The ’90s were a moment of tremendous upheaval in international cinema. Here in America, the revolt against Hollywood’s bland output a decade earlier had resulted in a small window in which American independent cinema became commercially viable and started seeping into more mainstream fare. Young and exciting directors, most of whom are now A-listers, were given resources and able to make multiple films. Meanwhile, Hollywood’s big commercial films were in the hands of directors like Spielberg, Bigelow, Verhoeven, Woo and De Palma, as franchises continued to be invented rather than recycled.

On the international scene, the Iranian New Wave unloaded a treasure trove of new films, the great run of Hong Kong cinema was peaking and maturing, three great autuers completely upended how films in Taiwan were made, and a pair of Danish directors with a dogma wanted to change how every film was made.

More than anything, what defined the decade was the emergence of individual filmmakers who not only had unique visions – every decade has its great auteurs – but ones who opened new doors to the endless possibilities of cinematic storytelling. Directors like Abbas Kiarostami, Wong Kar-Wai, David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino reinvented cinema on their own terms and gained recognition as superstars for doing so, each winning major prizes at Cannes. Meanwhile, landmark films like “Hoop Dreams,” “The Celebration,” “Toy Story” and “The Matrix” pointed to ways technology could be used to make films in a different way.

Popular on Indiewire

Needless to say, no cinephile’s knowledge base is complete without a robust awareness of the 20th century’s final decade, and these 50 titles represent our sense of the most essential ones.

50. “Before Sunrise” (1995)

Sony Pictures Entertainment

Romance movies suffer from more cliches than nearly any other film genre, which makes pulling off the boy-meets-girl story structure a big challenge. It’s miraculous how effortlessly Richard Linklater pulls it off in “Before Sunrise.” Part of it has to do with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, two actors who turn every scripted line into something close to improvised truths, but a lot has to do with Linklater’s sensitive directorial touch. Capturing each conversation in long, unbroken takes, he allows his actors to spark a real connection in front of the viewer’s eyes. Their chemistry bristles with the innocence and excitement of first love, and it makes the intimate structure of “Before Sunrise” feel like it has the sweeping scope of a grand romantic epic. There’s a reason every walky-talky romance in the years since have been measured up to what “Before Sunrise” achieves. It’s profound filmmaking of the highest order. –Zack Sharf

49. “Trainspotting” (1996)

Miramax Films

Second only to dreams, nothing sparks the visual imagination of directors like the challenge of translating the experience of being high. And yet too often drug movies only succeed at translating the paranoia, altered pacing and drudgery, and not the euphoria that gets them hooked. With “Trainspotting,” Danny Boyle connects the joys of being high with the anti-establishment rebellion against homogeneity, all driven by a soundtrack that thumps to a generation’s “Lust for Life.” The film doesn’t skip the restlessness and pain of withdrawal, nor the emptiness of human relationships in the clear light of day, but the music combined with Ewan McgGregor’s witty voice over and a colorful cast of characters keeps the film humming until McGregor is able to make some important self discoveries. –CO

48. “Jurassic Park” (1993)

Universal Pictures

Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel about a theme park of cloned dinosaurs once again raised the bar for science fiction films, using cutting edge CGI technology that made dinosaurs look real for the first time in the history of cinema. “Jurassic Park” frightened and captivated audiences in equal measure, balancing terrifying chase scenes with a hungry T-Rex and moving depictions of friendly prehistoric herbivores. Though the film centers on a paleontologist couple played by Sam Neill and Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum steals many scenes as the data scientist Malcolm, along with Wayne Knight’s corrupt computer programmer Dennis. —GW

47. “Wild at Heart” (1990)

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

With all due respect to the radical “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” and “Lost Highway,” David Lynch’s best film of the ‘90s remains the “Wizard of Oz”–inspired tale of Sailor and Lula. Few onscreen couples have loved each other as tenderly as these two (played by Nic Cage and Laura Dern), who make their way down the road hoping for a happy ending even as they face one nightmarish scenario after another (Bobby Peru, anyone?). “Wild at Heart” also deserves credit for popularizing Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game,” a lovesick ballad that’s hotter than Georgia asphalt. —Michael Nordine

46. “Starship Troopers” (1997)

Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock

Of all the things that Paul Verhoeven’s dark comic look at the future of authoritarian warfare presaged, the way that “Starship Troopers” uses its “Would you like to know more?” refrain seems most prescient now. The creature design still holds up and the uniforms basically became a template for modern football gear, but that curiously-placed question almost seemed to envision an internet-based future of media silos and confirmation bias. As authoritarian tendencies are seeping into politics on a global scale, “Starship Troopers” paints shiny, ugly insect-infused allegories of the dangers of blind adherence and the power in targeting an easy enemy. It’s a finely-calibrated exercise in tone, finding the satirical sweet spot between the horrors of a war movie and the winking indictment at those who’d misinterpret its message. –Steve Greene



45. “JFK” (1991)

Warner Bros.

