Article by Mark Dujsik

1999 was definitely one of the best years for the art of film. Compiling this list was one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do. In fact, I loved so many of the movies from this year, my honorable mention list is much longer than usual. There were just too many films I couldn’t leave unnamed. Now, my list of the ten best films of 1999:

10. The Limey

Steven Soderbergh’s great retro-revenge-thriller. Its dreamlike editing puts us inside the mind of a British thug. Great performances from Terrence Stamp and Peter Fonda. By the end of the film, we realize it’s not about revenge but about lost opportunities and time.

9. Topsy-Turvy

A film for anyone remotely interested in theater, and a great ode to the love of the footlights. Mike Leigh’s unique improvisational technique helps turn two musical-theater legends into two very human individuals.

8. Titus

Shakespeare’s least successful play is turned into an incredible study of violence in every time. Anthony Hopkins’ performance is simply amazing. Longtime theater director Julie Taymor’s film debut is one of the most visually impressive films to come along in a long time.

7. The Insider

Michael Mann’s piercing attack on the news industry’s integrity and Corporate America is one of the most important indictments ever put on film. Great performances by Al Pacino, Russel Crowe, and Christopher Plummer plus amazing cinematography by Dante Spinotti only add to the film’s excellence.

6. Boys Don’t Cry

Heartbreaking rendition of a true story features two of the best performances of the year by Hilary Swank and Chloë Sevigny. This is an important film about the dangers of intolerance and the redemption of acceptance.

5. Magnolia

This operatic melodrama features the best ensemble cast in a long time. A movie full of grand emotions and high ambitions that culminates to one biblical event that changes the lives of everyone who lives through it.

4. The Talented Mr. Ripley

Anthony Minghella’s thrilling character study is as close to a new Hitchcock movie as we’ll ever get. Matt Damon gives one of the best performances of the year in the study of one man’s dark journey into his homicidal capabilities.

3. Being John Malkovich

This is the most intensely mind-bending film I’ve ever seen. Spike Jonze’s directorial debut plays the most fantastic events as completely natural, and Charlie Kaufman’s script has more surprises in five minutes than most movies build up to in two hours.

2. Fight Club

This is an utterly bizarre exploration of the bitterness of Generation X and the violence that results. David Fincher’s film is full of dark humor, biting satire, and a message that must be found to appreciate.

1. Three Kings

A satire in the tradition of Dr. Strangelove and M*A*S*H, David O. Russel’s look at the Gulf War is completely unique. The film moves with rapid-fire pacing, and its compassionate undertones make it surprisingly poignant.

Honorable Mention:

American Beauty

The Blair Witch Project

Election

Eyes Wide Shut

The Green Mile

The Hurricane

The Iron Giant

Man on the Moon

The Matrix

Princess Mononoke

The Sixth Sense

Sleepy Hollow

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

Tarzan

Toy Story 2

Copyright © 2001 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved.