Decades of Cinema - 10 Best of the 1990's

My previous "Decades" lists are here: 1920's, 1930's, 1940's, 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's. Here are my ten favorite films from the 1990's.

10. The Matrix

Forget about the shitty sequels for a second and just remember how damn cool The Matrix was when it was released in 1999. I had never seen anything like it, a noir science fiction experience that, at the time, pushed the boundaries of cinema in ways I could have never imagined. 16 years later and it has aged quite well, perhaps because it was ahead of its time.

9. The Shawshank Redemption

I know there are plenty of people who frown when a person mentions their love for The Shawshank Redemption. I am one of the lovers, not the frowners. The whole film is still such a warm blanket for me, but those last 30 or so minutes? My goodness, just thinking about the conclusion of this film makes me joyful and tingly. 

8. Good Will Hunting

Superbly written and performed, Good Will Hunting is the type of film that I can watch over and over and over and never grow tired of it. Add in the recent passing of the great Robin Williams and watching what is arguably his finest performance as an actor makes the entire experience even richer. 

7. Fight Club

Where as I made sure to mention that The Matrix has not aged poorly, Fight Club actually tastes like a fine wine. This shit is more delicious with each passing year. One of quite a few masterful efforts from director David Fincher, a cinematic mind fuck that has, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant and strangely beautiful final scenes in recent memory.

6. Goodfellas

A cinema lovin' buddy of mine correctly pointed out that I left Raging Bull off of my list of the best from the 1980's. This wasn't an accident, I think it is an outstanding film but it simply didn't make the cut, but the absence of Scorsese was not going to happen again. I can't even begin to imagine a best of the 90's list without Goodfellas.

5. The Big Lebowski

I am often times guilty of not taking comedy films seriously enough. I love them but for whatever reason I have trouble ranking even the best of the genre up near the best of other, more dramatic work. This does not apply to The Big Lebowski though, which is not only my favorite comedy of all time but one of my 25 favorite films, period. The 1990's were such a strong part of my film lovin' life that the top 8 of this list all rank in my top 50 overall.

4. Eyes Wide Shut

The final achievement from the genius Stanley Kubrick and this is a film worthy of the words misunderstood masterpiece. Advertised as a sexy thriller with the "it" couple at the time of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman starring, in reality this is a brilliantly creepy, hypnotic advertisement for monogamy. Deemed a "lesser" Kubrick upon its release, Eyes Wide Shut is anything but.

3. Se7en

Was I too young to see Se7en the first time I did? Absolutely. Do I regret this for even a second now? No. Not at all. When I was 12 years old, I had seen very few examples of "great" cinema and Se7en was eye opening for me, and not just because of the shocking content. The craft is out of this world, featuring an aesthetic that is somehow simultaneously crisp and yet gloomy and dour. This and, ironically, the next film on this list are the two movies that taught me how evil the world could be at an age when I couldn't really comprehend such a thing.

2. The Silence of the Lambs

I can't even begin to try to figure out how many times I have watched The Silence of the Lambs. I recall watching it numerous times and loving it and yet never knowing until years later that it had been so successful at the Oscars. It's easy to understand why, since if you offered me 100 dollars to name a flaw of the film I would come up empty and stay broke. The performances are incredible, including the iconic evil turn from Anthony Hopkins as the infamous Hannibal Lecter. The storytelling maintains a perfect, intense flow throughout and Buffalo Bill gave me nightmares when I was young. I welcomed the lack of sleep.

1. Pulp Fiction

Quentin Tarantino is an incredible screenwriter, and I honestly believe Pulp Fiction is the greatest screenplay ever written. A perfect cast utilizing perfect words with perfect execution leads to an end result like this, the best film from the 1990's. "Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead."

Next list I will move into the current century with my ten favorite films released between 2000-2009. The image over is from one of the movies that will make the cut. 

Decades of Cinema - 10 Best of the 1980's

My previous "Decades" lists are as follows: 1920's, 1930's, 1940's, 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's. Here we are in the decade I was born in, the 1980's. These are my ten favorite films released during those ten years.

10. Blade Runner

On the previous list I included a science fiction masterpiece by Ridley Scott, a little film you may have heard of called Alien. Here we are again with the same director and the same description. Ridley is pretty hit or miss with me over the course of his whole career, but he went back to back with Alien and then Blade Runner. For that I will always love him.

9. Back to the Future

Much of my lists for both the 80's and the 90's will be soaked in nostalgia for me, films that I have wonderful memories of watching on repeat growing up. Back to the Future is one of those. Just thinking about this one fills me with joy.

