Top 30 Films of 1990
by bwolskin-9 | created - 23 Jan 2011 | updated - 19 Aug 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Goodfellas (1990)
R | 145 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco
Votes: 1,255,786 | Gross: $46.84M
10
2. The Grifters (1990)
R | 110 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening, Jan Munroe
Votes: 30,519 | Gross: $13.45M
10
3. Dances with Wolves (1990)
PG-13 | 181 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Lieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
Director: Kevin Costner | Stars: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant
Votes: 290,223 | Gross: $184.21M
9
4. White Hunter Black Heart (1990)
PG | 112 min | Adventure, Drama
A thinly fictionalized account of a legendary movie director, whose desire to hunt down an animal turns into a grim situation with his movie crew in Africa.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Jeff Fahey, Charlotte Cornwell, Norman Lumsden
Votes: 13,202 | Gross: $2.32M
9
5. Pretty Woman (1990)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Romance
A man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love.
Director: Garry Marshall | Stars: Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Jason Alexander, Laura San Giacomo
Votes: 361,580 | Gross: $178.41M
9
6. Metropolitan (1989)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A group of young upper-class Manhattanites are blithely passing through the gala debutante season, when an unusual outsider joins them and stirs them up.
Director: Whit Stillman | Stars: Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman, Taylor Nichols
Votes: 12,394 | Gross: $2.94M
9
7. My Mother's Castle (1990)
PG | 98 min | Adventure, Biography, Comedy
Every holiday Marcel and his family go to their cottage near Marseilles. During one of these holidays he meets Isabelle, a pretty but conceited girl... Adapted from the cult classic novel from Marcel Pagnol.
Director: Yves Robert | Stars: Julien Ciamaca, Philippe Caubère, Nathalie Roussel, Didier Pain
Votes: 5,640 | Gross: $1.48M
9
8. Die Hard 2 (1990)
R | 124 min | Action, Thriller
John McClane attempts to avert disaster as rogue military operatives seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Bruce Willis, William Atherton, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson
Votes: 382,811 | Gross: $117.54M
9
9. Awakenings (1990)
PG-13 | 121 min | Biography, Drama
The victims of an encephalitis epidemic many years ago have been catatonic ever since, but now a new drug offers the prospect of reviving them.
Director: Penny Marshall | Stars: Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson
Votes: 158,525 | Gross: $52.10M
9
10. My Father's Glory (1990)
G | 105 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
At the end of the nineteenth century, little Marcel lives with his parents in the Provence countryside. During his holiday, Marcel meets Lili, a local boy who knows all the secrets of the hills, and the two become fast friends.
Director: Yves Robert | Stars: Philippe Caubère, Nathalie Roussel, Didier Pain, Thérèse Liotard
Votes: 7,039 | Gross: $1.71M
9
11. Mountains of the Moon (1990)
R | 136 min | Adventure, Drama, History
The legendary true-story of Capt. Richard Francis Burton and Lt. John Hanning Speke's tumultuous expedition to find the source of the Nile river.
Director: Bob Rafelson | Stars: Patrick Bergin, Iain Glen, Richard E. Grant, Fiona Shaw
Votes: 4,248 | Gross: $4.01M
9
12. Miller's Crossing (1990)
R | 115 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Tom Reagan, an advisor to a Prohibition-era crime boss, tries to keep the peace between warring mobs but gets caught in divided loyalties.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, John Turturro, Marcia Gay Harden
Votes: 142,037 | Gross: $5.08M
9
13. Dreams (1990)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Fantasy
A collection of tales based upon eight of director Akira Kurosawa's recurring dreams.
Directors: Akira Kurosawa, Ishirô Honda | Stars: Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baishô, Toshie Negishi, Mieko Harada
Votes: 29,139 | Gross: $1.96M
9
14. May Fools (1990)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Romance
During the events of May 1968 in France, different worldviews of conflicting relatives collide in their family estate.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Miou-Miou, Michel Piccoli, Michel Duchaussoy, Marcel Bories
Votes: 3,411 | Gross: $1.58M
9
15. The Nasty Girl (1990)
PG-13 | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, History
When a young woman investigates her town's Nazi past, the community turns against her.
