The 25 Greatest Films of the 1990s, Part 7

#7. Saving Private Ryan
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Ed Burns

Even though I picked this film as number two in 1998, in context of the 1990s decade, Steven Spielberg's achievement ranks higher. The war film will never be the same after this film, as Spielberg re-invented the genre with a portrayal of war most have never seen unless they've been in combat themselves.

Spielberg's technical accomplishments with this film cannot be overstated, and by capping off the decade of his 1990s achievements with this film, Spielberg proved that in the 1990s, he did finally "grow up" as critic Gene Siskel had asked him right before the start of the decade.

Tom Hanks gives another powerful performance as the leader of the platoon sent to find Private Ryan, in a film which tackles some of the difficult issues of war, while at the same time portraying it so brutally honest.

The look of the film is so unique and stark, it contains images I will not soon forget. Bookended by battle scenes too realistic sometimes to take in, Spielberg has given World War II veterans a gift, finally allowing the people that they fought for to experience as close as possible what it was like.

#6. Nixon
Directed by Oliver Stone
Starring Anthony Hopkins, James Woods, Joan Allen, J.T. Walsh, Paul Sorvino

Oliver Stone's 1995 film gives us a brooding, brilliant, tortured man, sinking into the gloom of a White House under siege, haunted by the ghosts of his past. One of Stone's two political epics in the 1990s which were some of the best work he's ever done, this one was a soaring epic covering 50 years in the life of one of the most controversial Presidents this nation has ever had.

What is so incredibly unique with this film though is that Stone tells this story not in a straightforward fashion like most biographies might, but instead jumps back and forth through time, from the controversies of Nixon's presidential years, back to his days as a young boy, and back to his political career again. Stone has never shown such a polished cinematic effort as he did with this film.

Hopkins is absolutely incredible as Nixon, overcoming the fact that he doesn't look like the 37th President, by delivering a performance which was the best of the decade in my opinion. Joan Allen portrays Pat Nixon in one of the strongest female performances ever in an Oliver Stone film.

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