A few initial impressions: (1) The 1990s had a much better group of films to choose from than the 2000s; (2) 1994 is an awesome year (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump) where every film was in consideration for this list (ok, maybe not Forrest Gump); (3) there are more films on this list I haven't seen, so if I don't list something you think should be on there, assume I haven't seen it; and (4) I really need to come up with more original ideas for these posts.
I was originally going to do a list without winners as well, but when I narrowed it down to my final considerations, I realized there were 12 films and only 2 were winners, so you get my 12 best, and consider that the list would be my 10 best non-winners if you exclude Unforgiven and Schindler's List (NOTE: and the English Patient, which I was guilted into placing on the list). Not that you probably care, but I quickly separated these films into the top six and bottom six when compiling this list, but ranking the top 5 was VERY, VERY difficult, as all of them are on my list of best films, and favorite films, of all time (Saving Private Ryan was easily in the top six, but also easily number six of the group). As for the bottom six, I was rearranging them right up until I published this list, and would probably renumber them again tomorrow.
* denotes Best Picture Winner
1. Goodfellas (1990):
Scorsese's best film, the second best gangster film in American history, and the most influential film of the decade (maybe of the last 30 years). Now, Pulp Fiction might have influenced a lot of films, at the time, when it came out, but Goodfellas has continued to influence films, and filmmakers, today. I can talk for hours about this film, but here are a couple reasons why this gangster film was unlike anything before, and why films have tried to emulate it ever since: (1) the heist (a true story), is not shown as a big climax in the third act, but is told to us through a shower radio by a person who wasn't there; (2) this is an exciting and fast-paced film whose highlight, standout scenes (and these really are incredible and indelible scenes) include entering a restaurant, being introduced to people at a bar, playing poker in a basement, eating dinner with someones mom, making spaghetti with garlic and onions, and telling a joke with your friends; (3) it focuses on outsiders, and the only main characters who are "made men" are Paulie and, for a second, Joe Pesci; and (4) the final day is the best subjective portrayal of a drug trip ever captured, and while going completely against the structure of the film previously, fits perfectly into the style of the film. Last but not least, this film is just a pure, total explosion of filming power - it moves and dances in the hands of a master who knows he is a master, and just as the gangsters and their lifestyle seduces Henry Hill, Scorsese uses all his tricks to seduce and captivate us, drawing us into the world and completely allowing us to see why the real Henry Hill's most sincere line in the film is "All my life, I wanted to be a gangster."
2. Fargo (1996):
I said, in the 2000s list, that No Country for Old Men is the best Coens film in relation to pure perfection (every frame, every second, every cut is right). I stand by that statement, although these films are extremely close in those regards. But No Country is not a better film than Fargo - somedays I would say its not even close. Fargo has everything No Country has going for it - it might be a tiny bit too long, and might take a tiny bit too long to start, but that's where its deficiencies end. Where Fargo exceeds No Country is with its humor, its pathos, its love of humanity, and most of all its setting and characters. No Country is a film about how savage humanity has always been, and the mystifying nature of evil. Fargo is about people who are seduced by evil, and the absurd and completely irrational ways in which greed and fear can corrupt humanity, but unlike No Country, Fargo is a world where people are good, and good people can still find happiness, and where good people win. I don't know what Cormac McCarthy thinks of humanity, but I can't, for a second, believe that the Coens don't truly believe in the goodness of people - no matter how odd, or outside of normal society, they may be. To close, lets just draw some parallels: (1) Macy and Brolin are both people whose greed gets them in over their heads with evil men, and both end up having their wives killed in the process. However, unlike Brolin who is unable (arguably), to stop his destiny with Chigurah, Macy can - it's his guilt and shame of being a nobody that essentially seals his fate, two notions completely absent in Brolin's character. (2) Chigurah and "The Fargo Duo," both manifestations of evil that are not from the film's locations. However, while Chigurah is basically walking, inevitable death, The Fargo Duo are people whose true evil is revealed only through interactions (often failed interactions) with society. They have complete disregard for human life, but they kill out of choice, rather than fate. Chigurah doesn't scare me - its like being scared of the Grim Reaper, but the Fargo Duo frighten me immensely, because they are the embodiment of what can happen when people who don't value human life are forced to interact with humanity. (3) Frances McDormand and Tommy Lee Jones. Both are cop and witnesses to the story. One person solves things, and makes the world a better place. One person accepts that evil walks the land and all he can do is make things worse. I'm not trying to minimize Tommy Lee Jones character, as I think its the best part of No Country, but Frances McDormand's Marge is one of the best "police" roles ever. She, like Tommy, accepts there is evil in the world. She, like Tommy, can't understand that evil. However, unlike Tommy, she also knows there is good in the world, and her job is not pointless when faced with unknown evil. She is an amazing cop, able to accurately deduce how the initial car crash went down (just like Tommy), and she is able to pierce through Macy's stammering facade with brutal clarity, but she hasn't lost her soul, or humanity, doing so, and unlike Tommy, I doubt she is troubled by nightmares from her history in protecting people. Tommy's character sees ghosts of those who died, Marge sees the smiles of her living neighbors every day. So, which would you rather have as your local police officer? Finally, (4) the snow versus the desert plains. This is an easy one - No Country is beautiful, as all Westerns are, but when has North Dakota ever looked as dangerous, and foreign, and beautiful as Fargo shows it? Fargo is a very deserving number two on this list, and its much closer to number 1 than it is to number 3 (it was a sliver away from being number 1, in all honesty).
