| 1. Breaking the Waves – von Trier |
| 2. Goodfellas – Scorsese |
| 3. Pulp Fiction – Tarantino |
| 4. The Thin Red Line- Malick |
| 5. Magnolia – P.T. Anderson |
| 6. Heat- M. Mann |
| 7. JFK – Stone |
| 8. Boogie Nights – P.T. Anderson |
| 9. Dead Man – Jarmusch |
| 10. Chungking Express – Kar-Wai Wong |
| 11. Fargo – Coen |
| 12. Eyes Wide Shut – Kubrick |
| 13. Fight Club – Fincher |
| 14. The Big Lebowski – Coen |
| 15. Schindler’s List – Spielberg |
| 16. Blue – Kieslowski |
| 17. Malcolm X – S. Lee |
| 18. The Piano – Campion |
| 19. Red – Kieslowski |
| 20. The Silence of the Lambs – Demme |
| 21. Raise the Red Lantern – Yimou Zhang |
| 22. Rushmore – W. Anderson |
| 23. Unforgiven – Eastwood |
| 24. Seven – Fincher |
| 25. L.A. Confidential – Hanson |
| 26. Crash – Cronenberg |
| 27. Saving Private Ryan – Spielberg |
| 28. Lost Highway – Lynch |
| 29. Casino – Scorsese |
| 30. Groundhog Day – Ramis |
| 31. Wild at Heart – Lynch |
| 32. Barton Fink – Coen |
| 33. Reservoir Dogs – Tarantino |
| 34. The Last of the Mohicans – M. Mann |
| 35. The Shawshank Redemption – Darabont |
| 36. American Beauty – Mendes |
| 37. Out of Sight – Soderbergh |
| 38. Miller’s Crossing – Coen |
| 39. Twelve Monkeys – Gilliam |
| 40. Jurassic Park – Spielberg |
| 41. Terminator 2: Judgement Day – Cameron |
| 42. Naked Lunch – Cronenberg |
| 43. The English Patient – Minghella |
| 44. The Celebration – Vinterberg |
| 45. The Lion King – Allers & Minkoff |
| 46. Satan’s Tango – Tarr |
| 47. The Talented Mr. Ripley – Minghella |
| 48. Trainspotting – Boyle |
| 49. The Age of Innocence – Scorsese |
| 50. Naked- Leigh |
| 51. Husbands and Wives – Allen |
| 52. Dazed and Confused – Linklater |
| 53. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me – Lynch |
| 54. The Insider – M. Mann |
| 55. Safe – Haynes |
| 56. The Usual Suspects – Singer |
| 57. Titanic – Cameron |
| 58. Being John Malkovich – Jonze |
| 59. Dick Tracy – Beatty |
| 60. La Haine – Kassovitz |
| 61. Taste of Cherry – Kiarostami |
| 62. Days of Being Wild – Kar-Wai Wong |
| 63. Election- Payne |
| 64. The Player – Altman |
| 65. The Matrix – Wachowski |
| 66. Slacker – Linklater |
| 67. Forrest Gump – Zemeckis |
| 68. Natural Born Killers- Stone |
| 69. Topsy- Turvy – Leigh |
| 70. Rosetta – Dardenne |
| 71. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Gilliam |
| 72. Ed Wood – Burton |
| 73. A Little Princess – Cuaron |
| 74. Howard’s End – Ivory |
| 75. Run Lola Run – Tykwer |
| 76. Pi – Aronofsky |
| 77. The Virgin Suicides – S. Coppola |
| 78. Flowers of Shanghai – Hsiao-Hsien Hou |
| 79. Short Cuts – Altman |
| 80. Jackie Brown – Tarantino |
| 81. The Fisher King – Gilliam |
| 82. The Double Life of Veronique – Kieslowski |
| 83. The Lovers on the Bridge – Carax |
| 84. Funny Games – Haneke |
| 85. Toy Story – Lasseter |
| 86. Before Sunrise- Linklater |
| 87. La Promesse – Dardenne |
| 88. Bad Lieutenant – Ferrara |
| 89. Orlando – Potter |
| 90. Beau travail – Denis |
| 91. Great Expectations- Cuaron |
| 92. Good Will Hunting – Van Sant |
| 93. Face/Off – Woo |
| 94. Thelma and Louise – R. Scott |
| 95. Nixon – Stone |
| 96. Ratcatcher – Ramsay |
| 97. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai – Jarmusch |
| 98. Solo con Tu Pareja – Cuaron |
| 99. Heavenly Creatures – Jackson |
| 100. In the Name of the Father – Sheridan |
Oh it looks like we have our 3rd #1 difference, but having gone through your writing it looks like it will be the last 🙂
1. Pulp Fiction
2. Satantango
3. Schindler’s List
4. Goodfellas
5. Fargo
6. Breaking the Waves
7. Three Colors: Red & Blue
8. The Silence of the Lambs
9. Magnolia
10. Fight Club
I would include “Close-Up” on the list and pretty high, but it’s technically a documentary.
