Top 100 Overlooked Films of the 1990s

Another list of movies has appeared, this time the Online Film Critics Society’s “Top 100 Overlooked Films of the 1990s“. Michael at eclecticism and his friend DeAnna started a meme (oh my). I’ve cleaned up the list, and changed the links to the films’ appropriate IMDb pages. The ones I’ve seen are emboldened, and I’ve included some comments. I also created a copy without my edits for you to use on your own page.

  1. Miller’s Crossing – Amazing film, one of the Coen Brothers’ best.
  2. Safe
  3. The Sweet Hereafter – Atom Egoyan is extremely overlooked, although this one at least gained a lot of buzz. Probably his best film.
  4. Lone Star
  5. Heavenly Creatures – The movie that proves Jackson can tell a great story that doesn’t rely on the special effects (yes, I’m including LOTR in that comment)
  6. Waiting for Guffman – Personally I think this is overrated. I’m kind of tired of Guest‘s work, I don’t think any of them have compared to This Is Spinal Tap.
  7. The Hudsucker Proxy – Along with The Man Who Wasn’t There, the Coens’ most overlooked films.
  8. Babe: Pig in the City – Loved the first one, had no interest in the second.
  9. Dead Man – The one that got me into Jarmusch. Surreal visuals and dialogue backed by an acid trip of a soundtrack.
  10. Fearless – Came across this movie one Saturday and found that I couldn’t turn it off. Impressive.
  11. Bound – Forget the hot lesbian sex, this film is driven by the compelling story.
  12. Chungking Express
  13. The Straight Story – Touching and amazing. Everyone should watch this film and then call up their family afterward in tears.
  14. Searching for Bobby Fischer
  15. Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai
  16. That Thing You Do! – Surprisingly good. A realistic take on the music industry of that time.
  17. Dead Again
  18. Sneakers – I love this film. Outside of WarGames, probably the only decent “hacker” movie.
  19. Zero Effect – This film has been in my Netflix queue since day one, and I still haven’t gotten to it.
  20. The Butcher Boy – Disturbingly brilliant. A harsh movie that takes a lot to make it through.
  21. Truly, Madly, Deeply
  22. In the Company of Men
  23. Devil in a Blue Dress
  24. The Red Violin – Beautiful, and well told.
  25. Cemetery Man – Very bizarre film, but definitly one to check out. I’m looking forward to the DVD.
  26. Hamlet – Still haven’t seen this version, a must.
  27. Breakdown – Ha, just watched this one recently. Great concept, and well executed (even if it gets a tad Hollywoodish at points).
  28. Welcome to the Dollhouse – My vote for most overrated indie film of all time. My companion for this film kept begging me to turn it off, but I forced us to watch the whole thing. Just plain bad.
  29. The Apostle – Difficult film, and not one I could make it through again. But Duvall’s performance is amazing.
  30. Eve’s Bayou
  31. Hard Eight
  32. Defending Your Life
  33. A Little Princess – These last two are ones that I’ve seen parts of, but still haven’t seen in the entirety.
  34. Bringing Out the Dead – I really wanted to like this. Really.
  35. Fireworks
  36. Jacob’s Ladder
  37. The Spanish Prisoner – I like Mamet, so I really should see this.
  38. Pump Up The Volume – Fun, although a tad dated.
  39. Beautiful Girls
  40. The Double Life of Veronique
  41. Very Bad Things
  42. Richard III – An amazing modernization of Shakespeare.
  43. October Sky
  44. Strange Days – And another one – I wanted to like it… I just didn’t.
  45. My Neighbor Totoro
  46. L.A. Story – I saw this when I was younger and didn’t quite get it. Deserves a rewatch.
  47. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
  48. A Bronx Tale
  49. The Limey – Yet another’s that’s been on my queue forever.
  50. A Perfect World – Flawed, but still an intriguing movie. I liked it inspite of itself.
  51. Before Sunrise
  52. Bob Roberts
  53. Dick – Great performances by the adult cast members couldn’t save this mess.
  54. Raise the Red Lantern – The tape is sitting on my desk, waiting to be watched.
  55. One False Move
  56. The Ref
  57. Exotica – Another great Egoyan film, but where’s Felicia’s Journey?
  58. Sonatine
  59. Joe Versus the Volcano – I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who liked this film.
  60. Matinee – Aww, my very first date with my first girlfriend was to see this film. I still think it was brilliant.
  61. The Ice Storm – Ugh, a stellar cast (especially of young and upcoming stars), but I just couldn’t get into it.
  62. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
  63. Croupier
  64. The Winslow Boy – See #37
  65. The Girl on the Bridge
  66. Bullet in the Head
  67. Darkman – Raimi’s brilliant comic book movie – forget his somewhat bland, Hollywood fare. This one’s dark and twisted.
  68. Cannibal! The Musical – This one’s a must see.
  69. Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
  70. Smoke
  71. The Last Days of Disco
  72. Fresh
  73. Eye of God
  74. Flirting With Disaster – So much funnier than it should have been. Great ensemble, and Stiller’s best work.
  75. Bottle Rocket – I really must see this.
  76. Ashes of Time
  77. Fallen Angels
  78. Great Expectations – Enh, didn’t do anything for me.
  79. Kundun
  80. A Midnight Clear
  81. Deep Cover
  82. Ravenous – Too many people have told me to see this. It jumps to the top of the queue.
  83. Twin Falls Idaho – I missed a part of the middle, but loved the majority that I did see.
  84. The People vs. Larry Flynt
  85. Quick Change
  86. The Secret of Roan Inish – Why is this not in the top 10? Absolutely beautiful film.
  87. Beloved
  88. Big Night – Great cast, great film. See it if you haven’t.
  89. Topsy-Turvy – I even rented it, and I still haven’t had the chance to watch it.
  90. Living in Oblivion – Same as #83.
  91. Jesus’ Son
  92. Glengarry Glen Ross – I can’t praise this movie enough. One of the greatest ensemble pieces ever. Stage acting on the big screen.
  93. Chaplin
  94. Dead Alive – Not a big gore fan, I had trouble making it through this.
  95. Jude
  96. Cradle Will Rock
  97. Proof
  98. The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
  99. Titus
  100. Mystery Men – And I thought I was the only one who appreciated this gem.

A lot of these will be making it onto my Netflix queue sometime soon. I’m trying to think of other movies I’d put up there (remember, we’re just talking about the 90s). Any ideas/opinions?

One thought on “Top 100 Overlooked Films of the 1990s”

Comments are closed.