In continuation of my film lists, here is my compiled list of 35 films from the 90s in English. It originally started as 25 films, then 30 and ultimately I settled for 35 films. That is a testament to how great the 90s decade was in terms of quality of cinema.
The usual disclaimer: I am no movie expert, nor have I seen every film out there. There are still a lot of great movies I had not seen. These are just some of my most favourite ones from a whole lot of good movies that I have seen. This is not a definite list or anything, simply an exercise in talking about my favourite movies based on my subjective taste.
12 Monkeys (1995)
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam’s sci fi masterpiece is one of the most intelligent, innovate and realistic films in the genre. The genre piece involves time travel, two to two different epochs in the past from the future.
The storytelling is non-linear and instead opts to distort and bend the way the story is told skilfully incorporating a bevy of different time sequences: flashbacks, dreams, memories, the present, the past, the future, and even a scene that is lifted out of Hitchcock's Vertigo. All serve to envelop the viewer into its disturbing cacophony of madness and futility. The tight editing helps ensure a slick pace that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Brad Pitt delivers perhaps his first great performance. Bruce Willis makes his mark and Madeleine Stowe looks and acts very well.
Gilliam's expert, overwhelming, and complex handling of what could have been a routine action/sci-fi film makes 12 Monkeys a compelling vision of a nightmarish, futuristic landscape. Its rich, well-thought out, intricate storyline along with bravura performances from the entire cast and its brooding, bleak cinematography make it a masterpiece of madness.
A Civil Action (1998)
Directed by: Steve Zaillian
Steven Zaillian’s adaptation of Jonathan Harr’s A Civil Action is one of the best court room dramas filmed in Hollywood. This means it does away with all the cliche ridden scenes and dialogues that you see in most John Grisham adaptations Hollywood churns out year after year. Courtroom drama is a robust dramatic formula; there is human conflict, suspense and, in the verdict, resolution. This film prefers to emphasise and explore those non exciting parts in between the human conflict and suspense, in between the suspense and the verdict and in between the verdict and the resolution. As a result of that, the film was considered ‘slow’ and ‘dull’ by the mainstream brain dead used to explosions, car chases, quick cuts, power punched dialogues and so on and so forth. However, for the serious movie goer, this is where the charm of A Civil Action lies.
The man who deserves most credit for that is writer director Steven Zaillian himself. I have always believed that Zaillian is one of the best writers in Hollywood. He has written some of the most powerful and acclaimed films for directors like Scorsese and Spielberg.
So it is no surprise that in his second directorial feature, the strongest point of the film would be the gripping script. The film starts by introducing us to the main protagonist Jan Schlictman expertly played by John Travolta. Travolta perhaps delivers the performance of his career. Schlictman gives us snippets of his line of work, the American justice system and the nature of personal injury claims via voiceover dialogues.
However it is not just Travolta’s performance that worthy of admiration in this film. The film boasts of actors like Robert Duvall and William Macy. Duvall is excellent as the sinister, experienced, veteran lawyer Jerome Fachor. Macy’s performance as Jan’s partner in his law firm was the standout one according to film critic Roger Ebert. But for me the standout moment of the film was the final scene where Travolta sums up his entire law career without saying a single word. A bravura scene and a bravura performance.
American Beauty (1999)
Directed by: Sam Mendes
This is one of those unexpectedly great films out there. Low key films, not over hyped, the plot summary does not make you go weak in the knees. I did not know who the director was, who the writer was. I had no body of work to examine so I could figure out what to expect. I watched it without any pre conceived notions and the film blew me over.
I have often felt that while compared to the proportion of films Hollywood makes each year, it produces too few that are actually about contemporary America, that have something to say about contemporary American society, its people and culture unlike its European counterparts.
American Beauty does exactly that and does so brilliantly that I felt like what one of the character remarks in the film, “ Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst.”
American Beauty does make you squirm and uncomfortable in certain parts and that is a great testament of how well the film is acted, written, photographed and directed.
I watched the film twice with a gap of a few years in between and like every great film, even during the second viewing, the film had the exact same effect on me.
Before Sunrise (1995)
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Cinema can be this way too. Very few films make me feel that way. This is because cinema is already close to 100 years old and we have exhausted almost every genre and plotline. Very seldom we find filmmakers who manage to do something no one has done before, make films like no one before. And that is when I feel, cinema can be this way too, because in doing so they expand the boundaries of cinema.
Richard Linklater’s two part compendium Before Sunrise and Before Sunset is the most complete, sublime and delicate one that exists on contemporary man-woman relationships.
Before Sunrise is an invitation to the audience, an invitation to spend an entire day in Vienna with Jesse and Celine. Visit the places they visit be a part of their conversations. The film is revolutionary in so many different ways. Firstly, the screenplay does not follow a traditional three act structure, but rather sounds more like a normal conversation that would take place between two regular individuals.
