Best Movies of the 1990s

Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, Schindler's List, Toy Story. The decade independent cinema, prestige drama and animated CGI all peaked at the same time.

The 1990s is the decade the American independent film became commercially viable at scale. Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), and the Sundance/Miramax model that followed reshaped distribution. It's also the decade Pixar invented modern computer animation, Spielberg made Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan back-to-back with Jurassic Park, and Scorsese made Goodfellas, Casino, and Bringing Out the Dead.

Our ten picks for the decade.

The ten

  • Pulp Fiction (1994) — Tarantino's Palme d'Or winner. Reset American independent cinema.
  • Goodfellas (1990) — Scorsese's tightest film. The Copacabana tracking shot is the most-imitated camera move in modern cinema.
  • Schindler's List (1993) — Spielberg's first Best Director Oscar. Filmed back-to-back with Jurassic Park.
  • The Shawshank Redemption (1994) — A box-office disappointment that became the most-watched film on TV in the decade after release.
  • Fight Club (1999) — Fincher. Critically rejected on release, then re-evaluated.
  • Se7en (1995) — Fincher again. The box.
  • Heat (1995) — Michael Mann. The cafe scene; the Los Angeles bank robbery.
  • Toy Story (1995) — The first fully computer-animated feature. Pixar.
  • Three Colours: Red (1994) — Krzysztof Kieślowski's trilogy concluded. The most beautifully made European film of the decade.
  • The Silence of the Lambs (1991) — Won Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Adapted Screenplay — the 'Big Five'.

Why the 1990s holds up

Three forces aligned that haven't aligned since. The studio system was still functioning at scale, with mid-budget adult drama as a regular release category. The independent film distribution infrastructure (Miramax, New Line, Fine Line) was at its commercial peak. And the home-video aftermarket gave films financial runway for second and third lives.

The result is a decade whose mid-tier is as strong as its top tier. Heat, L.A. Confidential, The Truman Show, Boogie Nights, Dead Man Walking, Casino, Glengarry Glen Ross — none of these would have a clear path to a theatrical release today.

It's also the decade animation as a major studio category recovered. The Disney Renaissance (The Little Mermaid 1989 through Tarzan 1999) and Pixar's debut bracket the same ten years.