The MoFos Top 100 of the 90s Countdown - Redux

I admire A Moment of Innocence more than I enjoy it. It's certainly clever, if anything. You can read something I wrote about it here if you like.

I'm ashamed I haven't seen a single Merchant-Ivory production. I thus know nothing about The Remains of the Day, except...

I haven't seen either of today's movies.

As I said previously, I wasn't watching foreign movies in the 1990s and even so many years later I think this might be the first I've heard of A Moment of Innocence. I'm a little surprised that the first genre listed for it on IMDb is comedy. Interesting.

The Remains of the Day came out when I was 12. I thought it looked incredibly stuffy and boring - and then I kind of just forgot about its existence. I just watched the trailer for it and it seems like something I might possibly like now so I might give it a shot at some point. Incidentally, I now have the Corpse Bride song of the same name stuck in my head. F***ing earworms.

Seen: 20/26
My Balllot:
9. Point Break (#79)
12. True Romance (#94)
24. Interview With the Vampire (#92)
25. Untamed Heart (One Pointer)

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A Moment of Innocence was #2 on my ballot. It's my favorite Iranian film.

The Remains of the Day is very good, but it didn't make my ballot.

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IMDb
Letterboxd

1. Gummo (#97)
2. A Moment of Innocece (#76)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. Sonatine (#99)
10. The Celebration (#98)
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

You gotta tell us the joke now.

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

I check to see what's new every morning, write up my post, copy it to the clipboard, then hit the First Unread link to start catching up, aiming to post when I get to the end. So I'm reading and see that Torgo has written for A Moment of Innocence what I wrote for Remains of the Day!
A Moment of Innocence: I didn't recognize the title at first, but having read the synopsis I have heard of this story before. On the watchlist now.

Remains of the Day: One of those movies that admire far more than I actually like. Such remarkably fine acting by Hopkins and Thompson, and sumptuous staging. I do in fact like it, but intellectually, not emotionally, and thus it's not on my list.

Seen: 15/26
Ballot: 2/25
Sleepless in Seattle: #91 / My #3
Office Space: #95 / My #23

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Scarecrow: I haven't got a brain ... only straw. Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain? Scarecrow: I don't know. But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they? Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

Of the last 6 reveals, I've seen 3 of them.

I always respected David Lynch as an artist and film maker, but I've never exactly been a fan of his work, if that makes sense. He was a very creative person, but there was something about the execution of those ideas that just rarely worked for me. I'm sad that he's gone, even if none of his films were favourites of mine. I did actually revisit Lost Highway recently (just after his death), but it was nowhere near making my list.

Kind of similarly, Point Break is a film I want to like more than I actually do. Friends of mine absolutely love it, but I just think it's okay. I'd seen parts of it on tv when I was younger, but never actually saw the entire thing from start to finish until I was in University. I think all the references and overplaying the homoeroticism of the film I'd seen over the years set my expectations a bit too high.

The third film I've seen is Beauty and the Beast, though I don't really have much to say about it since I don't think I've seen it since I was a teenager. There are 2 animated films on my list, but neither of them are Disney productions.

Out of the other three, I'm not entirely sure I've heard of today's films before now, and I've actively been avoiding The Blair Witch Project because I don't think I'll like it. I've heard such wildly different opinions on it, and the people I know IRL who have a similar taste in horror to me actually despise it. I was not a fan of the marketing campaign it had at the time either, which also put me off from seeing it.

That said, however, I am really curious to check it out for myself. I was planning on finding a horror movie to watch later, so perhaps Blair Witch will be it. We'll see.

Seen: 15/26

My List: 3

07. Strange Days (1995) - #82
11. Gattaca (1997) - #86
18. Total Recall (1990) - #87

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A romantic period drama that involves an honorable, refined and principled British butler. One who strives daily for perfection in etiquette, discipline and routine. Doesn't sound like it should appeal to a teen in 1993 at the height of grunge rock and gangster rap. But I somehow watched it in the theater on release and loved it. Exquisite film with excellent performances.

