Zach’s Favorite Films of the 1990s

1999

  1. SICILIA! (Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, France/Italy/Switzerland)
  2. BEAU TRAVAIL (Claire Denis, France)
  3. OUTER SPACE (Peter Tscherkassky, Austria)
  4. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, USA)
  5. THE STRAIGHT STORY (David Lynch, USA)
  6. THE MATRIX (Lana and Lilly Wachowski, USA/Australia)
  7. TOY STORY 2 (John Lasseter, USA)
  8. AMERICAN MOVIE (Chris Smith, USA)
  9. THE IRON GIANT (Brad Bird, USA)
  10. THE LITTLE GIRL WHO SOLD THE SUN (Djibril Diop Mambéty, Senegal)
  11. EYES WIDE SHUT (Stanley Kubrick, UK/USA)
  12. PERSIAN SERIES #2 (Stan Brakhage, USA)
  13. THE WIND WILL CARRY US (Abbas Kiarostami, Iran/France)
  14. REMOVED (Naomi Uman, USA)
  15. 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (Gil Junger, USA)
  16. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (Spike Jonze, USA)
  17. GOHATTO (Nagisa Ōshima, Japan)
  18. STAR WARS: EPISODE I — THE PHANTOM MENACE (George Lucas, USA)
  19. AUDITION (Takashi Miike, Japan)
  20. ELECTION (Alexander Payne, USA)
  21. THE INSIDER (Michael Mann, USA)
  22. GALAXY QUEST (Dean Parisot, USA)
  23. ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain/France)
  24. ROMANCE (Catherine Breillat, France)
  25. THREE KINGS (David O. Russell, USA)
  • SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT (Trey Parker, USA)
  • OFFICE SPACE (Mike Judge, USA)

1998

  1. THE BIG LEBOWSKI (Joel and Ethan Coen, USA)
  2. THE HOLE (Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan)
  3. FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI (Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan/Japan)
  4. 42 UP (Michael Apted, UK)
  5. THE THIN RED LINE (Terrence Malick, USA)
  6. BUFFALO ’66 (Vincent Gallo, USA)
  7. THE POWER OF KANGWON PROVINCE (Hong Sang-soo, South Korea)
  8. BELLY (Hype Williams, USA)
  9. SNAKE EYES (Brian De Palma, USA)
  10. DOWN IN THE DELTA (Maya Angelou, USA)
  11. BABE: PIG IN THE CITY (George Miller, Australia/USA)
  12. RONIN (John Frankenheimer, UK/USA)
  13. OUT OF SIGHT (Steven Soderbergh, USA)
  • SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (Steven Spielberg, USA)

1997

  1. JACKIE BROWN (Quentin Tarantino, USA)
  2. CURE (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan)
  3. TASTE OF CHERRY (Abbas Kiarostami, Iran)
  4. LOST HIGHWAY (David Lynch, France/USA)
  5. COMINGLED CONTAINERS (Stan Brakhage, USA)
  6. PRINCESS MONONOKE (Hayao Miyazaki, Japan)
  7. HAPPY TOGETHER (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong)
  8. TITANIC (James Cameron, USA)
  9. EVENT HORIZON (Paul W.S. Anderson, USA)
  10. AFTERGLOW (Alan Rudolph, USA)
  11. BROTHER (Alexey Balabanov, Russia)
  12. THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK (Steven Spielberg, USA)
  13. LIVE FLESH (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain)
  14. MADE IN HONG KONG (Fruit Chan, Hong Kong)
  15. MEN IN BLACK (Barry Levinson, USA)
  16. THE WRONG GUY (David Steinberg, Canada/USA)
  17. PERFECT BLUE (Satoshi Kon, Japan)
  18. STARSHIP TROOPERS (Paul Verhoeven, USA)
  • THE GAME (David Fincher, USA)
  • AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY (Jay Roach, USA)

