Welcome to the Cinema of the 1990s
The spirit of the 1990s may be a thing of the past, but thanks to an enthralling, good old invention called Film, it will never be really gone. If you feel like traveling back in time to relive the glamour of the decade, you just have to watch one (or more) of it best movies.
But witch ones should you watch?
Well, if that’s the question lurking in your mind right now, then you came to the right place. We’re just about to present 30 of the greatest cinematic achievements of the 1990s.
However, if you’re not a first-timer, there’s a fair chance that you already saw most movies of this Top 30 List, and you may want to dive a little bit deeper. No worries!
In that case, you should go and check out the Top 100 List at the end of this article.
The Best Movies of the 1990s is an episode of FrameTrek’s Best Movies of All Time. A mega-journey dedicated to identify the greatest films of each decade, chronologically. It starts with the Silent Era and goes all the way to our ever moving present.
So what was Cinema like in the 1990s?
The 20th century’s final decade, the last decade of the previous millennium was a period of tremendous upheaval in international cinema. Hollywood grew in confidence and income, thus the 1990s involved many significant developments, allowing a broader spectrum of entertainment and the rebirth of thrilling blockbusters and the entire American cinema.
The greatest movies of the 1990s were made by talented individual filmmakers who were given resources. They defined the decade, not only because they had unique visions, but because they also opened new doors to the endless possibilities of cinematic storytelling.
Quentin Tarantino is a great example here. He stood up to reinvent cinema on his own terms and gained worldwide recognition for doing so. On the other hand, cinematic achievements like Toy Story and The Matrix pointed out that technology could be used to make movies in a completely different way.
As the home-video market grew to become a major factor in the total revenue for a movie, the film studios altered their approach to screen sizes. Movies were specifically filmed and edited in a way that would make their viewing enjoyable on large theatre screens, but also on the smaller TV screens. In order to make this possible, they used techniques, such as showing close-up scenes during a dialog, instead of just a wide-angle shot of the room.
The 1990s also marks the launch of some the most iconic movie franchises of all time:
- Jurassic Park and World Franchise
- Toy Story Quadrology
- Mission Impossible Franchise
- The Matrix Trilogy
So yeah, there is plenty to talk about, when it comes to the Cinema of the 1990s, but this article concentrates on its Top 30 and Top 100 Films, so let’s cut to the chase, shall we?
After all, a cinematic era is as good as its greatest achievements. Thus, the finest way to explore a decade in film history, is through watching its finest films.
Ready? Buckle up then, and let the best movies of the 1990s carry you to the Cinematic era they came from!
Revealing the Top 30 Films of the 1990s
A chronological presentation of the Best Movies from 1990 to 1999
– 3 movies from each year –
Goodfellas (1990)
Biography | Crime | Drama
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Robert De Niro
The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mob, covering his relationship with his wife Karen Hill and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito in the Italian-American crime syndicate. (IMDB)
Hard-hitting and stylish, GoodFellas is a gangster classic – and arguably the high point of Martin Scorsese’s career.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Goodfellas among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list
✓ Winner of 1 Oscar, and nominee for another 5, including the ‘Best Picture of the Year’ Academy Award
✓ Ranked number two on the American Film Institute’s list of the ten greatest films in the genre “Gangster” and #92 on their list of the Greatest USA Movies of All Time
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Drama | Fantasy | Romance
Directed by Tim Burton
Starring Johnny Depp
Story: An artificial man, who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands, leads a solitary life. Then one day, a suburban lady meets him and introduces him to her world. (IMDB)
The first collaboration between Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands is a magical modern fairy tale with gothic overtones and a sweet center.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Edward Scissorhands among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ Received numerous nominations at the Academy Awards, British Academy Film Awards, and the Saturn Awards, as well as winning the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
✓ One of the most popular movies of the 1990s, and a timeless classic
Home Alone (1990)
Comedy | Family
Story: An eight-year-old troublemaker must protect his house from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation. (IMDB)
Home Alone uneven but frequently funny premise stretched unreasonably thin is buoyed by Macaulay Culkin’s cute performance and strong supporting stars.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Home Alone among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ One of the highest grossing movies of the 1990s
✓ Nominated for two Academy Awards and one Golden Globe
✓ Hailed as a holiday classic among audiences and is often ranked as one of the best Christmas films of all time
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Action | Sci-Fi
Directed by James Cameron
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
Story: A cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her teenage son, John Connor, from a more advanced and powerful cyborg. (IMDB)
