The 1990s in the history of film represents to me a throwback to the Golden Age of Hollywood. You might call such stars as Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Meg Ryan and even Sandra Bullock legendary actors in the same way Gary Cooper, James Stewart, Cary Grant, Clark Gable and Katharine Hepburn are legends. Each film looks and feels like movie magic. Sure, the 1990s were peppered with turkeys. I wouldn’t list movies like Alien Resurrection or Kevin Costner’s The Postman in the same breath as The Philadelphia Story, but I certainly would if it was Forrest Gump. Each great 1990s film has almost everything for everyone, just as movies like It Happened One Night or The Maltese Falcon offers more than meets the eye.
This may not be something everyone agrees upon, but I certainly feel strongly about this theory. I’ve watched films from every decade since the Golden Age and the ’90s are the closest to coming to the brilliance of that timeless era. Sure, every great film over the past 60 years have their share of legendary moments. Rocky, Star Wars, A Streetcar Named Desire, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Godfather are among these very few exceptions. However, I have noticed that the number of legendary films in the ’90s is so impressive, it dwarfs the number of all these other decades. Go ahead, remind me that everything made before the 1990s inspired these legendary films. I know that, but these films of the ’90s took everything inspiring about this movie and that movie, and put it all together for a truly great movie-going experience. Titanic is the perfect example of this theory. Many people put Titanic down for having a cliche love story, something we’ve seen many times before, but I argue that no film ever told that story as brilliantly as Titanic.
The 100 greatest films of the 1990s is listed below. By the end, I hope you’ll better understand why I think the ’90s in the history of film was the second Golden Age.
1. Titanic
3. Forrest Gump
4. Silence of the Lambs
5. Braveheart
6. Dances With Wolves
7. Goodfellas
8. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
9. The Shawshank Redemption
10. Pulp Fiction
11. American Beauty
12. L.A. Confidential
13. Unforgiven
14. Saving Private Ryan
15. The Fugitive
16. Toy Story
17. Pretty Woman
18. Jurassic Park
19. Fight Club
20. Good Will Hunting
21. Contact
22. Heat
23. Shakespeare in Love
24. The Sixth Sense
25. The Cider House Rules
26. True Lies
27. The Lion King
28. Sleepless in Seattle
29. The Matrix
30. Edward Scissorhands
31. Die Hard with a Vengeance
32. Erin Brockovich
33. Men in Black
34. Con Air
35. As Good As It Gets
36. The Usual Suspects
37. Speed
38. Mission Impossible
39. Apollo 13
40. Mrs. Doubtfire
41. Beauty & The Beast
42. The English Patient
43. Reservoir Dogs
44. The Green Mile
45. Air Force One
46. Fargo
47. Thelma and Louise
48. Four Weddings and a Funeral
49. Seven
50. Scream
51. Independence Day
52. The Remains of the Day
53. Casino
54. Groundhog Day
55. Home Alone
56. The Last of the Mohicans
57. Leon: The Professional
58. Sense and Sensibility
59. The Hunt for Red October
60. Out of Sight
61. There’s Something About Mary
62. Ghost
63. Total Recall
64. Crimson Tide
65. Aladdin
66. Jerry Maguire
67. The Santa Clause
67. Goldeneye
68. Liar Liar
69. Backdraft
70. A Few Good Men
71. While You Were Sleeping
72. Father of the Bride
73. Dazed and Confused
74. Clerks
75. My Best Friend’s Wedding
76. Grosse Point Blank
77. Basic Instinct
78. Dark City
79. Elizabeth
80. City Slickers
81. Little Women
82. Outbreak
83. The Fifth Element
84. Notting Hill
85. Grumpy Old Men
86. Hot Shots
87. Kingpin
88. Galaxy Quest
89. You’ve Got Mail
90. The Truman Show
91. The Nutty Professor
92. True Romance
93. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
94. Scream 2
95. Dumb & Dumber (I couldn’t resist)
96. Ronin
97. Waterworld
98. Clear and Present Danger
99. The Mummy
100. Interview With a Vampire
Personal note: If I’ve left out any great movies, please feel free to add them below in the comments. Plus, I apologize if I listed a movie more than once. There are a lot of movies here to keep track of.
