1. "The Silence of the Lambs"(1991)
This seminal serial killer thriller gave us TWO of the most iconic movie monsters in history and became one of only a few films ever to sweep the Academy Awards. Not bad for a movie that Gene Hackman and Michelle Pfeiffer both turned down. As great as they are, it's hard to imagine the same chemistry and tense exchanges coming from any two actors other than Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. The 52 year old, not-yet super-famous Welshman is positively chilling as the brilliant imprisoned madman that forces Foster's young FBI agent to confront all her demons during her search for the gruesome Buffalo Bill(Ted Levine). Hopkins only needed twenty minutes to make Lecter a legend, and Jodie displays vulnerability and strength as Clarice Starling. Director Jonathan Demme stunned audiences with a depiction of real horror after a decade of interminable slasher flicks. This film is wholly deserving of it's status as a modern masterpiece.
2. "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"(1991)
The biggest moneymaker of the year and the greatest sequel of all time(yeah, I said it) is a rip-roaring juggernaut that upped the ante and surpassed the original in nearly every respect. This was the next evolution of the summer blockbuster after 1989's "Batman" with James Cameron's genius on full display and groundbreaking CGI techniques forcing every other filmmaker to play catch-up( and he did it again 18 years later with "Avatar"). Is there a cooler sight in movies than a shotgun-wielding, leather-clad Arnie careening around on that Harley? How about that mini-gun he uses on those cops gathered outside the Cyberdyne building? Robert Patrick's steely-eyed, unstoppable T-1000 is another awesome creation, and I haven't even mentioned the ripped and ready Linda Hamilton turning Sarah Connor into a badass icon in her own right. To many fans, the "Terminator" saga stopped right here.
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| "I'm telling you, it could work. The whole world is engulfed in water..." |
3."JFK"(1991)
Oliver Stone capped off an incredible five year run that included "Platoon", "Wall Street", and "Born on the Fourth of July" with this complex and riveting documentary-style thriller that follows New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison(Kevin Costner) as he embarks on an exhaustive investigation into the 1963 JFK assassination. This film immediately became embroiled in controversy for it's unsubtle assertions that Lee Harvey Oswald(nicely played by Gary Oldman) was just a pawn in a massive conspiracy. Whichever side of that endless debate you fall on, there's no question that this is virtuoso filmmaking that combines meticulously researched facts with vivid dramatizations. There are no easy answers, but Stone wasn't afraid to ask the questions that had been gnawing on the nation's collective psyche for nearly three decades. The stellar star-studded supporting cast includes Tommy Lee Jones, Sissy Spacek, Kevin Bacon, Joe Pesci, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Candy, and Donald Sutherland.
4. "Thelma & Louise"(1991)
Ridley Scott's feminist road movie should never be mistaken for a 'chick flick'. It's more fun than most buddy action outings- the only difference is that the buddies are a pair of earthy, middle-aged women. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are both terrific as a world-weary waitress and a dim housewife rollicking across the Southwest in a '66 Thunderbird. All they wanted was a weekend getaway from the drudgery and lousy men in their lives, but they become outlaw heroines after killing a would-be rapist. Brad Pitt landed his breakout role as a thieving hitchhiker, and I don't mean to spoil the ending for the two or three people reading this that still haven't seen it, but I'd drive off a cliff with these broads anytime.
5. "Beauty and the Beast"(1991)
The first animated movie EVER to be nominated for Best Picture had to be featured prominently on this list. After a long dry spell in the '70s and '80s, the Mouse House experienced a full blown renaissance starting with 1989's "The Little Mermaid". A classic, time-honored story(with a message), lush visuals, memorable songs and colorful characters comprised the winning formula that no gender or age group could resist, and the folks at Disney would astonishingly wield their magic for the next decade-plus with stunning precision and regularity.
6. "City Slickers"(1991)
A depressed yuppie(Billy Crystal) and his two best friends(Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby) confronts various forms of mid-life crisis on a cattle drive across New Mexico in this immensely enjoyable and resonant comedy hit. Much of the humor springs from long stretches of smart dialogue with Crystal at his funniest and most appealing. Veteran tough guy actor Jack Palance got acquainted with a new generation and picked up the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in the process as the crusty cowboy from a bygone era who teaches Billy the virtues of a simpler life. Not to be confused with the contrived 1994 sequel.
