1990s Film Guide: Top Films by Genre

The 1990s were a golden period in cinema. Many classic films and franchises were born. Box office records were broken. It was the decade where Star Wars began to reassert itself as a box office force, both with the theatrical re-release of the original trilogy and the release of the first film in its "prequel" trilogy, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

Before the decade was out, Titanic would woo audiences to many repeated viewings and bring in nearly 2 billion dollars in ticket sales.

The decade in film began with Ghost as the number one box office hit of the year in 1990, but audiences would soon move on to more action-oriented films and dramas of a larger scale.

Historical Epics

Box Office Winner:Braveheart

Before Mel Gibson was overheard ranting and berating his mistress over the phone, before he was arrested for drunk driving and heard to perform a long anti-Semitic diatribe for the police, he made some great movies.

In his acting and directorial career, no Gibson film has surpassed the grandeur, the passion, and the high-caliber writing of Braveheart (1995). A film famous for its large scale battle sequences, the dramatic side of Braveheart is sometimes overlooked.

When you watch it again, try to notice how much you smile in the first half of the film and how this joy works in contrast with the devastating betrayals of the second half of the film.

Critical Success:Last of the Mohicans

Last of the Mohicans is a lyrically charged multi-genre film. An action movie and a period piece that is also a romance, Last of the Mohicans delivers drama and battle and humanity. Daniel Day Lewis plays the lead role in this French-Indian War epic and he falls in love with Madeline Stowe, a British officer's daughter and a rebellious, passionate spirit.

Last of the Mohicans is one of only films based on a novel to improve upon the novel in every way. The 1992 film version is a much better tale than the original 1826 Natty Bumpo version by James Fenimore Cooper.

Action

Box Office Winner:Terminator 2 (Top domestic film in 1991) (#18 Top Grossing Film of the 1990s)

This pre-apocalyptic, action drama featured ground-breaking special effects and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as an old school robot from the future sent back in time to save a teenager named John Connor. The robot, or cyborg, is sent to save the young man by the future leader of the free world, John Connor.

Terminator 2 is chock full of memorable lines, some of which where taken from the original Terminator, such as "I'll be back". In the comic interludes of Terminator 2, John Connor teaches the Schwarzenegger robot some phrases from that day in Los Angeles. "Hasta la vista, baby," was the most repeated around the water cooler in 1992, thanks to the Austrian accent of the future governor of California.

Terminator 2 is the quintessential blockbuster. With big stars, big explosions, a hard-driving and simple original score, the film entertains from start to finish with verbal and visual creativity to spare.

Surprising point of trivia: Terminator 2 grossed roughly $200,000,000 which is less than half the box office revenue of the previous year's top film, Ghost, which grossed over $500,000,000 dollars.

Critical Success: Mission Impossible (#25 Top Grossing Film of the 1990s)

Mission Impossible (1996) was a truly great remake and a thrilling spy caper. The tension runs high in this Tom Cruise vehicle and you don't have to wait long before you are pulled to the proverbial edge of your seat.

If you aren't a Tom Cruise fan, this film may amuse you in a schadenfreude kind of way.

The Tom Cruise Mission Impossible is based on a 1980's television series. The success of Cruise's version spawned an additional two movies in a series that, at one time, looked like it could become a franchise.

The producers turned to John Woo, however, to direct the third installment and the storylines that had been taught and "covert" became over-the-top, ridiculous, and explosive. That was the end of the franchise.

Drama

Box Office Winner: Titanic (#1 Top Grossing Film of the 1990's)

Titanic (1997) is the top grossing film of all time, earning almost ten times as much at the box office as Terminator 2. The special effects and the huge scale of Titanic served as a fitting contrast to the small-scale human drama that survived the sinking of the ship.

Ultimately, Titanic brought in nearly 2 billion dollars. Director James Cameron has been said to be planning to re-release the film in 3-D in the near future following the success of his film Avatar.

Critical Success: Forrest Gump (#4 Top Grossing Film of the 1990's)

Forrest Gump was a very successful film in theaters, and it was also very well received critically. With wit and candor, a very unique cinematic figure charmed the world - played by Tom Hanks.

This 1994 film garnered six Academy Awards including the top flight awards for Best Actor (Tom Hanks), Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), and Best Picture.

Science Fiction

Box Office Winner:Star Wars Episode 1 (#2 Top Grossing Film of the 1990s)

A disappointment to adult fans, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace introduced a new generation to the magic of the Star Wars universe and met with truly massive box office success, bringing in nearly one billion dollars.

Critical Success: The Matrix

The Matrix was hailed as a special effects breakthrough upon its release in 1999. Despite the wooden performance of leading actor Keanu Reeves and the regrettably poor dialogue that plagued the movie and its counterparts in the Matrix trilogy, a captivating narrative line coupled with the impressive camera effects proved to be enough to generate a large and loyal fan-base.

Suspense

Box Office Winner: The Fugitive (#23 Top Grossing Film of the 1990s)

Harrison Ford has been at the top of his game for quite some time. Even the biggest fans of Ford's action-adventure roles as Indiana Jones and Han Solo must be tempted to name The Fugitive as Harrison Ford's best role and the best demonstration of his acting talent.

Not to give anything away here, but, "It was the one armed man!"

Critical Success: Silence of the Lambs

In researching this article, the biggest surprise was to find that Silence of the Lambs was not in the top 25 box office successes of the 1990's. A film that inspired numerous sequels and an uncounted number of spoofs and Saturday Night Live skits, Silence of the Lambs has proven itself to be an enduring moment in the cultural history of the 1990's.

Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster star in the suspense-psycho-thriller and lead us to a creative finale with Foster trapped in a house with a serial killer, with the lights out, while the killer wears night-vision goggles and moves in on the blind FBI agent in the eerie green light of the night-vision.