8. Full Metal Jacket

This, however, is not one of those films I am referring to when I mention nostalgia. I saw Full Metal Jacket once when I was a teenager and I don't recall feeling too much in either direction regarding it. As an adult though, things changed and I fell in love. Stanley Kubrick follows the narrative of the source material the film is adapted from (The Short-Timers, by Gustav Hasford) and separates the movie into two halves, the first being the iconic boot camp sequence and the second being a more traditional horrors of war story. As a whole, it is remarkable.

7. Grave of the Fireflies

Oh, was I just talking about war? Well here we go again with more on the subject, the beautiful yet heartbreaking Grave of the Fireflies. I cried so damn much when I watched it. Seriously. One of the finest by Studio Ghibli, but not the finest. More of their brilliance to come...

6. The Shining

The third decade and fifth film overall on these lists by Stanley Kubrick, and it won't be the last either. The Shining is sublime horror, the kind that would keep a younger me up at night.

5. Aliens

My love for the original Alien flourished the older I got, as adult me found much more appreciation in its nuance than kid me ever could have. Aliens, however, this had childhood Scott written all over it. Ripley kicked my young ass on repeat and I literally had nightmares I can still remember today, vivid and intense dreams involving xenomorphs crawling into my room.

4. My Neighbor Totoro

I promised more Ghibli above and I have delivered! My Neighbor Totoro...animation doesn't get much more gorgeous, touching and imaginative than this. A masterpiece that demands to be seen, regardless of your age.

3. Cinema Paradiso

I recently posted my review of the treasure Cinema Paradiso, one of the truly great love letters to cinema the medium has ever produced. This one doesn't just have a beating heart, it is bursting with passion and emotion. If you watch this and don't have a smile on your face during much of the running time, color me surprised.

2. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

A best of 1980's list was never not going to have a Star Wars flavor to it. The holy trilogy pretty much defined my 80's, 90's, hell I still can't quench my thirst for them to this day. So yeah, I bet you can guess how the list will end...

1. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Up until a year or two ago, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back wouldn't merely have been my favorite film from the 1980's, it was my favorite movie period. Now it sits at #2, with my favorite still to come in a future list. The Empire Strikes Back has quite possibly the greatest pacing of any film I have ever seen. Despite it happening during roughly my 100th viewing just a year or so ago, it occurred to me for the first time that somehow, almost impossibly a picture so packed to the brim with iconic scenes, famous quotes and recognizable imagery is only right around two hours in length yet it also never feels even slightly rushed. It just happens, and it does so with perfection. 

Next up will be the 1990's, a decade in which I went from being a 6 year old watching films way too mature for me to a 15 year old who finally started to understand what they meant. One of the movies on that list is represented with the picture above.

Decades of Cinema - 10 Best of the 1960's

Previous lists are the 1920's, 1930's, 1940's and the 1950's. Here we have my ten favorite films from the 1960's.

10. The Apartment

Thanks to the Katherine Heigl's and Gerard Butler's of the world, the words "romantic comedy" have gotten a bad name. Here's the thing though: a good film is a good film, regardless of genre, and there have been a lot of terrific rom com pictures over the years. The Apartment by Billy Wilder is one of the all time greats. 

9. Winter Light

I find it ironic that I am always drawn in by pictures filled with religious themes and those that frequently feature religious imagery because in reality such things have little to no meaning in my life. I may not go to church, well, ever, but I will certainly attend a sermon directed by Ingmar Bergman. Winter Light is a truly special film that follows the pastor of a church as he searches for answers from a silent God. 

8. Persona

Oh, that Ingmar Bergman guy? Was I just talking about him? Well how about that, here we are again with one of his masterful works, this time the psychological mind fuck known as Persona. When I saw this film, I had no idea what I was watching unfold, but I didn't care. I knew what I was seeing was brilliantly crafted and the definition of memorable.

7. Night of the Living Dead

The ultimate zombie film from none other than the master himself, George A. Romero. Night of the Living Dead has so much more going on than just the walking dead. It is easy to ignore these days and treat as inconsequential, but this is a horror film released in 1968 and the lead role was a black male who bossed around the white people. Think about that for a second. Think about how controversial it must have been to see at the time.

On a much simpler level, this is a brilliantly made classic and it's entertaining as hell.

"They're coming to get you, Barbara!"

6. Breathless

This film from Jean-Luc Godard can only be described in the most simplistic of terms, even though the picture itself is anything but: it's just so god damn cool. From the model himself in the vein of Bogart Michel to his hip and beautiful girlfriend Patricia, Breathless is one of the earliest and most influential movies from the French New Wave.

