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Last year I dedicated one of the first formal installments of The Lists to the films of 1999, one of the most electrifying slate of films to come along since Hollywood’s epic 1939 peak 60 years prior. There was an embarrassment of riches, truly, great work from the classic masters, eye-opening new work from future masters and everything in between.
There was exceptional independent filmmaking on display as well as impressive studio offerings. Envelope-pushing was the norm while formulaic studies also seemed curiously refined. As the century drew to a close, it seemed, in some ways, that 1999 would come to represent everything that made the medium so special for its first 100 hundred years.
Over at Movie City News, Noah Forrest has dedicated a new column to the discussion. He can be forgiven, I think, for twisting in the winds of indecision when it comes to pegging a personal best film from 1999, but he also offers a number of other superlatives to honor the films and performances from the year.
Forrest also dedicates some copy to the equally accomplished work that slipped through the cracks that year. Take a look:
The interesting thing, as I look back upon that year, is not those brilliant movies that are constantly shifting and evolving in my mind – I’ve probably revised my top ten list from that year hundreds of times – but some of the films that didn’t get as much attention at the time, that slipped through the cracks. Fight Club, Three Kings, Magnolia, Eyes Wide Shut, all of those films have become either cult classics or recognized justly for their brilliance.
But what about a film like Tim Roth’s The War Zone, which deals frankly and hauntingly with a family torn apart by incest? Or Woody Allen’s brilliant Sweet and Lowdown, featuring one of the best performances of Sean Penn’s career? Or there’s Milos Forman’s Man on the Moon, which makes the unknowable Andy Kaufman almost human with the precision of Jim Carrey’s performance. Or Kevin Smith’s admirable – if not entirely successful – Dogma, which deserves a million kudos just for its audacious approach at making a religious comedy. Or The Blair Witch Project, which I remember watching a friend’s bootleg of before it was released and thinking I was seeing something real, believing that ghosts existed. Or Cronenberg’s trippy eXistenZ, which deals with a lot of the same themes as the more widely lauded The Matrix, except with a typically Cronenbergian tone and fascination with the body.
All of those films are considered basically the “second-tier” films of 1999 and any one of them would easily be the second or third best film of this year so far – behind the The Hurt Locker, of course. And I didn’t even mention films like Summer of Sam, The Limey, The Red Violin, Go, Julien Donkey-Boy, or Boys Don’t Cry.
Check out the rest here.
23 responses so far
1 7-21-2009 at 9:08 am
James D. said...
I always wondered why Man on the Moon didn’t get more credit. Sure, it follows a lot of the formula of a bio-pic, but Kaufman is such an interesting character that it went beyond that. And that ending, wow.
2 7-21-2009 at 9:16 am
leonardo said...
1999, was the year of American Beauty, one of the most acid, sarcastic and honest movies I’ve ever seen in my life, and my personal favorite. A truly and painfull, but also funny look to the society of our times. The moment i saw Kevin Spacey performance, i knew that the oscar easily belongs to him that year.
3 7-21-2009 at 10:02 am
Louis said...
I wish he had mentioned Election–when I first saw it I thought it was a delightful, thoughtful, fun comedy. But I’m stunned when I think about how much of it I’ve held onto over the past ten years, and how often I see it as a point of reference in assessing the people and situations I encounter. I love it, and I think it has stood/will continue to stand the test of time.
Also, I never thought that American Beauty was the masterwork it was all too often said to be upon its release. Plenty of flaws. That said, it makes me a little sad that it’s become so trendy to dismiss the film as a meaningless rejection of suburban America. I think it’s a good movie, and I want to remember it for the impact it had on me when I first saw it, not for the moments that have proven trite/heavy-handed in the years since passed.
4 7-21-2009 at 10:26 am
A.J said...
1999 gave us a slew of popular teen movies, some eh, some good, and some great. Cruel Intentions, Election, American Pie, The Virgin Suicides, The Blair Witch Project, and 10 Things I Hate About You all came out in 1999. I can’t think of another year that gave so many ‘iconic’ teen films. And it was an oddly heavy year on modern retellings.
5 7-21-2009 at 10:42 am
BobMcBob said...
People who say that “American Beauty” and “The Matrix” don’t hold up, don’t know what they’re talking about.
6 7-21-2009 at 10:54 am
Tyler j. Pratt said...
1999 was in my opinion, the best year for film in the history of the industry. The closest we have come since then was 2007.
7 7-21-2009 at 11:37 am
Ivan said...
Most of the best characters of the 90s became from the last year of that decade…
Tyler Durden
Tracy Flick
Neo
Frank T J Mackey
Manuela & Agrado & Rosa & Uma
John Malcovich
Ricky Fitts
Rosetta
Cole Sear
Jessie
Tom Ripley & Dickie Greenleaf
Brandon Teena
Jeffrey Wigand
Josie Geller
Alvin Straight
Sussana Kaysen & Lisa
Kat Stratford
Frankie Page
Sarah Miles
Michael Faraday
Andy Kaufman
Alice Harford
punk Richie
Hattie
Frank McCourt
Kathryn Merteuil
John Coffey
Wilbur Larch
Rona Forman
Steven Carter
8 7-21-2009 at 12:04 pm
Mike said...
