Today I realized that 1999 may be the greatest year in cinema history.
Posted by Soma2710@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 124 comments
Movies released in 1999 in no specific order:
-Fight Club
-Office Space
-The Sixth Sense
-The Matrix
-Eyes Wide Shut
-American Beauty
-Being John Malkovich
-South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
-Phantom Menace
-Toy Story 2
-American Pie
There’s a lot more that I personally would put here, but I’m not trying to be a “homer”. Also, Zooey Deschanel, Hugh Jackman, Zack Galafankis, James Franco, Ashton Kutcher, Justin Long, and Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute) made their film debutes.
Am I wrong? Am I just subject to relativity, as in “these movies all just hit me (and likely most of us) in the right place at the right time”?
seldomtimely@reddit
I love how in response to this post, people just make lists of movies from others years, cramming just about any blockbuster movie, as a way to dispute the claim of why 1999 stands out. It's kinda hilarious.
Then again, the following movies are not why 1999 stands outs. These are to be omitted:
-Phantom Menace
-Toy Story 2
-American Pie
Britown@reddit
Counter argument: It’s 1984 that’s the best:
Ghostbusters, Temple of Doom, Karate Kid, Beverly Hills Cop, Gremlins, Romancing the Stone, Splash, Revenge of the Nerds, Red Dawn, Scarface, Sixteen Candles, Neverending Story, The Right Stuff, C.H.UD., and Stop Making Sense.
seldomtimely@reddit
I guess this is a kind of a prole response. These are fun hollywood movies. Every year has a lot of blockbusters and movies the masses enjoy. 1999 just has an unusual number of very high quality films / high art films
rathaincalder@reddit
Yes, but I was 2 years old in 1984, and even “elder Xennials” (lol) were probably too young to see most of these in the theater. (And while some of them have held up, a lot of them are now showing their age / are very cringe…)
Whereas I was 17 in 1999, so it is and will remain the peak for my subjective experience, and I think has a strong objective case too. (Also, I’d argue the c/o 1999 has generally held up better?)
1994 also has a good claim, but I was way too young to see a lot of those in the theater (at least according to my parent lol) and the preponderance of slapstick comedy that year is less appealing to me…
Lucasa29@reddit
Ummm I see you slipped C.H.U.D. in there. I've always thought of that as a "it's so bad it's good" movie. Is there something I don't get about that movie?
RamshackleDayParade@reddit
Purple Rain
FreeWafflesForAll@reddit
DAMN
F_is_for_Ducking@reddit
Agreed.
BennyOcean@reddit
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/31/books/review/hollywoods-greatest-year-brian-raftery.html
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jan/10/magnolia-to-the-matrix-was-1999-the-greatest-year-in-modern-cinema
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/28/1247725934/why-1999-was-such-a-big-year-for-movies
https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/features/film-history-best-year-1999-star-wars-matrix-fight-club-sixth-sense-a9036911.html
https://movieweb.com/1999-iconic-year-movies/
https://www.reddit.com/r/moviecritic/comments/16nq2ac/the_best_year_at_the_movies_1999/
Many people have noted that this year was unusually good. Maybe The Matrix was right when they called it the height of human civilization. At least in terms of films it appears to have been just that.
Molten_Plastic82@reddit
1999 is a truly amazing year for cinema, it’s even recognised as such by many film historians. There’s a few other contenders like 1967 and 1982 (or even 1939 if you want to go that back), but I personally think 1999 gets the prize
whistleridge@reddit
1994, and it’s not close.
And that’s just the top films.
seldomtimely@reddit
Many of those movies are not masterpieces, only 3 or 4 are. 1999 just has more masterpieces. An unusual number of them
Molten_Plastic82@reddit
I’m not gonna argue with that because ‘94 is a great one too (dunno if Airheads was a top film at the time, but it’s certainly a classic now)
GardenRafters@reddit
The Matrix is a documentary
Neither-Principle139@reddit
Like Idiocracy…
Bakingsquared80@reddit
In a lot of ways it seemed to be a peak. I don’t have rose colored glasses I know things weren’t perfect, but on balance it was better in so many ways
shoejunk@reddit
Yeah. Before social media. Before 9/11. The Matrix was easily prescient.
rcmrgo@reddit
More importantly, before "oh brother where art thou?" Got released in 2000, marking the start of digital cinema
tc_cad@reddit
That’s a good movie too.
