Posted: 01/09/2000

Del Harvey’s “Best and Worst” of the ’90s

by Del Harvey

Best Films Of The 90’s (alphabetically)
The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1994) Dir: Stephan Elliott, Scr: Stephan Elliott, Cast: Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Bill Hunter

As Good As It Gets (1997) Dir: James L. Brooks, Scr: Mark Andrus, Cast: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Dogfight (1991) Dir: Nancy Savoca, Scr: Bob Comfort, Cast: Lili Taylor, River Phoenix

Elizabeth (1998) Dir: Shekhar Kapur, Scr: Michael Hurst, Cast: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Edward Hardwicke, Richard Attenborough

Fargo (1996) Dir: Joel Coen, Scr: Joel and Ethan Coen, Cast: Francis McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi

The Limey (1998) Dir: Steven Soderbergh, Scr: Lem Dobbs, Cast: Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzman, Peter Fonda

This Is My Father (1998) Dir: Paul Quinn, Scr: Paul Quinn, Cast: Aidan Quinn, James Caan, Moya Farrelly, Colm Meaney, John Cusack

True Romance (1993) Dir: Tony Scott, Scr: Quentin Tarantino, Cast: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken

The Usual Suspects (1995) Dir: Bryan Singer, Scr: Christopher McQuarrie, Cast: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro, Chaz Palminteri

You’ve Got Mail (1998) Dir: Nora Ephron, Scr: Samson Raphaelson and Nora Ephron, Cast: Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey

Best Film Of The Decade
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Dir: Frank Darabont, Scr: Stephen King, Cast: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Coancy Brown, Bob Gunton
Many people loved American Beauty and will argue that it should hold this honor. That is their right. I agree that it is an outstanding film, but is is a reflection of the contemporary American society. Shawshank is full of timeless themes and philosophy, which is what made me give it the nod. I believe that, in time, Shawshank will be remembered better, and longer, than Beauty. It is because so many of our staff have listed Beauty that I did not feel the need to list it here.

Honorable Mention: (alphabetically)

Blade (1998) Dir: Stephen Norrington, Scr: David S. Goyer, Cast: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, D?Bushe Wright

The Big Lebowski (1998) Dir: Joel Coen, Scr: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi

Chasing Amy (1997) Dir: Kevin Smith, Scr: Kevin Smith , Cast: Ben Afflick, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee

Pulp Fiction (1994) Dir: Quentin Tarantino, Scr: Richard Avary and Quentin Tarantino, Cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames

Slacker (1991) Dir: Richard Linklater, Scr: Richard Linklater, Cast: Richard Linklater, Rudy Basquez, Jean Caffeine

Serial Mom (1998) Dir: John Waters, Scr: John Waters, Cast: Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard

Twilight (1998) Dir: Robert Benton, Scr: Robert Benton and Richard Russo, Cast: Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Liev Schreiber

Ulee’s Gold (1997) Dir: Victor Nunez, Scr: Victor Nunez, Cast: Peter Fonda, Patricia Richardson, Christine Dunford, Tom Wood

Wag The Dog (1997) Dir: Barrry Levinson, Scr: Hillary Henkin , Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Dennis Leary, Anne Heche

Waking Ned Devine (1998) Dir: Kirk Jones, Scr: Kirk Jones, Cast: Ian Bannen, David Kelley, Fionnula Flanagan

Worst Films Of The 90’s (alphabetically)

The Blair Witch Project (1999) Dir: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, Scr: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, Cast: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard

The Cable Guy (1996) Dir: Ben Stiller, Scr: Lou Holtz, Cast: Jim Carrey, Matthew Broderick, Leslie Mann

Dick Tracy (1990) Dir: Warren Beatty, Scr: Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Cast: Warren Beatty, Madonna, Charlie Korsmo, Glenne Headley

Dogma (1999) Dir: Kevin Smith, Scr: Kevin Smith, Cast: Linda Fiorentino, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Rock

End Of Days (1999) Dir: Peter Hyams, Scr: Andrew W. Marlowe, Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robin Tunney, Gabriel Byrne

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Dir: Stanley Kubrick, Scr: Stanley Kubrick, Cast: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman

The Postman (1997) Dir: Kevin Costner, Scr: Eric Roth, Cast: Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Olivia Williams, Tom Petty

Ravenous (1996) Dir: Antonia Bird, Scr: Ted Griffin, Cast: Guy Pearce, Robert Carlysle, David Arquette, Jeffrey Jones

Rosetta (1997) Dir: Jean-Paul Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, Scr: Jean-Paul Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, Cast: Emilie Dequenne, Anne Yernaux, Fabrizio Ronzione

Stir Of Echoes (1990) Dir: David Koepp, Scr: David Koepp, Cast: Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas

Del Harvey is the founder of Film Monthly. He lives in Chicago and is a devout Bears fan, and therefore deserving of our sympathy.

Got a problem? E-mail us at filmmonthly@gmail.com