Secondly, there is no plot, just a dialogue heavy conversation driven film that takes places within the space of one day and not for one second do you find the film tedious or slow. It proves the notion that in order to feel as if you are inside the film, inside the mind of characters, sitting with them, you do not need 3D technology but just plain good filmmaking.
Career Girls (1997)
Directed by: Mike Leigh
There is something about Mike Leigh films that makes it very hard for me to speak about them afterwards. They are too close to my comfort zone, to close to reality, to easy to relate to, to easy to find yourself in the same turmoil and dilemma as the main characters. You don’t want your own life and its problems and demons explored on screen now do you? Well that is exactly what Mike Leigh films do. That is what he did with Secrets and Lies and Career Girls, which on surface sounds much lighter requires the same level of emotional engagement.
Annie and Hannah were roommates in college for 4 years, after they graduated Annie returned to her hometown and now 6 years later she's visiting her old friend in London for the first time in those 6 years. Re-uniting with old friends is something that has happened to all of us and always brings back the most bittersweet memories.
This film explores friendship in a way never done before on screen. When close friends are not in touch for years, it is often very difficult to reunite and start off where you left. It makes us very uncomfortable and the two actresses Katrin Cartlidge and Lynda Steadman reflect this in their performance beautifully. Do we change with time? or do we just reveal more of ourselves in time? and how does that effect our relationships? our friendships?
Another striking feature of Mike Leigh films is that you discover such brilliant actors and actresses you have never heard of. Cartlidge and Steadman are such fine actresses, you find yourself asking why you never heard of them and why they did not go onto do more work.
Carla’s Song (1996)
Directed by: Ken Loach
How does Ken Loach do it time and again? and so effortlessly? He makes these movies about characters that initially seem so far away from us, living on the margins of society. Yet as his film unfold, he manages to draw us into the world of his characters and before we know it, we are deeply involved with them. I have had this same experience watching The Wind That Shakes The Barley, Bread and Roses and My Name is Joe (more on that later in this post).
A bus driver George Lennox meets Carla, a Nicaraguan exile living a precarious, profoundly sad life in Glasgow. Her back is scarred, her boyfriend missing, her family dispersed; she's suicidal. George takes her to Nicaragua to find out what has happened to them and to help her face her past. Once home, Carla's nightmarish memories take over, and Carla and George are thrown into the thick of the US war against the Sandinistas. A mystery develops over where Carla's boyfriend is, and the key to his whereabouts may be Carla's friend Bradley, a bitter American aid worker. She finds her family, the Contras attack, and she and the Scot face their choices.
I had read about the political turmoil in Nicaragua and American involvement, especially the role played by CIA in a university course about politics and terrorism. Here Loach takes me on a journey to Nicaragua and makes me face the horrors and atrocities directly, through the eyes and experiences of the protagonist Carla.
As the proceedings unfold, there are moments in the film that make you gasp in horror and amazement. It makes you wonder how far power will go, or how low power will stoop to, in order to maintain its position, and commit atrocities in the process without a blink of an eyelid. The images and horrors stay with you after the film. Such is the power of Loach’s cinema.
Donnie Brasco (1997)
Directed by: Mike Newell
Gangster movie genre is not an unexplored genre in American cinema by any means. In fact, it can be claimed that the genre has been exhausted with so many films being classified as a gangster movie. Donnie Brasco on its surface may not sound like anything extraordinary but it is a good gangster film made great by the emotional under currents.
Too many poor gangster films that try to copy Scorsese or De Palma go overboard in terms of gratuitous violence but are emotionally hollow. Scorsese/De Palma gangster films are violent too but the violence is contextual, it helps create an effect. But one complaint I have had about Scorsese’s crime films like Goodfellas and Casino is the rawness. Now to some that might be what makes them great films. But this is where a film like Donnie Brasco, or Leonie’s Once Upon A Time in America or even Scorsese’s own Mean Streets scores for me – they are able to draw you into the characters emotionally. You feel intrigued by their morality, their dilemmas, their struggles, you don’t just observe the proceedings from afar. It makes us relate to the characters without ever glamorising the gangster life. Some might even find it a little slow paced and low on action but that is what separates Donnie Brasco from countless other gangster films.
Al Pacino adds warmth and humanity to his character Lefty and makes you feel as if you have known him all along.
There is something so charming and rebellious about a young Johnny Depp of the 90s in films such as Ed Wood, Don Juan and Donnie Brasco. Depp plays Joe Pistone with precision and restrain and helps the audience really empathise with his struggles.
Fight Club (1999)
Directed by: David Fincher
Fight Club established the career of one of the best directors of the last 20 years – David Fincher. You know a film is great when each time you watch it, you form a different perspective on the film. The first time I saw the film, I hated Tyler Durden. The second and third time, I understood him and now he is one of my most favourite fictional characters. Deeply layered films like Fight Club grow with you. As you evolve as an individual, the film evolves with and you find newer meanings. Such works of art enrich you if you will enrich the work itself.