BobbyGuano@reddit
It’s the same with heavy music too. There were a bunch of groundbreaking new albums bands that released that year that have literally shape the genre the last 25 years.
Debut albums from System of a Down, Slipknot and Dillinger Escape plan…Refused “shape of punk to come”
In general it feels like there was just a ton of incredibly talented creative people doing things that hadn’t really been done before all at the same time in film and music.
baroaureus@reddit
What!? How has no one mentioned 1998!?
That year had several “twin films”:
Saving Private Ryan / The Thin Red Line Armageddon / Deep Impact Bugs Life / Antz
As well as something for everybody (random order):
Rush Hour The Truman Show X-Files Ringu Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas There’s Something about Mary Can’t Hardly Wait Mask of Zorro Shakespeare in Love Elizabeth Waterboy The Wedding Singer Blade Rushmore Patch Adams City of Angels
Inevitable-Company80@reddit
The Opposite of Sex [C. Ricci] Out of Sight [Elmore Leonard, Soderbergh, Clooney, J-Lo]
But I only heard bad things about Patch Adams.
NoAnnual3259@reddit
The Big Lebowski
throwawayfromPA1701@reddit
Not only that, it was the last great year overall. 2000 was the pause before the long fall began.
Inevitable-Company80@reddit
2001 had some favorites.
Inevitable-Company80@reddit
Election, Jesus' Son, The Minus Man, Buena Vista Social Club
call-lee-free@reddit
The Mummy.
BrattyTwilis@reddit
Scrolled too far to see this. It was a cinematic masterpiece
Shaydee_plantz@reddit
Remember when every movie playing in the theater was one you wanted to see? 99 was a good year for them. Every movie on your list is great.
Taupenbeige@reddit
TIL Phantom Menace is “great” 😝
BrattyTwilis@reddit
Well it's certainly better than Episode VIII and Episode IX in hindsight
rathaincalder@reddit
Still not “great” but has grown on my over the years.
Also, definitely meets the criteria of “one I wanted to see in the theater”!
mtt02263@reddit
2007 is better than 99 or 94.
BojukaBob@reddit
You forgot Bringing Out The Dead
MaxFffort@reddit
Great year but 1994
fricks_and_stones@reddit
84’ and 82’ were also amazing.
MaxFffort@reddit
True but more of dif generation?
Endryu727@reddit
99 movie list looks like something an edge lord teenager would appreciate. 94 is where the real cinema was
Fast-Study4693@reddit
This is a comment an edgelord teenager would make
therealrexmanning@reddit
Great year but 1995
MaxFffort@reddit
Easy there Johnny Mnemonic
Dils-Noofus@reddit
100% it’s 1994 and not 1999. Here’s a list of what was released in ‘94:
The Shawshank Redemption Pulp Fiction Forest Gump Dumb and Dumber The Mask The Lion King Speed
Molten_Plastic82@reddit
I mean, guys. It’s sort of the nineties as a whole for movies is amazing
notevebpossible@reddit
Yes, the 90s and 70s are the two best decades for movies
MaxFffort@reddit
Right here, I think you right on that
VWBug5000@reddit
1994 was peak for music too. Google 1994 top albums and it’s just a list of everything great 90’s radio
kbudz32@reddit
Ed Wood, Natural Born Killers, Quiz Show, Hoop Dreams, True Lies. 1994 is my favorite too
Willing_Low8638@reddit
If my memory serves me correctly, Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, and Shawshank Redemption were all in theaters at the same time!
Stendecca@reddit
Ace Ventura. The Jim Carrey trilogy.
General-Carob-6087@reddit
Absolutely.
picklepuss13@reddit
99 was good but I'd say 94 was better, before that...prob 87 and 84 were big years.
def a big one though.
dragon_morgan@reddit
I have a theory that everyone's favorite year for movies is the year they were roughly fifteen years old. I wouldn't say a lot of these make any "best movies ever High Cinema" lists but a lot of my personal favorite movies came out in 2001: Shrek, A Knight's Tale, Fellowship of the Ring, Legally Blonde, just to name a few
_Ding-Dong_@reddit
How are all you muthafuckas missing Galaxy Quest!?!?! DAMN!!!
KoRaZee@reddit
More than just 1999, there used to be 30-40 better than good movies made per year. Something happened in c2013 and movies took a dive. Now it’s 2-3 good movies per year.
