Every Best Picture Winner From the '90s, Ranked (2024)

Any film that wins the Academy Award for Best Picture is subjected to intense speculation following its victory. This only increased over the years and decades, especially because the Oscars tend to award films that are popular at the time of their release over what may age best in the long run.

The 1990s were a particularly interesting decade for movies. Modern blockbusters appeared as we know them today, and indie filmmaking became more powerful than ever. However, the Academy's choices remained very much in line with their usual tastes, except for a few notable choices. Indeed, some 90s Best Picture winners rank among the all-time best in their genres, even if some others are run-of-the-mill efforts whose victories have aged somewhat badly.

10 'Shakespeare In Love' (1998)

Director: John Madden

Shakespeare in Love stars Joseph Fiennes as a young, passionate version of William Shakespeare. The plot centers on his romance with the beautiful Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow in an Oscar-winning role), a young woman pretending to be a man so she can act in the renowned writer's new play.

To many, Shakespeare in Love isn't just the worst Best Picture winner of the 1990s but one of the most egregious films to take the top prize in the history of the Oscars themselves. The film isn't terrible, but there have been other Shakespeare-inspired comedies that have handled the subject material much better. History has not been very kind to the lighthearted farce, as its shocking victory came at the expense of two of the greatest World War II movies of all time, Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line.

Watch on Max

9 'Dances With Wolves' (1990)

Director: Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner stars in and directs the epic Western Dances With Wolves. The plot follows Union Army Lieutenant John J. Dumbar, who meets a group of Lakota while on the American frontier. It's best known as the film that beat Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas for the top prize, but that fact alone doesn't instantly diminish Dances With Wolves. What makes the film such a problematic selection is that it's a very standard "white savior" story that doesn't go far enough in terms of representation.

Costner's direction is solid, and the craftsmanship is excellent all-around, but there's not enough nuance in Dances with Wolves to do the story justice. Costner would go on to direct better Westerns, proving he's much better suited as a filmmaker to handle more traditional projects that aren't attempting to tackle such weighty themes.

Watch on Tubi

8 'Forrest Gump' (1994)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

The 1994 dramedy Forrest Gump is generally more subversive in the way that Robert Zemeckis satirizes the nature of the American dream and how it was corrupted by militarism. Tom Hanks stars as the titular character, a kind-hearted young Alabaman with an IQ of 75, whose unique POV adds a layer of wonder to major 20th-century events.

Forrest Gump was such a sensation at the time of its release that to award anything else would have been odd. In retrospect, it's probably the weakest of what was an all-time great lineup of Best Picture nominees; Forrest Gump's victory came at the expense of Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Quiz Show.

Watch on Paramount+

7 'The English Patient' (1996)

Director: Anthony Minghella

It's unfortunate that The English Patient is so often brought up as a stand-in when referring to the most boring, dull period pieces that tend to be labeled as "Oscar bait." In actuality, it's a gorgeously crafted romance and one of the few films that has tackled the global nature of World War I. The film is a highly fictionalized portrayal of the life of Lázló Almasy, a man burned beyond recognition who sustains a torrid love affair with a married Englishwoman.

Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Juliette Binoche do some of the best work of their respective careers. While there have been a lot of very long Best Picture winners, the running time in The English Patient does tend to drag in comparison to winners that have a constant sense of momentum, like Lawrence of Arabia or The Godfather: Part II. Still, The English Patient remains a sweeping and emotional period piece and one of the 90s' most memorable pictures.

Watch on Paramount+

6 'Braveheart' (1995)

Director: Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson does one of the all-time worst Scottish accents in the grand and suitably epic historical drama Braveheart. The actor stars as William Wallace, a 13-th century warrior who leads the Scottish people in the first War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England.

Historically speaking, Braveheart is far from perfect, and its flaws tend to be exaggerated by awards pundits as a direct result of Gibson's behavior off-screen; at the same time, the film's derogatory depiction of hom*osexuality has not aged well at all. However, Braveheart is also one of the most engaging action epics ever made, and the Oscars wouldn't award that genre again until Gladiator picked up the trophy five years later. The incredible field combat sequences are still impressive over two decades later.