Tremendous top 10, Leo and of course “Pulp Fiction”— I have zero problems with that as your #1. I think the world of Tarr’s other works “Werckmeister Harmonies” and “The Turin Horse” so it’s very possible a second viewing of “Satan’s Tango” or “Satantango” will change my list. And yes- I’ll grant that “Close-up” blurs the documentary line but don’t have it in the archives at all for that reason.
Very possible, obviously you already know that it’s a bit of a challenging watch, being 7 and a half hours long and all, but to me there’s just something about it that seems so, not self-important, but actually important if that makes sense. Also, I agree, even though I have Breaking the Waves at 6 it could easily be higher depending on the time of day, movies honestly don’t get too much better than that if you ask me.
Well done! Very thorough list. It’s always so amusing to debate best/worst movies. My 90’s top ten: (I’m not including my best animations because I personally feel those deserve their own category of greatness)
1. Forrest Gump
2. Schindler’s List
3. A Few Good Men
4. Mrs. Doubtfire
5. Maverick
6. Sense & Sensibility
7. Contact
8. The Green Mile
9. The Truman Show
10. A League of Their Own
Most apparitions in the « Best Performances of the Year » category, in the 90’s :
Johnny Depp (4) :
} 4# en 1990.
} 5# en 1994.
} 2# en 1995.
} 4# en 1998.
Tom Cruise (2) :
} 1# en 1996.
} 1# en 1999.
Robert De Niro (2) :
} 3# en 1990.
} 1# en 1995.
Ralph Fiennes (2) :
} 2# en 1993.
} 2# en 1996.
Brad Pitt (2) :
} 3# en 1995.
} 2# en 1999.
Bill Murray (2) :
} 3# en 1993.
} 3# en 1998.
John Goodman (2) :
} 4# en 1991.
} 2# en 1998.
Matt Damon (2) :
} 3# en 1997.
} 5# en 1999.
Russell Crowe (2) :
} 4# en 1997.
} 4# en 1999.
Daniel Day-Lewis (2) :
} 5# en 1992.
} 4# en 1993.
Al Pacino (2) :
} 5# en 1990.
} 4# en 1999.
John Turturro (2) :
} 6# en 1990.
} 3# en 1991.
Edward Norton (2) :
} 6# en 1998.
} 3# en 1999.
Joe Pesci (1) :
} 1# en 1990.
Anthony Hopkins (1) :
} 1# en 1991.
Denzel Washington (1) :
} 1# en 1992.
Liam Neeson (1) :
} 1# en 1993.
John Travolta (1) :
} 1# en 1994.
Mark Wahlberg (1) :
} 1# en 1997.
Jeff Bridges (1) :
} 1# en 1998.
Ray Liotta (1) :
} 2# en 1990.
Arnold Schwarzenegger (1) :
} 2# en 1991.
Harvey Keitel (1) :
} 2# en 1992.
Samuel L. Jackson (1) :
} 2# en 1994.
