Best Movies of 1990 by Rank
26
1
Martin Scorsese
Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino
Crime / Drama / Biography / Gangster
USA
English
260
2
Jean-Paul Rappeneau
Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet
Drama / Romance / Period Film
France
French
298
3
Abbas Kiarostami
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Hossain Sabzian, Abolfazl Ahankhah
Documentary / Drama
Iran
Persian
511
4
Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant
Adventure / Drama / Western / Epic / Family
USA
English
718
5
Agnieszka Holland
Marco Hofschneider, René Hofschneider
Drama / War / Comedy
Germany / France / Poland
German
725
6
Stephen Frears
Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening, Jan Munroe
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Post-Noir
USA
English
877
7
Barbet Schroeder
Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Ron Silver, Annabella Sciorra
Drama
USA / Japan / UK
English
940
8
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Gabriel Byrne, John Turturro, Marcia Gay Harden, Albert Finney
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Gangster / Period Film / Cult
USA
English
941
9
Michael Verhoeven
Lena Stolze, Hans-Reinhard Müller
Comedy / Drama
West Germany
German
1083
10
Whit Stillman
Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman, Taylor Nichols
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
1127
11
Yimou Zhang, Fengliang Yang
Li Gong, Wei Li, Baotian Li, Zhang Yi, Ji-an Zheng
Drama / Period Film / Romance
Japan / China
Mandarin
1216
12
Jane Campion
Kerry Fox, Alexia Keogh, Karen Fergusson, Iris Churn
Drama / Biography
UK / Australia / New Zealand
English
1277
13
Garry Marshall
Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Ralph Bellamy, Jason Alexander
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
1289
14
Francis Ford Coppola
Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia
Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
1519
15
Paul Verhoeven
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Rachel Ticotin, Ronny Cox
Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Tech-Noir
USA
English
1559
16
Luc Besson
Anne Parillaud, Marc Duret, Patrick Fontana
Thriller / Action
France / Italy
French
1582
17
Penny Marshall
Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson
Drama
USA
English
1628
18
Tim Burton
Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker
Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Romance / Family
USA
English
1629
19
Mike Leigh
Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Claire Skinner, Jane Horrocks
Comedy / Drama
UK
English
1634
20
Patrice Leconte
Jean Rochefort, Anna Galiena, Henry Hocking, Roland Bertin
Comedy / Drama / Romance
France
French
1744
21
Jerry Zucker
Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn
Romance / Thriller / Drama / Fantasy
USA
English
1749
22
Xavier Koller
Necmettin Çobanoglu, Emin Sivas, Yaman Okay
Drama / Adventure
Switzerland / Turkey / UK
Turkish
1787
23
Jennie Livingston
Dorian Corey, Pepper LaBeija, Danny Xtravaganza, Sol Pendavis
Documentary
USA
English
1854
24
Hal Hartley
Adrienne Shelly, Martin Donovan, Merritt Nelson, John MacKay
Comedy / Drama / Romance / Cult
UK / USA
English
1878
25
Yves Robert
Philippe Caubère, Nathalie Roussel, Didier Pain
Drama / Family / Comedy / Biography
France
French
1931
26
Louis Malle
Miou-Miou, Michel Piccoli, Michel Duchaussoy, Bruno Carette, Paulette Dubost
Comedy / Period Film
France / Italy
French
2000
27
Aki Kaurismäki
Kati Outinen, Elina Salo, Esko Nikkari, Vesa Vierikko
Drama / Comedy
Finland / Sweden
Finnish
2007
28
Charles Burnett
Danny Glover, Richard Brooks, Paul Butler, Mary Alice
Drama
USA
English
2021
29
Abel Ferrara
Christopher Walken, David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne, Victor Argo, Wesley Snipes
Action / Drama / Crime / Thriller / Gangster
Italy / USA / UK
English
2051
30
James Ivory
Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Blythe Danner, Simon Callow
Drama
UK / USA
English
2098
31
Adrian Lyne
Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven
Horror / Mystery / Thriller / Drama
USA
English
2160
32
Guy Maddin
Kyle McCulloch, Kathy Marykuca, Sarah Neville, Michael Gottli
Comedy / Drama / War / Romance
Canada
English
2199
33
Bob Rafelson
Patrick Bergin, Iain Glen, Richard E. Grant, Fiona Shaw
