10 ’90s Movies That Were Way Ahead Of Their Time

Certain movies feel vibrant and refreshing, and these gems from the 1990s helped shape the landscape of modern cinema. While the movie industry was undergoing a few major shifts, it still took some flashes of individual brilliance to push the medium forward into the 21st century.

Some of the best movies of the 1990s were years ahead of their time, and they still feel just as powerful and entertaining as they did back then. In some cases, if these movies were released today, audiences wouldn’t think they were out of place whatsoever.

10

Jurassic Park (1993)

Jurassic Park’s Effects Hold Up Brilliantly

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Jurassic Park

PG-13

Adventure

Sci-Fi

ScreenRant logo

10/10

39

9.4/10

Release Date

June 11, 1993

Runtime

127 minutes

Director

Steven Spielberg

Writers

Michael Crichton, David Koepp

Producers

Gerald R. Molen

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Sam Neill

    Sam Neill

    Grant

  • Headshot Of Laura Dern

    Laura Dern

    Ellie

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Jurassic Park‘s blend of practical effects and groundbreaking CGI has aged brilliantly, and it puts most modern blockbusters to shame. Although the franchise is set to continue with Jurassic World Rebirth, it has been a struggle to recreate the impact of the huge spectacle that came with the original.

Jurassic Park‘s blend of practical effects and groundbreaking CGI has aged brilliantly.

Jurassic Park represents the peak of the franchise, because the dinosaur-based action is always backed up by a compelling plot and some relatable characters. This gives an added layer of tension to iconic scenes like the raptors prowling through the kitchen or the T. Rex escaping from its paddock.

9

Toy Story (1995)

Toy Story Changed Animation Forever

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Toy Story

G

Animation

Adventure

Family

Comedy

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10/10

13

9.3/10

Release Date

October 30, 1995

Runtime

81 minutes

Director

John Lasseter

Writers

John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Joss Whedon, Alec Sokolow, Joel Cohen, Joe Ranft, Pete Docter

Producers

Bonnie Arnold, Edwin Catmull, Ralph Guggenheim

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Tom Hanks In The Los Angeles World Premiere Of Apple TV+ Series 'Masters Of The Air'

    Tom Hanks

    Woody (Voice)

  • Headshot Of Tim Allen

    Tim Allen

    Buzz Lightyear (voice)

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While Disney was going through its own creative renaissance in the 1990s, Pixar went off in a different direction and radically changed the landscape of animation for good. Toy Story was the studio’s first feature-length film, and the first computer-generated feature-length ever made. Decades later, this style has become the industry standard.

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Toy Story was an immediate sensation, and it didn’t take too long for other major studios to try to emulate Pixar’s style. Within a decade, Disney, DreamWorks and more studios had converged on computer-generated animation, but Pixar has continued to innovate within the confines of their form. Toy Story 5 is set to continue their most successful franchise, and it’s a safe bet that it will represent the technological cutting-edge once again.

8

Titanic (1997)

James Cameron’s Big-Screen Event Silenced The Doubters

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Titanic

PG-13

Drama

Romance

ScreenRant logo

10/10

25

9/10

Release Date

December 19, 1997

Runtime

3h 14m

Director

James Cameron

Writers

James Cameron

Cast

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    David Warner

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    Kathy Bates

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Titanic was the subject of some ridicule before it was released, since pundits believed that the biggest film budget ever would be wasted on a three-hour-long period romance. Of course, James Cameron proved that he’s more in touch with what audiences want to see than anyone else, and Titanic justified its budget by becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time.

Although Titanic is a throwback in some ways, with its lavish production and huge sets reminiscent of Old Hollywood, it was also forward-thinking. The success of Titanic opened the door for other massive budgets in Hollywood, and it redefined the kinds of stories which were thought of as potential blockbuster material.

7

The Matrix (1999)

The Wachowskis Ushered Sci-Fi Into The New Millennium

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The Matrix

R

Action

Adventure

Sci-Fi

ScreenRant logo

9/10

77

9.2/10

Release Date

March 31, 1999

Runtime

136 minutes

Director

Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski

Writers

Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Cast

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    Keanu Reeves

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    Laurence Fishburne

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The Matrix is a strikingly original fusion of action and sci-fi, with a concept that sets the stage for some fight scenes unlike anything else. It’s also an intelligent, poignant sci-fi story that has become more and more precient over the years as humanity’s relationship with artificial intelligence has evolved.

Although The Matrix‘s action and visual effects were both revolutionary, its most important contributions have mostly been thematic. The Matrix popularized simulation theory and brought it into the mainstream. It’s no wonder that many quotes and ideas from The Matrix are still part of the cultural zeitgeist today, even if they have been co-opted and used in different ways by different groups.

6

Scream (1996)

Scream Was Ahead Of The Curve With Horror Comedy

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Scream

R

Crime

Horror

Mystery

25

9/10

Release Date

December 20, 1996

Runtime

112 minutes

Director

Wes Craven

Writers

Kevin Williamson

Producers

Bob Weinstein, Cary Woods, Cathy Konrad, Harvey Weinstein

Cast

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    David Arquette

    Dewey Riley

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    Neve Campbell

    Sidney Prescott

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Scream shook up the horror genre in a few important ways. Incorporating elements of a whodunnit added another layer to the tension, and killing Drew Barrymore off in the very first scene proved that nobody was safe. However, Scream‘s contributions to comedy have proven to be even more important over the years.

