I decided that I am still feeling sentimental for the 90s and that I am going to discuss the rest of that decade's cinematic output. In the end, this is my blog and I am a 90s kid and it was a glorious resurgence for the artform.
If you have been following my blog, you will know I have been doing these retrospective posts about years of film from the past that are either celebrating a milestone anniversary or I find them to be truly exceptional in terms of quality.
When it comes to the 90s, I have already discussed the following years for one reason or another:
1990
1993
1995
1998
And today, I will begin going through the remaining years in order starting with 1991. I have to admit that 1991 is one of those years at first glance that looks rather bland on paper, but while making this list, I was actually rather shocked looking at the films in my top 10. More than once, I was thinking "How is that film THIS LOW?" or "Wait...that film will miss my top 10????"
And this list will include one glaring omission that might raise a few eyebrows amongst the film buff community, so we shall see how you all respond.
I am going to begin with 6 Honorable Mentions because I didn't want to go without bringing up these films in some capacity.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Commitments
Directed by Alan Parker
Written by Dick Clement, Ian Le Frenais, & Roddy Doyle
A wonderful little gem of a film about a group of working-class Irish misfits who decide to form a soul group known as The Commitments. While mostly ignored during award season, it did net an Oscar nod for its Editing by Gerry Hambling which was some of his finest work; those performance sequences are so wonderfully put together.
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Dead Again
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Written by Scott Frank
A film that seems to have been somewhat forgotten these days, this neo-noir starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson takes a lot in style from Alfred Hitchcock in a way that felt more palatable to me than most of the similar efforts done a decade earlier by Brian de Palma.
Quick side note: the script was by Scott Frank, who will forever be the pompous loon behind the highly overrated miniseries The Queen's Gambit who gave one of the most insufferable awards speeches I've ever heard when he won a Directing Emmy.
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Night on Earth
Written & Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Perhaps not as memorable as some of his films like Down by Law or Mystery Train, I do think there is a certain charm to Night on Earth. Considering anthology films aren't typically successful, this is an area that Jarmusch often excels in. Each segment focuses on a taxi driver in a different city from around the world and the passengers they pick up one evening. A little gem of a character piece.
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Thelma & Louise
Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Callie Khouri
Honestly, the fact a movie like Thelma & Louise isn't even on my top 10 surprises me. It is an iconic film for a reason and I do think it is a great showcase for Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon. I would actually suspect a lot of people would have this on their top 10, but I just think the lineup from this year is just THAT strong.
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Jacquot de Nantes
Written & Directed by Agnes Varda
Inspired by Jacques Demy
Films about younger children getting artistic inspiration in various ways can make for truly moving experiences, and while this may be no Cinema Paradiso, there is a lot to really love about what the luminous Agnes Varda achieves with Jacquot de Nantes, which was a biopic about Varda's husband Jacques Demy, the legendary French New Wave director behind the seminal musicals The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort.
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THE TOP 10:
#10 - My Own Private Idaho
Written & Directed by Gus Van Sant
Loosely based on the Histories Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part II, and Henry V by William Shakespeare, My Own Private Idaho would prove to be a landmark film in the New Queer Cinema movement that took off in the world of indie cinema of the 90s.
Mike Waters (River Phoenix) is a hustler aimlessly bouncing around when a chance encounter with an older woman leads him to connecting with his best friend Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves) ...but Mike suffers from narcolepsy. Before preparing to have sex with the woman, he has an episode (where he sees his mother comforting him) and then awakens the next day with Scott now in Portland instead of Seattle.
The film is essentially a small odyssey of self-discovery as the two of them take off to the small town in Idaho that Mike grew up in to try to find his mother, only to hear that she took off to Rome to work as a maid. Will he be able to find her and rekindle the comfort he craves?
Typing out that sentence sounds treacly, but I wouldn't say the film even taps into anything remotely treacly. Gus Van Sant is most remembered for being the person who directed Good Will Hunting and for his (in my opinion) disastrous attempt at a shot-for-shot remake of Psycho. He did also manage to find success for Milk, the very well done but not creatively ambitious Harvey Milk biopic...but in the early days of his career, Van Sant was a lot grittier and stylish in his indie approach with films such as this, Drugstore Cowboy, and To Die For.