Accepting conspiracy as fact, “JFK” is made with the conviction that with each frame it is uncovering an enormous, stop-the-presses, revelatory truth. No matter what you believe about the JFK assassination, or Oliver Stone himself, the film’s urgency is matched by Stone practically reinventing film language – mixing many different formats, some designed to be accepted as newsreel documentary, into one of the best-edited films ever made. Rooted in the illogical inconsistencies of the Warren Report and the fact that we still don’t know what exactly happened in Dallas, the film envelopes us in its cocaine-fueled paranoia of the dark, unseen forces pulling the strings of our society. –CO

44. “Speed” (1994)

20th Century Fox

A brilliantly simple premise, perfectly executed by cinematographer turned action director Jan De Bont. In a film that literally never takes its foot off the gas, “Speed” finds a perfect dramatic balance rotating between the dangers posed by the road ahead, the passengers on the bus and the mad man (Dennis Hopper) on the phone. As with “Die Hard,” don’t sleep on the greatness of the script (a massive and unjustly uncredited rewrite by a young Joss Whedon) as each new plot twist doesn’t simply set up the next action scene, but builds upon the previous to create an edge-of-your-seat-drama. —CO

43. “All About My Mother” (1999)

Sony Pictures Classics

Right before the turn of the century, Pedro Almodóvar delivered one of his best films with “All About My Mother.” Inspired by a subplot in his 1995 film “The Flower of My Secret,” “All About My Mother” stars Cecilia Roth as Manuela, an Argentine nurse who loses her 17-year-old son after he’s killed in a car crash. She travels to Barcelona to find the boy’s father, a transvestite named Lola, and ends up forming relationships with a transexual prostitute, a drug-addict and an HIV-positive nun. Almodóvar, widely beloved for his bold visual style, crafts his most emotional and socially relevant work here — but refuses to abandon his flare for vibrant and flashy sets, creating a film i which style and substance clash with provocative results. His previous hits like “Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown” and “Kika” had soapy, melodramatic plot lines bolstered by his exuberant eye for color and set design, but “All About My Mother” is the direct opposite. It represents Almodóvar at his most challenging and self-reflective. He commits to his sensational visuals to keep your eyes glued to the events on screen, but those events are more heartbreaking and grounded in emotional turmoil than the visuals lead you to believe. It’s a balancing act not even Almodóvar has tried again, and that alone makes “All About My Mother” one of the master filmmaker’s definitive films. –ZS

42. “Election” (1999)

Paramount Pictures

Alexander Payne’s satirical look at a high school election centers on teenage overachiever Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) and her complicated relationship with her teacher, Mr. McAllister (Matthew Broderick). McAllister is one of the only people aware that his friend and former colleague was fired for having an affair with Flick, who received no punishment. The irony of this hilarious but cringe-worthy film is that just as McAllister is teaching his students about ethics and morality, he reaches a breaking point and takes the student government results in his own hands. More lapses of judgment ensue in this darkly humorous story about ambition, love and deception. -GW

41. “Ratcatcher” (1999)

First Look International

Lynne Ramsay’s feature debut accomplishes anything and everything a filmmaker would want from their first entree to the wider cinematic world: it establishes a tone and style, it telegraphs her tremendous talent, and it sets out a path for the filmic obsessions that haunt each and every one of her projects. Ramsay’s “Ratcatcher” is as unsentimental as the filmmaker gets, perhaps her greatest strength when it comes to telling honest, often wrenching stories that other filmmakers would inevitably try to fluff up with unearned emotion. Ramsay’s work is compelled by grief and guilt, and the fallout from the circumstances that can — typically horribly, irrevocably — lead to both, bolstered by some of the finest child acting to hit the big screen in years. “Ratcatcher” thrills, even as it terrifies, and finds space for beauty even in the midst of unstoppable tragedy that chugs along until the last, heartbreaking scene. –Kate Erbland



40. “Daughters of the Dust” (1991)

Kino International

Yes, this is a seminal, groundbreaking pioneering piece of cinema made by an African American woman, but one thing that the recent restoration of Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust” revealed is that it is also a stunningly beautiful film. Filmed on St. Helena Island on a shoestring budget, Dash’s Sundance-acclaimed debut captures the Gullah islanders, a close-knit community that lives according to older traditions of their culture, just off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. The modern society is a pull for the younger generation as soon they will make the trip to the new world just a short boat ride away. Dash’s lyrical visual portrayal of this community celebrates its beauty and familial bond, but through an elegiac lens as a generational cycle comes to an end. A near-perfect achievement. –CO

39. “Se7en” (1995)

Peter Sorel/New Line/REX/Shutterstock

In that car ride out to the desert with Kevin Spacey, as he sat handcuffed and seemingly powerless in the back seat, there was a mounting sense of unease — that somehow, the killer was still in control, and that literally anything could happen. That a film could build to this type of third act moment speaks volumes to the deeply unsettling feeling that led us to this point. Over the years, David Fincher’s filmmaking would become less baroque as he added layers of humor, irony and complexity that were harder to unpack – leaning less on someone else’s script and cinematography to help tell the story – but this unfiltered view of his raw directing talent is just as exhilarating. Darius Khondji’s monochromatic photography, with its special silver retention process, is one of the best-shot films of the last 40 years. –CO

38. “The Celebration” (1998)