Films with voiceover narrations are always easy to connect to and Fight Club is no different. But before you can slot it in a category and feel you have this figured out, Fincher changes gears takes you to places you knew was possible. The film is a harsh and scathing critique of western materialism, consumerism and corporate culture but at a macro level, it is one of the most important critiques of modern capitalism. It is no surprise that the film met with a lukewarm response from both the critics and the audience on its arrival. Films of this magnitude that brutally rips apart everything that we recognize as contemporary society usually take time to find its audience and Fight Club today is not just a cult classic but is considered one of the best films ever made and Fincher one of the best directors of our time.
Following (1998)
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s first feature film is perhaps one of his best. That isn’t saying much now is it considering all films are superb and he is yet to make a ‘disappointing’ film.
This is an excellent and captivating thriller that provides for a great showcase of Nolan’s talent and prowess. Wannabe writer Bill, aka "The Young Man" (Jeremy Theobald), is "between jobs," living in impoverished circumstances with no prospects, plots, or outlines. Desperate for ideas, he begins following people in the street to "gather material," more accurately described as a venture into voyeurism. When Cobb (Alex Haw) realizes he's being followed, he confronts Bill. Cobb explains that he goes one step further -- entering people's apartments not only for theft but also to spy on private possessions. The notion of illegal intrusions excites Bill, but graduating to the next plateau beyond break-ins sets him up as a fall guy.
This is a gem of a film in independent cinema and shows what you can achieve with talent and hard work even with a limited budget.
Forrest Gump (1994)
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
There are certain movies that you begin to appreciate only after you have seen a good number of great movies movies in general. And then there are certain movies that you appreciate instantly but when you revisit them after you have seen a good number of great movies, they don’t seem all that. Forrest Gump falls in the later category. When I had seen it for the first time, I was amazed by the experience because it is that kind of film. It is serious, deals with life, bug also manages to make you laugh and feel good in the end. When I watched it a second time recently, while I could still appreciate that it is a well made film, it just did not effect me as much. Still it is one of the most loved films of the 90s decade and deserves a place in this list.
Gattaca (1997)
Directed by: Andrew Niccol
Gattaca is the second sci fi feature on this list, which goes to show that the 1990s saw a wide range of well made sci fi stories that had a gripping story to say first and foremost instead of being a sci fi film to look cool. Technology, which often overwhelms most Hollywood CGI extravaganzas these days is merely a backdrop of a human story. The story centres around an inner conflict inside the main protagonist Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke).
Discrimination has always been part of civilization right from time immemorial. When one form of discrimination was fought against and removed, another more vicious form of discrimination replaced it. Gender, colour, race, religion, nationality are just some of the various ways in which humanity divides itself to make itself nobler.
Gattaca presents a futuristic world, devoid of these ancient forms of discrimination but a world where humans make distinction among each other over genetic engineering. It is about a utopian society where the highest ranks work at a space program named Gattaca. Vincent has wanted to work there since he was a child, but since his parents did not "pre-order" him, he was born inferior (a 99 % chance of heart failure by the age of 30, physical and mental problems, etc. ) to his "ordered" brother Antoine. Hence he was automatically ineligible. The interesting concept of the film is about how Vincent cheats the system that tests and examines genetic superiority and lands himself a job at Gattaca.
The set designs are excellent and the Andrew Niccol resorts to the classical method of storytelling, where the film unfolds layer by layer, making the viewing experience so enriching.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Directed by: Gus Vant Sant
Good Will Hunting is a beautiful film written by its Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The screenplay rightly won the Oscar for best original screenplay.
True it appears contrived at times, true it looks slightly clichéd now, true tends to border on ‘feel good’ at times. But the important thing about this film is that is well told, well acted and that more then compensates for the minor flaws here and there. The film is a great example that a script can have certain minor weaknesses, but if it does not mess up the major stuff like characters, and the actors are able to rise above the script and deliver memorable performances, it works. The set-piece conversation scenes between Williams and Damon are to watch out for and they are what make this film so great.
Robin Williams is excellent and deservedly won his Oscar. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck delivers one of their finest performances. One look at Ben Affleck in this film and you cannot help but wonder ‘what could have been’
Happiness (1998)
Directed by: Todd Solondz
What is happiness? is it a state of mind that is realistically possible to reach? is it a dream so out of reach that no one will ever know what it is like? Why are we so unhappy in life? What are we doing wrong? Is this the default state we are meant to be in? If that is the case, then there is nothing we can really do to change can we?
There are various kinds of movies made every year. There are those that are ‘feel good triumph of the human spirit’ stories which if made well work wonders. Examples include The Shawshank Redemption and Good Will Hunting. Quite often though, many of these films are not made well and they unfortunately outnumber the well made ones pretty easily. However, every once in a while you find directors make films as if to counter attack the feel good warm movies that are churned out every year.
