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Edition · 1990
198919901991
The Year in Film · 1990

Best of 1990

The films that defined 1990 — ranked by IMDb score.


These films defined 1990 — the year's highest-rated releases, ranked by IMDb score. Some are awards bait, some are popcorn fare, some quietly snuck in under the radar. All earned their place on the list.

  1. 01.
    GoodFellas

    GoodFellas

    1990·Dir. Martin Scorsese·145 min·8.7

    The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.

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  2. 02.
    Michael Madana Kama Rajan

    Michael Madana Kama Rajan

    1990·Dir. Singeetam Srinivasa Rao·167 min·8.5

    A wicked man separates a set of quadruplets after their birth and one of them ends up with their biological father, while the other three find new homes. Things take a turn after they meet each other.

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  3. 03.
    Close-Up

    Close-Up

    1990·Dir. Abbas Kiarostami·98 min·8.2

    This fiction-documentary hybrid uses a sensational real-life event—the arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated the well-known filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf—as the basis for a stunning, multilayered investigation into movies, identity, artistic creation, and existence, in which the real people from the case play themselves.

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  4. 04.
    Dances with Wolves

    Dances with Wolves

    1990·Dir. Kevin Costner·181 min·8.0

    Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.

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  5. 05.
    Darkness, Light, Darkness

    Darkness, Light, Darkness

    1990·Dir. Jan Švankmajer·8 min·7.9

    A human body gradually reconstructs itself as its various component parts crowd themselves into a small room and eventually, after much experimentation, sort out which part goes where.

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  6. 06.
    Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku

    Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku

    1990·Dir. Mitsuo Hashimoto·48 min·7.8

    Bardock, Son Goku's father, is a low-ranking Saiyan soldier who was given the power to see into the future by the last remaining alien on a planet he just destroyed. He witnesses the destruction of his race and must now do his best to stop Frieza's impending massacre.

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  7. 07.
    Misery

    Misery

    1990·Dir. Rob Reiner·107 min·7.8

    After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.

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  8. 08.
    Hamoon

    Hamoon

    1990·Dir. Dariush Mehrjui·120 min·7.8

    Hamoon's wife is leaving him. He is also unsuccessfully trying to finish his Ph.D. thesis. He is forced to reexamine his life. In a series of flashbacks and dreams, Hamoon tries to figure out what he did wrong.

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  9. 09.
    Awakenings

    Awakenings

    1990·Dir. Penny Marshall·120 min·7.8

    Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.

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  10. 10.
    Edward Scissorhands

    Edward Scissorhands

    1990·Dir. Tim Burton·105 min·7.8

    A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.

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  11. 11.
    Home Alone

    Home Alone

    1990·Dir. Chris Columbus·103 min·7.8

    Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. When thieves try to break into his home, he puts up a fight like no other.

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  12. 12.
    Dreams

    Dreams

    1990·Dir. Akira Kurosawa·119 min·7.7

    Eight visually rich vignettes drawn from Kurosawa’s own dreams—fox weddings and vanished orchards, a soldier’s ghosts, a walk through Van Gogh’s canvases, nuclear nightmares, and a water-mill utopia—meditate on childhood, art, mortality, and humanity’s uneasy bond with nature.

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  13. 13.
    Ghayal

    Ghayal

    1990·Dir. Rajkumar Santoshi·163 min·7.7

    Ajay is framed by Balwant Rai for his brother's murder and sent to prison. Later, he befriends three convicts and sets out to seek revenge against Balwant Rai.

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  14. 14.
    A Grand Day Out

    A Grand Day Out

    1990·Dir. Nick Park·24 min·7.7

    Wallace and Gromit have run out of cheese, and this provides an excellent excuse for the duo to take their holiday to the moon, where, as everyone knows, there is ample cheese.

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  15. 15.
    Miller's Crossing

    Miller's Crossing

    1990·Dir. Joel Coen·115 min·7.7

    Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.