October Films

When it premiered at Cannes in 1998, the film made with a $700 one chip DV camera sent shockwaves through the film world – lighting a fire under the digital narrative movement in the U.S. – while at the same time making director Thomas Vinterberg and his compatriot Lars Van Trier’s scribbled-in-45-minutes manifesto (Dogma 95) the start of a technologically-fueled film movement to shed artifice for art that set the tone for 20 years of low budget (and some not so low budget) filmmaking. The story of a son confronting the family’s patriarch at his birthday gathering about the horrors of the past, the film chronicles a family falling apart under the weight of the buried truth being pulled up by the roots. Vintenberg uses the camera’s inability to handle the natural low light, and the subsequent breaking up of the grainy image, to perfectly match the disintegration of the family over the course of the day turning to night. Like Bennett Miller’s one-person doc “The Cruise,” Vintenberg’s film showed how the textured look of the inexpensive DV camera could be used expressively in the spirit of 16mm films in the ’60s and ’70s. Above all else, though, “The Celebration” is an incredibly powerful story, well told, and fueled by youthful cinematic energy. –CO

37. “Point Break” (1991)

20th Century Fox

Before you laugh it off: It’s hard to imagine Kathryn Bigelow wasn’t well aware of the over-the-top machismo, barking dialogue and homoerotic undertow of the film she was making. While the filmmaking is thoroughly modern, in many ways “Point Break” is a throwback to when a great studio director transcends the script’s dime-store philosophy and the limitations of cast to create something incredibly fresh and new. With the film’s poetic approach to bodies in motion, you can sense both Bigelow’s art and philosophy background at play, as the ideas are in the images that transcend the cheesy surfing metaphor to explore what it means to be free. Whether you believe the straight-laced undercover cop (Keanu Reeves) can’t bring himself to take down the guru bank robber (Patrick Swayze) because of genuine feelings of love, or part of his metaphysical journey, that this is all wrapped into a surfer heist film with some of the rawest and exciting action sequences ever committed to the moving image speaks to the talent of a visionary director who, 26 years later, still cranks out masterpieces. –CO

36. “Miller’s Crossing” (1990)

20th Century Fox

Much like Dashiell Hammett – whose “Glass Key” inspired “Miller’s Crossing” – the Coens invent their own (“what’s the rumpus?”) dialogue in their tip of the hat to the twisty pulp and gangster stories of decades past. There’s one word that keeps coming up throughout the screenplay: heart. “Admit it isn’t all cool calculation with you – that you’ve got a heart – even if it’s small and feeble and you can’t remember the last time you used it,” Marcia Gay Harden (playing the femme fatale) tells protagonist Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne). And that’s what this film is about more than anything. The Coens delight in all the con man maneuvering, double-meaning tough guy talk and a gloriously serpentine plot, along with the way their hero is better and smarter at the game than anyone else. Yet the end of the film (one of the greatest last shots ever) reveals how empty and heartless this fun game has been. That you have to take apart the twisty story to reveal the buried character depth and see Reagan has actually looked into his heart and plotted his way out of the game is the biggest and most profound insight into the heart of the Coens in their 30 years behind the camera. —CO



35. “Clueless” (1995)

Paramount Pictures

A rare film that has its cake and it eats it, too. Shakespeare via Rodeo Drive, “Clueless” delights in skewering the world it parodies, while still pulling the audience into high school and the romantic drama of Cher, played by a pitch perfect Alicia Silverstone. It might be time to reconsider the work of writer-director Amy Heckerling, whose talents could run deeper than her ability to consistently deliver hit comedies. –CO

34. “My Own Private Idaho” (1991)

New Line Cinema

Alternately devastating and poignant, Gus Van Sant’s “My Own Private Idaho” grapples with duality, sexuality and acceptance, with best friends Mike (River Phoenix) and Scott (Keanu Reeves) living intertwining yet ultimately opposing lives as young street hustlers in Portland. While Mike, homeless, narcoleptic and desperately in love with Scott, pines and searches in vain for a home life forever lost, Scott lives a false and temporary life on the streets to escape his wealthy upbringing. Influenced by Shakespeare’s “Henry IV” and real-life street hustlers Van Sant was acquainted with, “My Own Private Idaho” is one of the seminal queer films of the ’90s, and an important milestone in Van Sant’s illustrious career. The film’s greatest heartache doesn’t come from Mike’s unrequited love, but instead from its reminder of the void left by Phoenix’s untimely death just two years after the film’s release. “My Own Private Idaho” gave us a hint of what could have been for Van Sant and Phoenix (particularly in the film’s unforgettable campfire scene), a collaboration that could have enriched cinema for years to come. – Jamie Righetti

33. “After Life” (1998)

Artistic License

“After Life” never explains itself — on the contrary, it’s presented with the dull matter-of-factness of another Monday morning at the office. Somewhere, in the quiet limbo between this world and the next, there is a spare but peaceful facility where the dead are interviewed about their lives. After a week’s worth of reflection at this purgatorial waiting room, each soul is invited to select, stage, and shoot just one of their memories to bring with them to the great beyond. Making the most of his background as a documentary filmmaker, Hirokazu Kore-eda distills the endless possibilities of this premise into a series of polite interrogations, his camera watching observantly as more than a half-dozen characters try to distill themselves into one perfect moment. The episodes they ultimately choose are wistful and wise, each moving in its own way. But it’s the empathy and tenderness with which Kore-eda tells their stories that gives “After Life” its humanistic power, the film’s final act conflating the transience of memory with the permanence of images until we recognize how each makes the other more beautiful. —David Ehrlich