Adventure / Drama
USA
English
2229
34
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty, Charlie Korsmo, Glenne Headly, Madonna
Action / Crime / Comedy / Thriller / Gangster / Family / Comic
USA
English
2234
35
Barbara Kopple, Cathy Caplan, Thomas Haneke, Lawrence Silk
Jesse Jackson, Ray Rogers
Documentary / Biography
USA / UK
English
2235
36
Barry Levinson
Elizabeth Perkins, Aidan Quinn, Kevin Pollak, Armin Mueller-Stahl
Drama / Period Film
USA
English
2246
37
Yves Robert
Philippe Caubère, Nathalie Roussel, Didier Pain
Comedy / Drama / Biography
France
French
2277
38
Robert Altman
Tim Roth, Paul Rhys, Adrian Brine, Jean-François Perrier, Yves Dangerfield
Biography / Drama
Netherlands / UK / France
English
2312
39
Claire Denis
Isaach De Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean-Claude Brialy, Solveig Dommartin
Drama / Crime
France / West Germany
French
2314
40
Eric Rochant
Yvan Attal, Kristin Scott Thomas, Marc Berman, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Drama / Comedy
France
French
2363
41
Ken Loach
Robert Carlyle, Emer McCourt, Richard Belgrave, Jim R. Coleman
Comedy / Drama
UK
English
2372
42
David Lynch
Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, J.E. Freeman
Crime / Drama / Romance / Thriller / Comedy
USA
English
2374
43
Gianni Amelio
Gian Maria Volonté, Ennio Fantastichini, Renato Carpentieri
Drama / Crime
Italy
Italian
2380
44
Pavel Lungin
Pyotr Mamonov, Pyotr Zajchenko, Vladimir Kashpur
Drama
Soviet Union / France
Russian
2388
45
Mike Nichols
Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2394
46
Carlos Saura
Carmen Maura, Andrés Pajares, Gabino Diego, Maurizio De Razza
Drama / War
Spain / Italy
Spanish
2397
47
John McTiernan
Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones
Action / Adventure / Thriller
USA
English
2446
48
Jirí Menzel
Rudolf Hrusínský, Vlastimil Brodský
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Czechoslovakia
Czech
2464
49
Franco Zeffirelli
Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm
Drama
USA / UK / France
English
2471
50
Chris Columbus
Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard
Family / Comedy
USA
English
2491
51
Akira Kurosawa, Ishirô Honda
Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baisho, Toshie Negishi, Mieko Harada
Fantasy / Drama / Adventure
Japan / USA
Japanese
2499
52
James Foley
Jason Patric, Rachel Ward, Bruce Dern, George Dickerson
Crime / Drama / Mystery / Post-Noir / Thriller
USA
English
2509
53
Mike Figgis
Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Nancy Travis, Laurie Metcalf
Crime / Thriller / Drama
USA
English
2527
54
Larry Cohen
Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Megan Gallagher, Red Buttons, Janine Turner
Horror / Thriller
USA
English
2527
54
Diane Kurys
Nathalie Baye, Richard Berry, Zabou, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Vincent Lindon
Drama / Comedy
France
French
2543
55
Bernardo Bertolucci
Debra Winger, John Malkovich, Campbell Scott, Jill Bennett, Timothy Spall
Drama / Adventure / Romance
UK / Italy
English
2596
56
Robert Zemeckis
Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson
Action / Adventure / Comedy / Sci-Fi / Western / Romance
USA
English
2596
56
Philip Kaufman
Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, Maria de Medeiros, Richard E. Grant, Kevin Spacey
Biography / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2620
57
Peter Bogdanovich
Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Timothy Bottoms, Annie Potts
Drama
USA
English
2635
58
Rob Reiner
James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, Lauren Bacall
Drama / Thriller / Horror
USA
English
2642
59
Joe Dante
Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, John Glover, Robert Prosky, Robert Picardo
Comedy / Horror / Fantasy / Sci-Fi
USA
English
2652
60
Pedro Almodóvar
Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Loles León
Drama / Crime / Romance / Comedy
Spain
Spanish
2668
61
Reginald Hudlin
Christopher Reid, Robin Harris, Christopher Martin, Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell
Comedy / Music / Romance
USA
English
2674
62
Jean-Luc Godard
Alain Delon, Domiziana Giordano, Roland Amstutz
Drama / Experimental / Fantasy / Romance
Switzerland / France
French
2678
63
Renny Harlin
Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, William Sadler