7. "Cape Fear"(1991)
The great Martin Scorsese was persuaded by his 7x star Robert De Niro to follow-up their instant classic "Goodfellas", with this intense remake of the 1962 noir that featured Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum(both have clever cameos). De Niro is electrifying as Max Cady, a tattooed and terrifying rapist/ ex-con, in a performance that lingers in the memory right next to Hannibal Lecter in the '90s supervillian hall of fame. Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and Juliette Lewis are a dysfunctional North Carolina family whose daily dynamic adds depth and interest to what would have been standard, straightforward stalker fare in the hands of any other filmmaker. Elmer Bernstein's edgy score echoes Bernard Herrmann, helping turn "Cape Fear" into a classy, first-rate thriller.
8. "Point Break"(1991)
Before Keanu Reeves became a bona fide action superstar in "Speed" and "The Matrix" trilogy, he got his feet wet in the role of Johnny Utah, the ex-college football star turned F-B-I AGENT(say it loud)! However, Patrick Swayze and his total conviction as the philosophical, bank-robbing surfer-guru Bodhi, is the main reason "PB" became a permanent fixture on cable for a good ten years. That doesn't happen unless there's A LOT of people watching. "Terminator 2" may have been the must-see summer action movie event of 1991, but director Kathryn Bigelow's ludicrously-entertaining effort has garnered an unexpected legacy over the years. No "Point Break", no "Fast and the Furious", got it?
9. "Bugsy"(1991)
We all love mobsters. No honest profession has provided more quality cinema or bolstered as many careers as these well-dressed psychopaths. Warren Beatty is a forgotten legend in Hollywood, and his forceful, charismatic turn as infamous, celebrity gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel represents his last stand as a top tier leading man. On the flip side, his future real-life wife Annette Bening left little doubt that she was here to stay as Bugsy's beau, the tough-talking wannabe starlet Virginia Hill. "Rain Man" director Barry Levinson wisely sidesteps most mob movie clichés in his epic telling of Siegel's takeover of the bourgeoning Las Vegas landscape in 1947, while Ben Kingsley and Harvey Keitel both earned Supporting Actor nods as his shadowy cohorts Meyer Lansky and Mickey Cohen.
10(tie). "Boyz 'N The Hood"(1991)
At 23 years of age, John Singleton became the youngest director in history to be nominated for an Academy Award(and the first African-American to do so) for his stark, realistic account of life in South Central, Los Angeles, that he began writing as an ambitious film student. This eye-opening debut paved the way for many other similarly themed films in the early '90s, that further explored the urban black experience. The impressive cast includes Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., Angela Bassett, and rapper Ice Cube in career-making breakout roles. The multi-talented Singleton died too young(April 2019), and only lived up to the sizzling promise of "Boyz" in one other film, 2001's "Baby Boy".
10(tie). "Frankie & Johnny"(1991)
"Pretty Woman" director Garry Marshall staged a low-key "Scarface" reunion of Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer(now on roughly equal footing in the Hollywood hierarchy), which may be the most underrated film of 1991. Some critics couldn't get past the casting of two world-famous superstars as a pair of lonely, downtrodden people, in a NYC diner-set adaptation of Terrence McNally's off-Broadway play. This sensitive, moving love story is a must see for melancholy romantics. It's a welcome change of pace from crime epics for a loose, likeable Pacino, and a deglamorized Pfeiffer is phenomenal.
Honorable Mentions- "White Fang"(1991) Ethan Hawke and an Alaskan wolf dog. "Not Without My Daughter"(1991) Sally Field is stuck in Iran. "L.A. Story"(1991) Steve Martin's quirky love letter to the City of Angels. "Sleeping with the Enemy"(1991) Julia Roberts rules in this dramatic thriller. "Guilty by Suspicion"(1991) Robert De Niro deals with the Hollywood blacklist of the early 1950s. "The Hard Way"(1991) Michael J. Fox and James Woods in John Badham's energetic action comedy. "New Jack City"(1991) Wesley Snipes and Chris Rock light up this drug dealer drama. "Defending Your Life"(1991) Albert Brooks in the afterlife. "The Doors"(1991) Jim Morrison is depicted by Oliver Stone and Val Kilmer. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze"(1991) The TMNT craze continues. "Toy Soldiers"(1991) Sean Astin stars in this 'teens vs. terrorists' flick. "Switch"(1991) Ellen Barkin elevates this Blake Edwards sex comedy.
