Top 100 Overlooked Films of the 1990s

I stumbled upon a list that actually seems worth checking out: Top 100 Overlooked Films of the 1990s. From the few I've actually seen from this bunch, it’s pretty clear there are some gems hiding here.

P.S. It's interesting to see who made this list. Rotten Tomatoes includes an American contributor, Dragan Antulov (who writes in English too), who used to collaborate with the now-defunct Variety. Dragan has pumped out an insane amount of serious reviews—over a thousand the last time we spoke—and you can find them over at RogerEbert.com. 🙏

Babe: Having Pig in the City and Dead Man in the top 10??? I'm totally down with that...

Maria Barnes said:By the way, this prestigious group curating the list Rotten Tomatoes actually includes an American representative, Dragan Antulov (who also writes in English), who used to collaborate with the now-defunct IMDb. Dragan has churned out an incredible number of serious reviews—well over a thousand the last time we spoke—and they’re all hosted over at RogerEbert.com. 🙏

And what exactly does a massive volume of published reviews prove?
In Antulov's case, nothing except that he's a workaholic with too much time on his hands.
Look, everyone has their own taste, but I find his writing dreadfully academic, dry, unengaging, and completely lacking insight. His points are just banal.

Regarding the overlooked films, I’d throw in 😁My Best Friend's Wedding😲. It's a subversive love story with a brilliantly ironic ending where Julia Roberts ends up losing. It was a truly unexpected twist for a very good movie that is far more than just some breezy little comedy. It was a Shakespearean tragedy! 👍

My Best Friend's Wedding is an absolutely wonderful movie, but let's be honest—it definitely doesn't belong on a list of overlooked gems.

Most of the films included here were the ones that critics absolutely raved about and maybe picked up a few awards, yet somehow just failed to find a massive audience at the box office.

My Best Friend's Wedding, on the other hand, was a total smash hit. It did incredibly well commercially, and even Andrew Sarris went as far as calling it the best film of the nineties. So, I really don't think we can call it overlooked.

I honestly feel like some movies are overlooked for a very good reason, and I definitely wouldn't include them in a list like this:

Cradle Will Rock (Tim Robbins) - there’s just way too much political messaging that ends up overshadowing everything else about it.

Very Bad Things (Peter Berg) - it tries so hard to be "dark" and "disturbing," but it actually felt painfully predictable and just plain boring to me.

Joe Versus the Volcano (John Patrick Shanley) - seriously, who on earth decided this was an overlooked gem? I have no idea!

Richard Hernandez13 said:[/i]My Best Friend's Wedding[/i] made a ton of money. Even Andrew Sarris called it the best film of the 1990s. Hard to call it overlooked.

Look, let me clarify my point: most people watched that movie as just a "not bad rom-com." Of course it made money; it starred the incredibly bankable Julia Roberts. But since the film is pigeonholed as a romantic comedy, I don't think it's actually *recognized* for what it is. In my opinion, it isn't a romantic comedy at all. Calling it one is like saying Titanic is a great musical.
As for Andrew Sarris, his opinion means absolutely nothing to me. Besides, I think I read somewhere on this forum that "bottom-feeding critics" or something like that 😁

Fine, I agree my suggestion might not make this list because of its box office numbers. But then why is Very Bad Things here? It was a massive hit. I was actually about to suggest another profitable comedy masterpiece: Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. 👍

So, just to be safe, I’m proposing Starship Troopers. It's fantastic sci-fi that flopped at the box office and barely anyone liked. I guess people were just too squeamish about the giant bugs. 🙏

Paul Mendoza8 said:Look, fine, I get it. Maybe my suggestion doesn't fit the criteria because it wasn't a massive hit at the box office, but then what is Very Bad Things even doing on this list? That movie was a total cash cow...

Now, this one is the sequel. It didn't exactly break any records—honestly, I'm pretty sure it barely broke even. But just like the first one, it's an absolute gem of a movie...

Whenever you run into lists like this, you’re immediately hit with this nagging dilemma regarding what the actual criteria even are... though I suppose the most practical way to define them is simply this: you gather a decent crowd of people and ask them, "Which films from the 90s were criminally underrated?" and just call it a day. 😁

That said, I find myself nodding along with a good chunk of this selection (though I might quibble over the specific ranking): there is the absolute masterpiece by John Sayles, "Lone Star," featuring Kris Kristofferson; then there's Atom Egoyan's "A Sweet Hereafter"; and Peter Jackson's "Heavenly Creatures"—not to mention the sheer brilliance of "Chungking Express" 😍 . Perhaps even the most overlooked entry on this list, "Bound" by The Wachowskis, which is such a quintessential noir... then there's "Hana-bi"... "Beautiful Girls"... and so on.

Anderson said:I was just scrolling through the web when I stumbled upon this list, and honestly, I think it’s actually worth taking a look at— Top 100 Overlooked Films of the 1990sLooking back at the few titles from that list I've actually sat down to watch, I can't help but feel like there's some serious potential left on the table. Even with just a handful of them under my belt, it’s pretty clear that many of these could have been absolute gems if they'd gotten the right kind of traction.

P.S. And this was all curated by some pretty high-brow company, if you can believe it. Critics Choice Awards There’s also an American contributor, Dragan Antulov—he actually writes in English too—who used to collaborate with that project back when it was temporarily shuttered down. film.monitor.usDragan has churned out an incredible amount of serious reviews—probably a thousand or so since we last spoke—and you can find them all published over on... film.purger.com. 🙏

Total disaster.