1996

  1. THE WATERMELON WOMAN (Cheryl Dunye, USA)
  2. FARGO (Joel and Ethan Coen, USA)
  3. A MOMENT OF INNOCENCE (Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iran)
  4. A SUMMER'S TALE (Éric Rohmer, France)
  5. BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA (Mike Judge, USA)
  6. ESCAPE FROM L.A. (John Carpenter, USA)
  7. THE DAY A PIG FELL INTO THE WELL (Hong Sang-soo, South Korea)
  8. SECRETS & LIES (Mike Leigh, UK)
  9. GABBEH (Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iran)
  10. SPACE TRUCKERS (Stuart Gordon, USA)
  11. CRASH (David Cronenberg, Canada/UK)
  12. STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (Jonathan Frakes, USA)
  13. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (Brian De Palma, USA)
  14. DRIFTING CLOUDS (Aki Kaurismäki, Finland/France/Germany)
  15. PARADISE LOST: THE CHILD MURDERS AT ROBIN HOOD HILLS (Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, USA)
  • IRMA VEP (Olivier Assayas, France)

1995

  1. DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (Carl Franklin, USA)
  2. SAFE (Todd Haynes, USA)
  3. BABE (Chris Noonan, Australia/USA)
  4. LA CÉRÉMONIE (Claude Chabrol, France/Germany)
  5. WHEN IT RAINS (Charles Burnett, USA)
  6. THE DOOM GENERATION (Gregg Araki, USA)
  7. A CLOSE SHAVE (Nick Park, UK)
  8. CLUELESS (Amy Heckerling, USA)
  9. FACE CAUGHT IN THE DARK (Paolo Gioli, Italy)
  10. BEFORE SUNRISE (Richard Linklater, USA)
  11. THE FLOWER OF MY SECRET (Pedro Almodóvar, France/Spain)
  12. WHISPER OF THE HEART (Yoshifumi Kondo, Japan)
  13. FLIRT (Hal Hartley, Germany/Japan/USA)
  14. CASINO (Martin Scorsese, France/USA)
  • SALAAM CINEMA (Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iran)
  • PARTY GIRL (Daisy von Scherler Mayer, USA)

1994

  1. BLACK IS ... BLACK AIN'T (Marlon Riggs, USA)
  2. SÀTÀNTANGÒ (Béla Tarr, Hungary)
  3. THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES (Abbas Kiarostami, Iran)
  4. DRUNKEN MASTER II (Liu Chia-Liang, Hong Kong)
  5. EXOTICA (Atom Egoyan, Canada)
  6. CROOKLYN (Spike Lee, USA)
  7. SPEED (Jan de Bont, USA)
  8. BLACK ICE (Stan Brakhage, USA)
  9. LOTHRINGEN! (Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, France/Germany)
  10. VIVE L’AMOUR (Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan)
  11. IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS (John Carpenter, USA)
  12. LE FRANC (Djibril Diop Mambéty, Senegal)
  13. PULP FICTION (Quentin Tarantino, USA)
  14. I LIKE IT LIKE THAT (Darnell Martin, USA)
  15. SERIAL MOM (John Waters, USA)
  16. FRESH KILL (Shu Lea Cheang, USA)
  • THREE COLORS: RED (Krzysztof Kieślowski, France/Poland/Switzerland)

1993

  1. MOVING (Shinji Sōmai, Japan)
  2. THE WRONG TROUSERS (Nick Park, UK)
  3. THE TREE, THE MAYOR AND THE MEDIATHEQUE (Éric Rohmer, France)
  4. PASSAGE À L’ACTE (Martin Arnold, Austria)
  5. JURASSIC PARK (Steven Spielberg, USA)
  6. NAKED (Mike Leigh, UK)
  7. THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (Martin Scorsese, USA)
  8. DAZED AND CONFUSED (Richard Linklater, USA)
  9. STELLAR (Stan Brakhage, USA)
  10. DOTTIE GETS SPANKED (Todd Haynes, USA)
  11. STUDY IN COLOR AND BLACK AND WHITE (Stan Brakhage, USA)
  12. THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (Henry Selick, USA)
  13. THE PIANO (Jane Campion, Australia/New Zealand/France)
  14. HARD TARGET (John Woo, USA)
  15. THREE COLORS: BLUE (Krzysztof Kieślowski, France/Poland)
  16. ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES (Barry Sonnenfeld, USA)
  17. MENACE II SOCIETY (Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes, USA)
  18. TERMINAL USA (Jon Moritsugu, USA)
  19. THE HEROIC TRIO (Johnnie To, Hong Kong)
  20. CARLITO’S WAY (Brian De Palma, USA)
  21. THE WAR ROOM (Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker, USA)
  22. THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER (Richard Williams, UK)
  • SCHINDLER’S LIST (Steven Spielberg, USA)
  • A PERFECT WORLD (Clint Eastwood, USA)
  • HOUSEHOLD SAINTS (Nancy Savoca, USA)

