Top 20% of the 1990s (Based on RT Popcorn), a list by Adam McGready

91

/18465/

86

/3234/

92

/176/

96

94

/93/

age 17+

The story of New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. Those difficulties are often highlighted through his ongoing professional relationship with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The show features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and his cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti.

93

9.0

/1568278/

88

/25430/

86

/16992/

4.5

/1253752/

98

/135/

97

/22910/

95

/30/

4.0

age 15+

The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

91

8.7

/1371737/

85

/25752/

84

/13903/

4.5

/1908257/

93

/167/

97

/29224/

92

/21/

4.0

age 18+

The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.

90

8.9

/165449/

87

/8329/

85

/1832/

4.7

/226597/

100

/23/

95

8.7

/1045888/

age 14+

In 2071, roughly fifty years after an accident with a hyperspace gateway made the Earth almost uninhabitable, humanity has colonized most of the rocky planets and moons of the Solar System. Amid a rising crime rate, the Inter Solar System Police (ISSP) set up a legalized contract system, in which registered bounty hunters, also referred to as "Cowboys", chase criminals and bring them in alive in return for a reward.

90

IMDb 93

8.8

/2403920/

86

/53257/

84

/29515/

4.2

/3743587/

92

/185/

96

/62759/

95

/27/

4.0

age 17+

A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.

89

8.8

/163274/

84

/5573/

81

/837/

100

/33/

96

88

/26/

age 14+

High school mathlete Lindsay Weir rebels and begins hanging out with a crowd of burnouts (the "freaks"), while her brother Sam Weir navigates a different part of the social universe with his nerdy friends (the "geeks").

88

8.4

/38692/

81

/1481/

82

/1093/

100

/6/

95

age 7+

Bitten by a neogenetic spider, Peter Parker develops spider-like superpowers. He uses these to fight crime while trying to balance it with the struggles of his personal life.

89

8.1

/115968/

78

/1658/

79

/1507/

4.3

/168895/

100

/62/

94

/1327/

100

/11/

Part-time model Valentine unexpectedly befriends a retired judge after she runs over his dog. At first, the grumpy man shows no concern about the dog, and Valentine decides to keep it. But the two form a bond when she returns to his house and catches him listening to his neighbors’ phone calls.

88

8.4

/53566/

81

/2135/

81

/1299/

100

/6/

95

age 7+

The X-Men are an elite team of mutants, genetically gifted human beings with superpowers, sworn to fight for mutant rights against hostile Government agencies, whilst at the same time protecting mankind from mutant supremacist Magneto who seeks to destroy the human race in return for the atrocities committed against mutant kind.

89

8.3

/29325/

79

/782/

76

/322/

4.4

/50913/

98

/60/

92

/881/

98

/19/

4.0

age 13+

Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.

88

8.5

/14202/

85

/1237/

84

/246/

4.3

/15876/

100

/7/

89

8.6

/442412/

A former gang member wants to be Japan's best teacher. When he's hired to supervise a class of hopeless cases, it's his chance to prove himself.

89

8.6

/1617214/

85

/31989/

82

/16779/

4.2

/1300325/

94

/148/

95

/41367/

91

/38/

4.0

age 16+

As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.

89

8.3

/1157632/

82

/41954/

80

/19435/

4.1

/2132601/

100

/161/

92

/49719/

96

/26/

4.0

age 5+

Led by Woody, Andy's toys live happily in his room until Andy's birthday brings Buzz Lightyear onto the scene. Afraid of losing his place in Andy's heart, Woody plots against Buzz. But when circumstances separate Buzz and Woody from their owner, the duo eventually learns to put aside their differences.

88

8.6

/148729/

82

/4376/

80

/1499/

100

/5/

93

age 10+

Mr Bean turns simple everyday tasks into chaotic situations and will leave you in stitches as he creates havoc wherever he goes.

89

IMDb 47

9.3

/3144506/

91

/52073/

87

/29511/

4.6

/2443744/

89

/146/

98

/53477/

82

/22/

3.5

age 15+

Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

88

8.6

/47369/

84

/1263/

82

/331/

93

/14/

95

age 14+

A crazy comedy about three rather strange parish priests exiled to Craggy Island, a remote island off the Irish west coast.