Watch on Paramount+

5 'American Beauty' (1999)

Director: Sam Mendes

American Beauty attacks nearly every hallmark of what an "average American life" looks like. In fact, it may be one of the most cynical and genuinely mean-spirited Best Picture winners of all time. The plot centers on Lester Burnham, a middle-aged man going through a mid-life crisis whose life takes an unexpected turn as he becomes more liberated.

Similar to Braveheart, the flaws of American Beauty tend to get exaggerated as a result of its protagonist's involvement and the misconceptions regarding what Sam Mendes' intentions were. It's odd that American Beauty is often criticized for the infamous plastic bag scene because that moment—like many of the most widely mocked sequences in the film—is intended to be deeply satirical. In the end, American Beauty remains an incisive and darkly funny look at the tragedy of the American Dream, with one of the most clever yet off-putting screenplays of the 20th century.

Watch on Amazon

4 'Titanic' (1997)

Director: James Cameron

Titanic was certainly the biggest movie of the decade in more ways than one; in addition to becoming the highest-grossing film of all time during its initial theatrical run, it tied the record for most Oscar wins in history with eleven (although sadly nothing for Leonardo DiCaprio). This total had previously been reached by Ben-Hur and would later be achieved by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Today, Titanic remains celebrated as an outstanding cinematic achievement, an endlessly rewatchable epic love story that rises on the strength of DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's timeless chemistry. The story might be rather safe, but the technical dazzle and the deeply compelling romance make Titanic one of the greatest Best Picture winners in recent history.

Watch on Paramount+

3 'Unforgiven' (1992)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Unforgiven is the crowning achievement of Clint Eastwood's career, and considering he is one of the industry's finest filmmakers, that's no small achievement. Eastwood stars as William Munny, a retired outlaw who returns for one last job. Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris also star.

While not directly related to any of Eastwood's prior work, Unforgiven is thematically linked to nearly every Western that he ever directed or starred in; it felt like the culmination of Eastwood's entire career as his character is forced to reckon with his crimes. It's certainly one of the darkest Best Picture winners ever, and like American Beauty, Unforgiven is the rare film to take home the top prize where the main character is unquestionably a terrible person.

Rent on Amazon

2 'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)

Director: Jonathan Demme

The first (and to date, only) horror film to win Best Picture, The Silence of the Lambs broke all of the rules when it came to the Oscars. The idea of a serial killer movie released in February sticking around in the public consciousness for so long was unheard of, but the Oscars simply had to bow down to the brilliance of Jonathan Demme, a brilliant filmmaker who is not brought up often enough when discussing the all-time greats.

Of course, Silence of the Lambs wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for the incredible work of Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in their most iconic roles. The duo won the Oscar for Best Actress and Actor, respectively, and Silence became the third and so far last movie to win the Big Five Oscars. Today, The Silence of the Lambs is widely considered among the all-time best films, with critics and audiences praising its themes, pace, and remarkably unsettling vibe, elements that have seldom worked in such perfect harmony.

Watch on Max

1 'Schindler's List' (1993)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Rarely does a film pass the barometer of must-see to become an essential viewing. There are many powerful films and documentaries about the Holocaust, but Steven Spielberg captured the scope and brutality of the tragedy in one of the most grueling three-hour-plus films of all time. Schindler's List follows the efforts of German industrialist Oskar Schindler, who saves over a thousand Polish Jews during WWII by employing them in his factories.

What's essential about the film is that it does not attempt to summarize the entire Holocaust; no cinematic effort ever could. Instead, Schindler's List gave a small window into the tragedy, painting a harrowing portrayal of war that will undoubtedly leave a mark on anyone who sees it. Schindler's List is a film that every cinephile, or world citizen, for that matter, should make a priority to watch at least once.

Rent on Amazon

NEXT: Every War Movie That Won Best Picture at the Oscars, Ranked