Considering we would lose River Phoenix to a drug overdose just two years after this, I consider this film to be his last hurrah...and it feels very fitting. It is tragic that his life got cut so short as he showed such immense promise as an actor...which his younger brother, Joaquin, has since carried on the mantle with.
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#9 - Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Written & Directed by James Cameron
Co-written by William Wisher
Despite the immense critical, awards, and box office success of Titanic or the reclaiming of the box office crown with the Avatar films, I am still of the belief that James Cameron's finest hour to date was Terminator 2: Judgment Day, one of those rare film sequels that not only surpasses the original in terms of quality (even though it is also a classic) but manages to change the way films would be made for years to come.
The visual effects in his film have aged so well over 30 years later that it is nothing short of stunning. I am not saying it is foolproof, but it even watching all these years later, it just goes to show you that matter how exacting or grating James Cameron may come across with his process, the man does know how to craft a film strongly from a technical standpoint.
However - when it comes to dialogue - he may be passable at best. Perhaps he is good at crafting one-liners, but at least the plots are pretty compelling.
I do have to say that Linda Hamilton deserved a better career. She throws herself into Sarah Connor with such abandon and her transformation from how she was in the first film to this one is truly impressive. I do also love the camaraderie that does occur Arnold Schwarzenegger and Edward Furlong, even if it may seem like a predictable relationship, it works well within this film.
It isn't exactly perfect, but it still stands out as one of the greatest science fiction films ever made...and it is so easy to marvel at every single second from a technical standpoint.
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#8 - La Belle Noiseuse
Written & Directed by Jacques Rivette
Co-written by Christine Laurent & Pascal Bonitzer
This is one of those films where if I tell you the plot or what the film tries to achieve/convey, some of you would likely roll your eyes and deem me pretentious.
To be fair, this is a film that is not for everyone. It is a nearly 4-hour French film about an elderly painter who comes out of retirement to one final painting of a beautiful young woman. Several scenes have long static shots of nothing but painting, but I suppose for some, the idea of seeing the extended moments of Emmanuelle Beart's nudity would appeal to the sleazier sanctions of filmdom.
Renowned French actor Michel Piccoli plays the painter Edouard. I singled out his work a couple of years ago in my "Acting!" post delving into what I considered to be the best performances of the 90s. Here is a sampling of what I wrote about him there:
"There is something truly unsavory and unrepentant about Piccoli as Edouard.
Watching the tortured artist be an insufferable tortured artist might be...well.. insufferable to witness, but this is a performance that feels truly lived in that I, for the longest time, wasn't able to separate Piccoli from this character. Once I saw him in other films, I truly realized the depth of his talents."
The film is something you could call a celebration of art and the idea of the tortured artist. It is one of the true masterworks of French New Wave icon Jacques Rivette along with his 1974 film Celine & Julie Go Boating. Considering the rather ambitious runtime, what Rivette accomplishes with engrossing you deeply into this story is nothing short of remarkable.
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#7 - Beauty & the Beast
Directed by Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise
Written by Linda Woolverton
It was a colossal achievement for Disney that Beauty & the Beast not only received such rapturous reviews along with stellar box office receipts, but it was the first animated film to finally slip into the Best Picture race.
It remains the only animated film to do so in a year of 5 nomination slots. When the slot tally increased to then in the late 00s, we managed to get nods for Up and Toy Story 3 in 2010 and 2011, respectively. No other aminated film has been able to achieve this since.
Even more crazy is the apologetic reluctance to even acknowledging the film with this kind of recognition. Clint Eastwood told a reporter he voted for it with a layer of shame; Billy Crystal's Oscar opening medley referred to the film's success as leading actors to being "out of a job". Sally Field introduced a clip of the film at the ceremony with the caveat that she hopes the animated surge "doesn't become a trend".
The simple truth is that Beauty & the Beast WAS and IS that good. I still consider it to be the beacon of the Disney Renaissance that lasted from 1989-1999, right in the heart of my childhood.