Burt Reynolds (1) :
} 2# en 1997.
Clint Eastwood (1) :
} 3# en 1992.
Morgan Freeman (1) :
} 3# en 1994.
Steve Buscemi (1) :
} 3# en 1996.
Gene Hackman (1) :
} 4# en 1992.
Bruce Willis (1) :
} 4# en 1994.
Kevin Spacey (1) :
} 4# en 1995.
Ewan McGregor (1) :
} 4# en 1996.
Jeff Bridges (1) :
} 5# en 1991.
Tom Hanks (1) :
} 5# en 1993.
Sean Penn (1) :
} 5# en 1995.
Elias Koetas (1) :
} 5# en 1996.
George Clooney (1) :
} 5# en 1998.
Jud Law (1) :
} 5# en 1999.
Willem Dafoe (1) :
} 6# en 1990.
River Phoenix (1) :
} 6# en 1991.
Jack Nicholson (1) :
} 6# en 1992.
Vincent Cassel (1) :
} 6# en 1995.
Timothy Spall (1) :
} 6# en 1996.
Jim Broadbant (1) :
} 6# en 1999.
Kevin Spacey (1) :
} 7# en 1999.
Peter Sarsgaard (1) :
} 8# en 1999.
Denis Lavant (1) :
} 9# en 1999.
Hey drake. Still believe breaking the waves is the best movie of 1990s or has your opinion changed?
I’m asking because you mentioned on your best actors page that Goodfellas may well be the best film of the last 35 years…
@Azman- it’s virtually tied with Breaking the Waves- I think I have them 1 spot apart, In the Mood for Love is there, too- a few others but it’s in the really short conversation for best
10. The Shawshank Redemption
9. Twelve Monkeys
8. The Lion King
7. Malcolm X
6. Groundhog Day
5. JFK
4. Pulp Fiction
3. Magnolia
2. GoodFellas
1. Eyes Wide Shut
@James Robbins– makes me want to rewatch Eyes Wide Shut again just looking at the list. Excellent work. Happy to see JFK in there, too.
yes Eyes Wide Shut is such a great movie. If I’m being Unbiased it’s not the best Kubrick movie but personally it’s actually my favorite Kubrick movie
Here’s a World of Reel 1990s List
https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2020/5/1990s
Where is ‘Gummo?’
@David Tindall- I’m not an admirer of Gummo.
‘Ugliness is in the eye of the beholder’ I guess. You must be based in the UK or something (timestamps on comments). A very oddball film I keep coming back to is Richard Kelly’s ‘Southland Tales’ for some odd reason.
@David Tindall- “Ugly” is certainly the world when describing Gummo– which I understand is Korine’s intention. I don’t really subscribe to the “eye of the beholder” theory. I am certainly wrong on films and have missed things. But the goal would be to rewatch and correct. What do you admire about Gummo? I’ve seen Southland Tales- but believe it deserves a second look. I’ve given Gummo a few shots. I don’t see much to admire on the screen
I agree with an anonymous reviewer who said Gummo was a ‘biliously Burroughsian snapshot of post-twister 1974 Xenia, Ohio, depicted as the kind of hellhole that makes the Manhattan of Kids seem like Disneyland. ‘ I would call it protorealism.
@David Tindall- thanks for sharing. I love that from the anonymous reviewer— great writing– I wish I felt the film was worthy of it. With Gummo you could basically slap the same great comment on like Jackass: The Movie (2002)– same thing. I was, however, very impressed with Korine’s Spring Breakers— it does much of the same from a content/message standpoint– and is a pleasure to look at.
Spring Breakers was quite good, an interesting re-imagining of several Disney stars… Indeed my comment concerning Gummo could be cut-and-pasted onto a stellar Jackass: The Movie review noting that you hadn’t included it in the best movies of 2000s. It clearly was superior to that product-placement movie Sideways at number 72. I think it was Walter Herzog that claimed Gummo ‘(was) a true science fiction film in the way it shows a scary vision of the future: a loss of soul, a loss of spirituality.’