3. Pulp Fiction (1994):
Awesomely fun movie - it has so much love and passion for film that its just captivating. I wish more of the films it has "influenced" in the 90's had focused more on Pulp's love of the whimsical, fun French New Wave side of the film rather than just the "gangsters doing crimes" side (not that the French New Wave didn't have tons of gangsters going crime, but they were fun and stylish while they did it, not just dark or strange). Watching this film is hard for me now, because while I enjoyed some of his later films, it also hurts to see how little Tarantino has done since. However, Pulp Fiction is just a pure blast, and it has way more fun than it has any rights to have. The acting is superb (revitalizing one Scientologists career), the soundtrack is one of the best of all time, the camerawork is chaotic and exciting, its edited like a bastard child of Thelma Schumacher and Godard, and the sets and locations feel both retro and modern at the same time. The French New Wave thought that, to make a good movie, it was simply enough to know a lot of movies - formal training wasn't necessary if you had watched enough films. Pulp Fiction is the best American example of this - how sometimes, to make a great movie, all you need to do is be passionately, utterly in love with movies and thrilled to be making one. Pulp Fiction had that love, that passion, that thrill, and it comes through the screen in every single frame.
4. LA Confidential (1997):
Simply the best film about Los Angeles since Chinatown. Simply the best neo-noir film since Chinatown. Simply the best corruption in the LAPD since Chinatown. When you can compare a film that many times to Chinatown, you know its an awesome film. This is one of my favorites, based in no small part on all of the following: (1) an amazing ensemble acting performance, with James Cromwell and David Straithan as my personal favorites; (2) a beautiful score that perfectly fits the period; (3) wonderful screenwriting adapting a colossal novel into a dense, but well structured plot; (4) beautiful, beautiful shots of Los Angeles; and (5) its keeps a sense of fun intermingled with all the gravity of the story, another key link to most noir films (think Bogart and Bacall's awesome "It depends on who is in the saddle" back and forth in The Big Sleep). I have very few criticisms of this film, and end the end they aren't worth mentioning, because this is a great film.
5. Unforgiven (1992*):
Gene Hackman, can you do no wrong? Easily the best western of its era, maybe one of the best westerns of all time, and still Clint's best film ever (as far as acting, directing, or producing). I don't think its as much of a deconstruction of the Western as it was billed at the time, but it definitely updates the mythos of both the genre and the man (Clint). But, all of that has been said, I won't repeat it. What I will focus on is Gene Hackman as Little Bill. He is one of my favorite characters in any film, ever. I would say he is the villain, but I don't know if he is. He cleans up the town, adjudicates justly if not fairly, and his propensity for violence is, after all, used again nasty, violent characters themselves. He plays the badass with subtle grace, has some of the funniest lines in the film (and there are funny moments in this film), and I must admit, I am usually rooting for him through parts of the movie (specifically his interactions with Richard Harris, the "Duck of Death"). Which, of course, leads to the end of this film, which is still one of the best final acts ever made, because despite how much I enjoy Little Bill, I still get pumped for Clint to hit the bottle, lose the shakes, and shoot every man in the bar, including Little Bill. Sometimes I think this movie is almost an exercise in audience manipulation, and you know what, I'm happy its so effective.
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998):
No war film will ever be filmed the same after this one. I've told a few people that the Normandy Invasion scene at the beginning, if taken as a short film, would be the best film of the decade. I don't like the present day bookends, and some of the middle sections are a little to "Spielbergy" (John Williams score, for instance, doesn't hold up well for me), but the combat pieces are simply cinematic brilliance, and there will never be a war movie after Saving Private Ryan that doesn't borrow from its technique or purposely choose to go against it. Special note should also be made about the talented cast of young actors who would later go on to success from this film (although some of them already had some success before, including Adam Goldberg starring in Dazed and Confused - I mean, no matter how many Saving Private Ryan's you film after, it's all downhill after D&C).
7. Schindler's List (1993*):
Schindler's List will probably be remembered as Spielberg's masterpiece, although I don't think its his best film, its his most important one, for him and for us. Master acting all around, and a surprisingly lean film for its over three hour length. I can't say much about this film - it has everything I love about Spielberg (and a few things I hate) used to tell a personal, important story about a savage era. Coupled with Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg's films might be the best 1-2 World War Two punch by any director (or at least any American director).
