The Best Films of the 1990s

Ten Years of Sitting in the Dark

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

When I was working for Bayinsider, I was a bit rushed to get in my list of the ten best films of the 1990's by December 31, 1999. I regret the list I posted there now, and I think now that the smoke has cleared, I ought to post a more definitive list. Here's what I came up with now that I've had time to really think it over.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994, Quentin Tarantino) The ultimate movie-movie of the decade, an enthusiastic essay on the nature of movies and the possibilities still unexplored. It was criticized for its violence and lack of emotional content, but many of us could hardly fail to miss the sheer excitement for the fabric of celluloid itself, the look, the feel, the sound, and the smell. It provided for us in the 90's what Godard's Breathless must have provided in the 1950's.

2. La Belle Noiseuse (1991, Jacques Rivette) The French New Wave was still alive in the 1990's, and Rivette gave us a masterpiece equal to his seminal Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974). A four-hour meditation on the nature of art, old age, and sensuality, La Belle Noiseuse did that thing that most movies don't dare to do now, slow down -- and almost stop completely -- to think.

3. Unforgiven (1992, Clint Eastwood) If Clint Eastwood is the true heir to John Wayne, then Unforgiven is his The Searchers (1956), a supreme study of lifeless violence and gutless revenge. It's a western disguised as a parable, with a living legend stalking through the lead role, old, dealing with a pen full of sick pigs, and eventually suffering from sickness himself. Could this dark, brilliant, elegy really have won four Oscars, when the usual winners are so much fluff?

4. Eyes Wide Shut (1999, Stanley Kubrick) Stanley Kubrick's most human work, more sexual, emotional, and dreamlike than any of his previous works. Disguised as an "erotic thriller", the movie was wrongly advertised and misunderstood by nearly everyone who saw it. It's a brave, powerful, and beautiful work that will take another decade or more before it gets its due.

5. Taste of Cherry (1997, Abbas Kiarostami) In the '90s, the films of Abbas Kiarostami awakened my senses. His views of man as minuscule in a gritty landscape, searching for something small but finding something big, spoke to me and many others across boundaries of language and culture. Though Taste of Cherry was his most mature work, it was also the only one of his films to receive a US theatrical release in the 1990's. Other titles, Close-Up, And Life Goes On, Through the Olive Trees, and The Wind Will Carry Us also deserve a slot on this list.

6. Crumb (1995, Terry Zwigoff) The documentary of the century, Crumb gets closer than any other film to actually documenting a man's soul. It becomes frighteningly clear that Crumb's art is practically pure exorcized demons, captured on paper. Even the small details, such as the tecnhique of filming comic strips for viewing on a screen, are superb.

7. Ed Wood (1994, Tim Burton) One of the greatest films ever made about the American Dream, in which persistence and enthusiasm counts more than skill. Burton manages to idolize his absurd hero, rather than ridiculing him, finding the key in the touching friendship between the budding director and the fallen star Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau). But the real centerpiece to the film is the bonding sequence between Wood and Orson Welles.

8. Naked Lunch (1991, David Cronenberg) They said it couldn't be filmed, and no other film is quite like this one. David Cronenberg took William S. Burroughs' material and made it his own, looking at the writing process and transforming it into a bizarre, hilariously physical representation in which words, machines, humans and drugs intermingle -- to masterful effect.

9. Fargo (1996, Joel Coen/Ethan Coen) The Coen Brothers' work has always been precise and almost surgically controlled, but Fargo is the first of their films where they let emotions run free. The performances of Frances McDormand and William H. Macy bring life and honesty to the film, so that we never feel cheated or outsmarted. Just the opposite, Fargo is comfortable and almost familiar but wildly original and compulsively watchable.

10. Flowers of Shanghai (1998, Hou Hsiao-hsien) Perhaps the most difficult film of the decade is also one of its most beautiful and haunting. The story of subtle power plays in an elegant brothel, its msyterious spell has lingered in my memory.

RUNNERS UP: Autumn Tale (Eric Rohmer), Babe (Chris Noonan), Babe: Pig in the City (George Miller), Bullet in the Head (John Woo), La Ceremonie (Claude Chabrol), Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai), Clueless (Amy Heckerling), Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch), Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (Errol Morris), Fireworks (Takeshi Kitano), The Godfather Part III (Francis Ford Coppola), Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis), Husbands and Wives (Woody Allen), Kundun (Martin Scorsese), Lessons of Darkness (Werner Herzog), Lost Highway (David Lynch), Mother and Son (Alexander Sokurov), Short Cuts (Robert Altman), The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick), Three Colors Trilogy (Krzysztof Kieslowski), To Sleep With Anger (Charles Burnett), Vanya on 42nd Street (Louis Malle), Voyage to the Beginning of the World (Manoel de Oliveira)

And here are some other worthy opinions...

