The Top 10 Films Made in the 1990's

1. Shawshank Redemption-1994 Rated R, Crime/Drama. Based on a Stephen King Novella, the film was nominated for seven Oscars at the 1995 Academy awards. Nominations were for Morgan Freeman as best supporting actor and best picture for director Frank Darabont. The film is one that highlights the themes of freedom and hope through the lead character, played by Tim Robbins, a man serving two life sentences for the murder of his wife and her lover, convicted falsely on circumstantial evidence.

2. Pulp Fiction-1994 Rated R, Crime/Thriller. Pulp Fiction, staring a superb cast of John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, and Uma Thurman, but Director and co-screenwriter Quentin Tarantino on the map. The film won the 1995 best screenplay Oscar in addition to garnering nominations for Travolta, Jackson, Thurman, and for Best Director and Best Picture. The film was consisted of three plots that intertwine and was the first film to ever have a nonlinear, out of time script that worked. The dialogue was witty and often humorous, and the film resurrected the career of John Travolta. Containing graphic language and violence, it is debated among admirers of the film whether the film was plot driven or character driven.

3. Schindler's List-1993 Rated R. Stephen Spielberg's World War II film took home seven Oscars at the 1994 awards show, including awards for best director and best picture. The film, almost completely in black and white is the story of a businessman during the Nazi occupation of Poland and how he saved the life of countless Jewish people by employing them in his factory and keeping them safe from the nearby concentration camps. Notably, actor Ralph Fiennes role as Amon Goeth a ruthless, heartless SS officer in Poland were one of the key strengths in the film, as well as Liam Neeson's role as businessman Oskar Schindler.

4. Goodfellas-1990 Gangster/Crime. Based on the life of mobster Henry Hill, this Martin Scorsese film is probably the best mob film since The Godfather. The film won actor Joe Pesci an Oscar for best supporting actor, as well as nominations for best director and best supporting actress for Lorraine Bracco. Ray Liotta plays notorious mobster Henry Hill as the film follows Hill's life from his childhood to his eventual arrest and entry into the witness protection program.

5. Fight Club-1999 Drama/Thriller. Based on a book by the same name by Chuck Palahniuk, the David Fincher directed film is a cult classic. The movie did not attract the critical acclaim it should have been rewarded, getting only one Oscar nomination for best effects in 2000. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are the lead roles in the film as they follow the dark and depressing life of Norton's character in corporate America to the formation of the fight club. The movie has so many lines that are frequently quoted and referenced to. The films ending is perhaps the best twist in recent years.

6. The Silence of the Lambs-1991, Crime/Thriller. This dark, creepy movie, directed by Jonathan Demme, won five Oscars in 1992. The Oscars includes best picture, best director, best actress for Jodie Foster, and Best actor for Anthony Hopkins. The plot follows a FBI student, played by Foster, assigned to solve a serial killers identify through discussions with Hannibal Lector, a brilliant forensic scientist and cannibalistic serial killer, played by Hopkins. Lector helps Foster's character better dissect her case while simultaneously conducting a psychological analysis on Foster's own life and character. The two become a friend of sorts, as Lector provides Foster with clues through riddles.

7. The Matrix-1999, Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi. This incredibly creative film by the equally eccentric Wachowski Brothers left people thinking about the world, and life in general. In the film Keanu Reeves plays computer hacker, Neo, in the lead role that is taken in by Laurence Fishburne's Morpheous and given the chance to learn answers to what the world really is. The plot of the film is that artificial intelligence has taken over the world, and has created a false reality, which we accept as life that is actually called the Matrix. Everyone in the world is a slave to the robots in the world, which live off the energy we emit, and the real world is a desolate, dark place with abandoned buildings-a direct result of our war with the artificial intelligence. It is believed that Neo is the one who was chosen to save the world.

8. Seven-1995, Crime/Drama/Mystery. This film staring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Gwyneth Paltrow follows the lives and careers of two police men a rookie, played by Pitt and Freeman as the soon to retire police office. The two officers are on a case following a serial killer who chooses his victims based on the seven deadly sins. The focus is on the cops, as well as Pitt's marriage to Paltrow and her relationship with the two men. The end of the film is again unexpected and thought provoking.

9. American Beauty-1999, Drama. Directed by Sam Mendes, the film won five Oscars including winning Mendes one for best director. Kevin Spacey, the main character in the film, won a Best Actor Oscar for his role as a father of a seemingly ideal suburban family. Annette Benning plays his wife and Thora Birch plays his 16-year-old daughter. The plot of the film is based on Spacey's mid-life crisis and unhappiness with his career and his marriage. Spacey is infatuated with his daughter's flirtatious best friend, played by Mena Suvari, while he is living a sexless life with his wife who is having an affair behind his back. The film took home best picture at the 2000 Oscar Awards.

10. American History X-1998, Drama. Director Tony Kaye failed to be recognized by the academy for this critically underrated film, but the lead role, played by Edward Norton was about to snag a nomination for best actor. Norton plays a white supremacist serving jail time for the murder of a black man who was caught robbing his home. While in jail he begins to realize the shortcomings of his white supremacist beliefs and resigns to save his younger brother, played by Edward Furlong, who has followed in his footsteps.