32. “The Thin Red Line” (1998)

The Criterion Collection

Where’s Malick? During the 17 years between the release of his second and third feature, the stories of the elusive filmmaker grew to mythical heights. When he reemerged, literally every able-bodied male actor in Hollywood lined up to be part of the filmmakers’ seemingly endless army for his adaptation of James Jones’ sprawling WWII novel. In fact, if there’s one criticism of the film, it’s that at times it feels like Malick is trying to cram as many movies as possible into the hefty running time. And yet it all feels like part of a larger tapestry. Just consider all the seminal moments: Jim Caviezel’s AWOL soldier seeking refuge with natives on a South Pacific island, Nick Nolte’s Lt. Col. trying to rise up the ranks, butting heads with a noble John Cusack, and the company’s attempt to take Hill 210 in one of the best battle scenes ever filmed. Each frame of the film juxtaposes the horror of war and the beauty of nature, and each scene serves as an exploration of man working against his nature and struggling to hold on to his humanity. —CO

31. “Boogie Nights” (1997)

New Line Cinema

Paul Thomas Anderson’s second feature film, about the adventures of a young porn star named Dirk Digger (Mark Wahlberg), packed more sleaze and raucous drama into a single movie than most filmmakers do in an entire career. A behind-the-scenes look at the porn industry in the late ’70s and early ’80s, “Boogie Nights” mixed the edginess of a gangster movie with the lightness of a screwball comedy, taking viewers on a drugged out, and at times violent, joyride that’s part fantasy and part nightmare. The star-studded cast includes Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore — both of whom earned nominations for best supporting actor — plus John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Anderson, who was just 26 when he shot the film, picked up a nomination for best original screenplay. —GW



30. “Reservoir Dogs” (1992)

Sundance Institute

You don’t need to get past the opening credits of Quentin Tarantino’s breakout film to realize you’re watching something very special. The steadicam montage of criminals in black suits set a new standard for hipness in independent film, while the non-linear story of thieves trying to sniff out a police informant proved that you don’t need a lot of money — or more than a couple locations — to make a great crime-thriller. The first of many Tarantino films centering on merciless criminals, “Reservoir Dogs” takes the simple premise of a jewelry heist gone wrong and draws out the suspense, peppering in flashbacks and scenes of gruesome violence. Tarantino’s inimitable dialogue meshes perfectly with the cast of Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn and Steve Buscemi, yielding for one of the most potent combinations in any gangster movie. —GW

29. “Breaking the Waves” (1996)

The Criterion Collection

Years before digital cameras would come along, Lars Von Trier invented his own unorthodox process – having 35mm film digitized and then printed back to celluloid (nowhere near as clean a process in 1996) – to create the raw immediacy he needed. In the rather simple first three minutes of “Breaking the Waves” you can feel a filmmaker trying to forge his own unique brand of cinema with a determined use of handheld, music-driven chapter breaks of a single landscape image and Emily Watson’s unusual frenetic, bubbly performance. Set in Calvinist small town atop the Scottish Highlands, it is the first part of Von Trier’s “Golden Heart” trilogy as Watson plays a woman who has sex with other men to please her husband after an accident has left immobile. –CO

28. “Unforgiven” (1992)

Warner Bros.

Clint Eastwood’s western, set in 1880s Wyoming, was the big winner on Oscar night, taking home best picture, best director for Eastwood, and best supporting actor for Gene Hackman. The story follows a retired gunslinger (Eastwood) taking on one last job: killing a pair of cowboys who savagely attacked a prostitute. Eastwood and his old partner (Morgan Freeman) have competition, however, as a man named English Bob (Richard Harris) is determined to take the same job. The film pays homage to classic westerns and is perfectly unsentimental, while Hackman delivers one of his most powerful performances as the brutal Sheriff Daggett. —GW

27. “The Long Day Closes” (1992)

The Criterion Collection

The graceful poetry of Terence Davies’ films are a rare treat and widely under-appreciated, in part because they’re often viewed from afar as stiff British period pieces. That is doubly untrue of this film, which is a seamless series of semi-autobiographical memories of a lonely boy in ’50s-era Liverpool, who finds solace in music, movies and his mom. The movie’s bleak surfaces are resolved by the warm comfort this 11 year-old takes from the light, sounds and undefined emotions that moving images can illicit. “The Long Day Closes” is a great artist’s lyrical portrait of the budding soul of an artist that grew inside of him as a boy during particularly difficult, but somewhat hopeful time. That Davies is able to welcome an audience to share in this tapestry of emotions, as the film washes over us, is a wondrous cinematic pleasure. –CO

26. “Fargo” (1996)

Gramercy Pictures

Joel and Ethan Coen’s dark comedy crime movie centers on down-on-his-luck Minnesotan (William H. Macy) and his ill-conceived plan to have his wife kidnapped by a pair of lowlife criminals (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) and extort money from his father-in-law. “Fargo” combines some of the most sinister characters and suspenseful moments of any crime film with the Coen’s Brothers’ signature brand of black comedy. Frances McDormand won the Oscar for best actress for her portrayal of chief of police Marge Gunderson while the Coens picked up the Academy Award for best original screenplay. —GW