Watching Beauty & the Beast is like watching the future of animation in a lot of ways. While The Little Mermaid was all hand drawings, you see a certain polished sophistication with the style of this one...including the use of computer animation during the iconic ballroom dance.
However, it isn't the animation quality that is the star here. It is a strong story, a great voice cast, and a score that was so strong that it was no wonder Disney took over Broadway with it 3 years later. Even the New York Times film critic called the film "the greatest Broadway musical of the year" simply on the basis of the film.
A truly grand and decadent piece of animation that still stands the test of time.
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#6 - Boyz n the Hood
Written & Directed by John Singleton
When the nominations were announced for the 64th Annual Academy Awards, a lot of press was given to the fact that Barbra Streisand was not nominated for Best Director for the truly sappy and maudlin fluff known as The Prince of Tides.
Don't get me wrong though. Considering the film's acclaim at the time, even with some wondering if it could win Best Picture during the award season process, it was a clear bias against her that she got snubbed.
On the flip side though, the Academy did something truly remarkable and nominated the late John Singleton for Best Director. It seemed like a bit of a surprise nod as Boyz n the Hood wasn't expected to make it into Best Picture (which it didn't), but also he simultaneously not only became the youngest director to ever receive a nomination (at the impressive age of 24) but also the first black person. To this day, he is only one of 6 to do with no one else to pull off the win...even though Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) and Barry Jenkins' (Moonlight) films would go on to win the top prize.
I do have to wonder if the embrace of this film by the Academy was partly due to the outcry when Do The Right Thing got shafted out of so many categories two years prior...but the film is great and it deserved to get that kind of recognition.
As I mentioned, Singleton was only 23 when he made this film. The utter confidence and conviction he has with this is simply a masterclass. He is able to create such a vivid and gritty environment and makes it feel totally real. You could even argue this is a film without a very strict plot; it is essentially a film about a father trying to raise his son amidst the crime and drugs and street wars within a Los Angeles ghetto.
You have Cuba Gooding Jr, Ice Cube, Lawrence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Regina King...all of them kicking ass. Much like Spike Lee who perhaps might give his films a bit more flair in terms of vibracncy, Singleton gives us a strong dose of grit...and it is a shame his career never took off as strongly as Lee's.
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#5 - The Double Life of Veronique
Written & Directed by Krysztof Kieslowski
Co-written by Krysztof Piesiewicz
The truly incomparable Polish filmmaker Krysztof Kieslowski ended his career with a bang. Known mostly for his final magnum opus:
The Three Colours Trilogy before his passing in 1996
, he also had the remarkable
Dekalog (which I talked about on my
1989 list) and
The Double Life of Veronique, which starred eventual
Red leading lady Irene Jacob.
What is crazy about Irene Jacob is that Kieslowski admitted that she was his third choice for the role; upon watching the film, you can't help but be so thankful it panned out the way it did as she fits so easily in these dual roles that you can't even imagine anyone else coming close.
Jacob plays Veronique, a French woman who is looking to become a successful singer; and Weronika, a doppelganger who lives in Poland and has similar aspirations to Veronique.
There is something truly surreal and dreamy about this film, almost ghostlike. With these two counterparts, we explore themes of love and identity as they each seem to share a common bond as if they know the other one is out there. As if it were a precursor to Kieslowski's obsession with colors (as seen in Blue, White, and Red), this film almost takes on a yellowish-green hue that is frankly unlike many other films I can think of...although as I type this, the closest I can think of are certain scenes from Apocalypse Now but that is a whole other thing entirely.
As is the case of Kieslowski, the film's message is presented in such a quiet though abstract manner. Life is complicated but, in the end, we won't always know the answers. We won't always know why we have a pull to certain things even if it may not make sense. Life can be fragile and fleeting and beautiful and profound...and for a film to perfectly tap into that those themes without seeming a complete slog or overbearing in its intent, that is a resounding success.
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#4 - Barton Fink
Written & Directed by The Coen Brothers
There are certain actors from over the years that I have considered my idols and that I hoped to aspire to be like. Among those were Gene Wilder, Christopher Walken, Alan Rickman, John Lithgow, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Vincent Price...and most definitely John Turturro.