The Best Films of Each Year
1999- Eyes Wide Shut (My Fourth Favorite movie of all time)
1998- Rushmore (Wes Anderson has had a remarkably consistent career, but I believe he never topped his work here)
1997- Boogie Nights (Introducing… the greatest director of his generation)
1996- Fargo
1995- Heat (My image of Michael Mann used to be he was an entertaining director who made fun suspenseful films, I had no idea what was coming when I watched this movie)
1994- The Shawshank Redemption (The hardest decision I think I’ll ever have to make was between this and Pulp Fiction)
1993- Schindler’s List
1992- Unforgiven (Eastwood is possible overrated, but this is the greatest Western of all time, with my apologies to John Ford)
1991- JFK
1990- GoodFellas (Scorsese’s Best movie)
Honorable Mentions:
– Pulp Fiction
– Magnolia
– Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
I am sorry to have to intervene here, because i have already talked about this in another publication notice it says “Best Films of Each Year” but how is Shawshank better than Pulp fiction? in fact i caught Chungking express a few days ago and it is super incredible, i invite you to see it if you have not done it yet
No I haven’t seen it unfortunately, but I’ve heard of it and I plan on watching it. I haven’t been into movies for that long, I actually just got into cinema like 2 years ago. Before I’d just watch stupid comedies but watching Inception (2010) changed my life and got me into cinema. Why is Shawshank better than Pulp Fiction?
I think Shawshank is a contender for best narrative film of all time, that or GoodFellas. Also, I don’t feel for the characters as much in Pulp Fiction, I know I like John Travolta and Samual Jackson, but I simply loved Morgan Freeman’s character and Tim Robbins as well. I felt so inspired after the ending. I love Pulp Fiction, but a problem I have with Tarantino and a small problem in this film is that it gets a bit pointless at times and kind of wanders narratively after the opening scene. I remember the first time I saw it I loved the opening scene with Travolta and Jackson and then I had to wait like an hour before Samual Jackson showed up again and he was the best character. So I guess why I picked Shawshank is that Pulp Fiction is too self indulgent at times.
1)The Double Life Of Veronique
2)Crash
3)Three Colors Red
4)Pulp Fiction
5) Rosetta
6) Vive l amour
7) Barton Fink
Which is for you the best three and the worst two decades?
@Lucas Henriques- Thanks for sharing- great list of films though I haven’t been able to get my hands on Vive l amour yet. I think the 1960’s is the strongest decade… haven’t thought about #2, #3 or the worst two before
1. Boogie Nights
2. Eyes Wide Shut
3. Se7en
4. Chungking Express
5. Goodfellas
6. Magnolia
7. Satan Tango
8. Happiness
9. Fargo
10. Jackie Brown
von Trier at the top spot. It’s been quite a long time since I have seen Breaking the Waves. I guess I need to visit it again!
Best film of each year imo:
90 – Goodfellas
91 – Terminator 2
92 – Reservoir Dogs
93 – The Fugitive
94 – Pulp Fiction
95 – Seven
96 – Fargo
97 – L.A. Confidential
98 – American History X
99 – Fight Club
94, 95, 97 are toss-ups though because of Shawshank Redemption, Heat, and Boogie Nights. I’d have to rewatch Pulp Fiction and Shawshank Redemption to see if Pulp Fiction is clearly better, which I think it probably will be, but Heat vs Seven and Boogie Nights vs LA Confidential is so close
@Dylan- this is a great list of films- thanks for sharing
My top 20 of 1990’s, the list order isn’t set in stone, I kind of just randomly put it in order except for the first few films, but these are my 20 favorites.