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  16. 16.
    My Mother's Castle

    My Mother's Castle

    1990·Dir. Yves Robert·99 min·7.6

    To his chagrin, young Marcel Pagnol and his family move back to their home in Marseille, France, far from their pastoral holiday cottage in the hills. Determined, Marcel makes the long voyage back to the cottage on foot and lands himself in trouble. One day Marcel's father discovers a shortcut to the cottage, but it requires trespassing. Despite their trepidations, Marcel and his family begin using the secret trail to reach their cottage.

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  17. 17.
    My Father's Glory

    My Father's Glory

    1990·Dir. Yves Robert·105 min·7.6

    Raised by his science teacher father, Joseph Pagnol, and seamstress mother Augustine, young Marcel grows up during the turn of the century in awe of his rationalist dad. When the family takes a summer vacation in the countryside, Marcel becomes friends with Lili, who teaches him about rural life.

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  18. 18.
    Agneepath

    Agneepath

    1990·Dir. Mukul Anand·174 min·7.6

    A young boy's father is lynched before his eyes; fifteen years later he returns home for revenge.

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  19. 19.
    Ju Dou

    Ju Dou

    1990·Dir. Zhang Yimou·95 min·7.6

    Tianqing falls in love with Ju Dou, his uncle's wife who is tortured for being childless. However, after they have an affair, they discover that his uncle is impotent and try to conceal the truth.

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  20. 20.
    Total Recall

    Total Recall

    1990·Dir. Paul Verhoeven·113 min·7.5

    Construction worker Douglas Quaid's obsession with the planet Mars leads him to visit Rekall, a virtual vacation company that manufactures memories. When something goes wrong during Quaid's memory implant procedure, his life turns upside down, leading him to question what is reality and what isn't.

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  21. 21.
    The Godfather Part III

    The Godfather Part III

    1990·Dir. Francis Ford Coppola·162 min·7.5

    In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.

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  22. 22.
    The Match Factory Girl

    The Match Factory Girl

    1990·Dir. Aki Kaurismäki·69 min·7.5

    Iris is a shy and dowdy young woman stuck in a dead-end job at a match factory, who dreams of finding love at the local dancehall. Finding herself pregnant after a one-night stand and abandoned by the father, Iris finally decides the time has come to get even and she begins to plot her revenge.

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  23. 23.
    The Hunt for Red October

    The Hunt for Red October

    1990·Dir. John McTiernan·135 min·7.5

    A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius. The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. Lone CIA analyst Jack Ryan has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it - because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find Ramius, too. The hunt is on!

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  24. 24.
    Cyrano de Bergerac

    Cyrano de Bergerac

    1990·Dir. Jean-Paul Rappeneau·137 min·7.5

    Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.

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  25. 25.
    Europa Europa

    Europa Europa

    1990·Dir. Agnieszka Holland·112 min·7.5

    A Jewish boy separated from his family in the early days of WWII poses as a German orphan and is taken into the heart of the Nazi world as a 'war hero' and eventually becomes a Hitler Youth.

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  26. 26.
    Bullet in the Head

    Bullet in the Head

    1990·Dir. John Woo·130 min·7.5

    Three childhood friends from the slums of Hong Kong flee to war-time Saigon after accidentally murdering a gang leader, but their troubles only escalate.

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  27. 27.
    Back to the Future Part III

    Back to the Future Part III

    1990·Dir. Robert Zemeckis·119 min·7.5

    The final installment finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time machine breaks down, the travelers are stranded in a land of spurs. More problems arise when Doc falls for pretty schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and Marty tangles with Buford Tannen.

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  28. 28.
    Jacob's Ladder

    Jacob's Ladder

    1990·Dir. Adrian Lyne·113 min·7.4

    After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around him morph and twist into disturbing images. His girlfriend, Jezzie, and ex-wife, Sarah, try to help, but to little avail. Even Singer's chiropractor friend, Louis, fails to reach him as he descends into madness.