88

8.5

/60390/

82

/1931/

79

/476/

100

/20/

96

age 14+

Spaced: the anti-Friends, in that it examines the lives of common 20 somethings, but in a way that is more down to earth and realistic. Here we have Daisy and Tim; two 'young' adults with big dreams just trying to get by in this crazy world. They are thrown together in a common pursuit of tenancy, which they find by posing as a couple. The house has a landlady and an oddball artist living there. The series explores the ins and outs of London living.

88

8.2

/14732/

80

/533/

83

/366/

4.5

/68776/

100

/26/

94

/99/

91

/6/

A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.

87

8.8

/101872/

84

/1624/

82

/531/

4.3

/78420/

88

/17/

97

age 14+

Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with the second-eldest Bennet daughter, Elizabeth.

88

8.2

/653795/

79

/10329/

78

/5349/

4.1

/377885/

99

/165/

94

/6454/

91

/28/

4.0

age 17+

Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.

88

8.1

/37525/

79

/712/

79

/775/

4.3

/46663/

97

/30/

94

/1033/

4.0

In 1920s China, 19-year-old Songlian becomes a concubine of a powerful lord and is forced to compete with his three wives for the privileges gained.

87

8.1

/32898/

80

/1562/

81

/591/

100

/16/

95

age 7+

As new villains overrun Gotham City of the future, the aging Bruce Wayne hangs up the cape of the once invincible Batman. But when troubled teenager Terry McGinnis stumbles upon the Dark Knight's secret, a new alliance is forged. And a triumphant new Batman is born.

87

8.5

/106143/

83

/6386/

85

/1970/

4.5

/276620/

100

/32/

89

8.3

/1182934/

age 14+

At the turn of the century, the Angels returned to Earth, seeking to wipe out humanity in an apocalyptic fury. Devastated, mankind's last remnants moved underground to wait for the day when the Angels would come back to finish the job. Fifteen years later, that day has come... but this time, humanity is ready to fight back with terrifying bio-mechanical weapons known as the Evangelions. Watch as Shinji, Rei, Asuka and the rest of the mysterious shadow agency Nerv battle to save earth from total annihilation.

87

8.1

/25371/

79

/852/

79

/397/

4.2

/61516/

100

/34/

94

/534/

95

/7/

3.5

A chronicle of the production problems — including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more — which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.

87

86

8.7

/16830/

81

/411/

80

/136/

92

/33/

90

95

/20/

age 14+

An American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.

87

8.0

/50895/

78

/764/

75

/704/

4.3

/59640/

95

/44/

92

/644/

92

/27/

4.0

age 15+

After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cynthia, a working class white woman.

87

8.0

/501591/

79

/21610/

77

/10448/

3.9

/832052/

95

/170/

94

/105/

95

/22/

4.0

age 6+

Follow the adventures of Belle, a bright young woman who finds herself in the castle of a prince who's been turned into a mysterious beast. With the help of the castle's enchanted staff, Belle soon learns the most important lesson of all -- that true beauty comes from within.

85

8.3

/172243/

84

/10115/

81

/1920/

85

/141/

93

85

/21/

age 14+

Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.

87

8.1

/36416/

82

/765/

79

/652/

4.4

/60706/

90

/52/

93

/726/

84

/28/

4.0

In an epic tale of theater, gender, love and class, two Beijing opera actors navigate political turmoil as their friendship evolves over decades.

85

8.2

/26110/

81

/1939/

80

/479/

4.2

/15494/

100

/5/

89

8.2

/396641/

Trigun takes place in the distant future on a desert planet. Vash the Stampede is a gunfighter with a legend so ruthless he has a $$60,000,000,000 bounty on his head. Entire towns evacuate at the rumor of his arrival. But the real Vash the Stampede, the enigmatic and conflicted lead character, is more heroic, even though he usually acts like a complete idiot.

87

8.2

/19362/

79

/620/

75

/192/

4.1

/18341/

100

/26/

94

/393/

4.0

A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.

85

8.7

/115474/

85

/3541/

80

/803/

93

/49/

94

73

/19/

The daily lives of prisoners in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison where ingroups - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to their mutual friends and terrorize their mutual enemies.