T2 features thrilling action sequences and eye-popping visual effects, but what takes this sci-fi / action landmark to the next level is the depth of the human (and cyborg) characters.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Terminator 2: Judgment Day among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ One of the highest grossing movies of the 1990s
✓ Winner of 4 Oscars, and nominee for another 2
✓ Ranked #8 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 10 greatest films in the genre “Sci-Fi”
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Crime | Drama | Thriller
Starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins
Story: A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims. (IMDB)
Director Jonathan Demme’s smart, taut thriller teeters on the edge between psychological study and all-out horror, and benefits greatly from stellar performances by Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is The Silence of the Lambs among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list
✓ Winner of 5 Oscars, including the “Best Picture of the Year” Academy Award
✓ Entertainment Weekly voted this as the fourth scariest movie of all time
✓ One of the most popular movies of the 1990s, and a timeless classic
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Animation | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance
Story: A prince cursed to spend his days as a hideous monster sets out to regain his humanity by earning a young woman’s love. (IMDB)
Enchanting, sweepingly romantic, and featuring plenty of wonderful musical numbers, Beauty and the Beast is one of Disney’s most elegant animated offerings.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Beauty and the Beast among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ One of the highest grossing movies of the 1990s
✓ Winner of 2 Oscars, and nominee for another 4
✓ Ranked #7 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 10 greatest films in the genre “Animation”
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Crime | Drama | Thriller
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Story: When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant. (IMDB)
Thrumming with intelligence and energy, Reservoir Dogs opens Quentin Tarantino’s filmmaking career with hard-hitting style.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Reservoir Dogs among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ Premiere voted this movie as one of “The 25 Most Dangerous Movies”
✓ Regarded as a classic of independent film and a cult film, and was named “Greatest Independent Film of all Time” by Empire
Unforgiven (1992)
Story: Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny (Clint Eastwood) reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman) and a young man, The “Schofield Kid” (Jaimz Woolvett). (IMDB)
Drama | Western
Starring and Directed by Clint Eastwood
As both director and star, Clint Eastwood strips away decades of Hollywood varnish applied to the Wild West, and emerges with a series of harshly eloquent statements about the nature of violence.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Unforgiven among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list
✓ Winner of 4 Oscars, including the “Best Picture of the Year” Academy Award
✓ Ranked number four on the American Film Institute’s list of the 10 greatest films in the genre “Western” in 2008.
Aladdin (1992)
Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance
Story: A kindhearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true. (IMDB)
A highly entertaining entry in Disney’s renaissance era, Aladdin is beautifully drawn, with near-classic songs and a cast of scene-stealing characters.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Aladdin among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ The highest grossing movies of 1992
✓ Winner of 2 Oscars, and nominee for another 3
✓ One of the most popular movies of the 1990s, and a timeless Disney Classic
Schindler’s List (1993)
Biography | Drama | History
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Liam Neeson
Story: In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis. (IMDB)
Schindler’s List blends the abject horror of the Holocaust with Steven Spielberg’s signature tender humanism to create the director’s dramatic masterpiece.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Schindler’s List among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list
✓ Winner of 7 Oscars, including the “Best Picture of the Year” Academy Award
✓ Ranked #3 on the American Film Institute’s list of the Most Inspiring Movies of All Time and #8 on their list of the Greatest Movie of All Time
✓ Selected by the Vatican in the “values” category of its list of forty-five “great films”. It is the only R-rated movie on the list.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Story: A pragmatic paleontologist visiting an almost complete theme park is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park’s cloned dinosaurs to run loose. (IMDB)
Jurassic Park is a spectacle of special effects and life-like animatronics, with some of Spielberg’s best sequences of sustained awe and sheer terror since Jaws.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Jurassic Park among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ One of the highest grossing and most popular movies of the 1990s
✓ Winner of 3 Oscars and 2 BAFTA Awards
Groundhog Day (1993)
Comedy | Fantasy | Romance
Starring Bill Murray
Story: A weatherman finds himself inexplicably living the same day over and over again. (IMDB)
Smart, sweet, and inventive, Groundhog Day highlights Murray’s dramatic gifts while still leaving plenty of room for laughs.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Groundhog Day among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list
✓ Ranked #8 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 10 greatest films in the genre “Fantasy”
✓ Premiere voted this movie as one of “The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time”
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Drama
Starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman
Story: Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency. (IMDB)
The Shawshank Redemption is an uplifting, deeply satisfying prison drama with sensitive direction and fine performances.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is The Shawshank Redemption among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list
✓ The American Film Institute ranked this as the #72 Greatest Movie of All Time
✓ Ranked #10 in Entertainment Weekly’s “Top 50 Cult Films of All-Time”
✓ Voted #4 on Empire magazine’s 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Crime | Drama
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson
Story: 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. (IMDB)
One of the most influential films of the 1990s, Pulp Fiction is a delirious post-modern mix of neo-noir thrills, pitch-black humor, and pop-culture touchstones.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Pulp Fiction among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list
✓ Winner of 1 Oscar, and nominee for another 6, including the ‘Best Picture of the Year’ Academy Award
✓ Won the Palme d’Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, and was a major critical and commercial success
✓ Critics describe it as a touchstone of postmodern film, and it is often considered a cultural watershed
Forrest Gump (1994)
Drama | Romance
Starring Tom Hanks
Story: The presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, the events of Vietnam, Watergate, and other historical events unfold through the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, whose only desire is to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart. (IMDB)
Forrest Gump may be an overly sentimental film with a somewhat problematic message, but its sweetness and charm are usually enough to approximate true depth and grace.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Forrest Gump among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ One of the highest grossing movies of the 1990s
✓ Winner of 6 Oscars, including the “Best Picture of the Year” Academy Award
✓ The American Film Institute ranked this as the #76 Greatest Movie of All Time
Se7en (1995)
Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller
Starring Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt
Story: Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives. (IMDB)
A brutal, relentlessly grimy shocker with taut performances, slick gore effects, and a haunting finale.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Se7en among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ Voted the eighth scariest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly
✓ One of the most popular movies of the 1990s, and a timeless crime thriller classic
Braveheart (1995)
Biography | Drama | History | War
Starring and Directed by Mel Gibson
Story: When his secret bride is executed for assaulting an English soldier who tried to rape her, William Wallace begins a revolt against King Edward I of England. (IMDB)
Distractingly violent and historically dodgy, Mel Gibson’s Braveheart justifies its epic length by delivering enough sweeping action, drama, and romance to match its ambition.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Braveheart among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ Winner of 5 Oscars, including the “Best Picture of the Year” Academy Award, and nominee for another 5
✓ The film also won the the Golden Globe Award for Best Director and the Writer’s Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay
Toy Story (1995)
Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy
Story: A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman figure supplants him as top toy in a boy’s room. (IMDB)
Entertaining as it is innovative, Toy Story reinvigorated animation while heralding the arrival of Pixar as a family-friendly force to be reckoned with.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Toy Story among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ One of the highest grossing and most popular movies of the 1990s
✓ Ranked #6 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 10 greatest films in the genre “Animation” and #99 on their list of the Greatest Movies of All Time
Trainspotting (1996)
Drama
Starring Ewan McGregor
Story: Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of friends. (IMDB)
A brutal, often times funny, other times terrifying portrayal of drug addiction in Edinburgh. Not for the faint of heart, but well worth viewing as a realistic and entertaining reminder of the horrors of drug use.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Trainspotting among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ Ranked #10 on the British Film Institute’s 100 Greatest British Films of the 20th Century
✓ It became the highest-grossing British film of 1996, and at the time it was the fourth highest grossing British film in history
Independence Day (1996)
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
Starring Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum
Story: The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth. Fighting superior technology, mankind’s best weapon is the will to survive. (IMDB)
The plot is thin and so is character development, but as a thrilling, spectacle-filled summer movie, Independence Day delivers.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Independence Day among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ One of the highest grossing and most popular movies of the 1990s
✓ Considered to be a significant turning point in the history of the Hollywood blockbusters
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Action | Adventure | Thriller
Starring Tom Cruise
Story: An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization. (IMDB)
Why is Mission: Impossible among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ The Film was a commercial and critical success upon its release, eventually becoming one of the highest-grossing films of the 1990s.