1. Fight Club
2. Pulp Fiction
3. Terminator 2
4. Heat
5. Seven
6. Goodfellas
7. LA Confidential
8. Eyes Wide Shut
9. American History X
10. Reservoir Dogs
11. American Beauty
12. Shawshank Redemption
13. The Matrix
14. Boogie Nights
15. 12 Monkeys
16. The Usual Suspects
17. Face/Off
18. Jackie Brown
19. Fargo
20. True Romance
@Dylan- awesome list of films- thanks for sharing. Fight Club– such a brilliant film. Have you ventured out around the globe to start checking out foreign movies? I’m not knocking your list- just wondering if you had found any you would consider?
I generally dislike all foreign movies except Korean. My favorite foreign movie is Parasite. I’ve seen chungking express and in the mood for love – wasn’t my cup of tea at all, although i thought in the mood for love was better of the 2. Some other korean movies I quite liked, but not nearly as good as Parasite: Oldboy, The Host, The Chaser, I Saw the Devil, A Bittersweet Life. For Chinese: I thought Infernal Affairs was pretty good, but much prefer The Departed. John Woo’s The Killer is alright, but Face/Off was alot better. Crouching Tiger was pretty good too, I should rewatch it sometime, I think it is better than the other 2 big asian movies of 2000 (in the mood for love / joint security area).
I generally disliked the non-asian foreign films I’ve seen, La Haine might be the best one for me, I remember liking it a bit, but not nearly on the level of the other 1995 films I listed (Seven, Heat, 12 Monkeys, Suspects). Cache and The Hunt were alright, but didn’t really care much for either. Disliked The Lives of Others and Downfall. Didn’t care for some Spanish movies like Pan’s Labyrinth. I recently watched Stalker from your 1979 page and couldn’t finish, was boring to me, nowhere close to Apocalypse Now level, imo. I haven’t seen older foreign movies like 8 1/2 and Bergman movies but very much doubt they would be for me.
TLDR: I generally dislike foreign movies, Korean movies would be my favorite foreign movies, Parasite is my favorite. Before Parasite I’d probably say Oldboy would be my favorite. I love The Last Samurai and Inglourious Basterds but ofc they wouldn’t be considered foreign films despite having a lot of subtitles. Bong is probably my favorite foreign director, and I disliked Wong Kar wai. If you have any recommendations for me feel free. I will be giving Crouching Tiger a rewatch soon probably. Are there any other 90s foreign movies you recommend other than Chungking Express and La Haine?
I have never seen Blue or Red by the way, I guess you’d recommend those? Any other foreign films from the 90s?
@Dylan- Kieslowski in general is brilliant and yes I’d recommend- but not sure given your previous comments if he’s right for you– at least where you’re at right now
@Dylan- thanks for sharing. I don’t know how long you’ve been into cinema but don’t give up on it. If you disliked Wong Kar wai at least Malick is in good company- haha. I’m a little hesitant to recommend some as some may not be “entertaining” to you– but maybe start with Tykwer’s Run Lola Run— I think you’d probably like that if you haven’t seen it
I actually have seen that in a film appreciation class, lol. I did not like most of the films like battleship potemkin or the searchers, but they did play apocalypse now which is the first time i’ve ever seen it – such a masterpiece. I thought Run Lola Run was alright, wouldn’t rewatch it again though. Do you hold any Korean movies in high regard? I notice that you don’t have more of the popular Korean movies in your archives, like most of the movies I named except for Oldboy. I take it you haven’t seen any Kim Jee-woon or Na Hong-jin movies?
@Dylan- I don’t know how long you’ve been into films/cinema/movies but I wouldn’t be so quick to say “i wouldn’t rewatch it”– you may be more open to Potemkin and The Searchers in a few years
Certainly the last few decades there has been a boom in South Korean cinema and not just Bong. I’ve seen most of Kim Ki-duk’s work, Lee Chang-dong- I did a study of his work and most of it is up on the site. I’ve seen two films from Kim Jee-woon — one from Na Hong-jin- The Wailing
@Drake, didn’t you say that if you didn’t like WKW / In the mood for love, didn’t like the cinema? haha
@Aldo- haha fair- I just think I’d wait a little while before recommending WKW to someone getting interested in cinema
Oh I do rewatch films A LOT, sometimes I’ll find movies I previously liked I don’t like anymore, and vise versa. Have you seen I saw the devil, and A bittersweet life from Kim and The Chaser from Hong-jin? I think those are their best work. The Chaser > The Wailing. Are there are any 90s foreign movies I should see other than Blue and Red? Iirc La Haine and Chungking Express and Hard Boiled are the only 90s foreign movies that I’ve seen. I would rate La Haine higher than both of them. Also, what country language films are your favorite? I’d assume it would be Russian or Swedish or French
What do you think the best Chinese, French, Japanese, and Korean movies are?
For me right now would be Infernal Affairs (but vastly prefer The Departed, a top 5 movie for me probably), La Haine and Parasite. I haven’t seen that many Japanese movies but generally didn’t care at all for them: Ringu, Battle Royale, Audition…. not sure if I’ve seen any other Japanese movies actually, The Last Samurai is my favorite Japanese movie if that counts. I’ve never seen any Akira movies. Would you recommend The Twilight Samurai?
@Dylan
Chinese: In the Mood for Love
French: It depends whether or not you consider The Passion of Joan of Arc a French film. I believe it was produced and filmed there, but many cinephiles consider films to be from the home nation of their directors; thus it would be considered Danish. Using the system in which it is not French, the answer is Jules and Jim.
I believe Drake agrees with those two.
Japan: It could really be any of Kurosawa’s best – Ran, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and High and Low at the forefront – or Tokyo Story.
Korean: I agree with you here. Parasite is a masterpiece.
Quite weird that you don’t like Potemkin, since most of the movies you mentioned are Hollywood-style (fast cut, very talkative)
One can understand that you don’t like Bela Tarr or Tarkovsky (long takes, lack of dialogue)
As for Asian cinema, the easy answer is Kurosawa and Ozu, Tokyo Story, 7 samurai are better than anything you’ve seen in Asian cinema.
For more recent is Burning (2018)
I’ll give them a try one day. I didn’t like Burning, I prefer the other Korean directors I named like Bong and Chan-wook
My Top 10:
1. Goodfellas (1990)
2. Pulp Fiction (1994)
3. Chungking Express (1994)
4. Heat (1995)
5. Fargo (1996)
6. Casino (1995)
7. Shawshank (1994)
8. Schindler’s List (1993)
9. Fight Club (1999)
10. Dazed and Confused (1993)
@James – Nice list. No offense; but I cannot get behind not having Breaking the Waves on here anywhere at all.
@Zane – I have seen Breaking the Waves just once, I was very impressed. I generally like movies more and more upon subsequent viewings, there are not too many where I immediately declare a Masterpiece. All the movies in my top 10 I have seen many times giving them an advantage. I am quite comfortable with my # 1-4. My #5-10 could definitely be altered.
I think Casino is severely underrated, not so much on this site but in general, its exhilarating start to finish and while its not Goodfellas the gap is much smaller than most people think.
Dazed and Confused is probably not a conventional pick for a top 10 list of the decade but I consider it a Masterpiece. Tarantino calls it the ultimate “hangout movie” along with Rio Bravo (1959) and I get what he means. There is really no other film with that atmosphere, you feel like you’re apart of the various groups of friends in the movie along for the ride. Its a sort of hybrid mix of realism and comedy which avoids the usual overly dramatic high school movies, basically anything made by John Hughes. Its both universal in its depiction of free spirited youth but also feels specific to a time period with its phenomenal soundtrack. Linklater expertly handles an ensemble cast consisting on multiple groups of friends overlapping with other groups over the course of 24 hours. It achieves a near documentary level detail of the High School experience but in the form of a laid back comedy.
Wow, Scorsese was three decades in a row in the top 5 (with a #1 in the 80s and a #2 in the 90s). Insane.