8. Apollo 13 (1995):
Sometimes I hear about the lack of positive heroes (American heroes specifically) in film. One specific instance of this critique is with The Godfather, arguably America's favorite film, dealing with gangsters. You can look at any "best film" lists (including mine) and see how often criminals, killers, villains or morally ambiguous characters populate the list. My usual counter is that heroes can sometimes make for boring characters, but more importantly, why aren't there more films detailing the astronauts and the space program (whether NASA or foreign). These people are as close to true heroes as anyone is going to find, and all of their stories are interesting, climatic, and full of peril and conflict. Apollo 13 tells arguably the most incredible true life crisis story of the last century, and keeps it gripping despite the fact the audience already knows the outcome. The effects work is absolutely spectacular, the acting is top notch, the film looks and sounds beautiful, and overall I think its Ron Howard's best film, both in direction and in general. However, the reason I keep watching this film over and over is the love, curiosity, passion and excitement everyone involved has for the story, the characters, and the space program in general. The attention to detail for everything, and everyone, involved in this mission is what makes this movie fascinating (much as Goodfellas attention to detail is what sets that film apart from every other gangster), and I will never, for a second, understand why there have really only been two ambitious, great, feature length, non-documentary films about America and the space program in the last 30 years (there are amazing documentaries, and the often overlooked HBO series From the Earth to the Moon, but seriously, all we have is The Right Stuff and Apollo 13). I wish I could complain that there is a lack of foreign astronaut stories being made, but they aren't even making ones about American stories. Make some more damn space program films, please!!!
9. Quiz Show (1994):
This film would be my "Good Night and Good Luck" pick from the 2000s list for the 90s. Its just impeccably well made, features an interesting story about America's history, and is an important reminder of the importance and power the media wields to influence America, and the problems that arise from the corporate nature of television. Remarkable acting all around, its a beautiful film that feels both of the 50s and modern. It doesn't try to tell more of the story than necessary, and I applaud it for that - this is a film that believes in the sophistication of the audience, creating a tight film that doesn't waste time repeating itself, even with its slow, but steady, pace. I wish Robert Redford made more films like this.
10. The Thin Red Line (1998):
Its been too long since I have seen this film, so this will be brief. Simply put, I think this is one of the most ambitious war films made, and ranks alongside Apocalypse Now as being a film that grasps, as well as a film can, the psychological absurdity of war. An all-star cast, and like all Malick films, its absolutely beautiful to watch. A great counterpoint to Saving Private Ryan, and one of the best films of its kind.
11. The Shawshank Redemption (1994):
What to say about Shawshank? I'll keep it brief - I don't think I have ever, once, heard anyone say they didn't like this movie. I can't think of any other movie on this list I can say that about. I don't know if I can think of any movie, at all, that I can say that about (I would have said The Godfather, but I know a tall, attractive blonde who would disagree). Is there anything for me to say? Its the number one film of all time at IMDB, and even though I have seen it god knows how many times, if its on television (which is about a 35% chance at any given time) I will watch it again. If you pressed me, there are plenty of critiques I can give this film, but what's the point, I still really, really enjoy it. Some movies just seem to get it right, and this is one of them.
12. The English Patient (1996*) / Babe (1995):
This is for Dan. I was going to put Four Weddings and a Funureal here, but he convinced me that it doesn't hold up as well as I remember. Maybe so, I haven't seen it in years, but I plan to watch it recently, and part of me wonders if I will regret bumping it off the list at the last second when I do finally see it again.
He also convinced me that The English Patient had to be on this list. Again, I haven't seen it since it was in theaters, but I remember I liked it and I have a feeling it would hold up very well for me. I can't say anymore because, well, I was a teenager and what teenager would remember The English Patient all that well? At least Dan was old enough to appreciate it and remind me to put it on the list [insert smiley here]. Also, its gives me a chance to put a picture of Juliette Binoche in this post, which in due time will be the single best item on here.
That said, Babe was also a longtime contender for this spot, and damn if I didn't feel guilty leaving it off. Once I was convinced to finally bumb Four Weddings and a Funureal I realized I couldn't overlook Babe again. Great Family Films might be the most underrated movies of all - seriously, how often do they come along (without the name Pixar up front). For being the best family movie of the 1990s, for a pig who won't stop following his dreams that kids (and adults) can respect and look up to, for having an awesome, restrained performance from James Cromwell (playing the exact opposite of his character in LA Confidential), and for having one of the best closing lines of any movie, all I have to say is "That'll do pig - you made the list."
Final impressions: I worked on this list, off and on, for over three weeks. It was much harder to write than the 2000s, and I think that is because I love all of these movies and didn't feel I could do them justice with a little blurb. It still isn't perfect, but if I don't publish this post now I never will.
Below is the list of films that I initially chose to consider for this list. I left off films I have seen if I knew they wouldn't make the top 10, but if for some reason there is a film you think should be on my final list that isn't listed below (i.e. Sense and Sensibility for Dan), just assume I haven't seen it or don't remember it.
Goodfellas (1990)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
The Silence of the Lambs (*1991)
JFK (1991)
Unforgiven (*1992)
Schindler's List (*1993)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Quiz Show (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Apollo 13 (1995)
Babe (1995)
The English Patient (*1996)
Fargo (1996)
Secrets and Lies (1996)
LA Confidential (1997)
Elizabeth (1998)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
American Beauty (*1999)
The Insider (1999)
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