Wes Anderson
Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara)
Buffalo '66 (Vincent Gallo)
Un Coeur en hiver (Claude Sautet)
The Daytrippers (Greg Mottola)
Flirting (John Duigan)
The Ice Storm (Ang Lee)
Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino)
Little Odessa (James Gray)
Un Monde sans pitie (Eric Rochant)
Olivier Olivier (Agnieszka Holland)

James Berardinelli
1. Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg)
2. The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan)
3. GoodFellas (Martin Scorsese)
4. Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh)
5. Three Colors Trilogy (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
6. The War Zone (Tim Roth)
7. Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou)
8. Dances With Wolves (Kevin Costner)
9. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
10. Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise)

David Bordwell
An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion)
The Blade (Tsui Hark)
A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang)
Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai)
Heat (Michael Mann)
A Scene at the Sea (Takeshi Kitano)
Simple Men (Hal Hartley)
The Suspended Step of the Stork (Theo Angelopoulos)
The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick)
Through the Olive Trees (Abbas Kiarostami)

Georgia Brown
Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier)
Bullet in the Head (John Woo)
Caro Diario (Nanni Moretti)
Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai)
Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami)
Fireworks (Takeshi Kitano)
Mother and Son (Aleksandr Sokurov)
The Puppetmaster (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
The Quince Tree Sun (Victor Erice)
Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)
Satantango (Bela Tarr)
Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)

Cahiers du Cinema
1. Carlito's Way (Brian De Palma)
2. Goodbye South, Goodbye (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
3. The Bridges of Madison County (Clint Eastwood)
4. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
5. Twin Peaks (David Lynch)
6. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami)
7. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)
8. Crash (David Cronenberg)
9. Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton)
10. The River (Tsai Ming-liang)

Michel Ciment
Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton)
Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
Flowers of Shanghai (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
Miller's Crossing (Joel Coen/Ethan Coen)
Naked (Mike Leigh)
Smoking/No Smoking (Alain Resnais)
Through the Olive Trees (Abbas Kiarostami)
Ulysses' Gaze (Theo Angelopoulos)
Underground (Emir Kusturica)
Valley of Abraham (Manoel de Oliveira)

Mike D'Angelo
1. Exotica (Atom Egoyan)
2. Truly Madly Deeply (Anthony Minghella)
3. Barton Fink (Joel Coen)
4. Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)
5. Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson)
6. Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
7. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (Berlinger & Sinofsky)
8. Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg)
9. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)
10. Miami Blues (George Armitage)

Manohla Dargis
1. Beau Travail (Claire Denis)
2. Fireworks (Takeshi Kitano)
3. Flowers of Shanghai (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
4. The Portrait of a Lady (Jane Campion)
5. My Sex Life... Or How I Got Into an Argument (Arnaud Desplechin)
6. I Am Cuba (Mikhail Kalatozov)
7. Underground (Emir Kusturica)
8. Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai)
9. Satantango (Bela Tarr)
10. The Lovers on the Bridge (Leos Carax)

Roger Ebert
1. Hoop Dreams (Steve James)
2. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
3. GoodFellas (Martin Scorsese)
4. Fargo (Joel Coen)
5. Three Colors Trilogy (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
6. Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg)
7. Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier)
8. Leaving Las Vegas (Mike Figgis)
9. Malcolm X (Spike Lee)
10. JFK (Oliver Stone)

J. Hoberman
Conspirators of Pleasure (Jan Svankmajer)
Crash (David Cronenberg)
D'est (From the East) (Chantal Akerman)
Fallen Angels (Wong Kar-wai)
Lessons of Darkness (Werner Herzog)
The Long Day Closes (Terence Davies)
The Puppetmaster (Hou Hsiao-Hsien)
Satantango (Bela Tarr)
Side/Walk/Shuttle (Ernie Gehr)
Tribulation 99: Alien Anomalies Under America (Craig Baldwin)

Phillip Lopate
1. Flowers of Shanghai (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
2. Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami)
3. My Sex Life... Or How I Got Into an Argument (Arnaud Desplechin)
4. Un Coeur en Hiver (Claude Sautet)
5. Kundun (Martin Scorsese)
6. Public Housing (Frederick Wiseman)
7. Husbands and Wives (Woody Allen)
8. Caro Diario (Nanni Moretti)
9a. Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg)
9b. The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick)
10a. Autumn Tale (Eric Rohmer)
10b. Le Garcu (Maurice Pialat)
10c. Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino)
10d. There's Something About Mary (Bobby & Peter Farrelly)

