Time Flies: 1999 Was an Unquestionably Great Year at the Movies. But Was It the Best Ever?
It just occurred to me that this year marks the 10th anniversary of such excellent films as:
- Fight Club
- The Matrix
- Being John Malkovich
- Three Kings
- The Limey
- The Dreamlife of Angels
- After Life
- Run Lola Run
- Rosetta
- Besieged
- American Beauty
- The Sixth Sense
- South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
- The Iron Giant
- eXistenZ
- The Blair Witch Project
And that’s not even including other somewhat flawed/less influential releases like:
- Magnolia
- The Insider
- Boys Don’t Cry
- Affliction
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
- Eyes Wide Shut
- All About My Mother
- Go
- Arlington Road
- The Talented Mr. Ripley
- Election
- Romance
In other words, 1999 was a very good year—one that holds up exceedingly well ten years later. But could it be the best single year of the last 25 years? My quick scan of other contending years suggest that there are only three genuine contenders:
1991
- The Silence of the Lambs
- JFK
- Thelma & Louise
- The Grifters
- The Vanishing
- La Femme Nikita
- Ju Dou
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- Paris Is Burning
- My Own Private Idaho
- Beauty and the Beast
- Prospero’s Books
- The Double Life of Veronique
1992
- Unforgiven
- La Belle Noiseuse
- Raise the Red Lantern
- The Player
- One False Move
- Zentropa
- The Adjuster
- Blade Runner: Director’s Cut
- Husbands and Wives
- Glengarry Glen Ross
- Reservoir Dogs
- Malcolm X
- The Crying Game
1996
- Shanghai Triad
- Fargo
- Chungking Express
- Breaking the Waves
- Les Voleurs (Thieves)
- La Haine (Hate)
- Trainspotting
- Bound
- Secrets and Lies
- Jude
- Scream
And while I’m still of the opinion that 1999 comes out on top, I’m curious about the following: What’s your pick for the best moviegoing year of the past quarter century and why?
6 months ago