@Pedro- Insane indeed. Couple of others close, right? Kubrick and PTA
Oh, shoot, you’re right about PTA. Kubrick was very close, but PTA actually did it, I don’t know how I didn’t see that. Magnolia in the 90s, There Will be Blood in the 2000s and The Master in the 2010s. Plus, in the 90s and 2000s he had two films in the top 10. Honestly… can anybody stop this guy? Wow. I sort of denied his greatness for a while because I just couldn’t believe a guy this young had already made such great masterpieces. I think a lot of people still do, thankfully I don’t anymore.
I watched Breaking the Waves again, very impressive stuff indeed.
I know you normally say that you think of movies as starting as blank slates that have to earn their grades , basically films must give you reasons to give them a MP, MS, etc. With that said what do you think Breaking the Waves does better than Goodfellas ? (I realize you have them basically neck and neck)
To me Goodfellas has the greater narrative, it never lets up for a second while going through multiple time periods seamlessly
Goodfellas has, as you aknowledge, arguably the greatest scene in cinema history with the Copacabana tracking shot
You can certainly argue that Emily Watson’s performance is the best of both these films, certainly Pesci has an argument. But even if you think Watson’s is the best if you ranked the combined top 10 performances, Goodfellas would probably have 8 out the top 10. Stellan Skarsgård is great but after that there aren’t many other great performances (although certainly several solid ones) perhaps you could also argue for Katrin Cartlidge
The camera work near the end when Henry Hill’s paranoia is absolutely brilliant as is the use of color
On the Goodfellas page I posted the following:
“There are certain films that are all timers like Stalker (1979), Aguirre (1972), or Tokyo Story (1953) that are amazing but are more of “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. Then there are films that probably have some great individual scenes but for whatever reason feel a little disjointed.” Goodfellas works on both levels, it has several of the most memorable scenes in Cinematic History
To be clear I am not arguably against Breaking the Waves merit, and to be fair I should mention that I have only seen it twice putting it at a disadvantage vs Goodfellas in my book given that I tend to appreciate great films the more times I watched them. I’ve seen Goodfellas like 20 times.
cont…
I admit to some level of bias given that Scorsese is my all time favorite filmmaker.
Interestingly enough both Scorsese and Ebert picked Breaking the Waves as a top 10 film of the 90s
Again, Breaking the Waves is fantastic, I love the performances, chapter breaks accompianed by music (I discovered A Whiter Shade of Pale upon watching Breaking the Waves the 1st time), and muted color palette amongst other things.
@James Trapp- Thanks for sharing. I have a few notes here on Breaking the Waves from the 1996 page (http://thecinemaarchives.com/2021/09/23/1996/) but no full page on the film as of yet as it has been years since last catching it. I know this may sound odd coming from someone who has hundreds of pages on his website ranking films- but I am more about the tiers than the actual rankings– so if someone, like yourself, thinks Goodfellas should be ahead of Breaking the Waves- you will not get a long argument from me. The argument would come if you didn’t think the films were on the same plane, or you tried to put some other, unworthy film, in the same class as these two artistic cinematic juggernauts. I hope that makes sense. You mention the chapter breaks, the music, the muted color palatte- so there’s a start. On the 1996 page I say — von Trier forms the film with these breathtaking paintings by Danish artist Per Kirkeby paired with seventies rock ballads — an incalculable part of the brilliance… etc. I do think just as a composition vs. composition standpoint von Trier’s films (especially including Per Kirkeby’s work) may win out in a dual with Goodfellas. The ending– well the ending is genius (and yes, sure, stronger than Goodfellas’ ending). It is also part of the Dogma 95 movement- it has a philosophy- and I don’t know exactly how much weight I put on that (perhaps too much) but it is not nothing.
@Drake – Yeah I like the idea of using Tiers as well which is why I almost didn’t post this given that they are so close on your list. Goodfellas is certainly the more accessible film (I could honestly watch it once a week) but Breaking the Waves is an utterly fascinating examination of faith and society’s’ religious hypocracies. The only other Von Trier film I have seen is Melancholia (2011) which I found just as fascinating although I think Breaking the Waves is the stronger of the two.