10 Films that turned 25 this year
A selection of my favourites from the mid 90's
Tis the season…for end-of-year lists! So and so’s top ten films of 2021, the best albums, their favourite TV shows, etcetera, etcetera. I may even do one or two myself if I find the time. I have certainly lacked the time to write as much as I had hoped to this year in general.
It's been another weird one for us all. For me, it was filled by a sadly predictable stint working too many unsociable hours in another dead-end hospitality role. This left me little time to write and a sucking void where my soul used to be! I started certain articles and I finished too few.
I have had a bit more time since leaving said awful job and whilst I try to hold at bay an overwhelming sense of anxiety that can only come from being unemployed, at least I have time to write…right? I reviewed some of the unfinished content and having dug out a list of films due to turn 25 this year I figured, well why not still share it? It’s an excuse for a nostalgic trip to 1996 and to look back at some of my favourites from a pretty vintage year for cinema.
So here you have it, in no particular order, my favourite films that have indeed now turned 25. Consider it a twist on the usual end-of-year run-downs. Yes, it does make me feel a bit old but it also gave me an excuse to watch some of these again this year and that was nice. I hope you enjoy this look back to the mid-’90s, maybe it will inspire a trip down memory lane or even a first-time viewing!
Fargo
The Coen Bros. had already drawn attention for their quirky, refined brand of genre-spanning with Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, and the critically approved Barton Fink. It was the Oscar-winning Fargo however, that put their creative marker on the Hollywood map. A darkly comic story of the sort they would become known for, Fargo demonstrated their unique ability to balance charmingly eccentric characters and crisply funny dialogue.
Combined with a brilliant cast including Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, and Steve Buscemi, it made for one of the most original ‘true crime story’ films to come along before or since. It is the characters and Minnesotan small-talk dialogue that really endure, however. The refrain of heavily pregnant Marge Gunderson, “Mind if I sit down? I’m carrying quite a load here!” or the description of Buscemi’s “kinda funny lookin’” Carl are the hallmark of this witty depiction of frozen small town Minneapolis. As funny, cool, and skilfully told today as it was then, Fargo is well worth repeated viewings
Trainspotting
After announcing themselves to the world in the twisted debut feature Shallow Grave, the writer/director team of Danny Boyle and John Hodge combined again to adapt Irvine Welsh’s novel about heroin addicts in Edinburgh. This was one of the films that defined the drug-fuelled 90’s, setting the conversation in the context of the real-life consequences of addiction and poverty. It neither glamorised nor belittled drug use, but rather gave a warts and all representation of the themes explored in Welsh’s novel. It bristled with edgy energy, contained some career-launching performances, and had some of cinema’s most memorable moments of sequence and song.
Almost any time the decade is retrospectively viewed there is a reference to one of the many iconic moments of this film. It was bold, unique, and unflinching in its portrayals, never trading poignancy for stylistic flare (think Renton’s overdose underscored by Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’). This was Danny Boyle and a fantastic young cast combined with powerful and lasting effect.
Brassed Off
The slightly more direct cousin of the following year’s release The Full Monty, Brassed Off similarly tackles the subject of working-class men fighting government measures to kill the industry on which they depend. In this case, it is coal not steel, (evoking Thatcher’s Britain) seen through the lens of the Colliery Brass Band, symbol of Yorkshire miners’ culture and communities. Facing almost certain closure of their pit, the band consists of miners who already live virtually on the breadline and, facing such uncertain futures, have lost hope but not their humour.
Watching this now, it is easy to see some of it as dated stereotyping of Yorkshire folk. For me though, it is still charming, authentic and above all passionately told. The cast is all excellent and the script is funny and poignant. The importance of the brass band music is communicated elegantly, providing appropriate goosebump moments and the chemistry of the actors is great. It's an ensemble but if any relationship is central it is that of father and son Danny (leader of the band played by Pete Postlethwaite) and Phil (Steve Tomkinson). The film was marketed as a romantic comedy overseas implying the focus was on Andy (Ewan McGregor) and Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald), which may go some way to explaining why it failed to translate as well as The Full Monty. Nevertheless, of the two this is a clear favourite for me. Let the band play on!