Director: Michael Verhoeven | Stars: Lena Stolze, Hans-Reinhard Müller, Monika Baumgartner, Elisabeth Bertram
Votes: 2,755 | Gross: $2.28M
9
16. Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
A small town prepares for the homecoming of superstar Roxy Carmichael, as does a young outsider, who believes Roxy is her mother.
Director: Jim Abrahams | Stars: Winona Ryder, Jeff Daniels, Laila Robins, Thomas Wilson Brown
Votes: 5,922 | Gross: $3.99M
9
17. Life Is Sweet (1990)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Drama
A shop assistant, her cook husband, and their twin daughters go about their lives in a working-class London suburb.
Director: Mike Leigh | Stars: Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Claire Skinner, Jane Horrocks
Votes: 11,285 | Gross: $1.52M
8
18. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
The solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall
Votes: 523,395 | Gross: $56.36M
8
19. Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
PG | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, History
Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Vincent Perez, Jacques Weber
Votes: 25,932 | Gross: $15.14M
8
20. Ju Dou (1990)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Romance
In rural China, the young bride of a tyrannical owner of a silk-dyeing business finds temporary solace in the arms of her husband's nephew, but problems arise when she becomes pregnant.
Directors: Yimou Zhang, Fengliang Yang | Stars: Gong Li, Wei Li, Baotian Li, Zhang Yi
Votes: 9,007 | Gross: $1.99M
8
21. Darkman (1990)
R | 96 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A brilliant scientist left for dead returns to exact revenge on the people who burned him alive.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Colin Friels, Larry Drake
Votes: 69,758 | Gross: $33.88M
8
22. Avalon (1990)
PG | 128 min | Drama
A Polish-Jewish family comes to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins, Leo Fuchs, Eve Gordon
Votes: 6,776 | Gross: $15.74M
8
23. The Hunt for Red October (1990)
PG | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
In November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain violates orders and heads for the U.S. in a new undetectable sub. The American CIA and military must quickly determine: Is he trying to defect or to start a war?
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill
Votes: 214,531 | Gross: $122.01M
8
24. Henry & June (1990)
NC-17 | 136 min | Biography, Drama
Anaïs Nin meets American writer Henry Miller in Paris in 1931. She keeps a diary of her sexual awakening, which includes Henry and his wife June.
Director: Philip Kaufman | Stars: Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, Maria de Medeiros, Richard E. Grant
Votes: 14,176 | Gross: $11.57M
8
25. Postcards from the Edge (1990)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama
A substance-addicted actress tries to look on the bright side even as she is forced to move back in with her mother to avoid unemployment.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman
Votes: 19,295 | Gross: $37.96M
8
26. Reversal of Fortune (1990)
R | 111 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
Wealthy Sunny von Bülow lies brain-dead, husband Claus guilty of attempted murder; but he says he's innocent and hires Alan Dershowitz for his appeal.
Director: Barbet Schroeder | Stars: Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Ron Silver, Annabella Sciorra
Votes: 18,718 | Gross: $15.45M
8
27. White Palace (1990)
R | 103 min | Drama, Romance
Lust turns to love for a 40-ish working-class woman and a 20-ish yuppie adman with little in common.
Director: Luis Mandoki | Stars: Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates
Votes: 8,917 | Gross: $17.49M
8
28. Misery (1990)
R | 107 min | Drama, Thriller
After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen
Votes: 235,244 | Gross: $61.28M
8
29. Presumed Innocent (1990)
R | 127 min | Mystery, Thriller
As a lawyer investigates the murder of a colleague, he finds himself more connected to the crime than anyone else.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Harrison Ford, Raul Julia, Greta Scacchi, Brian Dennehy
Votes: 45,742 | Gross: $86.30M
8
30. Back to the Future Part III (1990)
PG | 118 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Stranded in 1955, Marty McFly learns about the death of Doc Brown in 1885 and must travel back in time to save him. With no fuel readily available for the DeLorean, the two must figure how to escape the Old West before Emmett is murdered.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Tom Wilson
Votes: 480,297 | Gross: $87.73M
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