@ BobMcBob: maybe it is you who doesn’t know what you’re talking about?!? Just a thought. Actually it all depends on personal tastes and opinions, and in mine – American Beauty aged quite badly. It doesn’t come close to true best films of that year, like: Todo sobre mi madre, Three Kings, Fight Club, Eyes Wide Shut, The Matrix, The Insider, …
9 7-21-2009 at 1:14 pm
Michael W. said...
It sure was a great year but in my book Magnolia towers above all the others. One of the true masterpieces of the 90s.
10 7-21-2009 at 1:19 pm
Zan said...
I’ve read every comment on this and the page Kris linked, but for the life of me, I haven’t found a single person able to say why “AB” has aged poorly. People just keep reiterating the same thing over and over– that it has.
11 7-21-2009 at 1:24 pm
Noah said...
Election probably should have been mentioned somewhere in the piece, it’s a brilliant brilliant movie, although I don’t know if I would put it in the same tier as those top 8 films. But if not, it’s certainly right below it.
Zan, if you haven’t seen American Beauty recently, I would suggest re-watching it. It’s still good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s heavy-handed, cheesy, cliche, etc. The moment when Chris Cooper kisses Kevin Spacey is just phony and unbelievable; so too is his murder of Spacey. There’s good stuff in there, but the biggest problem is that it’s no longer relevant to the world we live in.
12 7-21-2009 at 1:39 pm
leonardo said...
American Beauty is the kind of movie that many people love and others gonna hate, but always create controversy. I think that was the finest way to close the decade, because is a movie that show us the reallity of many in the actual society, of double moral or mental represion, like the one that lives de Kevin Sapacey character. It’s not a fairy tale, but even the biggest problems are handle with brillant humor and inteligence.
13 7-21-2009 at 2:08 pm
pat c said...
surprised no one’s mentioned the sixth sense…
14 7-21-2009 at 3:10 pm
Chad Hartigan said...
I don’t really get behind ’99 as the best year since ’39 bandwagon. I will say, though, that between Toy Story 2, The Iron Giant and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, it was a helluva year for animation.
15 7-21-2009 at 3:54 pm
Joel said...
I’m with Michael W. Magnolia, all the way.
16 7-21-2009 at 4:24 pm
RichardA said...
American Beauty, to me, does not hold up beyond its time period. It feels dated if only because it was so successful in capturing “that feeling” in that moment in the 90s. It’s the films fault that the rest of the world would have moved on.
17 7-21-2009 at 11:14 pm
/3rtfu11 said...
I choose “Three Kings” as the best movie of 1999. I know it’s my favorite George Clooney movie – the best film Ice Cube has ever been in. Not my favorite Mark Wahlberg performance under the direction of O. Russell – he’s magic in “I Heart Huckabees”. If you never had the opportunity to experience “Three Kings” in its initial theatrical run you won’t be able to understand why I consider it the best of the year.
Jim Carrey’s performance as Kaufman is one of the best ignored for an Oscar nomination I can think of in recent history. I would like to also add Sigourney Weaver for “A Map of the World”.
18 7-21-2009 at 11:22 pm
par3182 said...
American Beauty has held up – it was a pretentious wank in ’99, it’s a pretentious wank now.
1999 is such a great film year, but a terrible Oscar one.
19 7-21-2009 at 11:45 pm
Troy said...
“…in my book Magnolia towers above all the others. One of the true masterpieces of the 90s.”
Agreed. I’m not some huge fan of PTA, but Magnolia, and to a lesser degree, Punch Drunk Love, are some fine pieces of art.
20 7-21-2009 at 11:46 pm
Troy said...
“Jim Carrey’s performance as Kaufman is one of the best ignored for an Oscar nomination I can think of in recent history”
Yeah, major snub, and easily his best performance.
“American Beauty has held up – it was a pretentious wank in ‘99, it’s a pretentious wank now.
1999 is such a great film year, but a terrible Oscar one.”
LOL! Agreed.
21 7-22-2009 at 12:21 am
Glenn said...
I’m all for “American Beauty”, but that year was bad for Oscar. As the old adage goes: great year for cinema = bad year for Oscar. Too many “small” great challenging movies battling for too few slots, then taken up by movies like “The Green Mile” and “The Cidar House Rules”. And I don’t think “The Insider” was deserving of the nomination. I think the nod for “Sixth Sense”, however, is a good one.
The great thing about that year is that there are so many movies jostling for a top ten placement. So many that I feel bad for any titles I’d have to leave off. My top ten from 1999 would look something like this:
All About My Mother
Toy Story 2
South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut
The Blair Witch Project (yes, it is actually very brilliant. Still frightens the hell outta me)
The Straight Story
One Day in September
American Beauty
Office Space
Topsy-Turvy
The Matrix
Was a great year for genre with horror, sci-fi and animation all excelling.
22 7-22-2009 at 4:05 am
mark said...
2nd the siggie weaver in a map of the world.
23 7-22-2009 at 8:30 am
Mike said...
3rd the Weaver praise for A Map of the World.