Romeo+Juliet
Australian director Baz Luhrmann had introduced us to his quirky visual style and colourful approach to storytelling with the 1992 romantic comedy Strictly Ballroom. However, it was his inventive modernisation of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy that heralded his arrival as one of a crop of exciting directors taking Hollywood by storm. A career springboard for its two titular stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes, it was also an opportunity for Luhrmann to let loose creatively. As shown in the blending of enchantingly flamboyant production design with original Shakespearean dialogue, Luhrmann managed to balance reinterpretation with clear respect and love for the literary classic.
Adapting the Montagues and Capulets as two feuding Mafia families and replacing swords with guns were how some elements were updated, whilst visual flourishes and the dialogue belonged to an older theatrical tradition. A brave undertaking that cost 20th Century Fox a little under $15 million to finance but made over $150 million at the box office. This film became adored by audiences, won over not only by its charming young heartthrobs but also the accomplished reinvigoration of a timeless tale of star-crossed lovers.
Kingpin
By the end of the decade, so-called gross-out college humour dominated big comedy film releases, such as American Pie and Road Trip. The way for this was paved by the early films of the Farrelly Bros whose brand of irreverent, cartoonish slapstick belied a sweetness in story and character. After the success of Dumb and Dumber they released Kingpin, a bowling comedy that pre-dated The Big Lebowski and saw the likes of Bill Murray, Randy Quaid, and Woody Harrelson utilising their best funny chops.
The story of an innocent Amish bowling prodigy and washed-up ex-professional crossing paths is amongst the Farrellys’ best work, despite underperforming at the box office. Murray plays big shot bowling star Ernie McCraken, the perfect foil to Harrelson’s loser Roy Munson whilst Quaid’s perpetual naivete as Ishmael is the source of many a gaff as well as the film’s more sentimental notes. A correctly balanced mix of pleasing character arcs, hilarious (and sometimes disgusting) moments, and the trademark indie soundtrack the brothers became known for, Kingpin is a classic of the genre.
Swingers
In the mid-’90s the likes of John Favreau, Vince Vaughan, and Heather Graham were not household names. Swingers was where it all started. It was critically and commercially successful but it represented a win for indie cinema also, starring relative unknowns in lead roles and the breakthrough for Favreau as a screenwriter. Watching it now does date it, not just by the fresh faces of its stars, but also in the trends prevalent of the time such as the swing revival which lends the film its name. All of that said, this is still one of the funniest, original, and awkwardly cool films of the era.
Its budget and backing constraints also gave rise to Doug Liman taking the director’s chair for his debut, later making movies as diverse as The Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow. Swingers, though, was all about the well-observed wit in its dialogue and authentic characters in relatable circumstances. Yes, it was about struggling actors, but audiences not only found chuckles they also felt sympathy with the love life struggles and relative poverty of its protagonists. At the heart of all of this was the friendship of Vaughan and Favreau’s characters, supporting one another like only bro’s can. You’re money baby!
Scream
One of the biggest films of the year kicked off a new franchise, revived the ‘slasher’ sub-genre, and gave rise to another series of parodies (the Scary Movie films). Scream was Wes Craven giving another masterclass in mainstream horror making. This movie was like the meta update to the Halloween films, sharp and comical in its self-awareness yet keeping us guessing as to the identity of the killer. It was the horror movie of the moment, starring the then highly marketable names of Party of Five star Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox. It also contained a breakout role for Rose McGowan and a memorable cameo from Drew Barrymore.
Whilst subverting and satirizing genre conventions he himself helped create, Wes Craven carved out a whole new niche and gave it broad appeal with this cast of stars. It was darkly funny and was a slickly produced, well-wrought addition to the genre. It spawned several sequels and was the genesis of a slew of horror films aiming to jump the bandwagon, such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Jeepers Creepers.
