100 Greatest Films of the 1990s

The 1990s in the history of film represents to me a throwback to the Golden Age of Hollywood. You might call such stars as Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Meg Ryan and even Sandra Bullock legendary actors in the same way Gary Cooper, James Stewart, Cary Grant, Clark Gable and Katharine Hepburn are legends. Each film looks and feels like movie magic. Sure, the 1990s were peppered with turkeys. I wouldn't list movies like Alien Resurrection or Kevin Costner's The Postman in the same breath as The Philadelphia Story, but I certainly would if it was Forrest Gump. Each great 1990s film has almost everything for everyone, just as movies like It Happened One Night or The Maltese Falcon offers more than meets the eye.

This may not be something everyone agrees upon, but I certainly feel strongly about this theory. I've watched films from every decade since the Golden Age and the '90s are the closest to coming to the brilliance of that timeless era. Sure, every great film over the past 60 years have their share of legendary moments. Rocky, Star Wars, A Streetcar Named Desire, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Godfather are among these very few exceptions. However, I have noticed that the number of legendary films in the '90s is so impressive, it dwarfs the number of all these other decades. Go ahead, remind me that everything made before the 1990s inspired these legendary films. I know that, but these films of the '90s took everything inspiring about this movie and that movie, and put it all together for a truly great movie-going experience. Titanic is the perfect example of this theory. Many people put Titanic down for having a cliche love story, something we've seen many times before, but I argue that no film ever told that story as brilliantly as Titanic.

The 100 greatest films of the 1990s is listed below. By the end, I hope you'll better understand why I think the '90s in the history of film was the second Golden Age.

1. Titanic

2. Schindler's List

3. Forrest Gump

4. Silence of the Lambs

5. Braveheart

6. Dances With Wolves

7. Goodfellas

8. Terminator 2: Judgement Day

9. The Shawshank Redemption

10. Pulp Fiction

11. American Beauty

12. L.A. Confidential

13. Unforgiven

14. Saving Private Ryan

15. The Fugitive

16. Toy Story

17. Pretty Woman

18. Jurassic Park

19. Fight Club

20. Good Will Hunting

21. Contact

22. Heat

23. Shakespeare in Love

24. The Sixth Sense

25. The Cider House Rules

26. True Lies

27. The Lion King

28. Sleepless in Seattle

29. The Matrix

30. Edward Scissorhands

31. Die Hard with a Vengeance

32. Erin Brockovich

33. Men in Black

34. Con Air

35. As Good As It Gets

36. The Usual Suspects

37. Speed

38. Mission Impossible

39. Apollo 13

40. Mrs. Doubtfire

41. Beauty & The Beast

42. The English Patient

43. Reservoir Dogs

44. The Green Mile

45. Air Force One

46. Fargo

47. Thelma and Louise

48. Four Weddings and a Funeral

49. Seven

50. Scream

51. Independence Day

52. The Remains of the Day

53. Casino

54. Groundhog Day

55. Home Alone

56. The Last of the Mohicans

57. Leon: The Professional

58. Sense and Sensibility

59. The Hunt for Red October

60. Out of Sight

61. There's Something About Mary

62. Ghost

63. Total Recall

64. Crimson Tide

65. Aladdin

66. Jerry Maguire

67. The Santa Clause

67. Goldeneye

68. Liar Liar

69. Backdraft

70. A Few Good Men

71. While You Were Sleeping

72. Father of the Bride

73. Dazed and Confused

74. Clerks

75. My Best Friend's Wedding

76. Grosse Point Blank

77. Basic Instinct

78. Dark City

79. Elizabeth

80. City Slickers

81. Little Women

82. Outbreak

83. The Fifth Element

84. Notting Hill

85. Grumpy Old Men

86. Hot Shots

87. Kingpin

88. Galaxy Quest

89. You've Got Mail

90. The Truman Show

91. The Nutty Professor

92. True Romance

93. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

94. Scream 2

95. Dumb & Dumber (I couldn't resist)

96. Ronin

97. Waterworld

98. Clear and Present Danger

99. The Mummy

100. Interview With a Vampire

Personal note: If I've left out any great movies, please feel free to add them below in the comments. Plus, I apologize if I listed a movie more than once. There are a lot of movies here to keep track of.