The poorly made films are often dangerous because they create and propagate myths, and give the audience an illusion about life. Hence it becomes of paramount importance for films like Happiness and directors like Todd Solondz to exist.
Films like Happiness rip apart all the illusions one might have about life and makes one gulp in shock and disbelief.
The best compliment I can provide for the film is that it was extremely difficult to watch. Like films like Magnolia, Requiem For a Dream, Happiness leaves you absolutely drained emotionally.
Heat (1995)
Directed by: Michael Mann
A Los Angeles crime saga, "Heat" focuses on the lives of two men on opposite sides of the law - one a detective; the other a thief. Sounds very basic? predictable? Its a Michael Mann film and it is almost 3 hours long and it brings together Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Two of the greatest actors America has seen and they had never come together on screen before this. Only a director of the calibre of Mann could do justice to such powerful actors and although the actual scene between them isn’t two long, its the way their characters are written and pitted against each other that makes it so fitting.
Mann makes genre pieces, and perhaps one of the best directors who makes genre films. And it is very rare that genre filmmakers are given the respect of being auteurs by serious film critics but it would be grossly unfair to label Mann as just a genre director. Mann is an original American auteur and all his films mark the stamp of his style.
Instead of getting carried away, Mann meticulously sticks to his script and characters and produces some scintillating set pieces –both action and dialogue set pieces. The shoot out on the streets of LA in broad delight between the robbers and cops is one of the many memorable set pieces Mann has offered his audience over the years.
Kafka (1991)
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Kafka directed by Steven Soderbergh is a very ‘Soderberghish’ take on the acclaimed writer’s life. Those who are familiar with Steven Soderbergh movies will know what I mean. This is not a bio pic by any means. Soderbergh interweaves Kafka’s life with fiction from his own works such as The Trial and The Castle.
This is Soderbergh’s second feature after his magnificent Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989) which blew everyone away at Cannes and won the prestigious Golden Palm. Watching this film only reinforces what I had observed about Soderbergh, that he had peaked very early in his career, as a result of which people started to take him for granted and many of his later works like Solaris, The Girlfriend Experience, The Limey did not receive the praise they deserve because the expectations were too high.
Kafka centres around a spectacular performance by Jeremy Irons in the title role. Soderbergh and Dobbs (the writer) aren't concerned with pandering to anyone here; they allow the story to remain, much like Kafka himself, an enigma. The story grips us like film-noir should, and Soderbergh keeps us enthralled with his constantly inventive camera work. This is a perfect film that deals with notions of fact and fiction, dreams and reality. The filmmakers respect our intelligence; they understand that some question can remain unanswered and film can work better as a result of this. Whether or not you believe the story to have taken place entirely in Kafka's head (note how the last shot of the film sees Kafka at his writing desk) or whether you see it as the mirroring of fact and fiction is entirely up to you. With fine support from Theresa Russell, Jeroen Krabbé and Alec Guinness, coupled with an exotic Cliff Martinez score, what we have with Kafka is one of the best and most underrated films of the nineteen nineties.
L. A. Confidential (1997)
Directed by: Curtis Hanson
L. A. Confidential is one of the best police dramas and in my view the best police film made period. If 1990s did not see so many great films, I would have no qualms in declaring this the film of the decade. Nevertheless it is right up there among the top 5.
A shooting at an all night diner is investigated by three LA policemen in their own unique ways. Ed Exley (Guy Pearce), the golden boy of the police force, willing to do almost anything to get ahead, except sell out; Bud White (Russell Crowe), ready to break the rules to seek justice, but barely able to keep his raging violence under control; and Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), always looking for celebrity and a quick buck until his conscience drives him to join Exley and White down the one-way path to find the truth behind the dark world of L.A. crime.
The acting is phenomenal. Perhaps a bigger tragedy than L.A. Confidential's loss to Titanic in the Best Picture race is that none of the three lead actors even garnered nominations. Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, and Kevin Spacey are absolutely phenomenal; it is their characters that drive this fascinating story about police corruption in 1950s Los Angeles. We get to know these people, to understand who they are and why they do what they do, and to root for them to overcome their imperfections.
Director Curtis Hanson is careful to not make any moral judgements about police corruption but instead present it the way it is, as part of a system and then allow the audience to make up their own mind.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
This little gem from Britain in 1998 introduced and established Guy Ritchie as a writer-director to watch out for. Perhaps influenced by Tarantino and older British crime movies/TV shows, this film gave birth to a whole new genre of British gangster movies like Snatch, Gangster No 1, Lucky Number Slevin and Sexy Beast which blend humour with gangster elements. While Ritchie might have been influenced by other works, his own works are refreshingly original.
Today we have come to expect great lines and scenes from Guy Ritchie but it all started here. A brilliant crime comedy that packs plenty of twist, colourful characters and unravelling plot complimented by a talented and charming cast. A wicked soundtrack. Loaded with bullets, great laughs and terrific surprises. You wont be able to get enough of this flick because it's so much fun.
