25 years ago was another good time in the cinema. Welcome to MMM and today I’m counting down the best of 1992 films based on my own enjoyment of them.
Before I begin, this is part of a list of film countdowns spanning over a 5 year radius from 1967 to 2017 from today to the 31st December. If you don’t see a film that you think should have made the list, please comment.
On a personal note, I wish you all a joyful Day of Goodwill!
#10: A Few Good Men (Courtroom drama)
Directed by Oscar nominee Rob Reiner, and based on Aaron Sorkin’s 1989 play of the same name, a military lawyer (Oscar nominee Tom Cruise) is tasked to question 2 Marines who are accused of a crime, who claim that they were given orders to do so.
Oscar wins and/or nominations: 4 nominations (Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role – Jack Nicholson, Sound, and Film Editing).
Highlights: Characters, cast, performances especially Oscar winner Nicholson, Golden Globe nominee Demi Moore, and Golden Globe winner Kiefer Sutherland, dialogue, tension, and thrills.
#9: Scent of a Woman (Drama)
Serving as a remake of the 1974 Italian film “Profumo di Donna”, adapted from Giovanni Arpino’s 1969 novel “Il buio e il miele”, which translates to Darkness and Honey, the film follows a prep school student (Golden Globe nominee Chris O’Donnell) who in need of money doesn’t know what he is in for when he agrees to “babysit” the blind and retired Lt. Colonel Frank Slade (Oscar winner Al Pacino).
Oscar wins and/or nominations: 1 win (Best Actor in Leading Role – Al Pacino) and 3 nominations (Best Picture, Director – Martin Brest, and Adapted Screenplay).
Highlights: Cast, performances especially Pacino, and an early appearance of the late Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, dialogue, and ending.
#8: The Last of the Mohicans (Western epic drama action adventure)
Based on James Fenimore Cooper’s 1826 novel of the same name, and its 1936 film adaptation, 3 time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis plays a trapper named Hawkeye, one of the 3 trappers who are tasked to protect a British Colonel’s daughters during the chaos of the French and Indian War.
Oscar wins and/or nominations: 1 win (Best Sound).
Highlights: Cast, performances especially Day-Lewis, costume design, scenery, action sequences, and the powerful and beautiful music score by Golden Globe nominee and South African composer Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman.
#7: FernGully: The Last Rainforest (Animated fantasy adventure)
Fairy inhabitants who live in a rainforest have to save their environment by loggers and a vicious pollution force known as Hexxus (voiced by Primetime Emmy nominee Tim Curry).
Oscar wins and/or nominations: None.
Highlights: Themes, animation, voice cast, humor, musical numbers, and soundtrack including “Some Other World” by Oscar winner Elton John.
#6: 1492: Conquest of Paradise (Historical epic action adventure drama)
Directed by Oscar nominee Ridley Scott, as well as a celebration of its 500th anniversary at the time, the film follows the dramatized story about Christopher Columbus (Oscar nominee Gérard Depardieu) and his journey to the New World and discovery of the indigenous citizens.
Oscar wins and/or nominations: None but 1 Golden Globe nomination (Best Original Score – Motion Picture; Vangelis).
Highlights: Story, cast, performances especially Depardieu and Oscar nominee Sigourney Weaver, cinematography, costume design, scenery, and epic music score.
#5: Chaplin (Biographical dramedy)
A retelling about the life of one of the greatest film actors and comedians of all time; the eponymous Charlie Chaplin (Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr.).
Oscar wins and/or nominations: 3 nominations (Best Actor in a Leading Role – Robert Downey Jr., Art Direction – Set Decoration, and Original Score – John Barry).
Highlights: Cast, performances especially Downey Jr., Oscar nominee Dan Aykroyd, Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Kevin Kline, humor, costume design, and music score by Oscar winner John Barry.
#4: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (family comedy)
Don’t laugh but it is one of my favourite Christmas movies as well as the first one, following after the events of its predecessor (1990), during the start of his family #vacation, 10-year-old Kevin McCallister (Golden Globe nominee Macaulay Culkin) accidentally gets lost in the Big Apple, where the antagonists from the previous film; the Wet Bandits now known as the Sticky Bandits (Oscar winner Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) are planning their next heist, it is up to the child protagonist to defeat them once again with the help of more booby traps.
Oscar wins and/or nominations: None.
Highlights: Cast including aforementioned Tim Curry, performances, music score by Oscar winner John Williams, and some moments of humor and charm.
#3: Peter’s Friends (Dramedy)
Taking a note from the film “The Big Chill” (1983), Golden Globe nominee Stephen Fry plays the eponymous character who invites his best friends (Oscar nominee Kenneth Branagh, Golden Globe winner Hugh Laurie, Alphonsia Emmauel, Oscar winner Emma Thompson, and Oscar nominee Imelda Staunton) from college for a Christmas get-together.
Oscar wins and/or nominations: None.
Highlights: Cast, performances, humor, charm, #soundtrack, and ending.
#2: Into the West (Family adventure)
Before BAFTA winner Mike Newell directed “Four Weddings and a Funeral” (1994), and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005), he directed this hidden gem. 2 brothers (Ciarán Fitzgerald and Rúaidhrí Conroy) are given a beautiful horse from their grandfather (the late David Kelly) and keep it in their flat in Dublin. The horse, named Tír na nÓg, which in Irish means Land of Eternal Youth, gets stolen and the boys plot a rescue mission and venture to find and flee on it.
Oscar wins and/or nominations: None.
Highlights: Cast, performances especially the child actors, humor, charm, and ending.
Before I unveil my top pick, here are some honourable mentions:
Medicine Man (Adventure)
Batman Returns (Superhero)
Wind (Sport drama)
Straight Talk (Romantic comedy)
The Cutting Edge (Romantic sport dramedy)
#1: Aladdin (Animated fantasy romantic adventure musical)
Considered one of the best films from the Disney Renaissance during the 1990s, and based on one of the stories in One Thousand and One Nights aka Arabian Nights, as well as one of my personal favourites, the film follows the eponymous poor street urchin (voiced by Scott Weinger) who meets the free-spirited princess Jasmine (voiced by Linda Larkin) and the two fall for each other, but she can only marry a prince. He thus enlists the help of a comical genie (voiced by the late Oscar winner Robin Williams, in one of his best roles) to transform himself into a prince, meanwhile, the royal vizier Jafar (voiced by Jonathan Freeman) is on a personal mission to usurp the throne.
Oscar wins and/or nominations: 2 wins (Best Original Song – “A Whole New World”, and Original Score – Alan Menken), and 3 nominations (Best Sound, Sound Effects Editing, and Original Song – “Friend Like Me”).
Highlights: Story, animation, characters, voice cast, music score, songs, humor, charm, and thrills.