Best of the 1990s
by christian94 | created - 09 Mar 2015 | updated - 1 month ago | PublicTop 25 in Order
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1. American Beauty (1999)
R | 122 min | Drama
A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley
Votes: 1,211,408 | Gross: $130.10M
2. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
R | 159 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Todd Field, Sydney Pollack
Votes: 375,366 | Gross: $55.69M
3. Contact (1997)
PG | 150 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
Votes: 293,226 | Gross: $100.92M
4. Open Your Eyes (1997)
R | 119 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A very handsome man finds the love of his life, but he suffers an accident and needs to have his face rebuilt by surgery after it is severely disfigured.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Eduardo Noriega, Penélope Cruz, Chete Lera, Fele Martínez
Votes: 73,278 | Gross: $0.37M
5. Show Me Love (1998)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.
Director: Lukas Moodysson | Stars: Alexandra Dahlström, Rebecka Liljeberg, Erica Carlson, Mathias Rust
Votes: 55,412 | Gross: $0.17M
6. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
R | 142 min | Drama
Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler
Votes: 2,890,446 | Gross: $28.34M
7. Braveheart (1995)
R | 178 min | Biography, Drama, War
Scottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen
Votes: 1,091,798 | Gross: $75.60M
8. Cure (1997)
Not Rated | 111 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Masato Hagiwara, Koji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa
Votes: 23,105 | Gross: $0.09M
9. Le Dîner de Cons (1998)
PG-13 | 80 min | Comedy
A few friends have a weekly fools' dinner, where each brings a fool along. Pierre finds a champion fool for next dinner. Surprise.
Director: Francis Veber | Stars: Thierry Lhermitte, Jacques Villeret, Francis Huster, Daniel Prévost
Votes: 44,363 | Gross: $4.07M
10. Good Will Hunting (1997)
R | 126 min | Drama, Romance
Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård
Votes: 1,068,942 | Gross: $138.43M
11. Peppermint Candy (1999)
Not Rated | 129 min | Drama
Following a man's suicide, time traverses back to reveal six chapters of his life on why he committed suicide.
Director: Lee Chang-dong | Stars: Sol Kyung-gu, Kim Yeo-jin, Moon So-ri, Se-beom Park
Votes: 10,843
12. Se7en (1995)
R | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Andrew Kevin Walker
Votes: 1,800,121 | Gross: $100.13M
13. The Lion King (1994)
G | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Lion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his bitter uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.
Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg
Votes: 1,142,991 | Gross: $422.78M
14. Mulan (1998)
G | 87 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
To save her father from death in the army, a young maiden secretly goes in his place and becomes one of China's greatest heroines in the process.
Directors: Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook | Stars: Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, BD Wong, Miguel Ferrer
Votes: 316,700 | Gross: $120.62M
15. The Postman (1994)
PG | 108 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet, and then uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.
Directors: Michael Radford, Massimo Troisi | Stars: Massimo Troisi, Philippe Noiret, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Renato Scarpa
Votes: 39,010 | Gross: $21.85M
16. Titanic (1997)
PG-13 | 194 min | Drama, Romance
A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates
Votes: 1,281,195 | Gross: $659.33M
17. 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: 2,221,673 | Gross: $107.93M
18. The Idiots (1998)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Drama
The group of people gather at the house in Copenhagen suburb to break all the limitations and to bring out the "inner idiot" in themselves.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Bodil Jørgensen, Jens Albinus, Anne Louise Hassing, Troels Lyby
Votes: 33,977 | Gross: $0.01M
19. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
R | 169 min | Drama, War
Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns
Votes: 1,497,195 | Gross: $216.54M
20. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
Director: Roberto Benigni | Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano
Votes: 743,559 | Gross: $57.60M
21. Bad Boys (1995)
R | 119 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two hip detectives protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room from their police precinct.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Lisa Boyle, Michael Taliferro
Votes: 286,572 | Gross: $65.81M
22. 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: 9,372 | Gross: $0.41M
23. The Best Intentions (1992)
Not Rated | 182 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
In 1909, poor theology student Henrik falls in love with Anna, the intelligent daughter of a rich family in Uppsala. After marrying Henrik becomes a priest in northern Sweden. Urbane Anna hates living in the county, growing restless.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Samuel Fröler, Pernilla August, Max von Sydow, Ghita Nørby
Votes: 3,509 | Gross: $1.25M
24. Funny Games (1997)
Not Rated | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Two violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.
Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering
Votes: 84,170
25. Of Mice and Men (1992)
PG-13 | 115 min | Drama, Western
A nomadic farm worker looks after his dimwitted, gentle-giant friend during the Great Depression.