Seen 22/26
Ballot 3/25

5. A Few Good Men (1992)
6. The Remains of the Day (1993)
12. Point Break (1991)

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Letterboxd
Entertainment log

Very happy to see A Moment of Innocence make the list. Wow three people had it at #2! I'm the guy that had it at #12. A very personal film for the director, with inspiration surely coming from an earlier 90s Iranian film that Makhmalbaf plays a key role in, but still firmly standing on its own. The older I get, the more films I watch, the more I truly appreciate the simplicity yet profound and humanist films Iranian filmmakers have given us.

12. A Moment of Innocence (1996)
20. Sonatine (1993)

I've seen The Remains of the Day. I liked it. But it's been a very long time. Another couple of new additions to the 90s Top 100 that weren't on the previous list. That's great! I'm glad we did the redux. Unlike most movie remakes we should be encouraged for the future of potential countdown remakes. And thanks for the stats and graphs, Captain!

Blair Witch Project did not make my list, but it's a movie I enjoyed. It scared the crap out of me. It's a multi-layered movie, one (like The Shining) that you will find several very different theories about on YouTube, and I like that about it- that it's open to interpretation.

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Boldly going.

i probably should have considered a moment of innocence for my ballot because i know i really, really enjoyed it but i found i couldn't actually remember that much from it. never even heard of the other one.

1 of those is on my list and 2 others were in strong consideration for my list. And 1 of those was my movie nomination in a past HoF.

Remains of the Day seen it back in the day, liked it...I think. I had planned on a rewatch but didn't get to it before I sent in my ballot. Still planning on a rewatch one of these days.

I watched A Moment of Innocence in the 29th HoF, I didn't get the appeal of the movie or more to the point the pay off at the end did nothing for me. I've seen some Iranian films and haven't liked most of them but I did see one recently that I highly recommend Leila's Brothers (2022).

Haven't really checked in yet, so...


Seen six of the one-pointers:


Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Fear
DragonHeart
The Legend of Drunken Master
The World Is Not Enough
Life


One of a few limits I had to place on myself to get my list down to 25 was "only one Eastern and one Western Jackie Chan movie," although Legend of Drunken Master probably wouldn't have made it anyway.


Seen 15/25:


95. Office Space (1999)
94. True Romance (1993)
91. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
90. Three Colors: Red (1994)
89. The Crow (1994)
88. My Cousin Vinny (1992)
87. Total Recall (1990)
86. Gattaca (1997)
84. A Few Good Men (1992)
83. Dumb and Dumber (1994)
82. Strange Days (1995)
81. Before Sunrise (1995)
79. Point Break (1991)
77. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
75. The Remains of the Day (1993)


Only A Few Good Men received any consideration for my list, except...


My list:


6. The Remains of the Day


Watched shortly after deciding to watch all of the Best Picture Oscar nominees, and this was the film that convinced me it would be worthwhile. Had never heard of it, had no interest in it, was even a little bored during the three or four days it took me to watch it, but it wouldn't leave my head. I've seen it several times since (and read the book) and it never bores me now.

Okay, so you ARE doing actor stats, could've just said so then I wouldn't have bothered.

The Remains Of The Day is my No.1 Anthony Hopkins performance of his career.
So that's worth something.
Plus Christopher Reeve.

I might have see Remains of the Day but I'll call it a no. It's not the type of film that interests me but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like it.

I did enjoy A Moment of Innocence but didn't consider it for my ballot.

Oh, I thought we worked that out, that I'd do my thing with the 25 overviews and pointing out certain folks at the top, and you'd do the deep dives with the actors?

Please don't stop, I loved what you did there.

Edit - and I'm just highlight the top people within each 25 chunk of film - the next breakdown for example, is for entries 75 to 51, not the entire list, so we'd be peeling off from one another at that point.

I watched A Moment of Innocence in preparation for this list and I liked it. There was an interesting interplay between past and present, film and reality which I enjoyed. It was not on my list (although I did have a different Iranian film, hopefully still to appear...)


The Remains of the Day is good, although the book is better, if only for getting the tone of his thoughts and the level of his self-deception. It's all very well acted by everybody and looks great, of course. My favourite Merchant-Ivory film is 1987's Maurice but this is probably second.