✓ One of the most popular movies of the 1990s, and a timeless action spy classic
Titanic (1997)
Drama | Romance
Directed by James Cameron
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet
Story: A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic. (IMDB)
A mostly unqualified triumph for James Cameron, who offers a dizzying blend of spectacular visuals and old-fashioned melodrama.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Titanic among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ One of the highest grossing and most popular movies of the 1990s, and a timeless epic romance and disaster classic
✓ Winner of 11 Oscars, including the “Best Picture of the Year” Academy Award
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Drama | Romance
Starring Robin Williams and Matt Damon
Story: 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. (IMDB)
It follows a predictable narrative arc, but Good Will Hunting adds enough quirks to the journey – and is loaded with enough powerful performances – that it remains an entertaining, emotionally rich drama.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Good Will Hunting among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Winner of 2 Oscars, and nominee for another 7, including the ‘Best Picture of the Year’ Academy Award
✓ One of the most popular movies of the 1990s, and a timeless drama classic
✓ Ranked at number 53 in The Hollywood Reporter’s “100 Favorite Films” list
Life Is Beautiful (1997)
Comedy | Drama | Romance | War
Story: When an open-minded Jewish librarian 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. (IMDB)
Benigni’s earnest charm, when not overstepping its bounds into the unnecessarily treacly, offers the possibility of hope in the face of unflinching horror.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Life Is Beautiful among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Winner of 3 Oscars, and nominee for another 4, including the ‘Best Picture of the Year’ Academy Award
✓ It also won the Grand Prix at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, nine David di Donatello Awards, including Best Film, five Nastro d’Argento Awards in Italy, and two European Film Awards
✓ It was a critical and financial success and it became one of the highest-grossing non-English movies of all time
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Drama | War
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Tom Hanks and Matt Damon
Story: 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. (IMDB)
Anchored by another winning performance from Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg’s unflinchingly realistic war film virtually redefines the genre.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Saving Private Ryan among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ One of the highest grossing and most popular movies of the 1990s
✓ Winner of 5 Oscars, and nominee for another 6, including the ‘Best Picture of the Year’ Academy Award
✓ Considered as one of the greatest films ever made and has been lauded as influential on the war film genre
American History X (1998)
Drama
Starring Edward Norton
Story: A former neo-nazi skinhead tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same wrong path that he did. (IMDB)
Why is American History X among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Empire magazine named it the 311th-greatest movie of all time
✓ One of the most popular movies of the 1990s, and an influential crime drama classic
Truman Show (1998)
Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi
Starring Jim Carrey
Story: An insurance salesman discovers his whole life is actually a reality TV show. (IMDB)
A funny, tender, and thought-provoking film, The Truman Show is all the more noteworthy for its remarkably prescient vision of runaway celebrity culture and a nation with an insatiable thirst for the private details of ordinary lives.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Truman Show among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ The film was a financial success, debuting to critical acclaim, and earned numerous nominations at the 71st Academy Awards, 56th Golden Globe Awards, 52nd British Academy Film Awards and The Saturn Awards.
✓ It has been analysed as a thesis on Christianity, meta-philosophy, simulated reality, existentialism, and reality television
✓ One of the most popular movies of the 1990s, and an influential satirical science fiction classic
Fight Club (1999)
Drama
Starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton
Story: An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soapmaker form an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more. (IMDB)
Solid acting, amazing direction, and elaborate production design make Fight Club a wild ride.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is Fight Club among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
✓ Voted #4 in Total Film’s 100 Greatest Movies Of All Time list
✓ Cited as one of the most controversial and talked-about films of the 1990s, and a cult classic
The Matrix (1999)
Action | Sci-Fi
Starring Keanu Reeves
Story: A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers. (IMDB)
Thanks to the Wachowskis’ imaginative vision, The Matrix is a smartly crafted combination of spectacular action and groundbreaking special effects.
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Why is The Matrix among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, and was added to the National Film Registry for preservation
✓ Well-received by many critics and won four Academy Awards, as well as other accolades, including BAFTA Awards and Saturn Awards
✓ Praised for its innovative visual effects, cinematography and entertainment value
The Green Mile (1999)
Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery
Starring Tom Hanks
Story: The lives of guards on Death Row are affected by one of their charges: a black man accused of child murder and rape, yet who has a mysterious gift. (IMDB)
Why is The Green Mile among the best movies of the 1990s?
✓ Winner of three Saturn Awards, and nominee for four Oscars and a Golden Globe
✓ One of the most popular movies of the 1990s, and a unique fantasy crime drama classic
…end of the reel…
So there you have it: The 30 Greatest Movies of the 1990s
If you want to take a look at the ‘Top 30 Best Movies of the 1990s’ list without all that info between the titles, here’s a quick recap:
Wait, there’s more!
If you’re a hardcore fan of the 1990s Cinema, and you already saw most of the movies in the Top 30 List above, than here’s the extended version for you:
TOP 100 FILMS OF THE 1990s
Click to reveal the List
Is there a movie on the list you’d replace with another one? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
