they discover that Irimiás, a former co-worker who they thought was dead, is returning to the community.
Director: Béla Tarr | Stars: Mihály Vig, Putyi Horváth, László feLugossy, Éva Almássy Albert
Votes: 12,574
8. Flowers of Shanghai (1998)
Unrated | 113 min | Drama
In the "flower houses" (upscale brothels) of Shanghai, various interweaving stories of love, loyalty, and deceit play out subtly.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Michiko Hada, Michelle Reis, Carina Lau
Votes: 4,076
9. Taste of Cherry (1997)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
An Iranian man drives his car in search of someone who will quietly bury him under a cherry tree after he commits suicide.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Homayoun Ershadi, Abdolhosein Bagheri, Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari, Safar Ali Moradi
Votes: 36,752 | Gross: $0.31M
10. Chungking Express (1994)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal waitress at a late-night restaurant he frequents.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Brigitte Lin, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong
Votes: 95,740 | Gross: $0.60M
11. Fireworks (1997)
103 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Nishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Ôsugi, Susumu Terajima
Votes: 33,166 | Gross: $0.23M
12. The Thin Red Line (1998)
R | 170 min | Drama, History, War
Adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Kirk Acevedo
Votes: 199,584 | Gross: $36.40M
13.
Histoire(s) du cinéma (1989–1999)
Episode:
Toutes les histoires
(1989)
51 min | Documentary
An 8-part documentary chronically the history of cinema: "All the Histories", "A Single History", "Only Cinema", "Deadly "Beauty", "The Coin of the Absolute", "A New Wave", "The Control of the Universe", and "The Signs Among Us".
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Votes: 989
14. A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
Not Rated | 237 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Based on a true story, primarily on a conflict between two youth gangs, a 14-year-old boy's girlfriend conflicts with the head of one gang for an unclear reason, until finally the conflict comes to a violent climax.
Director: Edward Yang | Stars: Chang Chen, Lisa Yang, Kuo-Chu Chang, Elaine Jin
Votes: 12,765
15. A Moment of Innocence (1996)
Not Rated | 78 min | Comedy, Drama
A semi-autobiographical account of Makmahlbaf's experience as a teenager when, as a 17-year-old, he stabbed a policeman at a protest rally. Two decades later, he tracks down the policeman he injured in an attempt to make amends.
Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf | Stars: Mirhadi Tayebi, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Ali Bakhsi, Ammar Tafti Dehghan
Votes: 4,401 | Gross: $0.04M
16. Goodfellas (1990)
R | 145 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco
Votes: 1,257,151 | Gross: $46.84M
17. Cold Water (1994)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
When the girl of a rebelious teenage couple finds out she is being sent away, they both believe escaping the rigid order suffocating them is the only way to be free. But is it?
Director: Olivier Assayas | Stars: Virginie Ledoyen, Cyprien Fouquet, László Szabó, Jean-Pierre Darroussin
Votes: 2,231 | Gross: $0.03M
18. Mother and Son (1997)
73 min | Drama
A man goes for a walk through the countryside with his dying mother.
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov | Stars: Aleksei Ananishnov, Gudrun Geyer
Votes: 4,227
19. Vive L'Amour (1994)
R | 118 min | Drama, Romance
Three lonely young denizens of Taipei unknowingly share an apartment used for sexual trysts.
Director: Tsai Ming-liang | Stars: Chen Chao-jung, Kang-sheng Lee, Kuei-Mei Yang, Yi-ching Lu
Votes: 4,792
20. New Wave (1990)
89 min | Drama
Composed entirely by literary quotations from many different sources and from several historical periods, Godard's film works as an allegory on film. The loose narrative tells about a ... See full summary »
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Alain Delon, Domiziana Giordano, Jacques Dacqmine, Christophe Odent
Votes: 1,597
21. Abraham's Valley (1993)
187 min | Drama
Ema is a very attractive but innocent girl, so pretty that cars crash in her presence. Young marries Dr. Carlo Paiva, who she is not attracted to, but is her father's friend. They move to ... See full summary »
Director: Manoel de Oliveira | Stars: Leonor Silveira, Cécile Sanz de Alba, Luís Miguel Cintra, Ruy de Carvalho
Votes: 1,538
22. Safe (1995)
R | 119 min | Drama
An affluent and unexceptional homemaker in the suburbs develops multiple chemical sensitivity.
Director: Todd Haynes | Stars: Julianne Moore, Xander Berkeley, Dean Norris, Julie Burgess
Votes: 17,235 | Gross: $0.51M
23. Dead Man (1995)
R | 121 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
On the run after murdering a man, accountant William Blake encounters a strange Native American man named Nobody who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Crispin Glover, Lance Henriksen
Votes: 103,081 | Gross: $1.04M
24. The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
R | 112 min | Drama
A bus crash in a small town brings a lawyer to defend the families, but he discovers everything isn't what it seems.