What I find remarkable about Turturro as an actor is that he can play a role like the brutish Danny in the play Danny & the Deep Blue Sea or the racist Pino in Do The Right Thing but then turn around to do nebbish roles like Herb Stemple in Quiz Show or the titular role in the film I am about to discuss: Barton Fink.
Fink is a playwright who is hired by a film studio to write screenplays in Hollywood's continued quest from that time period to expand upon the kinds of films that could be made as they steered into talkies rather than silent films. He takes up residence at the rundown Hotel Earle where his nearby is an insurance salesman named Charlie (John Goodman, another perennial Coen Brothers favorite).
One crazy aspect of the development of Barton Fink was that the Coens wrote the film over a 3-week period while taking a break developing their previous film, Miller's Crossing, which was just featured on my 1990 post. I love that they were able to step away from one film (which turned out to be one of their best) only to churn out this one, which is my second favorite film of theirs behind Fargo.
What begins as a sort of quirky satire of the supposed Golden Age of Hollywood ends up devolving into something else entirely, and frankly, it is bizarre and glorious.
This one is an absolutely diabolical gem.
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#3 - Raise the Red Lantern
Directed by Zhang Yimou
Written by Ni Zhen
When writing about 1990, I mentioned that Zhang Yimou (and Gong Li) would have their magnum opus the following year with Raise the Red Lantern.
And here we are. Let's talk about this beautiful but somber film.
How is this film beautiful? The cinematography, the score, the set designs, the costumes...this is a film that should be placed on a list of films that pose as paintings along with Barry Lyndon and Days of Heaven.
You also have Gong Li giving what might be the best performance of her career, which is saying something considering how stellar she always is. Her she plays Song Lian, a young woman who becomes a concubine to a powerful lord. Considering he already has 3 wives, she is pitted against them to curry his favor and approval.
Not only is this film a fervent attack on archaic patriarchal systems, but it could also even be seen as an allegory for capitalism almost in the same vein of something such as Parasite.
Raise the Red Lantern is a film I often think about in comparison to Farewell My Concubine, which was featured on my 1993 list. Both films do differ in content in noticeable ways, but both are such beautiful, elegant films that are brimming with almost a suffocating despair.
We watch Gong Li try to go through the rigid systems with a quiet strength, but her vulnerability is often unbearable to watch. You feel deeply for her and these women, and how they are made to be competitive when they should be able to lean upon one another.
The film's spirit manages to both enthrall and crush you, and you're left wondering whether or not you should admire it or mourn it.
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#2 - The Silence of the Lambs
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Written by Ted Tally
It is kind of crazy to think that a psychological thriller with grisly horror/crime elements that was released in February of 1991 would go on to become only the third and the last to date to win the Big 5 Prizes: Picture, Director, Actress, Actor, and (Adapted) Screenplay.
It also remains the only film that could be classified as horror to ever win the top honor, unless you want to count something like Rebecca but that is a whole other thing entirely in my opinion.
The Silence of the Lambs does perhaps have one element that plays as rough around the edges: the conception of serial killer Jame Gumb/Buffalo Bill as a character and the negative depiction it put forth towards the LGBTQ community even though it is never explicitly stated what sexuality he is in the film. Director Jonathan Demme had said in an interview that he felt the character wasn't gay. "He wanted to be a woman because he was a tormented man who wanted to be as far away from himself as he could possibly be." The trans angle to this not aged especially well but, to Demme's credit, he did take the criticism to heart and felt that more stories with LGBTQ protagonists needed to be told...which led him to taking on Philadelphia a couple years later.
What else is there really to say about this one?
Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins are an iconic film duo, and it is even crazier to think that they only share the screen together for less than 15 minutes. Nowadays, there are performances that win in the Supporting categories that are basically the leads of their film (i.e. Zoe Saldana for Emilia Perez), so to think Hopkins pulled off a Best Actor win with roughly 17 minutes of screentime is a testament to how incredible he was. So much so that even I didn't truly comprehend how little time he had onscreen when I first heard that number.
A true iconic classic and a beacon of the genre.
