Entertainment: Major Films of the 1990’s
The one hundred titles listed here are a representative sampling of 1990’s films regarded as significant be-
cause of their box-office success, their Academy Award honors, their influence, or their critical reputations.
Entries that include “See alsomain entry” have a full essay inThe Nineties in America. All references to awards re-
fer to the Academy Awards given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
1990
Dances with Wolves(Orion/TIG Productions; dir.
Kevin Costner) A white man (Costner) becomes
involved with Lakota Sioux in this surprise hit that
briefly resurrected the Western and won Oscars
for Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay,
Cinematography, Editing, Score, and Sound.See
alsomain entry.
Edward Scissorhands(Twentieth Century-Fox; dir.
Tim Burton) Whimsical fantasy about a scientist
(Vincent Price) who makes a boy (Johnny Depp),
with scissors for hands, who tries to fit in with a
suburban community. Features some of the de-
cade’s best production design.
Ghost (Howard W. Koch/Paramount; dir. Jerry
Zucker) The spirit of a murdered man (Patrick
Swayze) plots with a psychic (Whoopi Goldberg)
to find his killer and protect his wife (Demi
Moore). Goldberg earned the Best Supporting
Actress Oscar for adding comedy to romantic fan-
tasy.
The Godfather: Part III(Zoetrope/Paramount; dir.
Francis Ford Coppola) This long-awaited conclu-
sion to the Michael Corleone saga was a critical
and commercial disappointment but still had
flashes of Coppola brilliance.
GoodFellas(Warner Bros.; dir. Martin Scorsese)
One of the most popular Scorsese crime dramas
tells the true story of a Brooklyn gangster (Ray
Liotta). Joe Pesci won the Best Supporting Actor
Oscar as an especially violent hoodlum.See also
main entry.
Home Alone(Twentieth Century-Fox; dir. Chris Co-
lumbus) Hugely popular slapstick comedy about
an encounter of a young boy (Macaulay Culkin)
with two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel
Stern).See alsomain entry.
Longtime Companion(American Playhouse/Sam-
uel Goldwyn; dir. Norman René) One of the first
films to address the AIDS crisis looks at its evolu-
tion from the perspective of seven gay men.
Metropolitan(Westerly Films/New Line Cinema;
dir. Whit Stillman) The burgeoning American in-
dependent film movement made its presence
known through Stillman’s affectionate yet satiri-
cal portrait of New York debutante society in the
1980’s.
Pretty Woman(Buena Vista/Silver Screen Partners
IV/Touchstone; dir. Garry Marshall) Unlikely
fairy tale in which a lawyer (Richard Gere) per-
forms a makeover on a prostitute (Julia Roberts).
The romantic comedy made Roberts a star.
Reversal of Fortune (Warner Bros.; dir. Barbet
Schroeder) Jeremy Irons won the Best Actor Os-
car as Claus von Bulow, accused of the attempted
murder of his socialite wife, Sunny (Glenn
Close). Adapted from the book by von Bulow’s at-
torney, Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver).1991
Barton Fink (Twentieth Century-Fox; dir. Joel
Coen) Joel and Ethan Coen’s cynical look at the
so-called golden age of Hollywood depicts an ide-
alistic screenwriter (John Turturro) who spirals
into a nightmare world. Also features John
Mahoney as an alcoholic writer inspired by Wil-
liam Faulkner.
Beauty and the Beast(Buena Vista/Silver Screen
Partners IV/Walt Disney; dir. Gary Trousdale)
Disney launched its quality comeback with this
animated musical version of the classic French
fairy tale. The first animated film to be nomi-
nated for a Best Picture Academy Award, it won
Oscars for Alan Menken’s score and the title song
by Menken and Howard Ashman.See alsomain
entry.
Boyz ’N the Hood(Columbia; dir. John Singleton)
One of the decade’s best-received films about Af-
rican Americans shows the struggles of three
young men (Morris Chestnut, Cuba Gooding, Jr.,
and Ice Cube) in South Central Los Angeles.
City Slickers (Castle Rock/Columbia; dir. Ron
Underwood) Three middle-class men (Billy Crys-
tal, Daniel Stern, and Bruno Kirby) spend their
vacation on a New Mexico-to-Colorado cattle
drive. Jack Palance won a Best Supporting Actor