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  29. 29.
    Life Is Sweet

    Life Is Sweet

    1990·Dir. Mike Leigh·103 min·7.4

    Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop, Andy is a cook who forever puts off home remodeling projects, Natalie is a plumber and Nicola is jobless. This film is about how they interact and play out family, conflict and love.

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  30. 30.
    Trust

    Trust

    1990·Dir. Hal Hartley·106 min·7.4

    After being thrown away from home, pregnant high school dropout Maria meets Matthew, a highly educated and extremely moody electronics repairman. The two begin an unusual romance built on their sense of mutual admiration and trust.

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  31. 31.
    Days of Being Wild

    Days of Being Wild

    1990·Dir. Wong Kar-Wai·94 min·7.4

    Yuddy, a Hong Kong playboy known for breaking girls' hearts, tries to find solace and truth after discovering the woman who raised him isn't his mother.

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  32. 32.
    An Angel at My Table

    An Angel at My Table

    1990·Dir. Jane Campion·158 min·7.4

    Based on the autobiographical work of New Zealand writer Janet Frame, this production depicts the author at various stage of her life. Afflicted with mental and emotional issues, Frame grows up in an impoverished family and experiences numerous tragedies while still in her youth, including the deaths of two of her siblings. Portrayed as an adult by Kerry Fox, Frame finds acclaim for her writing while still in a mental institution, and her success helps her move on with her life.

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  33. 33.
    The Long Walk Home

    The Long Walk Home

    1990·Dir. Richard Pearce·97 min·7.3

    Two women, black and white, in 1955 Montgomery Alabama, must decide what they are going to do in response to the famous bus boycott led by Martin Luther King.

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  34. 34.
    The Field

    The Field

    1990·Dir. Jim Sheridan·110 min·7.3

    "Bull" McCabe's family has farmed a field for generations, sacrificing much in the name of the land. When the widow who owns the field decides to sell it in a public auction, McCabe knows that he must own it. While no local dare bid against him, a wealthy American decides he requires the field to build a highway. "Bull" and his son decide they must try to convince the American to let go of his ambition and return home, but the consequences of their plot prove sinister.

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  35. 35.
    Pump Up the Volume

    Pump Up the Volume

    1990·Dir. Allan Moyle·102 min·7.2

    Mark Hunter, a lonely high school student, uses his shortwave radio to moonlight as the popular pirate DJ "Hard Harry." When his show gets blamed for a teen committing suicide, the students clash with high school faculty and the authorities.

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  36. 36.
    Nikita

    Nikita

    1990·Dir. Luc Besson·117 min·7.2

    A beautiful felon, sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a policeman, is given a second chance – as a secret political assassin controlled by the government.

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  37. 37.
    Avalon

    Avalon

    1990·Dir. Barry Levinson·126 min·7.2

    A Polish-Jewish family comes to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.

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  38. 38.
    Wild at Heart

    Wild at Heart

    1990·Dir. David Lynch·125 min·7.2

    Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut the lovers’ surreal honeymoon short.

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  39. 39.
    Die Hard 2

    Die Hard 2

    1990·Dir. Renny Harlin·124 min·7.2

    One year after his heroics in Los Angeles, John McClane is an off-duty cop who is the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. On a snowy Christmas Eve, as he waits for his wife's plane to land at Washington Dulles International Airport, terrorists take over the air traffic control system in a plot to free a South American army general and drug smuggler being flown into the US to face drug charges. It's now up to McClane to take on the terrorists, while coping with an inept airport police chief, an uncooperative anti-terrorist squad, and the life of his wife and everyone else trapped in planes circling overhead.

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  40. 40.
    The Unbelievable Truth

    The Unbelievable Truth

    1990·Dir. Hal Hartley·90 min·7.2

    After serving time for murder, Josh Hutton returns to his home town where he meets Audry Hugo. No one can remember exactly what Josh did...

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— End of Chapter —