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#1 - A Brighter Summer Day
Written & Directed by Edward Yang
Co-written by Hung Hung, La Ming-tang, & Alex Yang
Well, here we are. I am choosing a nearly 4 hour long Taiwanese film as the best piece of cinema from 1991...and it also would be on my top 5 for best films of that decade. Call me pretentious (not to mention this is the 2nd film on this list to be 4 hours long), maybe I am choosing with my head instead of my heart, maybe this is a film I wouldn't put on repeatedly whereas I have seen films like Beauty & the Beast, Barton Fink, and Silence of the Lambs several times...but I have seen A Brighter Summer Day twice...and I am now inclined to revisit again after ruminating over the film now.
I cannot express to you how much I wish we could still be getting work from the late great Edward Yang, who is known to most people as the man behind the equally wonderful 2000 film Yi Yi.
If you look online, you will often see A Brighter Summer Day as being a "coming-of-age drama" but it is also far more than that. It is a small-epic crime drama as well that is rather tragic in its scope.
Set during the late 50s/early 60s in Taipei, we meet young teenager Chang Chen, which is also the name of the actor, who goes by Si'r. He is forced to attend night school after he fails another test.
His father in particular is concerned about this because he knows the night school crowd is filled with various "delinquents"...and while this may be seen as ignorant and classist, the truth is that Si'r does get swept up into the world of juvenile delinquency. While it is expected, Si'r also comes across a girl named Ming and you expect a love story to occur between them. However, Ming is far more complex than Si'r expects her to be; she is bolder and has more of a desire to explore her prospects.
These two are both fascinating characters and while this term is often used rather hastily quite a bit, I do think the film acts as a fascinating character study for them both. Si'r is clearly a young guy who is surrounded by patriarchal conservative values and the further he slips down the path of rebellion, he seems to not be able to handle her freedom. She insists to him that she and the world cannot be changed...and while you may question the flirtation she has with an older man such as the doctor she encounters, you also admirably see her as someone who just wants what she wants and knows what the world is.
This is truly a stunning film. I don't think I can properly give it the justice it deserves, but it is easily one of the finest films ever made. A small but epic and tragic story told against the backdrop of a country fresh off of a civil war.
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FINAL THOUGHTS:
In my introduction, I made a comment about a film being omitted that would likely surprise some of you. Considering not everyone is going to be a hardcore geek like me and be able to remember what year a certain film may come out, I will forego the further suspense and reveal that this particular film is:
Oliver Stone's JFK
The fact that I even ended up being underwhelmed by this film was an early example of me discovering how subject matter of great interest to me wouldn't necessarily mean that the final product would be a success.
As a child, I had a rather intense interest in American history and the gateway into that was learning about all of our presidents. The crazy trajectory during the 1960s following the assassination of John F. Kennedy was, arguably, the era that fascinated me the most. I can't tell you how many documentaries I had seen on the topic of the assassination and the potential conspiracy theories. That might sound a bit morbid, but it felt like a prime example of how reality could be stranger or at least more compelling than some fiction.
However, I think it must be said that I have never been the biggest fan of Oliver Stone as a filmmaker. It is kind of crazy to think that at that time, Stone was one of the two true premiere filmmakers having won two Best Director Oscars in a 3-year span for Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July with some even thinking he was likely in the running for JFK as well...and nowadays, he is mostly forgotten about and hasn't a truly acclaimed film in decades.
The bombastic, chaotic, and sensationalized nature of JFK turned me off instantly watching the film for the first time over 20 years ago. Even when I tried revisiting the film back in 2013 when content surrounding the assassination was EVERYWHERE for the 50th anniversary, my thoughts held up. If anything, I actually thought LESS of the film.
As for the rest of 1991, it is truly a hidden little gem of a year. While not the absolute best of that decade, I could see this falling in the top 3. Its strength is quietly stealthy and often feels like many lost opportunities as a many of these films flirted on the periphery of success (critical or audiences) only to get pushed aside in favor of films like Bugsy or The Prince of Tides.
1991 was certainly a bit of an uptick over 1990, but how will 1992 fare in comparison?
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