Director: Atom Egoyan | Stars: Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Caerthan Banks, Tom McCamus
Votes: 36,732 | Gross: $3.25M
25. Unforgiven (1992)
R | 130 min | Drama, Western
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris
Votes: 436,116 | Gross: $101.16M
26. Exotica (1994)
R | 103 min | Drama
A man plagued by neuroses frequents the club Exotica in an attempt to find solace, but even there his past is never far away.
Director: Atom Egoyan | Stars: Bruce Greenwood, Elias Koteas, Don McKellar, David Hemblen
Votes: 21,098 | Gross: $4.18M
27. Sonatine (1993)
R | 94 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Several yakuza from Tokyo are sent to Okinawa to help end a gang war. The war then escalates and the Tokyo drifters decide to lay low at the beach.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Aya Kokumai, Tetsu Watanabe, Masanobu Katsumura
Votes: 23,277
28. Maborosi (1995)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A young woman's husband apparently commits suicide without warning or reason, leaving behind his wife and infant.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Makiko Esumi, Takashi Naitô, Tadanobu Asano, Gohki Kashiyama
Votes: 7,327
29. Naked (1993)
Not Rated | 131 min | Comedy, Drama
An unemployed Mancunian vents his rage on unsuspecting strangers as he embarks on a nocturnal London odyssey.
Director: Mike Leigh | Stars: David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, Greg Cruttwell
Votes: 43,937 | Gross: $1.77M
30. The Life of Jesus (1997)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Romance
A social movie about current life in the north of France. Freddy and his friends are all unemployed. They pass away time by wandering around on their motorcycles and by directing their ... See full summary »
Director: Bruno Dumont | Stars: David Douche, Marjorie Cottreel, Kader Chaatouf, Sébastien Delbaere
Votes: 3,509
31. Fargo (1996)
R | 98 min | Crime, Thriller
Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare
Votes: 726,578 | Gross: $24.61M
32. Pulp Fiction (1994)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis
Votes: 2,219,793 | Gross: $107.93M
33. La Belle Noiseuse (1991)
Unrated | 238 min | Drama
The former famous painter Frenhofer revisits an abandoned project using the girlfriend of a young visiting artist. Questions about truth, life, and artistic limits are explored.
Director: Jacques Rivette | Stars: Michel Piccoli, Jane Birkin, Emmanuelle Béart, Marianne Denicourt
Votes: 9,366 | Gross: $0.41M
34. Van Gogh (1991)
R | 158 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The final sixty-seven days of Van Gogh's life are examined.
Director: Maurice Pialat | Stars: Jacques Dutronc, Alexandra London, Bernard Le Coq, Gérard Séty
Votes: 3,309 | Gross: $0.14M
35. Three Colors: Red (1994)
R | 99 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A model discovers a retired judge is keen on invading people's privacy.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frédérique Feder, Jean-Pierre Lorit
Votes: 109,998 | Gross: $4.04M
36. The Last Bolshevik (1993)
Not Rated | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, History
This documentary tells the story of film director Aleksandr Medvedkin, throughout his life a sincere believer in communism, whose films were repeatedly banned in the Soviet Union. Modern ... See full summary »
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Léonor Graser, Nikolai Izvolov, Kira Paramonova, Viktor Dyomin
Votes: 730
37. Dear Diary (1993)
Unrated | 100 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Director Nanni Moretti takes a mordant look at Italian life through three disparate journeys, presented as the chapters of an open diary.
Director: Nanni Moretti | Stars: Nanni Moretti, Renato Carpentieri, Antonio Neiwiller, Claudia Della Seta
Votes: 9,132 | Gross: $0.47M
38. Crumb (1994)
R | 119 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
An intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.
Director: Terry Zwigoff | Stars: Robert Crumb, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Charles Crumb, Maxon Crumb
Votes: 21,590 | Gross: $3.17M
39. The Puppetmaster (1993)
142 min | Biography, Drama, War
Puppeteer Li Tian-lu tells his life story, and through it, the story of Taiwan in the first half of the 20th century.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Tien-Lu Li, Giong Lim, Kuei-Chung Cheng, Chien-ru Huang
Votes: 2,072
40. Goodbye South, Goodbye (1996)
116 min | Crime, Drama
A glimpse at the lives of two petty criminals in Taipei.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Jieh-Wen King, Kuei-Ying Hsu, Annie Shizuka Inoh, Jack Kao
Votes: 1,927
41. Sicily! (1999)
Not Rated | 66 min | Drama
A man returns to visit his native Sicily after living in New York for a long time. He learns about the Sicilian way of life from stylized conversations with an orange picker, his fellow train passengers, his mother, and a knife-sharpener.
Directors: Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub | Stars: Gianni Buscarino, Vittorio Vigneri, Angela Nugara, Carmelo Maddio
Votes: 1,266
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