From Dusk till Dawn
The creative team of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino is well known to film fans now. From Dusk till Dawn marked the first time they collaborated and whilst it divided critics then, it did well at the box office and grew a cult following to boot. It was a unique hybrid of gritty crime drama and gaudy B-Movie horror, starting out as one and flipping a switch into the other. A strong cast unlikely to appear together again, including Tarantino himself, George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, and Juliette Lewis, make this pulpy vampire flick all the more gratifying.
Iconic scenes, notable appearances from Salma Hayek and Cheech Marin, strike the tone of this movie as funny yet grimy, violent but trashy. This movie is a Venn diagram for fans of The Evil Dead and Reservoir Dogs. Occupying this singular niche isn’t for everyone but the script is memorably zippy, the action is well conducted and the performances and cameos are strong. Worth viewing alone for the show-stealing scene with Michael Parks in the convenience store!
12 Monkeys
Terry Gilliam was established as a surrealist auteur by the mid-’90s. His Monty Python reputation still preceded him but darkly comic dystopian features like 1987’s Brazil cemented his skills as a filmmaker. In 12 Monkeys (adapted from French short La Jetee) he built on this further, creating a unique time-travel sci-fi that included stars like Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis in hitherto unfamiliar roles. It garnered both critical praise and box office success at the time.
Evoking a tone similar to Brazil, 12 Monkeys depicts a hero’s journey through shifting periods of time — a back and forth between a dystopian future ravaged by a deadly virus and periods of the past before the virus was unleashed by the revolutionary cult of the 12 Monkeys. In what could have been convoluted and zany in other hands, Gilliam delivers an engaging sci-fi parable that weaves in a cerebral exploration of memory, dreams, technology, and what it means to be human. Packed with pop culture references to these topics, from Hitchcock’s Vertigo to The Marx Bros’ Monkey Business, the film is densely layered without ever distracting from its core purpose.
Bound
Way back before they were hotly debated, the Wachowski’s were foregrounding the subjects of fetish, kink, and subversion of gender roles in mainstream cinema. We all know about the iconography of their crowning achievement The Matrix, but the film that got them noticed was far from tame in its approach to sexuality. Bound is one of the sexiest thrillers ever made and no, not just because some intimate scenes are tantamount to soft porn! The film is gripping, well-scripted, well-acted, and uber cool. Already combining their love of film noir with a talent for slick, dramatic storytelling and action, this was no doubt fresh and edgy.
With a twist on the heist blueprint and taking their cue from film noir classics, the story sees lovers Violet (Jennifer Tilly) and Corky (Gina Gershon) plotting to take mafia player Caesar’s (Joe Pantoliano) money and run. All does not go according to plan, however. Going from tense to intense drama, the Wachowski’s showed off the stylistic flare we would see expanded upon in their upcoming Sci-Fi masterpiece. This still flies a little under the radar even now but Bound is well worth revisiting, its a gem of a crime movie that feels like the world of Max Payne with the storytelling of Billy Wilder.
As you can see, the selection is mostly lacking in the big box office hits of the year. I was always much more of a quirky indy-boy that found a good story with good characters more alluring in the end. That is not to say I avoided blockbusters, then or now. But even at the time, I thought Independence Day was silly! The most enjoyable of the year’s big draw action flicks perhaps? Alternatively, The English Patient was the film receiving all the awards and critical praise but, whilst I could certainly appreciate its accomplishment, this movie always left me a little cold.
No doubt people will feel I have missed some stone-cold classics from a variety of genres! ‘Why no Jerry Maguire?’ I hear you say, or ‘What about Mission Impossible?’ ‘Call yourself an indy-boy and you leave out Mars Attacks?’ Leave a comment and share your own favourites from that year. What did you hate, what did you love? Here’s to 2022 and perhaps a forthcoming list of films from 1997.