James from Goodfellas, Clarice from Silence of the Lambs, and Tyler from Fight Club

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Scream‘s meta, self-aware style pulls apart the horror genre from the inside out. This savvy writing means that Scream can more directly engage in the game that it plays with its audience. Many other movies have taken on a similar tone in the last 30 years, and they have Scream to thank for it.

5

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Steven Spielberg’s War Drama Still Hasn’t Been Topped

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Saving Private Ryan

R

War

Drama

ScreenRant logo

10/10

35

9.6/10

Release Date

July 24, 1998

Runtime

169 minutes

Director

Steven Spielberg

Writers

Robert Rodat

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Tom Sizemore

    Tom Sizemore

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    Adam Goldberg

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Saving Private Ryan is always a contender in debates over the best war movie ever. If it isn’t the outright best, it’s certainly one of the most viscerally powerful, and its immersive style of action has been praised by veterans and other military experts. Saving Private Ryan transports the audience to the heart of the battlefield.

Ever since Saving Private Ryan, many war movies have tried and failed to use Steven Spielberg’s techniques to create battle scenes as terrifyingly realistic. Of course, another key component to this is that Saving Private Ryan fleshes out its characters to make their personal journeys feel even more urgent.

4

The Truman Show (1998)

The Truman Show All But Predicted The Future

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The Truman Show

PG

Drama

Sci-Fi

Comedy

ScreenRant logo

10/10

10

9.1/10

Release Date

June 5, 1998

Runtime

103 minutes

Director

Peter Weir, peter

Writers

Andrew Niccol

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Ed Harris

    Ed Harris

  • Headshot Of Natascha McElhone

    Natascha McElhone

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The Truman Show follows a man as he gradually discovers that his entire life is an elaborate TV show, and that his quaint hometown is just one big set. Over two decades later, this is the reality that some people live in, as social media and technology have turned people into both audiences and performers in their everyday lives.

Reality television has exploded in popularity since The Truman Show, including many popular formats in which the subjects either don’t know that they’re being filmed or don’t have other key information about the set-up. Like in The Truman Show, anyone can become a TV star at any moment, whether they want to or not.

3

Independence Day (1996)

The Sci-Fi Blockbuster Set The Blueprint For Decades

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Independence Day

PG-13

Adventure

Sci-Fi

Action

ScreenRant logo

8/10

9.3/10

Release Date

July 3, 1996

Runtime

145 minutes

Director

Roland Emmerich

Writers

Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich

Sequel(s)

Independence Day: Resurgence

Cast

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  • Headshot OF Will Smith

    Will Smith

  • Headshot Of Bill Pullman

    Bill Pullman

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Jaws is often credited with creating the concept of the summer blockbuster, but Independence Day was the movie that set the agenda for modern blockbusters. With a perfect balance of action, sci-fi and humor, buoyed by a charismatic cast, Independence Day is the ultimate crowdpleaser.

Characters from The Net and Mission Impossible are edited onto a purple background.

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Critics of Independence Day often deride it as mindless popcorn entertainment, but this is hardly a concern for its biggest fans. For better or worse, there have been plenty of entertaining big-budget blockbusters in the 21st century without much substance, and Independence Day wrote the playbook for such movies.

2

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Quentin Tarantino’s Crime Thriller Wrote Its Own Rules

Pulp Fiction Movie Poster

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Pulp Fiction

R

Drama

Crime

ScreenRant logo

10/10

90

8.9/10

Release Date

October 14, 1994

Runtime

154 minutes

Director

Quentin Tarantino

Writers

Quentin Tarantino

Cast

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    John Travolta

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    Bruce Willis

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Pulp Fiction pays tribute to the history of cinema, with Tarantino wearing his myriad influences on his sleeve. There are cues taken from gangster movies, Westerns, horror movies and much more. At the same time, Pulp Fiction feels radically new, using a non-linear structure to tell a labyrinthine crime story at its own pace.

Pulp Fiction‘s dialogue underlines one way that it has influenced movies ever since. Even in the midst of chaos and bloodshed, the characters often meander into seemingly unrelated discussions about cheeseburgers and other inconsequential small talk. Tarantino’s dialogue has been mimicked ad nauseam over the years, but the imitators can’t compete with Pulp Fiction.

1

Goodfellas (1990)

Martin Scorsese Invented A Whole New Style

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Goodfellas

R

Drama

Crime

ScreenRant logo

10/10

33

9.1/10

Release Date

September 19, 1990

Runtime

145 minutes

Director

Martin Scorsese

Writers

Martin Scorsese, Nicholas Pileggi

Producers

Barbara De Fina

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Ray Liotta

    Ray Liotta

    Henry Hill

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    Robert De Niro

    James Conway

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Martin Scorsese was already a legendary director by the time he invented a brand-new style with Goodfellas. The fast-paced, darkly comedic crime biopic has set the standard for plenty more crime movies over the years. As opposed to something like The Godfather‘s grand, operatic tone, Goodfellas feels messy, awkward and real.

As opposed to something like The Godfather‘s grand, operatic tone, Goodfellas feels messy, awkward and real.

There are a lot of scenes in Goodfellas in which the mundane brushes up against the violent gangster lifestyle, like when Tommy stops for dinner at his mother’s house despite having a man locked in the trunk of his car. Goodfellas also has some iconic quotes, even though the dialogue feels surprisingly relatable for a gangster movie at the time.