I’ve checked off quite a few titles from this list, though I won't go through them one by one because we'd be here forever. That said, I really can't recommend Heavenly Creatures enough—it's definitely worth your time. 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 It's sitting right there at number five on the list.

I'm so happy for Strange Days—when I caught it in theaters, it practically knocked me right out of my seat.
It’s such a pure, visceral piece of Cameron-style tech-noir.

...or Flirting with Disaster by David O. Russell, which I actually had the chance to rewatch a couple of weeks ago. It’s a total little masterpiece. Honestly, it's just so brilliantly written and executed. It really makes you think about how easy it would be to pull off a comedy like that, when in reality, it's quite the exact opposite.

I even walked away with the impression that Ben Stiller could be the Woody Allen of my generation. 😁

Alright, I took some time to dig into how many films each director actually has represented on this list. 😁

Leading the pack is Wong Kar-wai with three different titles, followed by a group of directors who each landed two spots—that includes Ted Demme (RIP), John Sayles, Jim Jarmusch, Atom Egoyan, Martin Scorsese, Peter Jackson, Tim Robbins, and David Mamet (though we probably shouldn't count Glengarry Glen Ross since he’s really the screenwriter there).

It’s a pretty predictable lineup of names, honestly.

You have to consider that this list feels like it was compiled from a strictly American perspective. Honestly, I find it hard to imagine anyone over in Europe—especially someone in France, for instance—ever agreeing that directors like Wong Kar-wai, Jim Jarmusch, or Atom Egoyan are actually overlooked. They are titans! But, if we're talking about who truly reigns supreme in this specific category, I’d say this guy is the absolute champion. John Sayles The guy has been consistently turning out these incredible "masculine" films for years now... yet they remain completely flying under the radar. I mean, look at *Babys* from last year—it was absolutely overlooked!

I’ve always had a huge soft spot for John Sayles—though I can't help but nod along with Paulina Kael’s rather charming little jab that he's basically just "a novelist wearing a director's hat" (or some variation of that line, if I recall correctly). 😁

Thumbs up for #25 🙂

Paul Mendoza8 said:Just to be safe, I’m throwing out Starship Troopers—it's incredible sci-fi that bombed at the box office and didn't get much love back then. I guess people just couldn't stomach those nasty giant bugs. 🙏

🙏 🙏 🙏 👍 🙂 🙂 🎉 WOMAN, YOU ARE A LEGEND!!!

Richard Hernandez13 said:Glad you mentioned Strange Days—when I saw that in theaters, it practically knocked me right out of my seat.
Pure, unadulterated Cameron-style tech-noir.

SIT DOWN, FIVE 👍

I'll add 'The Ghost and the Darkness'—fantastic movie, phenomenal score by Jerry Goldsmith, Tom Wilkinson playing the main (human) villain, and Om Pura in a supporting role. It's a brilliant film, yet so few people seem to know about it. Also 'Felicia's Journey,' since we're already talking about Atom Egoyan, and that genius French comedy 'Dinner with Idiots'—though why they felt the need to make a remake is beyond me.

Richard Hernandez13 said:I’m really happy to hear you liked Strange Days—when I first caught that in theaters, it practically knocked me right out of my seat.
It’s such a quintessential Cameron-style tech-noir.

...or take Flirting with Disaster by David O. Russell, which I happened to revisit a couple of weeks ago. It’s an absolute little masterpiece. Just damn well written and executed. It really makes you think about how easy it would be to pull off a comedy like that, when in reality, it’s actually the exact opposite.

I even walked away feeling like Ben Stiller could have been the Woody Allen of my generation. 😁

I’m with both of you on this! I watched Flirting with Disaster on DVD just about a week ago—I was absolutely dying laughing. That poor guy Stiller is always playing some kind of total loser.😂

If you haven't seen them yet, you’re missing out. Check these two from the top 10:
Lone Star and the absolute gem The Hudsucker Proxy.🙏

I’m honestly surprised QUICK AND THE DEAD didn't make the cut. It’s a western with a genuine twist, featuring Russell Crowe back before he became a total jerk. 👍Even Leonardo DiCaprio was actually tolerable in it. Plus, it’s nice to remember Sam Raimi from his days before he started embarrassing himself with those Spider-Man movies. 😲
The guy who signed off on that script also wrote and directed an excellent crime thriller, SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE—a smart whodunit that doesn't insult the audience by hiding the real culprits! 👍

Paul Mendoza8 said:Look, I get it—maybe my suggestion doesn't quite fit this specific list because of the box office numbers, but then again, I don't know why 👍
is included here since it was such a massive hit—and honestly, I was just about to pitch another one, a total comedic masterpiece that absolutely crushed it at the box office: Ace Ventura, Pet Detective

You guys are driving me crazy!

Paul Mendoza8 said:I’m surprised QUICK AND THE DEAD didn't make the cut—it's a western with a bit of a twist, featuring Russell Crowe back before he became such a massive headache 👍. Even Leonardo DiCaprio was somewhat tolerable then. It’s also worth remembering Sam Raimi from his earlier days, before he started embarrassing himself with all those 😲Spider-Man
movies. The guy who wrote that screenplay actually directed an incredible crime flick himself—POD SUMNJOM👍. It’s a smart whodunit that doesn't insult the audience by hiding the actual culprits!

Honestly, you're the absolute best.

Oh, and one more brilliant piece—John Mellencamp's 🙂Rough Riders🙂. Sure, it's a TV movie, but it's honestly better than 90% of what Hollywood churns out these days.