ErinShay0@reddit
Original series on streaming platforms like Netflix started to get big in 2013 - House of Cards, Orange is the New Black . . .
KoRaZee@reddit
We can’t have both? Can’t have good TV and movies
NoAnnual3259@reddit
A lot of the creative energy that used to go into movies went into serialized TV shows. Now you have an industry focused on big films that are almost entirely sequels, reboots, and remakes for genre franchises and then you have a niche market for all the other types of films based on original concepts that used to be big.
Sumeriandawn@reddit
It's called getting old and complacent. Studies show many people stop seeking out new music at 30.
ErinShay0@reddit
1997:
Titanic
Boogie Nights
LA Confidential
Contact
Good Will Hunting
As Good As It Gets
The Lost World
Life is Beautiful
Amistad
Grosse Pointe Blank
Devil’s Advocate
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Austin Powers
Jackie Brown
Face/Off
Breakdown
Cop Land
Romy and Michelle’s HS Reunion
The Ice Storm
BugEquivalents@reddit
I rewatched the Sixth Sense a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it.
I remember feeling let down by the big twist when I first saw it bc there was so much buzz and it wasn’t really a new idea. That being said, the film otherwise holds up really well and I kinda want to watch it again.
It really is M Night Shyamalan’s best work (imo).
Siphoneder@reddit
Also American Movie
Fast-Study4693@reddit
DOES EVERYONE HAVE BROWN GLOVES
chawrawbeef@reddit
Cinnamon?
_hi_plains_drifter_@reddit
Love that movie
NGinuity@reddit
I really didn't care for Eyes Wide Shut. Agree with the rest of your list.
tc_cad@reddit
1999 was a huge year for movies. Matrix was insane at the time, everyone was silent as they exited the theatre, it was a mind-blowing thought.
BonchBomber@reddit
Virgin Suicides should be up there
TakingYourHand@reddit
It's a fun thought, but think about other years, now.
Bakingsquared80@reddit
The fight scenes in that movie blow any fighting from the original trilogy out of the water
TakingYourHand@reddit
Even if that were true, the fight scenes wouldn't make up for the rest of it.
surrealpolitik@reddit
Hard disagree. The fights in OT looked like sword fights. The fights in TPM were flippy nonsense.
Soma2710@reddit (OP)
I only put it on there bc it was the highest grossing movie of the year.
Also, honestly I waited in line for a long time and I enjoyed it. Darth Maul was cool as shit, and I love some Liam Neeson
bradleywestridge@reddit
Honestly same. It’s easy to look back with hindsight, but in the moment it was exciting. Darth Maul made the whole thing worth it, even if half the movie was just trade talks.
throwedaway4theday@reddit
The music during that fight was amazing, truly set atmosphere for how epic it was to have a full Jedi master and padiwan battle a cool as all hell Sith
bradleywestridge@reddit
Absolutely. Duel of the Fates made that whole fight hit harder. You could mute the scene and still feel the stakes just from the rhythm of it.
RoughnecksStreetHock@reddit
It’s acceptable, because like it or not, it’s one of the films that set the trajectory for modern filmmaking. Phantom Menace, Matrix and The Mummy were revolutionary for effects and what made it possible to bring the “unfilmable” to life. Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man (many superheroes), Life of Pi, etc.
TakingYourHand@reddit
That's cool. Also, I reject your reasoning for liking it.
XFrankXGrimesX@reddit
1994 is the year
Pulp Fiction, Hoop Dreams, Heavenly Creatures, Ed Wood, Quiz Show, Lion King, The Last Seduction, Clerks, Speed, Shallow Grave
bluemitersaw@reddit
Just watched The Matrix last night! First time is a long while for me, first time ever for the kids.
heresmytwopence@reddit
10 things I hate about you
Big Daddy
She’s all that
The green mile
Never been kissed
Notting Hill
VegetaPrime34@reddit
I will die on the hill that Fight Club is one of, if not, the best movie ever made. It's smart, funny and clever in all the darkest ways, interesting twist, and my god, the cinematography is beautiful in its dark gritty look. It's better than its source material. The message about toxic masculinity, the dark side of capitalism, it's look into the struggle of what being a man really is is still very relevant in our current timeline.
So many good movies came out in 99.