25. “Raise the Red Lantern” (1991)

MGM Home Entertainment

Zhang Yimou’s adaption of Ni Zhen’s novel “Wives and Concubines” follows a young woman in 1920’s China who becomes the fourth wife — or third concubine — of a wealthy man after her father’s death leaves her family bankrupt. Gong Li stars as the 19-year-old Songlian, who is forced to live within the strict and mysterious rules of her new household. Nominated for the Oscar for best foreign language film, “Raise the Red Lantern” captivates with its haunting tale of adultery and witchcraft, while Yimou’s opulent use of color cuts through the film’s sinister themes. —GW

24. “Toy Story 2” (1999)

Walt Disney Pictures

With its first sequel, Pixar pushed through many boundaries at once. While the incredibly enjoyably “Toy Story” asked kids to grapple with very real and relatable emotions of feeling insecure about one’s position in an ever-expanding family, the sequel confronted viewers with themes of abandonment, not to mention a strong dose of emotional realism. And yet the film is still a raucous and endearing adventure. From the perfect staging, to the remarkably efficient and witty script, to the wonderful little detailed touches — like watching the cobbler refashion the damaged Woody into a shiny new toy — the animation studio’s filmmaking has never been so refined. –CO

23. “Crumb” (1994)

The Criterion Collection

It’s easy to imagine a straightforward, immensely enjoyable documentary about the controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb. On camera, he’s a subject who doesn’t censor himself in incredibly humorous and honest ways, which — combined with his ability to identify the dark side of American life and his own depressive, reclusive nature — are the makings of a satisfying portrait of a counterculture icon and his art. But Crumbs’ friend, director Terry Zwigoff (“Bad Santa,” “Ghost World”), goes much further than that in this film, which was six years in the making. In spending time watching Crumb with his trouble family, especially his brothers, what emerges in one of the most complex and emotional films ever made about what it means to be an artist. –CO

22. “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991)

Orion Pictures

“Do you spook easily?” Jonathan Demme’s horror-thriller about a rookie FBI agent (Jodie Foster) confiding in an incarcerated cannibalistic serial killer (Anthony Hopkins) to help catch another murderer was terrifying in best way. Instead of covering your eyes, you never want to blink. While it’s true that “You don’t want Hannibal Lecter in your head,” there was something about the sophisticated psychopath that distinguished him from every other human monster ever portrayed on screen. The film’s twists and turns are…juicy, and the experience of watching this best picture Oscar-winning crime drama will leave you a changed person. —GW

21. “Out of Sight” (1998)

Universal Pictures

Elmore Leonard through the meditative lens of Steven Soderbergh. The surface is cool and breezy, while the film’s soul is about regret and a yearning for something more out of life. Soderbergh makes the absurdity of straight-edged cop Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez) and expert robber Jack Foley (George Clooney) taking the risk to spend one night together – miraculously edited with a mixture of sensuality and sadness – utterly believable in this sexy screwball set to the smooth tempo of David Holmes music. As handsome and charming as George Clooney is, it’s hard to imagine he would have been the star he is today if Soderbergh hadn’t unlock the full depth of his persona with this role. –CO



20. “Three Colours: Red” (1994)

The Criterion Collection

The final installment of The “Three Colors” trilogy, Krzysztof Kieślowski’s “Red” is a romantic mystery that explores the French Revolutionary ideal of fraternity. The film follows a young student and model who forms a close relationship with her spying neighbor, one of many bonds between characters in the trilogy who seem to have almost nothing in common. Nominated for best director and best original screenplay, “Red” was the last film for Kieślowski, who died two years after making the final installment of the trilogy. —GW

19. “Magnolia” (1999)

NEW LINE / THE KOBAL COLLECTION / SOREL, PETER

Paul Thomas Anderson’s follow-up to “Boogie Nights” took an equally star-studded cast and weaved them together in a blindingly original drama of dark, interrelated stories. Nearly every character is on the verge of a personal crisis — spiritual, professional, or both — from Tom Cruise’s misogynist motivational speaker to John C. Reilly’s lonely police officer. What these individuals have to do with each other remains a mystery throughout most of the movie, but in the end, their gut-wrenching mini-tragedies and pivotal life moments connect in a way that makes the film much more than the sum of its parts. —GW

18. “Underground” (1995)

New Yorker Films

The visual inventiveness and frenetic pacing of director Emir Kusturica – which often feels like Fellini on adderall, accompanied by a raucous Balkan brass band – this time extends to the troubled history of his beloved Yugoslavia, which was in an extended period of disintegration. “Underground” is an ambitious three-hour surreal farce (there was a five-hour version for television) about what happens to the soul of a country and its people living in a constant state of war for 50 years. The twists of the plot are as absurd as they are troubling: Marko, a rising leader in the communist party, keeps his friends hiding in the cellar convinced the Gestapo is still going door to door 15 years after the war is over. But nothing can stop Kusturica’s boisterous characters from drinking, fighting and fucking. The film won the Palme d’Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. –CO

17. “The Matrix” (1999)

Warner Bros.

The Wachowskis mixed together Asian film wire work (choreographer Yuen Woo-ping) and gun play, cyber punk anime, some tricks of their own (bullet time) and philosophical texts to create a completely different type of Hollywood film. Beyond its originality and influence, “The Matrix” is an incredibly engaging, thought provoking, kickass action film. One of the keys was a near-perfect screenplay that didn’t water down the complexity of their sci-fi world, but without getting lost in exposition of having to explain it. That the sibling duo couldn’t deliver on the mythology of the original with their two sequels was disappointing, but doesn’t erase the greatness of this groundbreaking work. —CO

16. “Safe” (1995)

Sony Pictures Classics

One of the worst parts of ’90s films is how many seemed to think they found depth of meaning in presenting the soullessness of suburban living — but with “Safe,” Todd Haynes created something incredibly original in a film that finds terror in that emptiness. What makes the film so horrific is that it’s never clear if Julianne Moore’s environmental illness is caused by unseen pollutants in the air or lifeless upper middle class existence. Haynes plays it down the middle, giving the science and doctors a full hearing, but captures the paranoia of his protagonist’s home in Kubrickian fashion. That Moore’s journey to find wellness leads her to seal herself off and live with a group of touchy-feely liberals brings the film to a full expression and realization of isolation that is scarier than any frightening creature jumping out of the dark. Haynes continued to make great films, but it would be 20 years before he would deliver on the promise of his first masterpiece by following it up with “Carol.” –CO



15. “Brighter Summer Day” (1991)

The Criterion Collection

An early title card in the film explains that millions of Mainland Chinese fled to Taiwan with the National Government after its civil war defeat by the Chinese Communists in 1949. Their children were brought up in an uneasy atmosphere created by the parents’ own uncertainty about the future. Many formed street gangs to search for identity and to strengthen their sense of security. Director Edward Yang takes headline story of teenage murder that shook the country in the early 60s and over the course of this four hour film weaves together a story of the years leading up to the senseless violence. Yangs paints a complex picture of the anxiety of immigration, the brazen naiveté of youth, social class tension and what it means to be aimless and confused. Yang, along with Hou Hsiao-hsien (a frequent collaborator) and Tsai Ming-liang were the leaders of the Taiwanese New Wave, which completely altered the way films were made in Taiwan. The staggering depth and beauty of this 1991 film became, and still is, represents the height of their story and cinematic values. Yang’s career was cut short by cancer after making his second masterpiece, “Yi Yi,” in 2000. –CO

14. “Schindler’s List” (1993)

Universal Pictures

Steven Spielberg’s heart-wrenching Holocaust drama about German businessman Oskar Schindler’s efforts to save 1,200 Jews by employing them in his Poland factories is a sweeping, three-hour and 15 minute epic based on the novel “Schindler’s Ark,” by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. Shot in black and white, the horrors of the Holocaust are depicted with stunning realism. Liam Neeson stars as Schindler alongside Ralph Fiennes as SS officer Amon Göth, and Ben Kingsley as the Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern. The film picked up seven Oscars, including best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay for Steven Zaillian and best cinematography for Janusz Kaminski. —GW

13. “Rushmore” (1998)

Touchstone Pictures

Wes Anderson’s second feature propelled him from little-known writer-director to one of Hollywood’s hottest young filmmakers thanks to his hilarious and refreshingly original story about an ambitious but misguided 15-year-old prep schooler named Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman). A horrible student but gifted playwright, Max pledges his love for the first grade teacher Ms. Cross (Olivia Williams) and finds a kindred spirit in the steel tycoon Herman Blume (Bill Murray in a career-reviving role). A high school comedy unlike any other, “Rushmore” broke the mold for coming-of-age tales while introducing the world to Anderson’s irresistibly quirky sensibility and love of endearing, oddball characters. —GW

12. “The Big Lebowski” (1998)

Gramercy Pictures

Just when you thought the Coen brothers couldn’t be any funnier, here comes the saga of an unemployed former hippie who loves bowling, stuffed into a Raymond Chandler-esque kidnapping movie, and comedy has never felt so good. Today, Jeff Bridges’ Jeffrey Lebowski (aka the Dude) is more of a cultural phenomenon than a character, and his laid-back lifestyle (“the Dude abides”) is an inspiration to us all. John Goodman’s performance as a Vietnam veteran who can’t let go of his military past is another comedy character for the ages, but almost everyone in this film deserves their own movie. As luck would have it, John Turturro’s pederast bowling champion Jesus Quintana is actually getting one. —GW

11. “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999)

Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

There’s a misconception that Kubrick was a cold filmmaker. It’s more that throughout his career, he never wavered on the perception that humanity has completely screwed itself over with its blind acceptance of the institutions of war, law and social hierarchies. The institution of marriage, and the concept of monogamy fall into the same bucket for Kubrick, except that he identifies with his protagonists’ struggle — and that intimate relationship is especially clear in this film about a married couple (played by real life husband and wife, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman). As Kubrick was a longtime admirer of Max Ophuls’ waltz-like camera movement, you can feel the freedom an older Kubrick has granted himself to let the camera dance. Leaning on the film’s Freudian source material, the filmmaker’s fascination with the absurd rituals of man bends more toward a surreal and dreamlike exploration. Yet this is still Kubrick, as he sets dead aim at privilege and patriarchy – to say nothing of toying with Tom Cruise’s persona on and off screen – the film has every bit of the edge and bite of his previous work. –CO



10. “Heat” (1995)

Warner Bros.