Director: Gary Sinise | Stars: John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, Ray Walston, Casey Siemaszko
Votes: 47,315 | Gross: $5.10M
26. Hell (1994)
Not Rated | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Paul and Nelly have everything to be happy: a dream wedding and a hotel. Until Paul starts to doubt Nelly.
Director: Claude Chabrol | Stars: Emmanuelle Béart, François Cluzet, Nathalie Cardone, André Wilms
Votes: 6,440 | Gross: $0.19M
27. Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
PG | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, History
Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Vincent Perez, Jacques Weber
Votes: 25,955 | Gross: $15.14M
28. The Sandlot (1993)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
In the summer of 1962, a new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his rowdy team, resulting in many adventures.
Director: David Mickey Evans | Stars: Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Art LaFleur, Patrick Renna
Votes: 102,448 | Gross: $32.42M
29. Close to Eden (1991)
PG | 119 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
A curious friendship develops between Gombo, a young Mongolian shepherd living with his wife and family in a hut, deep in the wilderness of the steppes, and Sergei, a Russian worker whose truck breaks down not far from Gombo's hut.
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov | Stars: Badema, Bayaertu, Vladimir Gostyukhin, Baoyinhexige
Votes: 3,845
30. Secrets & Lies (1996)
R | 136 min | Comedy, Drama
Following the death of her adoptive parents, a successful young black optometrist establishes contact with her biological mother -- a lonely white factory worker living in poverty in East London.
Director: Mike Leigh | Stars: Timothy Spall, Brenda Blethyn, Phyllis Logan, Claire Rushbrook
Votes: 47,216 | Gross: $13.42M
31. 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: 43,972 | Gross: $1.77M
32. Topsy-Turvy (1999)
R | 160 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Set in the 1880s, the story of how, during a creative dry spell, the partnership of the legendary musical/theatrical writers Gilbert and Sullivan almost dissolves, before they turn it all around and write the Mikado.
Director: Mike Leigh | Stars: Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Dexter Fletcher, Sukie Smith
Votes: 13,483 | Gross: $6.20M
33. Innocence (1997)
110 min | Drama
Yusuf is released from prison after serving a ten-year sentence. He is scared of life outside as he goes to an address given to him by another prisoner.
Director: Zeki Demirkubuz | Stars: Güven Kiraç, Haluk Bilginer, Derya Alabora, Yalcin Cakmak
Votes: 19,857
34. Gemide (1998)
102 min | Crime, Drama
Sailors want to remain in their small world, warm and cozy and full of lies, but they kidnap a prostitute from some pimps.
Director: Serdar Akar | Stars: Erkan Can, Haldun Boysan, Yildiray Sahinler, Naci Tasdögen
Votes: 16,154
35. The Glass Agency (1998)
114 min | Action, Drama, Romance
The Glass Agency is the story of a war veteran living in post war Iran. It depicts veterans who are suffering from social problems after the war. Society does not understand them and the ... See full summary »
Director: Ebrahim Hatamikia | Stars: Parviz Parastui, Reza Kianian, Habib Rezaei, Ghasem Zare
Votes: 7,268
36. The Wings of the Dove (1997)
R | 102 min | Drama, Romance
An impoverished woman who has been forced to choose between a privileged life with her wealthy aunt and her journalist lover, befriends an American heiress. When she discovers the heiress is attracted to her own lover and is dying, she sees a chance to have both the privileged life she cannot give up and the lover she cannot live without.
Director: Iain Softley | Stars: Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Alex Jennings, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 13,061 | Gross: $13.72M
37. The Fisher King (1991)
R | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A former radio DJ, suicidally despondent because of a terrible mistake he made, finds redemption in helping a deranged homeless man who was an unwitting victim of that mistake.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Adam Bryant, Paul Lombardi
Votes: 90,901 | Gross: $41.90M
38. The Remains of the Day (1993)
PG | 134 min | Drama, Romance
A butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years leading up to World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty was to his lordly employer.
Director: James Ivory | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, John Haycraft, Christopher Reeve
Votes: 84,494 | Gross: $22.95M
39. The Josephine Baker Story (1991 TV Movie)
R | 130 min | Biography, Drama, History
Born poor in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker achieved fame and fortune through her sizzlingly exotic, erotic performances. Starting life on the American Vaudeville circuit, success ... See full summary »
Director: Brian Gibson | Stars: Lynn Whitfield, Rubén Blades, David Dukes, Louis Gossett Jr.
Votes: 1,591
40. Newsies (1992)
PG | 121 min | Drama, Family, History
A musical based on the New York City newsboy strike of 1899. When young newspaper sellers are exploited beyond reason by their bosses they set out to enact change and are met by the ruthlessness of big business.