NoAnnual3259@reddit
I had a political science professor in college who said that Fight Club was the most important film released in years (this was a year or two after I came out) and said that in twenty years we’d still be talking about that film to analyze what went wrong with US society and how the post-industrial age was leading to a crisis with masculinity. And at the time some of the class thought that was an interesting comment (and some of us laughed)—but I think I kind of got what he was saying at the time. But looking back today, wow, he was right on the money.
What’s funny is that after that movie came out I remember visiting a different college town (that was famous for partying and frat boys) and they actually were having “fight clubs” where they beat the shit out each other… Like, they kind of missed the point on that one (like the finance guys who loved Wolf of Wall Street a decade later).
cyberllama@reddit
Just throwing it out there - 1977. Film and music
jiyoungle@reddit
In early November 1999, my girlfriend and I wanted to go watch a movie on a Friday night. I still can't believe we had to choose between Fight Club, American Beauty, Being John Malkovich, and Three Kings.
Also, in April/May 1999, in the final weeks before I graduated from college, I went to watch the Matrix every weekend. I wasn't leaving college with much of a plan due to feeling really disconnected and lost about my place in the world, so it was a pretty appropriate movie.
Watched Office Space only after working at a dotcom for a year or two. I've never felt a movie year line up so much with where I was in my life at the time.
Man I feel nostalgic right now.
sdcasurf01@reddit
1999 for movies and 1994 for albums.
Mountain-Fox-2123@reddit
Personally i think 1939 is the best cinema year in history.
BillTheSenator@reddit
Only real answer
No-Cartographer-476@reddit
Phantom menace does not belong on that list
Mwiziman@reddit
We had some great movies in our teen years
roncopenhaver13@reddit
Idle Hands
Slippery-Pete76@reddit
I don't know, 1993 was pretty epic:
Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, The Fugitive, Tombstone, Gettysburg, Groundhog Day, Falling Down, Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepless in Seattle, The Sandlot, Philadelphia, Demolition Man, In the Line Of Fire, Alive.... had something for everybody.
TheMatt561@reddit
Malkovich?
Malkovich
Malkovich
fraghead5@reddit
1984
oakleafwellness@reddit
1939, enters the chat.
po_ta_toes_80@reddit
Sorry, but the answer is 2001, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Quenzayne@reddit
I went to the movies most often in 1999 than any other time in my life, so I'd have to agree. Literally every weekend,. I saw just about everything there was to see and can't really remember too many bad ones.
WolvesandTigers45@reddit
86 was pretty good too
Difficult_Phase1798@reddit
1999 is indeed the year some of your favorite movies came out!
Notoriouslyd@reddit
"I just wanna go back. Back to 1999. Took a ride through my old neighborhood. I just wanna go back, say hit me baby me one more time. Wanna go back, wanna go back"
SonofaBridge@reddit
Alamo drafthouse did some themed showings last year for the years 1984, 1989, 1994, and 1999. All of those years were amazing and the arguments in here show they were right.
rewdea@reddit
Except there was 1939
Messijoes18@reddit
The matrix was right, society peaked in 1999
PublicFurryAccount@reddit
No, you're not wrong and you're not just having a subjective impression others share.
The whole period from the late 1970s until 2001 was a golden age for movies. During that period you still had the old system where theaters drove demand for prints which were the principle way studios made money coupled with the emergence of the multiplex, dramatically increasing the number of screens.
This caused a soaring demand for movies that saw studios reaching deep into their collection of scripts and producing more movies. This meant lots of good movies and the bombs don't matter to creating a golden age: they're bombs because no one watched them!
This shifted with the release of Pearl Harbor, IIRC, where the distribution company realized that it could force a theater to show the same movie on many screens if they wanted to show it at all. This juiced box office but also crushed the demand for movies, leading to our current era of relatively low movie production and few standout (both bad and good) films.
elbr@reddit
I worked for an AMC with six screens from 1998-2000. A 24 screen AMC opened a mile from the small theatre I worked at, and so for the most part, working there was a lot like a coming-of-age movie where a bunch of kids are always just hanging out, flirting, never doing any work.
We got to screen films on Thursday nights and invite all of our friends, and we got to take home movie posters and memorabilia.
I think Bug's Life was the first big film that came out while I worked there.
We had a print of The Matrix and one of our managers didn't want to take the reels apart when he moved it to a different screen so he and another employee tried to move all six reels from one platter to another and they dropped it on the ground, which led to him frantically cutting the print into hundreds of pieces to get it all unwound and spliced back together before the matinee.