"Soapdish"(1991) Sally Field leads this lively soap opera spoof. "One Good Cop"(1991) Michael Keaton cares for his dead partner's three daughters. "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead"(1991) Christina Applegate cares for her unruly siblings. "Only the Lonely"(1991) Chris Columbus directs John Candy in this "Marty" update. "Jungle Fever"(1991) Spike Lee's ensemble look at race relations. "What About Bob?"(1991) Bill Murray makes Richard Dreyfuss mad. "Backdraft"(1991) Kurt Russell fights fires. "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"(1991) The Kevin Costner version of the storied swashbuckler. "The Rocketeer"(1991) Kids should like this live-action Disney adventure. "Doc Hollywood"(1991) Michael J. Fox is a hotshot surgeon. "The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear"(1991) More deadpan laughs with Lt. Frank Drebin. "Dutch"(1991) Ed O'Neill hits the road for John Hughes. "The Doctor"(1991) is in, and he's played by William Hurt. "Dying Young"(1991) Julia Roberts is a nurse in love with a leukemia patient. "Slacker"(1991) Writer-director Richard Linklater turns $23,000 into $1.2 million. "Regarding Henry"(1991) Harrison Ford gets serious with Mike Nichols. "Hot Shots!"(1991) This "Top Gun" spoof was a top grosser. "Life Stinks"(1991) Mel Brooks said it best.
"Dead Again"(1991) Mystery thriller with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. "Class Action"(1991) Gene Hackman headlines this courtroom drama. "The Fisher King"(1991) Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams are an unlikely pair in Terry Gilliam's offbeat tale. "Rambling Rose"(1991) Laura Dern is great in this Depression-set drama. "Little Man Tate"(1991) Jodie Foster(who also directed) as the mother of a child prodigy. "Other People's Money"(1991) Danny DeVito's favorite thing. "Hearts of Darkness"(1991) Frances and Eleanor Coppola recall the making of "Apocalypse "Now". "Billy Bathgate"(1991) Dustin Hoffman as 1930s gangster Dutch Schultz. "Curly Sue"(1991) John Hughes hates directing. "The Addams Family"(1991) The gothic TV clan hits the big screen. "My Girl"(1991) Anna Chlumsky and Macauley Culkin in a coming-of-age charmer. "Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country"(1991) The final voyage for the original Enterprise crew. "Hook"(1991) Robin Williams plays the adult Peter Pan for Steven Spielberg. "Rush"(1991) Jason Patric is a narc and Jennifer Jason Leigh is his partner/love interest. "Grand Canyon"(1991) Lawrence Kasdans's L.A. ensemble has a large cast. "Shadows and Fog"(1991) So does Woody Allen's bizarre, black-and-white curiosity. "Father of the Bride"(1991) Steve Martin stars in Nancy Meyers' beloved remake. "The Prince of Tides"(1991) Barbra Streisand analyzes Nick Nolte. "Fried Green Tomatoes"(1991) Jessica Tandy tells Kathy Bates about the 1930s.
Oliver Stone capped off an incredible five year run that included "Platoon", "Wall Street", and "Born on the Fourth of July" with this complex and riveting documentary-style thriller that follows New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison(Kevin Costner) as he embarks on an exhaustive investigation into the 1963 JFK assassination. This film immediately became embroiled in controversy for it's unsubtle assertions that Lee Harvey Oswald(nicely played by Gary Oldman) was just a pawn in a massive conspiracy. Whichever side of that endless debate you fall on, there's no question that this is virtuoso filmmaking that combines meticulously researched facts with vivid dramatizations. There are no easy answers, but Stone wasn't afraid to ask the questions that had been gnawing on the nation's collective psyche for nearly three decades. The stellar star-studded supporting cast includes Tommy Lee Jones, Sissy Spacek, Kevin Bacon, Joe Pesci, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Candy, and Donald Sutherland.
4. "Thelma & Louise"(1991)
Ridley Scott's feminist road movie should never be mistaken for a 'chick flick'. It's more fun than most buddy action outings- the only difference is that the buddies are a pair of earthy, middle-aged women. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are both terrific as a world-weary waitress and a dim housewife rollicking across the Southwest in a '66 Thunderbird. All they wanted was a weekend getaway from the drudgery and lousy men in their lives, but they become outlaw heroines after killing a would-be rapist. Brad Pitt landed his breakout role as a thieving hitchhiker, and I don't mean to spoil the ending for the two or three people reading this that still haven't seen it, but I'd drive off a cliff with these broads anytime.