Director: Kenny Ortega | Stars: Christian Bale, Bill Pullman, Robert Duvall, Ann-Margret
Votes: 22,577 | Gross: $2.82M
41. Eternity and a Day (1998)
Unrated | 137 min | Drama
Famous writer Alexander is very ill and has little time left to live. He meets a little boy on the street, who is an illegal immigrant from Albania, and goes on a journey with him to take the boy home.
Director: Theodoros Angelopoulos | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Isabelle Renauld, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Ahilleas Skevis
Votes: 14,445 | Gross: $0.11M
42. Little Women (1994)
PG | 115 min | Drama, Family, Romance
The March sisters live and grow in post-Civil War America.
Director: Gillian Armstrong | Stars: Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes
Votes: 63,618 | Gross: $50.08M
43. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
R | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office.
Director: James Foley | Stars: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin
Votes: 116,298 | Gross: $10.73M
44. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
R | 139 min | Drama
The life histories of four East Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin
Votes: 18,254 | Gross: $32.86M
45. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
Not Rated | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A senior chef lives with his three grown daughters; the middle one finds her future plans affected by unexpected events and the life changes of the other household members.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Sihung Lung, Kuei-Mei Yang, Wang Yu-wen, Chien-Lien Wu
Votes: 23,212 | Gross: $7.29M
46. The Wedding Banquet (1993)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
To satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord and a female tenant agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Winston Chao, May Chin, Ah-Lei Gua, Sihung Lung
Votes: 17,152 | Gross: $6.93M
47. Love Jones (1997)
R | 109 min | Drama, Romance
Darius Lovehall is a young black poet in Chicago who starts dating Nina Mosley, a beautiful and talented photographer. While trying to figure out if they've got a "love thing" or are just "... See full summary »
Director: Theodore Witcher | Stars: Larenz Tate, Nia Long, Isaiah Washington, Lisa Nicole Carson
Votes: 5,644 | Gross: $12.51M
48. West Beirut (1998)
PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In April, 1975, civil war breaks out; Beirut is partitioned along a Moslem-Christian line. Tarek is in high school, making Super 8 movies with his friend, Omar. At first the war is a lark: ... See full summary »
Director: Ziad Doueiri | Stars: Rami Doueiri, Naamar Sahli, Mohamad Chamas, Rola Al Amin
Votes: 4,860 | Gross: $0.34M
49. Chaplin (1992)
PG-13 | 143 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
An elderly Charlie Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor, recounting his amazing journey from his poverty-stricken childhood to world-wide success after the ingenious invention of the Little Tramp.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Geraldine Chaplin, Paul Rhys, John Thaw
Votes: 62,256 | Gross: $9.49M
50. Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996)
118 min | Drama, Romance
Two Chinese-mainlanders living in Hong Kong form a close friendship. Over the years this grows into love, but there are obstacles.
Director: Peter Ho-Sun Chan | Stars: Maggie Cheung, Leon Lai, Eric Tsang, Kristy Yeung
Votes: 7,650
51. Until the End of the World (1991)
R | 158 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In 1999, Claire Tourneur's life is forever changed after she survives a car crash. She rescues Sam and travels the world with him. Writer Eugene Fitzpatrick follows and writes their story as a method of recording dreams is being developed.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: William Hurt, Solveig Dommartin, Pietro Falcone, Enzo Turrin
Votes: 11,345 | Gross: $0.75M
52. 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: 23,040 | Gross: $0.00M
54. Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
PG | 125 min | Drama, Romance
China in the 1920s. After her father's death, Songlian is forced to marry the wealthy Master Chen. With three wives already, each living in a separate house, there is fierce competition for his attention and the privileges that are gained.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Gong Li, Jingwu Ma, Saifei He, Cuifen Cao
Votes: 35,366 | Gross: $2.60M
55. The Hole (1998)
95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Musical
While never-ending rain and a strange disease spread by cockroaches ravage Taiwan, a plumber makes a hole between two apartments and the inhabitants of each form a unique connection, enacted in musical numbers.
Director: Tsai Ming-liang | Stars: Kuei-Mei Yang, Kang-sheng Lee, Miao Tien, Hui-Chin Lin
Votes: 4,408
56. Hilary and Jackie (1998)
R | 121 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The tragic story of world renowned classic cellist Jacqueline du Pré, as told from the point of view of her sister, flautist Hilary du Pré-Finzi.
Director: Anand Tucker | Stars: Emily Watson, Rachel Griffiths, James Frain, David Morrissey
Votes: 10,740 | Gross: $4.87M
57. 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: 7,477
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