Magnolia (1999)
Directed by: Paul Thomas Andersen
24 hours in L.A.; it's raining cats and dogs and frogs. And Paul Thomas Andersen pushes you right into this madness and for the next 3 hours, you have to spend time with some varied characters from various different fields but you will find yourself connecting with them very easily, even if you have never been in situations as extreme. That is the power and charm of PTA’s filmmaking.
I would classify Magnolia in the category of films like Todd Solondz’s Happiness and Mike Leigh’s Secrets and Lies. There is no connection except for the fact that the film demands an emotional investment on your part and by the end of the film, you feel emotionally drained. Magnolia makes you squirm and shift uncomfortably, it makes you helpless, just like its characters. It takes you right at the centre of their different dilemmas, you find yourself understanding every character yet unable to take sides, unable to form an opinion.
Magnolia boasts of some excellent performances from its star cast including a career best performance from Tom Cruise. Julianne Moore, William Macy and Jason Roberts as Earl Partidge are top notch too.
It is because of films like Magnolia that makes Paul Thomas Anderson one of the most important directors of America today.
Malcolm X (1992)
Directed by: Spike Lee
Bio pics are my least favourite genre. I find most of them boring so when I am talking about a bio pic, that means I really liked it. Bio pics are often not the best written films because you cannot follow the narrative highs and lows that you usually would. Serious filmmakers like Spike Lee want to remain as true to the facts as possible. So it requires a an actor to rise above the script and dominate the entire film. Denzel Washington does exactly that in his best performance.
This movie has an epic sweep and scope and as a director Lee is up to the challenge. He is served well by being able to direct in several styles, one of which is almost cartoonish: witness the scene where Malcolm (Denzel Washington) and Shorty (played by Lee himself) go stepping out at the Roseland Ballroom, resplendent in their zoot suits. Some comic relief is welcome at times because otherwise the serious, heavy message of the picture might be overwhelming. For instance, the movie opens with a full-screen shot of an American flag while we hear a voice-over of one of Malcolm's most rousing, or inflammatory speeches, depending on how you look at it ("I accuse the white man of being the greatest murderer on the planet!") The flag begins to burn and eventually forms a flaming 'X' as the fiery rhetoric continues. But if you haven't been scared away, the next scene shows the young man Malcolm Little in a funny situation, having his hair straightened by a concoction that threatens to burn off his scalp.
The film is uncompromising and controversial and there will be many who will find legitimate or not, faults with film and the way it was made. But it is one thing that will surely be talked about and doesn’t that sum up Malcolm X perfectly? Uncompromising, controversial, polarising figure, but someone you cannot help but talk about.
My Name is Joe (1998)
Directed by: Ken Loach
Ken Loach is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs. This film is a beautifully crafted, poignant tale about a man who lives on the margins- Joe. Joe (Peter Mullan) is a recovering alcoholic, currently a part time football coach and living on government dough and a little bit of work here and there. He falls in love with Sarah (Louis Goodall), a health worker, and wants to go straight but circumstances conspire against him. He is determined to help his friend Liam (David McKay) when he gets behind on his payments to a drug dealer but his options are limited and he is forced to make a choice that threatens the stability of his fragile relationship.
I have watched quite a lot of Ken Loach films in the recent past and I am absolutely convinced that Ken Loach is not just the one of the best British directors but one of the best in the world. For some reason, perhaps his left leaning politics, he is often not given the respect and accolades that is so freely showered upon many others whose politics suit the establishment.
The script by usual Loach collaborator Paul Laverty is excellent and Peter Mullan rises above the script to deliver a memorable performance. He deservedly won Best Actor at Cannes in 1998.
Loach films are filled with compassion and old school humanity, the kind characterised by Satyajeet Ray, Frank Capra, Akira Kurosawa. This is a powerful, emotional and important film, like most of Loach’s films.
Naked (1993)
Directed by: Mike Leigh
I am not sure I can really review this film. As I had said earlier with Mike Leigh’s Career Girls, I find it very difficult to talk about his films. The film is raw, macabre and sharp. It is impossible to script a film of this nature and I am not surprised to find that most of the film, the dialogues and screenplay were improvised during rehearsals.
This is hailed as Mike Leigh’s best film and it probably is. This film investigates the existential angst as portrayed by the protagonist Johnny of what is to survive; the main character gradually reveals himself before us stripped of pretence and standing "naked" . Johnny's diatribes tinged with apocalyptic tones upon the nature of the universe and beyond are breath taking. Sex and violence under pin the narrative of this film, and with Jonny adhering to no personal boundaries he embarks upon a journey that takes the viewer upon an uneasy and ultimately rewarding journey .