A crime epic that will likely stand as the pinnacle achievement and clearest, yet most complex, expression of the great Michael Mann’s cinematic vision. There are so many sequences of staggering filmmaking achievement – the opening 18-wheeler heist, Pacino realizing they’ve been made, De Niro’s glass seaside home and his first evening with Amy Brenneman, the shootout downtown, the climatic mano-a-mano shootout – that it’s hard to believe it’s all in the same film. In a film that is built around the two most celebrated actors of their generation in an epic game of cat and mouse, the film has a litany of rich and unforgettable supporting roles – the tragic lovebirds (Val Kilmer and Ashley Judd), the troubled stepdaughter (Natalie Portman) , the loyal crew (Danny Trejo, Tom Sizemore), just to name a few – and what’s remarkable is that out of this incredible density, the deliberate narrative fits together like clockwork. –CO

9. “Being John Malkovich” (1999)

USA Films

The magic of Spike Jonze’s commercials and music videos is he would take a patently absurd premise and make it cinematically real. That he could extend that to a feature film, and add levels of emotional and philosophical depth, was a startling accomplishment for a director working in the studio system. It was not a mystery that Charlie Kaufman’s script was brilliant, everyone in Hollywood had read it, but no one wanted to touch the self-aware story with its bizarre gimmick: an office portal that brings you inside actor John Malkovich before dumping you to the side of the highway in New Jersey. Jonze, on the other hand, approached it with such emotional sincerity that the odd twists and ironic tone melted into a genuine exploration of role playing. The result is a film that is funny, sexy, engaging and profound. –CO

8. “Beau Travail” (1999)

New Yorker Films

The great Claire Denis’ greatest film. A study of masculinity that no film — other than Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” — has approached in that last 20 years. Melville’s “Billy Budd” is set against the French Foreign Legion in African location of Djibouti as the seeds of jealously are planted in an officer when a young promising recruit joins the regiment. Like “Moonlight,” the film has one foot grounded in emotional realism, and one foot planted in a sun-drenched, cinematic dream. Denis’ story of regret and use of the camera is boiled down down to its essence as every shot, cut, and movement is perfectly expressive. –CO

7. “Dazed and Confused” (1993)

Gramercy Pictures

The Altman-esque ensemble approach to building a story around a particular event (in this case, the last day of high school) had been done before, but not quite like this. There was a great deal of ’70s nostalgia in the ’90s, but Linklater’s “Slacker” followup is more than just a stylistic homage; the enormous cast of characters are made to feel so familiar that audiences are essentially just hanging out with them for 100 minutes. The emotions associated with the passage of time is a big thing for the director, and with this film he was able to do in one night what he does with the sprawling temporal canvas of “Boyhood” or “Before” trilogy, as he captures many feelings at once: what it means to be a freshman kissing a cool older girl as the sun rises, the sense of being a senior staring at the end of the party, and why the end of one major life stage stage can feel so aimless and strange. –CO

6. “Hoop Dreams” (1994)

Fine Line Features

“Hoop Dreams” is the seminal documentary achievement of the ’90s. Steve James’ profile of African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee and their dream of making it to the NBA effortlessly achieves the impossible, moving from intimate character study into a sprawling look at the American dream. James manages to touch on issues of social class, education and economic disparity, but the essence of “Hoop Dreams” is how the director refuses to turn his grander thematic points about life in America into didactic declarations. James and his crew followed Gates and Arthur for five years, and the larger issues at the core of “Hoop Dreams” are so powerful because they’re at the core of its subjects’ journey. As you watch the two athletes chase their dreams and the world work against them because of who they are and where they come from, James crafts a nonfiction feature with a dramatic weight heavier and more unforgettable than most drama films in the 20th or 21st century. –ZS



5. “Chungking Express” (1994)

FilmStruck

Wong Kar-Wai’s ’90s output (“Days of Being Wild,” “Ashes of Time,” “Fallen Angels,” “Happy Together”) was staggering, but it was “Chungking Express” – aided by Tarantino, the newly minted cinema god after “Pulp Fiction,” bringing the film the U.S. – that brought him international recognition. Two intersecting stories of lovelorn cops set adrift in a crowded, lonely city, Wong’s masterpiece finds beauty in the pain of being lost in this world. The filmmaker creates an incredible sense of mood and feeling with a bold and expressive use of color, composition and his unique slow motion blurring effect, which he juxtaposes with other fleeting moments using an ephemeral editing style that doesn’t care too much about plot. The result is an expansive sense of the emotions of characters often trapped inside themselves. –CO

4. “Groundhog Day” (1993)

Columbia Pictures

Watch this film enough times and you’ll discover three remarkable things. One, the unlocking of Bill Murray’s potential as a performer and the depth of his persona (which was later exploited by Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola). Two, a poignant life lesson that mixes “It’s a Wonderful Life” and Buddhist philosophy, which somehow does justice to both the complexity and simplicity of that religion. Three, a script that taps the full storytelling potential of the medium in a way no comedy had ever done before or since. Watch it once, you still have an incredibly enjoyable comedy that’ll put a smile on your face. –CO