1992

  1. AND LIFE GOES ON (Abbas Kiarostami, Iran)
  2. THE LONG DAY CLOSES (Terence Davies, UK)
  3. TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME (David Lynch, USA)
  4. UNFORGIVEN (Clint Eastwood, USA)
  5. BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (Francis Ford Coppola, USA)
  6. PORCO ROSSO (Hayao Miyazaki, Japan)
  7. ANTIGONE (Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, Germany/France)
  8. HYENAS (Djibril Diop Mambéty, Senegal/Switzerland/France)
  9. SIMPLE MEN (Hal Hartley, USA)
  10. MALCOLM X (Spike Lee, USA)
  11. AMBITION (Hal Hartley, USA)
  12. POLICE STORY 3: SUPER COP (Stanley Tong, Hong Kong)
  13. CANDYMAN (Bernard Rose, USA)
  14. BAD LIEUTENANT (Abel Ferrara, USA)
  15. SURVIVING DESIRE (Hal Hartley, USA)
  16. REBELS OF THE NEON GOD (Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan)
  17. BATMAN RETURNS (Tim Burton, USA)
  18. ONE FALSE MOVE (Carl Franklin, USA)
  19. GHOSTWATCH (Lesley Manning, UK)
  20. RAPADO (Martín Rejtman, Argentina)
  21. FEED (Kevin Rafferty and James Ridgeway, USA)
  22. THE LIVING END (Gregg Araki, USA)
  23. DEEP COVER (Bill Duke, USA)
  24. UNDER SIEGE (Andrew Davis, USA)
  25. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (Michael Mann, USA)
  • THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (Brian Henson, UK/USA)
  • THE LAST DAYS OF CHEZ NOUS (Gillian Armstrong, Australia)

1991

  1. ONLY YESTERDAY (Isao Takahata, Japan)
  2. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (Jonathan Demme, USA)
  3. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (James Cameron, France/USA)
  4. MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE (Alek Keshishian, USA)
  5. ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA (Tsui Hark, Hong Kong)
  6. POISON (Todd Haynes, USA)
  7. 35 UP (Michael Apted, UK)
  8. NAKED LUNCH (David Cronenberg, Canada/Japan/UK)
  9. THE NAKED GUN 2 1/2: THE SMELL OF FEAR (David Zucker, USA)
  10. ASPEN (Frederick Wiseman, USA)
  11. STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (Nicholas Meyer, USA)
  12. THE RAPTURE (Michael Tolkin, USA)
  13. HIGH HEELS (Pedro Almodóvar, France/Spain)
  14. A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME (Errol Morris, USA)
  15. BOYZ N THE HOOD (John Singleton, USA)
  • THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VÉRONIQUE (Krzysztof Kieślowski, France/Norway/Poland)
  • BARTON FINK (Joel and Ethan Coen, USA)
  • THELMA & LOUISE (Ridley Scott, USA)

1990

  1. CLOSE-UP (Abbas Kiarostami, Iran)
  2. TO SLEEP WITH ANGER (Charles Burnett, USA)
  3. GOODFELLAS (Martin Scorsese, USA)
  4. MILLER’S CROSSING (Joel and Ethan Coen, USA)
  5. TRUST (Hal Hartley, USA)
  6. WHITE HUNTER BLACK HEART (Clint Eastwood, USA)
  7. PARIS IS BURNING (Jennie Livingston, USA)
  8. GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH (Joe Dante, USA)
  9. CENTRAL PARK (Frederick Wiseman, USA)
  10. TOTAL RECALL (Paul Verhoeven, USA)
  11. THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (John McTiernan, USA)
  12. SEE YOU LATER (Michael Snow, Canada)
  13. KING OF NEW YORK (Abel Ferrara, USA)
  14. TREMORS (Ron Underwood, USA)
  15. SALLY’S BEAUTY SPOT (Helen Lee, USA)
  16. LOVE AT LARGE (Alan Rudolph, USA)
  17. LIFE IS SWEET (Mike Leigh, UK)
  18. PREDATOR 2 (Stephen Hopkins, USA)
  19. CHILD PLAY’S 2 (John Lafia, USA)
  20. SLACKER (Richard Linklater, USA)
  21. THE EXORCIST III (William Peter Blatty, USA)
  • MIAMI BLUES (George Armitage, USA)