Top Ten Films of 1994
A year of big events, some bigger & more well known than others, that include: O.J. Simpson probably murders Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman outside his home and leads the most famous police chase in American history, an Elephant named Tyke sits and crushes her trainer in front of hundreds of people during a performance, the World Series was cancelled because of the player’s strike, The Jacksonville Jaguars become the 30th NFL franchise, Kurt Cobain dies, and the Cowboys beat the Bills in to give Buffalo their 4th consecutive Super Bowl. (I know this is too much sports stuff.)
It is the time when The Lion King, Forrest Gump, and Jim Carrey ruled. Interview with a Vampire was one of the top 10 highest grossing movies. What a time. I don’t feel as strong about this year as 1993 despite having some of my favorite all time films at the top of the list. I did another 11-25 in alphabetical order along with where you can find them.
Video
Above the Rim (Directed by Jeff Pollack)
Ace Ventura (Directed by Tom Shadyac) - Netflix
Blue Chips (Directed by William Friedkin) - Amazon Prime
Clerks (Directed by Kevin Smith)
Cold Water (Directed by Olivier Assayas) - Criterion Channel
Leon: The Professional (Directed by Luc Besson)
Major League II (Directed by David S. Ward)
The Mask (Directed by Chuck Russell) - Hulu
Maverick (Directed by Richard Donner) - HBO Max
Naked Gun 33 1/2: The Final Insult (Directed by Peter Segal) - Amazon Prime & Tubi TV
Natural Born Killers (Directed by Oliver Stone)
Reality Bites (Directed by Ben Stiller)
The Shawshank Redemption (Directed by Frank Darabont) - Hulu
Three Colors: White (Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski) - Criterion Channel & HBO Max
True Lies (Directed by James Cameron)
Now the top ten!
10. Crooklyn (Directed by Spike Lee)
One of Spike’s lesser known movies, but maybe his most personal. A sweet hangout movie with all his Spikeisms that will leave you warm and thinking about all the ways we treat each other.
9. Ed Wood (Directed by Tim Burton)
Not a documentary, but along the same line as Crumb. I like the humanity on display in every scene here. Depp is rarely better, and Martin Landau is so wonderful. It’s a great ensemble and a loving tribute to bad movies. People make them and some of them believe in them a lot.
8. The Lion King (Directed by Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff)
Should’ve never remade it the way they did. But, maybe it got kids to check out this version. Not much to say here. We all know and get it. They took the heroes journey and made it even better. It’s the circle of life.
7. Crumb (Directed by Terry Zwigoff)
One of my favorite documentaries. Robert Crumb is a fascinating subject and I feel like theres still so much more to know. But this window into his life is well worth the time. As empathetic portrayal of complicated feelings I can imagine.
6. Chungking Express (Directed by Wong Kar-wai) - Criterion Channel
The future is not set. This movie makes me want to travel the world and try all the new food and meet all the people I can. A beautiful film that Tarantino got pushed over here in the US because he thought Wong Kar-wai films should be seen. I’m so glad he did.
5. The Hudsucker Proxy (Directed by Joel Coen)
One of the Coen’s lesser known and appreciated movies. I get why but I hope it gets its day of reappraisal sometime. I am not a Tim Robbins fan but he’s perfect here. A take on the old fashioned movies of the 40’s and 50’s with big slapstick and subtle satire. I love so many sequences in this film.
4. Three Colors: Red (Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski) - Criterion Channel & HBO Max
A gorgeous movie with such a light touch on heavy subjects. I am new to the Kieślowski way of making movies but I love it already. Irene Jacob is stunning and captivating. His movies make me feel so much with just an image. The way the best directors do.
3. Dumb and Dumber (Directed by Peter Farrelly) - HBO Max
A timeless comedy to me because the jokes are character based with limited references and moves so fast. A classic screwball comedy with modern gross out schtick is perfect comedy to me. Jim Carrey’s last entry in this list and it is his best pure performance. The reason this works is the scene when they discuss their dreams. There’s real dramatic acting happening in this. While also being nonstop silliness. I love it so much.
2. Speed (Directed by Jan de Bont)
One of the most watchable movies ever made. Simple and fun while being gnarly and exciting along with it. Keanu continues being a dominant force in these lists and a great accompanying supporting cast that includes Dumb (or is he Dumber) Mr. Jeff Daniels. Sandra Bullock’s true star making performance is this one for me. I wrote a whole song based around this movie. I would show this at my cinema multiple times a year. Speed forever.
1. Pulp Fiction (Directed by Quentin Tarantino)
An easy and probably expected answer from a white guy in his 20’s but this thing holds up as a movie so well. There are of course problematic elements but I love the stories and spending time with these scumbags and fast talkers. I was surprised how much I still liked it when I watched it again last year leading up to Hollywood. Tarantino isn’t this kid who wrote this movie anymore. But he is an even better filmmaker now.