Number 1 was an easy pick and not a big surprise. There are lots of surprises though. The biggest surprise for me was that I have only seen about 2/3 of the movies on the list. Feel like I am slacking.
The list does confirm what I have always said and that was 1999 was a great year for movies with 19 movies from ‘99 on the list, and 1994 was another great year for movies with 14 movies on the list.
I have listed all the movies but if you want the reason certain movies were selected you can go to the website http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/07/the-90-best-movies-of-the-1990s.html
Without further ado here is the list with Best Picture winners highlighted in red.
More thoughts at the bottom.
1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. Schindler’s List (1993)
3. Magnolia (1999)
4. Three Colors Trilogy (1993,94,94)
5. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
6. Fargo (1996)
7. Goodfellas (1990)
8. Hoop Dreams (1994)
9. Rushmore (1998)
10. The Apostle (1997)
11. Fight Club (1999)
12. The Big Lebowski (1998)
13. Dead Man Walking (1995)
14. The Usual Suspects (1995)
15. Toy Story 2 (1999)
16. Sling Blade (1996)
17. Being John Malkovich (1999)
18. Crumb (1994)
19. Jackie Brown (1997)
20. Boogie Nights (1997)
21. Bottle Rocket (1996)
22. Chungking Express (1994)
23. Unforgiven (1992)
24. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
25. Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (1997)
26. Before Sunrise (1995)
27. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
28. The Thin Red Line (1998)
29. The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
30. Toy Story (1995)
31. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
32. Trainspotting (1996)
33. Malcolm X (1992)
34. Out of Sight (1998)
35. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
36. The Double Life of Veronique (1991)
37. Boyz N Da Hood (1991)
38. Office Space (1999)
39. The Matrix (1999)
40. Short Cuts (1993)
41. L.A. Confidential (1997)
42. Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
43. The Player (1992)
44. Se7en (1997)
45. The Ice Storm (1997)
46. Three Kings (1999)
47. Heat (1995)
48. Metropolitan (1990)
49. Miller’s Crossing (1990)
50. Casino (1995)
51. The Lion King (1994)
52. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
53. The Remains of the Day (1993)
54. Exotica (1994)
55. Groundhog Day (1995)
56. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
57. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
58. JFK (1991)
59. Good Will Hunting (1997)
60. The Professional (1994)
61. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
62. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
63. Election (1999)
64. Clueless (1995)
65. The Iron Giant (1999)
66. After Life (1998)
67. American History X (1998)
68. Princess Mononoke (1997)
69. The Game (1997)
70. The Sixth Sense (1999)
71. Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
72. A Taste of Cherry (1997)
73. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
74. As Good as it Gets (1997)
75. Thelma and Louise (1991)
76. Apollo 13 (1995)
77. The Wrong Trousers (1993)
78. Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
79. The Battle Over Citizen Kane (1996)
80. Bound (1996)
81. Braveheart (1995)
82. Quiz Show (1994)
83. Burnt By the Sun (1994)
84. A Bronx Tale (1993)
85. Waking Ned Devine (1998)
86. The Truman Show (1998)
87. Barton Fink (1991)
88. Forrest Gump (1994)
89. American Beauty (1999)
90. True Romance (1993)
A few thoughts on the list.
First thing that stands out is Eyes Wide Shut and Bringing out the Dead. Two movies that do not deserve to be on the list. Eyes Wide Shut was an awful movie and Bringing Out the Dead was so-so at best.
Saving Private Ryan should be higher on the list then 27.
There is no way Jackie Brown should be higher than Reservoir Dogs and probably shouldn’t even be on the list
1997 is well represented on the list also with 13 movies. Interestingly enough the Best Picture Winner of that year and the highest grossing movie of the decade Titanic is not on the list.
Speaking of Best Picture winners 6 out of the 10 winners of the decade made the list. (Dances With Wolves-1990, The English Patient-1996, Titanic-1997, and Shakespeare in Love-1998 did not make it)
The Coen Brothers are the most represented directors with 4 movies on the list (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Miller’s Crossing, and Barton Fink) Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, and David Fincher each have 3 movies on the list.
There are three documentaries on the list (Hoop Dreams, Fast Cheap and Out of Control, and The Battle Over Citizen Kane).
There is one short The Wrong Trousers
There are 7 animated films (Toy Story 2, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, The Iron Giant, Princess Mononoke, and The Wrong Trousers).
Oddly Austin Powers 2 made the list but not the first one.
They admit in the article that there was probably more foreign movies that should have made the list. The one that stands out to me is Life is Beautiful (1997)
Missing from the list in my opinion
10 Things I Hate about You (1999)
A Few Good Men (1992)
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Pleasantville (1998)
There’s Something about Mary (the funniest movie of the decade)
And what about big budget Michael Bay action movies
Armageddon (1998)
The Rock (1996)
Let me know what your thoughts are on this.