Action / Adventure / Thriller
USA
English
2678
63
Eric Rohmer
Anne Teyssèdre, Hugues Quester, Florence Darel, Eloïse Bennett
Comedy / Romance / Drama
France
French
2680
64
Idrissa Ouedraogo
Rasmane Ouedraogo, Ina Cissé, Roukietou Barry
Drama
Switzerland / UK / France / Burkina Faso / Germany
Mòoré
2688
65
Ken Loach
Frances McDormand, Brian Cox, Brad Dourif, Mai Zetterling
Drama / Thriller
UK
English
2689
66
Tom Stoppard
Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Richard Dreyfuss, Livio Badurina
Comedy / Drama
UK / USA
English
2690
67
Peter Weir
Gérard Depardieu, Andie MacDowell, Bebe Neuwirth
Comedy / Romance / Drama
Australia / France / USA
English
2709
68
Robert Dornhelm
Felix Mitterer, Viktoria Schubert, August Schmolzer
Drama
Austria / France / Romania
German
2723
69
Bertrand Tavernier
Dirk Bogarde, Jane Birkin, Odette Laure, Emmanuelle Bataille, Charlotte Kady
Drama
France
French
2723
69
Andrew Bergman
Marlon Brando, Matthew Broderick, Bruno Kirby, Penelope Ann Miller, Frank Whaley
Comedy / Crime / Gangster / Romance
USA
English
2723
69
John Patrick Shanley
Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Abe Vigoda, Dan Hedaya
Comedy / Romance / Drama / Fantasy / Cult
USA
English
2723
69
Peter Medak
Billie Whitelaw, Tom Bell, Gary Kemp, Martin Kemp, Susan Fleetwood
Biography / Crime / Drama / Thriller / Gangster
UK
English
2723
69
Ellen Weissbrod
Quincy Jones, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock
Documentary / Music / Biography
USA
English
2723
69
Richard Pearce
Sissy Spacek, Whoopi Goldberg, Dwight Schultz, Ving Rhames, Dylan Baker
Drama / History
USA
English
2723
69
Norman René
Campbell Scott, Patrick Cassidy, John Dossett, Mary-Louise Parker
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2723
69
Alan J. Pakula
Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Paul Winfield
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Mystery
USA
English
2723
69
John Erman
Bette Midler, John Goodman, Trini Alvarado, Stephen Collins, Marsha Mason
Drama
USA
English
2723
69
Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Eli Wallach
Crime / Drama / Mystery / Post-Noir / Detective
USA
English
2723
69
Luis Mandoki
Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates, Eileen Brennan
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2724
70
Sydney Pollack
Robert Redford, Lena Olin, Alan Arkin, Tomas Milian, Daniel Davis, Tony Plana
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2730
71
Aribam Syam Sharma
Kiranmala, Kangabam, Tomba, Manbi, D. Hiren, Baby Molly, Baby Premita, Tara
Drama
India
Manipuri
2730
71
Mark Lamberti
Leonard Maltin, Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard
Comedy / Documentary
USA
English
2730
71
Bill Plympton
Ruth Maleczech, Valeria Vasilevski, Maureen McElheron, Chris Hoffman
Animation / Comedy / Short
USA
English
2730
71
Howard Franklin, Bill Murray
Bill Murray, Dale Grand, Bob Elliott, Geena Davis, Randy Quaid
Comedy / Crime / Caper
USA
English
2735
72
Darrell Wasyk
Martin Neufeld, Pascale Montpetit, Ingrid Veninger, Bruce Beaton
Drama
Canada
English
2742
73
Sam Raimi
Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Colin Friels, Larry Drake, Nelson Mashita
Action / Crime / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2763
74
Sergei Parajanov
Sofiko Chiaureli, Yuri Mgoyan
Documentary / Biography
Soviet Union
Georgian
2763
74
Katherine Gilday
Rebecca Jenkins, Marion Woodman, Susan Griffin, Chris Alt
Documentary
Canada
English
2763
74
Harun Farocki
Documentary / History
West Germany
German
2763
74
Manoel de Oliveira
Luis Miguel Cintra, Diogo Doria, Miguel Guilherme, Luis Lucas
Drama / History
Portugal / Spain / France
Portuguese
2763
74
Robert Frank
Mika Moses, Peter Orlovsky, Kevin O'Connor, Taylor Mead
Experimental / Documentary
France
English
2763
74
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood, Jeff Fahey, Charlotte Cornwell, Norman Lumsden
Adventure / Drama / Action
USA
English
2777
76
David Lynch, various
Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Richard Beymer
Drama / Mystery / Horror / Crime / Detective
USA
English
2780
77
Allan Moyle
Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Ellen Greene, Scott Paulin, Cheryl Pollak
Drama / Comedy
Canada / USA
English
2788
78
Ann Hui
Maggie Cheung, Tan Lang Jachi Tian, Waise Lee, Zi Xiong Li
Drama
Hong Kong / Taiwan
Cantonese