Lastly, it is not possible to talk or write about this film without mentioning David Thewlis’ performance as Johnny. In my view, it is one of the top 5 of the decade and one of the top 10 of all time.
Night on Earth (1991)
Directed by: Jim Jarmusch
I absolutely love and adore Jim Jarmusch movies. They work like drugs for me. They make me high and I can never get enough of his movies. The best compliment I can give to Jarmusch is that I fear that I will soon watch all his films and then I will have nothing to look forward to. That is why I have resisted from watching some of his films, just to keep the excitement alive.
In his commentary for the film Broken Flowers (2005), Jarmusch said that what fascinated him were the random, tiny, insignificant things in life that actually MAKE our lives. The best things in life are not planned, they are random. They happen out of nowhere and make our lives in ways we do not understand. His attempt is to capture some of that in his cinema. That is why every film of his is so fascinating because you can never run out of exploring all the fascinating things in life can you?
Night on Earth is about 5 different stories in 5 different cities – New York, Paris, Los Angeles, Rome and Helsinki. They all feature cab drivers and explore 5 different, fascinating encounters they have with customers during one night in different parts of the world.
Jim Jarmusch is an old fashioned humanist who is keen on exploring the lives of those mainstream cinema pretends ignores. Or even on the rare occasion that it does explore them, it appears contrived, romanticised and artificial. None of that in a Jarmusch film.
I do not want to describe anything else about the individual stories because that would diminish the charm to an extent. It is best to let this film flow freely, unravel at its own pace, allow its characters to get familiar with you.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Where do I begin to talk about this film? What is there to say that hasn't been said already? The film is brilliant in so many different levels, it is hard to even start with one.
Like Godard’s Breathless which forever changed cinema and is hailed as one of the more influential films of all time, Pulp Fiction is not just one of the most influential films of the 90s but has influenced a whole generation of filmmakers, writers and even movie fans.
Like Tarantino’s mentor Godard, Pulp Fiction broke all the rules of cinema and established some new ones – Non linear narrative, a character killed off at a certain point can re appear later, long conversation scenes which have now made Tarantino so famous and of course the most important point – that you do not have to relate to or feel for the protagonists to appreciate the film.
Lot of people who criticize Pulp Fiction make this point. While it is true, I do not see it as a criticism, at least not in the case of Pulp Fiction. This might be true for Tarantino’s Kill Bill films where I did not really feel for the Bride’s character. However in Pulp Fiction, it does not matter. You don’t have to feel for Mia Wallace, or Vincent Vega or Jules, or even Butch. You find them interesting, amusing and intriguing. You enjoy their company, their conversations and you enjoy them so much, before you know it, you love the film.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino will have to live with something all his life. Every director makes one or two at most really great films in their career, that end up defining their career. They might go onto make good films, very good films, but their careers will forever be defined by that one or two masterpieces. For Scorsese they are Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. For Coppola they are The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.
Unfortunately for Tarantino (or fortunately depending on your perspective), his first two films are his best and greatest work and it is not possible to surpass work of this quality in a lifetime. Now if Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction came within 10 or 5 years of each other, his career would have been looked at differently. But they came within two years of each other and inevitably everything since then will seem downhill.
Tarantino loves genre and he loves the sub genres and he loves to work specifically within those parameters, but obviously in his own way. Reservoir Dogs takes the crime (heist) genre on its head and turns it upside down. The actual crime or robbery or heist is not actually shown in the film. It is a macguffin. A crime film where the actual crime is a macguffin is unusual to say the least. Instead the film is a series or collection of ground-breaking set pieces filled with riveting dialogue and powerful acting. As you unravel Reservoir Dogs, it just gets better and better and culminates in a riveting climax.
Secrets and Lies (1996)
Directed by: Mike Leigh
Secrets and Lies is a deeply layered, nuanced social drama about a dysfunctional family. Mike Leigh is one of the truly underrated directors in the world. I do not know if it is because he is British or his films have a distinctly British character, but I am had Secrets and Lies been made in America or France, it would have been much more well known.
The story, every bit as believable and real as the rest of Leigh's work, centres on a woman, Cynthia Purley (Blethyn ), whose mid-life crisis is further exacerbated by the appearance on the scene of the daughter she gave away at birth, the wonderfully named Hortense Cumberbatch (Baptiste) - a young, beautiful, professional black woman who causes a few eyebrows to be raised in the family, and forces Cynthia to come to terms with her past.
Why do family members hate each other at times? Why do they act cold with each other? Years and years of estrangement, bitterness, hatred can one day burst out and explode and reveal all the dirty secrets and pathetic lies.
In a powerful moment, brilliant actor Timothy Spall says "Secrets and lies! We're all in pain! Why can't we share our pain? I've spent my entire life trying to make people happy, and the three people I love the most in the world hate each other's guts, and I'm in the middle! I can't take it anymore!"