5. La Jetee

One of the finest films ever created and it clocks in at less than 30 minutes in length, La Jetee is short but utterly brilliant. Director Chris Marker takes us on a science fiction journey in an unconventional way by delivering a story not with a normal cinematic flow but as a slide show of images and a voice-over narration. La Jetee ended up being the work that influenced the creation of the movie 12 Monkeys, and while I love the Terry Gilliam picture, the original is the masterpiece for me.

4. Dr. Strangelove

The top four films from the 1960's will be a perfect representation of why I consider Stanley Kubrick to be quite possibly the greatest cinematic mind in history. While only two of the four films will be his, they represent just how much range he demonstrated as an auteur and here we have one of the all time most brilliant comedies ever made. Yet another example of Kubrick being extremely anti-war only instead of delivering these messages via Paths of Glory or Full Metal Jacket type narratives, he makes us laugh out loud early and often here.

3. Psycho

If you have been following my lists thus far, you have figured out by now that I am quite the fan of Hitchcock. Psycho is iconic and having the chance to see it on the big screen last year for the first time in my life was quite the experience. Also, is it just me or does Andrew Garfield look an awful lot like Anthony Perkins? Too bad they wasted a remake on Vince Vaughn.

2. Lawrence of Arabia

There was never another film like Lawrence of Arabia and there never will be again. It is a once in a lifetime miracle of cinema, a massive epic that, if it were made today, would demand a 300 million dollar budget and most of it would be wasted on special effects. Don't be fooled by the daunting length of this one and let that stop you from watching, Lawrence of Arabia is one of the smoothest and easiest films I have ever digested.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey

A haunting monolith of cinema, 2001: A Space Odyssey is considered by many to be the greatest achievement in movie history and it is difficult for me to find a compelling reason to disagree. Stanley Kubrick does something mesmerizing and profound with the material by baffling us yet also inspiring his audience into believing that film can be an art form unlike any other. Personally, I think 2001 is a giant, amazing representation of the evolution of humanity, but hey, what the hell do I know?

The most important thing to remember when experiencing 2001 is to not get frustrated trying to analyze the details to death. That first time you see it, who cares what it is about? Just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

Next up, the 1970's. Oh boy the 1970's. I had to make some real tough choices and leave off some amazing films there. One that did make the cut is depicted above.

Decades of Cinema - 10 Best of the 1950's

You can find my lists for the 1920's here, 1930's here, and 1940's here. It's time to cover the 1950's, a pretty incredible ten years of filmmaking.

10. Wild Strawberries

The brilliance of Ingmar Bergman can not be overstated. The man was a genius, and one of my favorite works of his is Wild Strawberries, a film that beautifully walks the line of real and surreal with grace and ease. This is without a doubt a far more accessible movie compared to some of his others, as we go on a journey with Isak Borg both in the literal and deeply personal sense as he drives a great distance and also reflects on his life and finds inner peace with himself along the way.

9. Ugetsu

Ugetsu is a tremendously beautiful, haunting ghost story that is celebrated for being one of the defining pieces from the Japanese Golden Age of Film. It is a mystical, magical fable that utilizes gorgeous cinematography to set an atmosphere that is impossible not to admire.

8. A Man Escaped

A man condemned to death in a Nazi prison camp in a then German-occupied France. Much of the film is spent inside the claustrophobic confines of a prison cell, and you can feel the walls closing in around him. The only way out is via escape and a plan is methodically put into place, and the tension is built brilliantly using sound and space. This Robert Bresson film is not only a masterclass in filmmaking on its own regard, but it has since been the inspiration for other major pictures including the Oscar winning Alfonso Cuaron picture Gravity. A Man Escaped is a must see.

7. Rashomon

A film that literally invented terminology referring to scenarios in which multiple eye witness accounts of a single event offer conflicting information. The Rashomon effect. This is a movie worthy of being described as spellbinding, as I cannot look away as I watch it. Rashomon is essentially perfect cinema on every possible level, yet it only ranks as my #7 of its decade. That's how great the 50's were.

6. 12 Angry Men

A sublime example of minimalism done right, 12 Angry Men almost entirely takes place in one room and yet the setting is probably more vital to the storytelling than any single character. A jury deliberates the fate of a man who has been charged with a murder, and the tension in the room is reflected by the climate outside. One of the finest examples of a film being carried by performances that I can think of.

5. The Night of the Hunter

In the review I wrote for Only God Forgives, I explain what is wrong with blindly following a site like Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic without giving a movie a chance and making up your own mind. One of the biggest historical examples of thing is The Night of the Hunter, the only film ever directed by Charles Laughton. Why only one? Because it was panned critically out of the gate and was a commercial failure. Now you can't find an expansive list of the greatest films of all time without seeing The Night of the Hunter on it.