Derek Malcolm
1. Breaking the Waves (Lars Von Trier)
2. Naked (Mike Leigh)
3. Fireworks (Takeshi Kitano)
4. The Dreamlife of Angels (Erick Zonca)
5. GoodFellas (Martin Scorsese)
6. White (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
7. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
8. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami)
9. The Puppetmaster (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
10. Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou)

Jonathan Rosenbaum
Actress (Stanley Kwan)
A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang)
Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch)
Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
D'est (From the East) (Chantal Akerman)
Inquietude (Manoel de Oliveira)
The Puppet Master (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
Satantango (Bela Tarr)
When It Rains (Charles Burnett) [12 minute short film]
The Wind Will Carry Us (Abbas Kiarostami)

Richard Schickel
Bullets Over Broadway (Woody Allen)
Fargo (Joel Coen)
Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis)
L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)
Live Flesh (Pedro Almodovar)
Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg)
Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg)
True Romance (Tony Scott)
Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)

Paul Schrader
1. Flowers of Shanghai (Hou hsiao-hsien)
2. Mother and Son (Aleksandr Sokurov)
3. GoodFellas (Martin Scorsese)
4. Boys Don't Cry (Kimberly Peirce)
5. Fearless (Peter Weir)
6. Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann)
7. Get Shorty (Barry Sonnenfeld)
8. Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh)
9. Maborosi (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
10. My Own Private Idaho (Gus Van Sant)
11. Light Sleeper (Paul Schrader)
12. Richard III (Richard Loncraine)

Martin Scorsese
1. The Horse Thief (Tian Zhuangzhuang)
2. The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick)
3. A Borrowed Life (Wu Nien-Jen)
4. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
5. Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara)
6. Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier)
7. Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson)
8. Crash (David Cronenberg)
9. Fargo (Joel Coen)
10a. Heat (Michael Mann)
10b. Malcolm X (Spike Lee)

Susan Sontag
1. The Second Circle (Aleksandr Sokurov)
2. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami)
3. The Stone (Aleksandr Sokurov)
4. Naked (Mike Leigh)
5. The Puppetmaster (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
6. Satantango (Bela Tarr)
7. Lamerica (Gianni Amelio)
8. Joan the Maid (Jacques Rivette)
9. Through the Olive Trees (Abbas Kiarostami)
10. Goodbye South, Goodbye (Hou Hsiao-hsien)

Michael Sragow
Babe (Chris Noonan)
Cobb (Ron Shelton)
Henry and June (Philp Kaufman)
In the Name of the Father (Jim Sheridan)
L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)
Life Is Sweet (Mike Leigh)
Six Degrees of Separation (Fred Schepisi)
Three Kings (David O. Russell)
Trainspotting (Danny Boyle)
The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer)

Chuck Stephens
1. Flowers of Shanghai (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
2. Days of Being Wild (Wong Kar-wai)
3. Actress (Stanley Kwan)
4. Cold Water (Olivier Assayas)
5. Satantango (Bela Tarr)
6. Tribulation 99: Alien Anomalies Under America (Craig Baldwin)
7. Sonatine (Takeshi Kitano)
8. Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara)
9. Cyclo (Tran Anh Hung)
10. Vive L'amour (Tsai Ming-liang)

Charles Taylor
1. Vanya on 42nd Street (Louis Malle)
2. Irma Vep (Olivier Assayas)
3. Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater)
4. Babe: Pig in the City (George Miller)
5. Three Kings (David O. Russell)
6. Cobb (Ron Shelton)
7. Kundun (Martin Scorsese)
8. Backbeat (Iain Softley)
9. Mon Homme (Bertrand Blier)
10. Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh)

Amy Taubin
1. JLG/JLG: Self-Portrait in December (Jean-Luc Godard)
2. The Portrait of a Lady (Jane Campion)
3. The Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese)
4. Fallen Angels (Wong Kar-wai)
5. Goodbye South, Goodbye (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
6. Safe (Todd Haynes)
7. My Own Private Idaho (Gus Van Sant)
8. Thelma and Louise (Ridley Scott)
9. Coming to Terms with Death (Pascale Ferran)
10. Crash (David Cronenberg)

The Village Voice Critics' Poll
1. Safe (Todd Haynes)
2. Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier)
3. Flowers of Shanghai (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
4. Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami)
5. GoodFellas (Martin Scorsese)
6. Fireworks (Takeshi Kitano)
7. Naked (Mike Leigh)
8. Underground (Emir Kusturica)
9. Satantango (Bela Tarr)
10. Fallen Angels (Wong Kar-wai)