Top 5 1990 Films
By Austin Johnson
These Top 5 lists have been loads of fun to conjure up over the past year and a half. I made this 1990 list here to honor films that came out 30 years ago. In 2019, I wrote Top 5’s for 1989, 1999, 2009, and 2019. This year, I’ll do 1990, 2000, 2010, and then 2020 at the very end of the year. It’s all about commemorating films hitting their 10, 20, or 30 year anniversary and then capping it off with the actual year we are in. My 2020 shortlist is pretty strange due to the circumstances of this year, my laziness, and lack of funds to pay 20 dollars per new release. That’s okay, because I’ve used the time to watch a bunch of random old shit. Without further ado, here’s my 5 favorite films that came out 30 years ago.
5.) The Grifters
“You're working some angle, and don't tell me
you're not because I wrote the book!” |
2020 has obviously been a different kind of year for all of us and that includes how we consume films. The existing streaming services have definitely been getting more use than ever. I signed up for Criterion Channel in March and it’s been great to check out all kinds of films that I’ve never had access to. One of the gems I have discovered through it is the Stephen Frears directed crime drama The Grifters. I instantly fell in love with it because of the three main performances provided by Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, and Annette Bening in just her third film appearance ever. They’re all sort of one upping each other over and over, as their characters are consistently looking for the con. Huston is sort of frightening and comforting at the same time and that’s always a special combination when it’s done right. John Cusack disappears into the setting of misfits conning one another in Southern California and Annette Bening fucking drowns herself in it. I see myself rewatching The Grifters for years to come.
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4.) Wild at Heart
“This is a snakeskin jacket! And for me it's a symbol of
my individuality, and my belief... in personal freedom.” |
I’m an absolute sucker for anything David Lynch has made and Wild at Heart features his go-to actress Laura Dern shredding each scene up and then Nicolas Cage being really weird. Now, I’m talking weird for Cage, which is a whole different level of weird. Wild at Heart came out just three years after Raising Arizona, which is definitely in contention for my favorite Cage performance of all time. There’s some H.I. energy in Sailor, only in a somehow stranger setting. I also love Willem Dafoe’s wacky ass performance as Bobby Peru. That man has a tremendously strange but awesome filmography. I don’t know what it is, but I just get on board when Lynch is in control and Wild at Heart is pretty special because it came out in between season one and two of Twin Peaks, which is my favorite Lynch project. Wild at Heart is an acquired taste just like all Lynch films, but for me it has the perfect amount of strangeness to keep me on my toes.
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3.) Miller's Crossing
“One thing I always try to teach my boys: always put one in the brain!”
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The Coen brothers have a special place in my heart just like a lot of film fans and it’s actually the first Top 5 I ever wrote for Filmgazm. It went 5.) Raising Arizona 4.) Barton Fink 3.) A Serious Man 2.) No Country For Old Men 1.) The Big Lebowski. Miller’s Crossing barely missed the cut, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love it. That’s just a really tough list to crack. I love watching Jon Polito's firecracker kind of performance as Johnny Caspar. He’s one of those fun recurring Coen actors and may he rest in peace. Albert Finney is a one time Coen collaborator and he is doing some truly frightening work as Leo the mob boss and may he also rest in peace. Gabriel Byrne and John Turturro both put on really strong performances and they come together for that famous scene in the woods at Miller’s Crossing. It’s chilling. Barry Sonnenfeld worked on Raising Arizona and Miller’s Crossing as the cinematographer and I don’t want people to lose that in all of the greatness that the Coens' filmography has to offer because his contribution is fucking important.
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2.) Goodfellas
“No, no, I don't know, you said it. How do I know? You said I'm funny.
How the fuck am I funny, what the fuck is so funny about me? Tell me, tell me what's funny!” |
I think a lot of major film fans would have Goodfellas at number one and that makes total sense. It’s a fucking masterpiece with some of the most audacious performances that I have ever seen. Is it Martin Scorsese’s best film? I don’t know, but it sure does seem like it as time has passed. I didn’t see Goodfellas all the way through until a friend forced me to do so after he found that out. It’s one of those films that someone shows you and you just start talking about it to everyone because you’re obsessed. It still has a major weight within our mainstream culture, but the film itself is really unique and gritty. The pace is innovative, inspiring, and entertaining, which is common with Scorsese’s films. Joe Pesci’s effort as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas is one of the more memorable performances that I’ve seen in my life and that whip fast dialogue is something I’ll always adore. Everyone is great, but Pesci is fucking legendary. A Scorsese Top 5 will totally happen one day and Goodfellas will be in there somewhere.
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1.) Slacker
“Every single commodity you produce is a piece of your own death!”
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It’s going to be very difficult for any 1990 film to top Richard Linklater’s mind boggling feature length debut in my mind. It’s not for everyone just like a lot of Linklater films and it doesn’t have any actors that are recognizable, but it’s all about the idea and atmosphere with Slacker. It was filmed entirely in Austin, Texas, which is a city I have visited countless times for multiple reasons. My favorite thing to do in Austin is to just walk around different parts of the city. During Slacker, the camera follows one Austinite after another as they proceed with their daily routines. One of my favorite bits is the JFK conspiracy theorist spilling his knowledge to this girl who doesn’t really care. The bit with the UFO-obsessed man explaining that the United States has been on the moon since the 1950’s is really funny but equally poignant. I also love the bit at the beginning with Linklater himself riding in a cab sort of explaining what he’s about to show us with his film in an organic way. Slacker is so ridiculously normal but I can’t take my eyes away.
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