I’d throw in Boogie Nights and Goodfellas. And this one too if last year counts as the 90s. (ok, ok . . . couldn’t help myself)

01. Naked / Topsy Turvy (Leigh, 1993/99)
02. I Can’t Sleep (Denis, 1995)
03. Guelwaar (Sembene, 1993)
04. Cold Water / Irma Vep (Assayas, 1994/96)
05. Days of Being Wild / Fallen Angels (WKW, 1991/95)
06. The Tree, the Mayor, and the Mediatheque (Rohmer, 1993)
07. Rushmore (W. Anderson, 1998)
08. Election (Payne, 1999)
09. Flirting with Disaster (Russell, 1996)
10. Caro Diario (Moretti, 1994)
11. Calendar / The Sweet Hereafter (Egoyan, 1993/97)
12. Fargo (Coens, 1996)
13. Crumb (Zwigoff, 1995)
14. Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991)
15. Simple Men (Hartley, 1992)
16. Se7en (Fincher, 1995)
17. The Matrix (Wachowskis, 1999)
18. Heavenly Creatures (Jackson, 1994)
19. Groundhog Day (Ramis, 1993)
20. Quiz Show (Redford, 1994)

nice list, priceyeah. I haven’t seen five out of your top ten (I Can’t Sleep, Guelwaar, Days of Being Wild, The Tree…, and Caro Diario). That’s scary. I’ve got some watching to do.

I love the additions of Rushmore and Election to the list.

Why no Kieslowski?

Why Simple Men but not Trust?

The more lists I see (here and in the comments of Majikthise), the more I slap my forehead and exclaim, “how could I have forgotten about that? My forehead is beginning to smart.

Mikhail, I hear you on Goodfellas, though I hated Boogie Nights. I think that PTA is one of the most overrated directors out there.

As far as your baby movies go, I think that this one is pure, unadulterated genius.

Finally, I’m going to require that future commenters follow my example and name the best movie of all time.

Kieslowski: Guy was an awesome filmmaker, no doubt. I think I prefer his “Camera Buff” or obviously “Decalogue” to “Trois Couleurs.” I think I’m a little put off by the Frenchy flag framing device, it seems insincere to me. If I had to put one on here — they’re not too far off anyway — I’d pick “White.”

“Simple Men” vs. “Trust”: it’s a tough call. “Trust” is emotionally a little closer to the bone, which should be a good thing, really. Basically I think “Simple Men” is funnier and has a better sweet spot of funny/poignant. I also saw “Simple Men” first so it had more impact on me.

I’m thinking that Lucien Pintilie should have been on the list somewhere, maybe “An Unforgettable Summer.” You can substitute any number of more widely available Rohmers for the one I chose. “Mediatheque” is much more of an out and out comedy than his other movies (which are also funny).

On the best film ever tip, I’m gonna be boring because I agree with you on The Third Man.

I really like what Happy Furry Puppy Story Time is doing with his?her? list over here.

And thanks for backing me up on The Third Man, priceyeah.

Let me begin by saying that the 90s was an unbelievably bad decade for film. THERE WERE NO TRULY GREAT MOVIES DURING THE 90S,even my favorites like Dead Man, Good Fellas, Jackie Brown (Pulp Fiction is the most overrated film of all time) don’t exactly cross the threshold of greatness - in fact, I often think I am guilty of throwing this term around way too loosely - take a look any Noir of the 40s and their sinister, dark vision shits on the ironic posing of the 90s - a truly self-indulgent moment of American film history. Yet, there is one prescient moment of 90s film that is worth noting - in fact a harbinger of the end of irony and a return to the hard cruel realities of living within empire. The Big Lebowski, a critique of the self-made Amerian, etc. etc, marks the zenith of this ironic turn during the 90s, yet the dialogue is without question the best of any film writer since Billie Wilder - yet underneath this ironic psoing lies the occult vision of the end of irony. And here’s why - the dude - while watching Bush Sr on the televison at Ralph’s chanting “This aggression will not stand!” - signs his check 9/11/91 - that’s right 10 years to the day … spooky! And with this realization the films of the 90s reflect a decadence and sleepwalking that we are still trying to break out of to this day.

Fuck the 90s, let the dotcom bitches rot and Quentin Tarantino cronies choke on their endless reproduction of the “cool” - for when film means it means outside of the vertiginous return to irony and self-consciousness it breaks free of the limits of a visual language and makes it relevant and searching - not condescending and over determined.

I will kill the 90s …

Take er easy, dude.

I’m not going to argue that the 1990s represented the pinnacle of cinematic achievement, but I think that Out of Sight, the Three Colors Trilogy, and The Wrong Trousers will stand the test of time.

I agree with you that The Big Lebowski is a great movie. In fact, on another site, I argued heavily that it should be included in the list above. But for some reason, when I made my list here, I put Miller’s Crossing and Fargo ahead of it. I wimped out.

I do think that the dialogue in The Big Lebowski is incredible, but there are a bunch of moments in the movie that fall utterly, utterly flat. It’s an uneven ride. When it’s good, it’s brilliant, but it has its faults. When I’m less tired, I’ll go through and name them….

I’ve always felt that the stuff about “this aggression will not stand” was part of a comment that the Coen brothers were making about language and political correctness. So many catchphrases pass from one character to another in the film….I’ve been trying to figure this out for years, and the light bulb finally clicked–they’re memes!

the dude hears “this aggression will not stand,” and then repeats it to The Big Lebowski “I do mind, the Dude minds. This will not stand, ya know, this aggression will not stand, man.”

there is the interchange about “coitus” between Maude and the Dude

there is the stuff about “chinamen” between the Dude and Walter

the list goes on and on.

I’m still trying to put together what it all means, which is probably an exercise in futility.

as for vertiginous returns to irony and self-consciousness, and the endless reproduction of cool, well, as Walter would say, “Shut the fuck up, Donny!”

“I am the Walrus”