Leigh’s handling of tender, emotionally charged scenes are magical. He is one of the most original writer-directors alive today. It is a lot easier to pick the best script or best novel out there, make a few changes here and there and deliver a good film. It is a lot harder to write the film yourself out of nowhere.
The Age of Innocence (1993)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
My introduction to Martin Scorsese was through his gritty, raw films of the 70s and 80s like Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas. As much as I enjoyed those films, I often felt that Scorsese should try a softer subject and see how he handles it. It is as if he made this film to answer that.
There are very few period films that I have liked. So if this list movie makes it here, it means I truly loved it. While the writing is excellent, and it fleshes out the characters beautifully, what completes this film is impeccable art direction & beautiful cinematography by the legendary Michael Ballhaus. The film looks as impressionistic as the paintings that line the walls of the characters' homes.
Daniel Day Lewis and Michelle Pfeifer play their parts with aplomb. But Winona Ryder was the surprise of the package. She plays the part of a naive on the exterior but calculative inside with ease.
Often I feel detached and uninvolved with period films but this was not the case with The Age of Innocence.
The Devil's Advocate (1997)
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Brilliant in one word. And the only thing that takes it the level of brilliant from very good is the climax. The climax required extremely heavy duty acting to take it to a higher level and who better than Al Pacino to do the honours? This is not the first time where Pacino has risen above the script and leave you awe struck with his screen presence and power. Luckily Reeves was not required to deliver many lines in the climax but his average performance was the one weak link in the film. Charlize Theron is gorgeous and acts so well.
Taylor Hackford films are usually acting showcases and The Devil’s Advocate is no different but this film also manages to explore some important philosophical themes of good, evil, free will and human nature.
The Insider (1999)
Directed by: Michael Mann
Michael Mann has always been greatly interested in telling real stories. He has admitted himself that he is not good at imagining things, but rather reflecting things as they are. His previous attempts at realism include films The Thief, The Last of the Mohicans and Heat. However, for some reason, they have always been seen more as dramatic genre pieces despite the director’s insistence to the contrary. Its as if that dissatisfaction led to Mann picking up a real news article and developing a script out of it.
The 90s was a great decade which saw a host of great films from directors such as Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino and Francis Ford Coppola. This list contains movies from all those maestros but if I had to pick a film as THE film of the decade, it would be Michael Mann’s The Insider.
For me, this film is how I would describe perfection in cinema. The screenplay is taut, brave and inspiring. Set piece scenes involving actors of the calibre of Al Pacino, Rusell Crowe and Christopher Plummer are absolutely compelling. But when set pieces are mentioned in Mann movies, they usually involve high octane shoot outs like we saw in Heat. However this film contains no shoot outs. The set pieces are dialogue set pieces and the dialogues are absolutely brilliant.
The background scores by Gustavo Santaolalla and Lisa Gerrard are absolutely majestic. Every department, every field of art combines and collaborates in order to create a perfect film that is The Insider.
I feel Michael Mann does not get enough credit and appreciation as he deserves and this film would be my strongest argument as to why Michael Mann is right up there in top of the tree when it comes to great American directors.
The Limey (1999)
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
The Limey is an old school thriller, the kind they used to make in the 60s and the 70s and is also the most underrated film Steven Soderbergh has ever made. Terence Stamp is Wilson who after finishing a nine-year sentence "at her Majesty's leisure" goes to L.A. to discover how his daughter, Jenny, met her end while he was in the big house and to avenge her death. Peter Fonda plays her former lover, a wicked, soulless record producer who was big in the 60s.
Soderbergh shuffles time and Wilson's life like a deck of cards yet always keeps the story moving forward—with marvellous editing by Sarah Flak. It's a lovely, startling effect; rather than weigh the narrative down with a number of plodding, onerous details, this style keeps the thing as light as a soufflé yet full of implications as we imagine the ways and necessities of Wilson telling and retelling, hashing over his life, representing and misrepresenting his actions or inaction.
Soderbergh incorporates all the elements of a spell-binding thriller and shows everyone how its done. The film is very much like a course on filmmaking it self.
The Matrix (1999)
Directed by: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowsky
This is one of the best science fiction films made in decades. When you have access to great technology, it is very easy to get carried away and make a weak film in terms of content. This is where the Wachowskis deserve credit because not only did they use great use of technology and special effects, they also managed to present a film with good characterisation, explore serious philosophical themes of reality, truth, free will and destiny and extract decent performances from almost everyone. Keanu Reeves is perhaps the most disappointing with his limited range as an actor but it isn’t always so apparent.
The Rainmaker (1997)
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
As it happens with great actors, it happens with great directors too. The world starts to take them for granted and as a result, lot of their very good work remain underrated. This is a powerful, courtroom drama directed by the master of American cinema – Francis Ford Coppola.