4. Paths of Glory

There have been a fair amount of hard hitting war films released since the dawn of the medium, but Paths of Glory is surely one of the greatest. One of a few examples of the genius Stanley Kubrick using his platform to artistically express his anti-war sentiments, the story here involves a group of soldiers who refuse to participate in an attack that is essentially suicide. Three of these men are chosen randomly to face a court-martial for cowardice. 

The first time I saw Paths of Glory, I was literally speechless when it ended. I then proceeded to immediately press play on the remote and watch the entire thing over again without even so much as standing up.

3. Rear Window

For the second straight list of my favorite films from a decade, Alfred Hitchcock will occupy two of the top three spots. Safe to say I am a fan, eh? The difference between the two sets of films is the 1940's variety, with Shadow of a Doubt and Rope, were two movies I had not even seen until relatively recently and I fell in love with as an adult. Here with Rear Window, the love is both due to the exquisite filmmaking and also the nostalgic feeling I get from seeing this so many times throughout my life. I cherished Rear Window nearly 20 years ago and I admire it even more today.

2. Singin' in the Rain

If I am ever even in a slightly dour mood, a little headache, a bad day at work, hell simply stubbing my toe would suffice, I can turn to Singin' in the Rain and everything will be just fine soon after I press play. I used to claim I hated musicals. I used to be an idiot. This is one of the great joys of cinema, a film that absolutely glows thanks to memorable musical numbers, amazing set pieces and tons of laughs. 

1. Vertigo

The best film of the 1950's is also one of my favorite of all time from any era. Vertigo sort of represents what cinematic perfection feels like for me because it was the first film I ever saw that made me understand what the word masterpiece meant. Not to mention the fact that when I lost my Vertigo virginity, I was a 14 year old boy so beautiful women were certainly in my wheelhouse. Probably explains why I was smiling like an idiot whenever Kim Novak was on the screen.

Next will be the 1960's, which will feature some of the finest films ever made.  

Inherent Vice Review

I don't typically come right out in a review and recommend the source material a movie is based on, because I try to focus solely on the film itself, but before you go see the new Paul Thomas Anderson film Inherent Vice, but you should read the source material of the same name by acclaimed author Thomas Pynchon. I had already tasted the deliciously bizarre world occupied by characters like Larry "Doc" Sportello, Shasta Fay Hepworth, Mickey Wolfmann and, last but not least, "Bigfoot" Bjornsen thanks to my reading the book well in advance of seeing it brought to the big screen. The craziest thing is, not only did I not have the film spoiled for me by knowing what would unfold, I actually was still a bit confused trying to piece together the puzzle while watching.

While I read the novel, at times I had absolutely no idea what was happening but by the end I knew I absolutely loved what all the words amounted to. The film follows a similar pattern, and it isn't that the plot itself is complicated, its the way it navigates through it that makes it occasionally challenging to follow. Joaquin Phoenix plays the lead role of Larry "Doc" Sportello, a drugged out private investigator who is tasked with a job working for his ex-girlfriend Shasta, who hires Doc to prevent the potential abduction of her new lover Mickey. 

My intention is not to make this film seem ridiculous or daunting. I mean, it is ridiculous, but it absolutely needs to be seen. PT Anderson is a modern genius auteur, a man who I have often compared to Stanley Kubrick which is probably the biggest compliment you can pay a filmmaker. When I make such a comparison, it isn't meant to say they are on equal footing because I simply cannot go there yet with PTA, but instead just when you compare their careers in general. Anderson is one of an elite group who actually have the balls to essentially take on any genre and absolutely nail it, which is rare and something that needs to be cherished. If a lesser filmmaker attempted to transition from the tone of The Master to an adaptation of Inherent Vice, I would have assumed it was destined for failure, but PTA? Why the hell not, the guy can take absolutely anything and craft a masterpiece out of it.

Kubrick made heavy, serious films like Paths of Glory, 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining, yet he is also responsible for quite possibly the greatest comedic work of all time with Dr. Strangelove. Paul Thomas Anderson delivers There Will Be Blood, The Master, Boogie Nights and Magnolia, and then all the sudden he comes out of nowhere with a drugged out, laugh out loud funny film like this, and he knocks it out of the park.

For some reason I am not ready to place Inherent Vice at the same level as previous PTA masterpieces just yet, but I know for a fact it will get there with a revisit, and shit does this not only demand a revisit, it flat out deserves it. There is so much to take in, so much to comprehend, so much to appreciate, even if you watch it the first time and ask yourself "What the hell did I just watch?" you will do so with a smile on your face, because whatever it is, it's fucking great.

4.5/5