This movie would get my vote for the best dialogue of the decade. It may have been the best dialogue since "All about Eve." A film about the GREatest playwright in history would receive some brilliance just from the subject matter. But brilliance also shines through with screenwriting, set design, costumes and direction. Although homage is paid to the Bard in style and content, I actually liked the movie more than most of his plays.
6. Braveheart (1995)
"Dances with Wolves" was an epic western that worked for actor turned director Kevin Costner. In similar ways, "Braveheart" works the same for Mel Gibson. In both cases, the leading actor, although powerfully played, is secondary to the cinematography, the historical crisis and the compelling story. Some movies are meant for the big screen because of their immenseness and grandeur. "Braveheart" fills up the theater.
5. Toy Story (1995)
Disney began making quality family shows again in the 1980s. A quality family show is one where the parents can enjoy it as much as the kids. "Toy Story" took it one step further and added state of the art technology to provide a wonderful Disney story. We all have wondered if our toys came alive, but we never knew that there would be so much team work.
4. Hoop Dreams (1994)
Every basketball star had a childhood that is in the background somewhere. "Hoop Dreams" looks at the story another way by focusing on the child and their development into a star. The movie was 4 1/2 years in the making and chronicles in real life, the rising athletes. It is fascinating to watch the players grow up and work through family and school challenges. Supposedly 250 hours of film was shot and edited to 3 hours where the viewer becomes a neighbor, classmate and spectator through the movie.
3. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
The battle scenes are vivid and extraordinary but the most riveting part of the movie is the story behind the mission to save Ryan. Tom Hanks plays the leader of a group of soldiers, all of whom were peaceful private citizens before the war. Duty and honor are emphasized as the soldiers perform their warrior responsibilities as trained. The humanity of the individual being is illuminated against the inhumanity of war.
2. Forrest Gump (1994)
I may be biased regarding this film because I GREw up in a small town during about the same time period. This is a modern day fairy tale demonstrating that love, dignity and perseverance conquer all. "Forrest Gump' runs the viewer through the entire spectrum of emotions as it tells the story of a slow thinking innocent kid traversing through five decades of life.
1. Schindler's List (1993)
It may have taken until the 1990s to be able to showcase a movie about the holocaust. Shot in black and white, which provides a newsreel documentary feel for the film, the movie takes us into the life of Oscar Schindler and the lives that he saved. The horror of the film is that the events depicted actually happened. The beauty of the film is represented by the triumph over adversity that is so well illustrated through the lens of the camera.