We didn't get a copy of Fight Club at our theatre so my manager gave me the giant vinyl promotional banner for the film that had a picture of Ed Norton, Brad Pitt, and soap like the day after the film came out in theaters. I also kept the Iron Giant cardboard display for like 25 years.
The Pokemon Movie came out on a Wednesday in 1998 and my manager didn't know how popular it would be, so he only scheduled me and one other kid to work the theatre and we had a line out the door at 4:00 when we came in to work that day, and we had people stranded in the concession line 40 minutes into the start of the film and then will was only like 85 minutes, lol. Anime was still largely called Japanimation at that time, and while it was growing in popularity in the US, (SciFi Channel and Cartoon Network has been airing anime for 3-4 years) it was still fairly niche, and Pokemon brought it to a much wider audience.
Saturn_Decends_223@reddit
Sounds so familiar except I worked at the "Dick 6" and yes it was an AMC 24 that signaled our end.
Saturn_Decends_223@reddit
Yes, 1999 was peak. Plus you missed Blair Witch Project, Green Mile, 10 Things I Hate About You, Boondock Saints, Star Wars Episode 1, Dogma, The Mummy, Cruel Intentions, She's All That, Iron Giant...
Now it's like maybe a movie or two a year I'm actually interested in...
Cael_NaMaor@reddit
For you maybe. 4 if those are complete trash in my eyes & I'd wager many another eye as well...
Sumeriandawn@reddit
cordelaine@reddit
This is how you know we’re the best gen… we are right about all these things!
dejour@reddit
I remember thinking in 1999 that we were undergoing a shift in movies like with grunge/alternative music in early 90s.
So many good, original artistic movies were being made.
Obviously that didn’t happen though.
elbr@reddit
1999 and 1984 are both great movie years, but some of my favorite movies came out in 2002.
About Schmidt, Adaptation, Gangs Of New York, Road to Perdition, Catch Me If You Can, Spirited Away, Lilo & stitch, Spiderman, 28 Days Later, Punch Drunk Love and Reign Of Fire.
My theory on why movies started to suck was always that the huge theatres created so many screens that there was just a demand to put movies on them and so studios just started producing really really bad garbage as fast as possible. Maybe the Pearl Harbor thing had more to do with it but that was my theory having worked in a theater around that time.
Rpd840@reddit
I always been a fan of 1989 being the best year in movies
Crans10@reddit
Yeah it was one hell of a year. Seems studios green lit some real gambles that paid off and people going for broke to end the millennium and decade. Get it in before Y2K.
HansVonHansen@reddit
I agree…but Phantom Menace on that list? Really?
JimShoeVillageIdiot@reddit
1994 easily clears 1999
1939 is generally considered the greatest year in US cinema history.
velocipedal@reddit
I actually have a list on Plex of 1999 films. It includes some of what you’ve listed as well as But I’m a Cheerleader (limited showing 1999 and major release in 2000), 10 Things I Hate About You, and Run Lola Run (which was 1998 in Germany but 1999 in the US).
Scissorsguadalupe@reddit
Didn't the Blair Witch Project come out in 1999 too
Condition_0ne@reddit
In history, generally. The 21st century sucks.
EternalMehFace@reddit
There's actually a book about this: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40538583-best-movie-year-ever
FromHighlandToHell@reddit
The fact you put American Beauty on your list, but omitted The Green Mile makes my blood boil.
Soma2710@reddit (OP)
There’s so many more that I wanted to include, but I was trying to kinda be “objective”. In addition to The Green Mile, personally, I also would have put “Go”, but not all of us were ravers.
FromHighlandToHell@reddit
Green Mile losing out on Best Picture had got to be one of the biggest Oscar snubs of all time.
The rest of your list is pretty solid though. Dogma also came out in '99, and Bowfinger is another good movie from that year, albeit a bit more under the radar.
z12345z6789@reddit
You mentioned that it was the actor Justin Long’s debut but didn’t list the movie: Galaxy Quest?!?!
It’s the best Star Trek movie and holds up!
Also, just FYI for everyone there’s a book about this called, “Best. Movie. Year. Ever. How 1999 blew up the big screen”.
SeasonIllustrious629@reddit
Movies ending in "-9" release dates seem to be pretty great:--
"Gone with the Wind"
"The Wizard of Oz"
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," (1939),
And 1969 with:--
"Easy Rider"
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
"Midnight Cowboy"
"True Grit," and
"Wild Bunch"