A courtroom drama can often go a predictable route at the hands of a lesser director, but not Mr Coppola. Its amazing to see the health insurance being such a hot issue today, and this film actually explored that 13 years ago. I enjoyed the trial scenes and all the grunt work that went behind it. And the cast was wonderful. Each person added a little more to the movie, and each gave a great performance. Danny Glover as the (2nd) judge gave a little humour to the movie, but also made you feel good about Rudy's (Matt Damon) chances in court. He was going to play fair, but hew as also going to give Rudy the benefit of the doubt. Jon Voight played the insurance company's lead lawyer, and he played his character to it's swarmy best. He is what people think lawyers are like, out only for money; win at all costs, no soul (I know attorneys like that). And he was convincing. And of course DeVito and Damon carried the film.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Directed by: Terrence Mallick
One of the greatest war films ever made, the best war film of the 90s, better than Spielberg’s overdrawn and over dramatic Saving Private Ryan by a mile.
It uses one of the most complex narrative structures yet produced by cinema to tell three stories (yes, it DOES have a plot): the one the book wanted to tell (the book's title comes from a 19th century allusion to the British Empire's infantry [red uniforms] whose small numbers managed to 'protect' the British "civilization" from the countless hordes of "savages" which the Empire ruled. James Jones used this analogy to tell the story of how young American soldiers with no battlefield experience become bloodied veterans.
The fundamental paradox of war: to protect "civilization" (all that we hold dear) we are prepared to send young men to fight in wars. We know that in war they will see and do things that will turn them into the very "savages" that we are trying to prevent from destroying our civilization.
War films often tend to take the jingoistic route, or the emotionally over dramatic route, or the route of a thriller, where you try to keep the audience at the edge of their seat with what happens next.
Terrence Mallick has never conformed to the norms. His war masterpiece is a contemplative, philosophical, multi-layered piece of intense, haunting and powerful drama. The film requires multiple viewings to allow yourself to absorb the various themes the film attempts to explore.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Directed by: Bryan Singer
A boat has been destroyed, criminals are dead, and the key to this mystery lies with the only survivor and his twisted, convoluted story beginning with five career crooks in a seemingly random police line-up.
A great, gritty script, beautifully-acted characters, and what many have called the greatest movie twists of all time, are some of the shining qualities that make the Usual Suspects an object worthy of praise above its humble-looking shell.
The casting is very unusual but somehow fits perfectly. Gabriel Byrne is convincing as the ex-con trying to build a new life when he gets drawn back into his old life. Stephen Baldwin has the role of his career as the smart-mouthed and cocky professional. Kevin Pollak takes a big departure from his usual good comedy self to take a more dramatic role. Benicio del Toro literally takes a one-dimensional character with absolutely nothing in the script to give him character, and he fleshes it out with brilliant mannerisms and memorable mumbling to show incredible acting creativity. Kevin Spacey as we know him was born from this movie. His manners and fast-talking yet shy gimp nature are a treat to listen to throughout the flick.
This film established quite a few memorable quotes, one of them being “the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist”.
Bryan Singer established his place in American cinema with this cult classic and its a shame he hasn’t been able to recreate the magic of this film ever again.
Trainspotting (1995)
Directed by : Danny Boyle
“Choose life, choose a job, choose a fu*king big television” The film starts with one of the most powerful monologues I have seen in cinema. This ensured that I was hooked onto the film from the very first scene, the very first line and till this day, it remains one of my most favourite films of all time.
Every now and then I come across films that in some mysterious way speaks to me not just from the text level but from various quarters. They change the way I look at cinema and life and Danny Boyle’s cult classic Trainspotting is one of them. One often hears the criticism of style over substance levelled against certain films. Quite often I come across films that explore deep themes but are stylistically unappealing. Danny Boyle is one director who has consistently offered substance in a stylish way and Trainspotting is quite possibly his best film.
There is a tendency among serious films critics to not take Trainspotting and in particular Danny Boyle movies seriously because apparently they are too ‘commercial’. I do not understand where the boundaries begin or end but if ‘non commercial’ means a work of art that ought to be taken seriously, then Trainspotting is right up there at the top of the tree.
True Romance (1993)
Directed by: Tony Scott
Romance, drugs, violence, more romance, mafia, pimps, cops, more romance, gunfights and you have True Romance. When asked why he does not make a romantic film, Tarantino instantly answers that the first script he ever wrote was a romantic film and just because it has have violence, blood, drugs, gun fights does not meant it is not a romantic film. However it is impossible to speak about this film without mentioning what is perhaps one of the best conversation scenes ever written and quite possibly the best scene Tarantino ever wrote. I am obviously talking about the scene with Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper.
For some odd reason this is not a film that is talked about at great length but for me it is one of the best films of the 90s decade and is a great example of the great genre films that came out during that decade. As a fan of genre films, I have to go back to the 90s to watch these classical genre films as genre is mostly dead in our ‘Twilight’ age.
Honourable Mentions:
Bottle Rocket (1996)
Chasing Amy (1997)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
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