5. "Beauty and the Beast"(1991)
The first animated movie EVER to be nominated for Best Picture had to be featured prominently on this list. After a long dry spell in the '70s and '80s, the Mouse House experienced a full blown renaissance starting with 1989's "The Little Mermaid". A classic, time-honored story(with a message), lush visuals, memorable songs and colorful characters comprised the winning formula that no gender or age group could resist, and the folks at Disney would astonishingly wield their magic for the next decade-plus with stunning precision and regularity.
6. "City Slickers"(1991)
A depressed yuppie(Billy Crystal) and his two best friends(Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby) confronts various forms of mid-life crisis on a cattle drive across New Mexico in this immensely enjoyable and resonant comedy hit. Much of the humor springs from long stretches of smart dialogue with Crystal at his funniest and most appealing. Veteran tough guy actor Jack Palance got acquainted with a new generation and picked up the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in the process as the crusty cowboy from a bygone era who teaches Billy the virtues of a simpler life. Not to be confused with the contrived 1994 sequel.
7. "Cape Fear"(1991)
The great Martin Scorsese was persuaded by his 7x star Robert De Niro to follow-up their instant classic "Goodfellas", with this intense remake of the 1962 noir that featured Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum(both have clever cameos). De Niro is electrifying as Max Cady, a tattooed and terrifying rapist/ ex-con, in a performance that lingers in the memory right next to Hannibal Lecter in the '90s supervillian hall of fame. Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and Juliette Lewis are a dysfunctional North Carolina family whose daily dynamic adds depth and interest to what would have been standard, straightforward stalker fare in the hands of any other filmmaker. Elmer Bernstein's edgy score echoes Bernard Herrmann, helping turn "Cape Fear" into a classy, first-rate thriller.
8. "Point Break"(1991)
Before Keanu Reeves became a bona fide action superstar in "Speed" and "The Matrix" trilogy, he got his feet wet in the role of Johnny Utah, the ex-college football star turned F-B-I AGENT(say it loud)! However, Patrick Swayze and his total conviction as the philosophical, bank-robbing surfer-guru Bodhi, is the main reason "PB" became a permanent fixture on cable for a good ten years. That doesn't happen unless there's A LOT of people watching. "Terminator 2" may have been the must-see summer action movie event of 1991, but director Kathryn Bigelow's ludicrously-entertaining effort has garnered an unexpected legacy over the years. No "Point Break", no "Fast and the Furious", got it?
9. "Bugsy"(1991)
We all love mobsters. No honest profession has provided more quality cinema or bolstered as many careers as these well-dressed psychopaths. Warren Beatty is a forgotten legend in Hollywood, and his forceful, charismatic turn as infamous, celebrity gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel represents his last stand as a top tier leading man. On the flip side, his future real-life wife Annette Bening left little doubt that she was here to stay as Bugsy's beau, the tough-talking wannabe starlet Virginia Hill. "Rain Man" director Barry Levinson wisely sidesteps most mob movie clichés in his epic telling of Siegel's takeover of the bourgeoning Las Vegas landscape in 1947, while Ben Kingsley and Harvey Keitel both earned Supporting Actor nods as his shadowy cohorts Meyer Lansky and Mickey Cohen.
10(tie). "Boyz 'N The Hood"(1991)
At 23 years of age, John Singleton became the youngest director in history to be nominated for an Academy Award(and the first African-American to do so) for his stark, realistic account of life in South Central, Los Angeles, that he began writing as an ambitious film student. This eye-opening debut paved the way for many other similarly themed films in the early '90s, that further explored the urban black experience. The impressive cast includes Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., Angela Bassett, and rapper Ice Cube in career-making breakout roles. The multi-talented Singleton died too young(April 2019), and only lived up to the sizzling promise of "Boyz" in one other film, 2001's "Baby Boy".
10(tie). "Frankie & Johnny"(1991)
"Pretty Woman" director Garry Marshall staged a low-key "Scarface" reunion of Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer(now on roughly equal footing in the Hollywood hierarchy), which may be the most underrated film of 1991. Some critics couldn't get past the casting of two world-famous superstars as a pair of lonely, downtrodden people, in a NYC diner-set adaptation of Terrence McNally's off-Broadway play. This sensitive, moving love story is a must see for melancholy romantics. It's a welcome change of pace from crime epics for a loose, likeable Pacino, and a deglamorized Pfeiffer is phenomenal.
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