87

8.2

/464389/

80

/8860/

79

/4779/

4.2

/285639/

96

/108/

93

/6478/

85

/34/

4.0

age 18+

William Munny is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff.

86

85

8.4

/13094/

81

/412/

77

/116/

93

/22/

97

The League of Gentlemen is a British comedy television series that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The show is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in Northern England based on Bacup, Lancashire. It follows the lives of dozens of bizarre townspeople, most of whom are played by three of the show's four writers—Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith—who, along with Jeremy Dyson, formed the League of Gentlemen comedy troupe in 1995. The series originally aired for three series from 1999 until 2002 followed by a film in 2005. A three-part revival mini-series was broadcast in December 2017 to celebrate the group's 20th anniversary.

87

8.3

/476710/

84

/15508/

83

/8699/

4.4

/1474015/

93

/123/

94

/12004/

78

/31/

8.6

/871132/

4.0

age 12+

Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

85

8.9

/97780/

88

/4210/

83

/537/

81

/156/

95

78

/29/

age 14+

The West Wing provides a glimpse into presidential politics in the nation's capital as it tells the stories of the members of a fictional presidential administration. These interesting characters have humor and dedication that touches the heart while the politics that they discuss touch on everyday life.

87

8.1

/776472/

80

/18938/

78

/8795/

4.2

/1192770/

94

/109/

92

/12439/

88

/26/

4.0

age 16+

Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!

84

8.2

/101938/

80

/4241/

76

/841/

95

/76/

95

79

/24/

age 13+

After many years spent at the “Cheers” bar, Frasier moves back home to Seattle to work as a radio psychiatrist after his policeman father gets shot in the hip on duty.

87

8.2

/1344382/

82

/37841/

81

/19658/

4.2

/4124428/

94

/160/

89

/19799/

90

/30/

4.0

age 10+

An insurance salesman begins to suspect that his whole life is actually some sort of reality TV show.

87

84

8.5

/7540/

79

/304/

81

/173/

4.2

/8053/

100

/7/

91

Combining fact and informed speculation with cutting-edge computer graphics and animatronics effects, the series set out to create the most accurate portrayal of prehistoric animals ever seen on the screen.

87

8.6

/1695560/

85

/35873/

83

/17452/

4.3

/2662249/

95

/157/

95

/29659/

86

/20/

3.5

age 17+

Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

84

8.2

/23042/

79

/708/

75

/174/

96

/21/

90

age 16+

Set in the world of fashion and PR, immature fun-loving mother Edina Monsoon and her best friend Patsy drive Eddie's sensible daughter, Saffron, up the wall with their constant drug abuse and outrageous selfishness. Numerous in-jokes and heavy doses of cruel humour have made this series a cult hit in the UK and abroad.

85

84

8.2

/11772/

81

/473/

74

/107/

100

/13/

88

age 14+

TV series about the life of Brendon Small, an eight-year-old visionary who, using his friends Jason and Melissa as actors, have managed to direct over a thousand homemade films. His parents are divorced, but it doesn't feel strange since so many other kids' parents are divorced. His friend Jason actually feels upset because his parents are still together. At school, he is taught soccer by his coach John McGuirk, or as he calls him, "that weird Irish guy".

86

8.3

/63198/

80

/2015/

78

/1113/

4.3

/134341/

100

/28/

92

/730/

age 7+

Wallace rents out Gromit's former bedroom to a penguin, who takes up an interest in the techno trousers created by Wallace. However, Gromit later learns that the penguin is a wanted criminal.

86

8.0

/22850/

76

/555/

75

/273/

4.2

/37057/

95

/43/

89

/617/

93

/21/

4.0

This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.

84

8.7

/241618/

84

/8845/

83

/2424/

78

/95/

92

83

/45/

age 14+

The body of Laura Palmer is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate her strange demise only to uncover a web of mystery that ultimately leads him deep into the heart of the surrounding woodland and his very own soul.

86

7.9

/12055/

79

/404/

75

/247/

4.1

/11320/

97

/33/

91

/237/

87

/26/

4.0

age 6+

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

84

83

8.3

/9051/

81

/496/

73

/62/

90

/32/

93