3. “Pulp Fiction” (1994)

Miramax

Quentin Tarantino’s follow-up to “Reservoir Dogs” had to deliver on a ton of hype and expectations, but the writer-director went beyond the call of duty with this story of two mob hit men, a gangster, his wife, and a pair of dimwitted robbers whose four stories intertwine in one of the most deliciously violent crime-dramas ever made. Tarantino somehow endears the audience to soulless men, particularly John Travolta’s Vincent and Samuel L. Jackson’s Jules, who can take a break from a philosophical conversation to murder a group of twentysomethings and pick up right where they left off as if nothing had happened. Unimaginably graphic and violent, the film is also one of the most stylistically innovative movies of the decade, without skimping on plot, and picked up a well-deserved Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

2. “Close-Up” (1990)

The Criterion Collection

“Close-up” doesn’t just get to the essence of Abbas Kiarostami; it gets to the essence of cinema itself. Like its subject — a man who impersonated Mohsen Makhmalbaf, another Iranian auteur — the film is many things at once: documentary, fiction, reenactment, raw footage. Kiarostami was frequently self-reflexive throughout his massively influential career, an approach that was rarely more rewarding than it is here: You can feel “Close-up” growing into more than it initially appears to be even if you can’t tell what form it will eventually take on. —MN

1. “Goodfellas” (1990)

Tribeca Film Festival

Martin Scorsese is hardly the first person to explore America’s fascination with organized crime — and the long history of movies about them.

Beyond the violence, exploitation and theft, the mob represents a bullying of the working stiff trying to eek out a living that runs counter to the American dream. And yet that sense of belonging to a family ruled by a code — dictated by a melting pot of international traditions — with the power to deliver frontier justice in a world ruled by bland, corrupt institutions is uniquely appealing. Of course, the American gangster film tradition dates back all the way to early silent shorts like “The Great Train Robbery” and “The Musketeers of Pig Alley.”

Scorsese grew up in the midst of these tropes. He was that young boy at the beginning of “Goodfellas” watching the unbridled men who ruled his neighborhood out the window, but unlike his protagonist Henry Hill, he was a small kid, weak with asthma, and stuck inside watching movies.

For Scorsese, this wasn’t simply an intellectual exercise — though no one does his research and has a cultural and historical approach to filmmaking like Marty — but rather it was deeply felt and personal. What’s truly remarkable about “Goodfellas” (not just for a mob movie, but any movie) is the way it embodies all these contradictions but utter clarity.

Every scene of “Goodfellas” simultaneously captures both the horror of, and our fascination with, the mob. Scorsese achieves a documentary-like historical realism in front of the camera, which then in turn guides us through the dizzying magic of going in the back door at the Copa, the unexpected eruption of violence from men with no moral compass, and the cocaine-fueled paranoia of wondering if the cops are on your tail. Scorsese’s masterful sound design, soundtrack and voiceover alter our relationship with what we see on the screen, as not a beat of this film is off. Few movies have ever fired on all cylinders so well, all cranking to their max, working in perfect unison.

And the final contradiction: “Goodfellas” is one of the most intellectually complex and challenging films of the decade, while being so easy to watch again and again. –CO

Honorable Mentions

The following films had the support of at least two members of the IndieWire Staff: “Audition,” “Babe: Pig in the City,” “Bad Lieutenant,” “Barton Fink,” “Bottle Rocket,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Bringing Out the Dead,” “Carlito’s Way,” “Casino,” “La Ceremonie,” “The City of Lost Children,” “Crash,” “The Cruise,” “Defending Your Life,” “The Double Life Of Veronique,” “Face/Off,” “Fallen Angels,” “Fast, Cheap & Out of Control,” “Fight Club,” “Kids,” “Gummo,” “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” “Flowers of Shanghai,” “The Fugitive,” “Happy Together,” “La Haine,” “Hard Boiled,” “Heavenly Creatures,” “Husbands And Wives,” “Irma Vep,” “The Iron Giant,” “Jackie Brown,” “Jerry Maguire,” “King of New York,” “The Legend of Drunken Master II,” “Léon: The Professional,” “The Limey,” “Lost Highway,” “The Lovers on the Bridge,” “Malcolm X,” Metropolitan,” “A Moment of Innocence,” “Office Space,” “The Piano,” “The Player,” “Princess Mononoke,” “Public Housing,” “Quiz Show,” “Sátántangó,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Secrets & Lies,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Show Me Love” (aka “Fucking Åmål”), “Run Lola Run,” “Short Cuts,” “Showgirls,” “Slacker,” “Strange Days,” “The Sweet Hereafter,” “Taste of Cherry,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” “Three Colours: Blue,” “Three Kings,” “Through the Olive Trees,” “To Die For,” “To Sleep with Anger,” “Topsy Turvy,” Total Recall,” “True Romance,” “The Truman Show,” “The Usual Suspects,” “Van Gogh,” “La Vie de Bohème,” “The Virgin Suicides,” “Vive L’Amour,” “The Wind Will Carry Us”

Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.