Without further ado, I give you the top ten movies of 1993:
1. Short Cuts Directed by Robert Altman
Written by Altman and Frank Barhydt, from stories by Raymond Carver
Ever see Magnolia? This is the original.
2. Groundhog Day Directed by Harold Ramis
Written by Ramis and Danny Rubin
Buddha's favorite romantic comedy.
3. A Perfect World Directed by Clint Eastwood
Written by John Lee Hancock
The joke goes that this is the movie that proved Eastwood's standing as a great director, because he actually managed to elicit a good performance from Kevin Costner. After The Outlaw Josey Wales, it's my favorite of Eastwood's films.
4. Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould Directed by François Girard
Written by Girard, Don McKellar, and Nick McKinney
So much better than a conventional biopic.
5. Latcho Drom Written and Directed by Tony Gatlif
A celebration of Gypsy music and culture. Frequently described as a documentary, but since the entire thing was scripted and staged it might be better to regard it as a hundred-minute music video.
6. Fearless Directed by Peter Weir
Written by Rafael Yglesias, from his novel
Someone once told me he saw this movie on an airplane. I don't believe him.
7. Manhattan Murder Mystery Directed by Woody Allen
Written by Allen and Marshall Brickman
Proof that Woody was capable of being laugh-out-loud funny as late as the 1990s.
8. Dottie Gets Spanked Written and Directed by Todd Haynes
A strange and smart short about childhood, homosexuality, and television.
9. The Bed You Sleep In Written and Directed by Jon Jost
Brings intelligence and ambiguity to a topic that rarely fares well on film. Can't tell you what that topic is, though; that would be a spoiler.
10. True Romance Directed by Tony Scott
Written by Quentin Tarantino
Tony Scott probably wasn't the right director for this, but Tarantino's charmingly boyish script still manages to shine through.
Honorable mention:
11. Red Rock West (John Dahl)
12. Mad Dog and Glory (John McNaughton)
13. The Scent of Green Papaya (Tran Anh Hung)
14. The Wrong Trousers (Nick Park)
15. The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl (Ray Müller)
16. Body Snatchers (Abel Ferrara)
17. White (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
18. High Lonesome (Rachel Liebling)
19. The Junky's Christmas (Nick Donkin, Melodie McDaniel)
20. In the Name of the Father (Jim Sheridan)