I hate FORREST GUMP but still voted for 94 (which looks like the runaway winner so far); PULP FICTION and FOUR WEDDINGS both have been massively influential in very different ways, SHAWSHANK is a personal favorite, and QUIZ SHOW was pretty good as well.
1994 easily. Three of my favorite movies and I liked Quiz Show quite a bit and thought it was very well done. I never understood the Gump dislike but that, Pulp Fiction and Shawshank Redemption are three movies that compel me to watch.
I’m pretty astounded at all the 94 love, because all you have to do is remove the Tarantino and you have a pretty weak tea year. I’d easily put the 93 or 96 slate against that year head-to-head.
I vote (like many others) for 1994, but would also like to give a shout-out to '91 which has three excellen movies in JFK, Silence of the Lambs, and Beauty and the Beast (each of them completely different from the other).
I never thought about the fact that two Stephen King stories were nominated for B. Picture. I can see the line on the poster for The Green Mile right now… “From the creative mind that brought you Children of the Corn and Maximum Overdrive…”
You know what? Had I bothered to see the poll results before I voted, I would have voted for 1991 just to give it some props. I hate seeing it out there with 0 votes… that makes Beast angry - and you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry!
My reaction upon reading the thread title was '94, but after actually looking at the choices, I don’t think so. It’s hard for me to judge really because I’ve only seen all five movies for '99. Every other year, I have missed at least one. Maybe one of the ones I’ve missed is really great and my answer would change. Since I liked all five of the movies in '99(although my least favorite won), I’ll go with that.
Without reading what’s been posted so far, I will make a fearless prediction:
There will be at least one, but likely many more, variations on “1994?! Butbutbut…Forrest Gump was the worst movie EVAR and Shawshank is sooooo overrated!!”
1994 wins even though I’d agree Shawshank Redemption is still really, really overrrated. (I think Forrest Gump was a masterpeice.)
As compared to the 2000s, though, it seems to me there’s a lot more very strong years here. As much as I think Shawshank’s overrated it beats a lot of the weak sisters in the 2000s.
Elizabeth, Shakespeare in Love, and Saving Private Ryan are each in their own way near the pinnacle of the art form. Life Is Beautiful is a step below, but still a fine film. The Thin Red Line, I’ll admit, just isn’t my cup of tea, but overall, '98 is an amazing lineup.
1996 and 1993 are also very strong.
I also don’t get the '94 love, except that both Pulp Fiction and Shawshank have followings that are, erm, a bit fanatical. Don’t get me wrong, they’re excellent movies, but…
I voted for 1991, primarily because I am a sucker for the underdog, because I think Beauty and the Beast is the most forgotten of the great Disney films, and because of Silence of the Lambs (!!!). Don’t get me wrong, Pulp Fiction is definitely a classic, too, and I love Four Weddings And A Funeral, but even so I choose 1997 as my runner-up year. Too bad that the least worthy film of the 1997 bunch was the one that won Best Picture.
