Rotten Tomatoes has an interesting rating system whereby critics and audience members alike can give scores to their favorite or least favorite films. Any film can be scored from any genre including documentaries, animated, dramas, comedies, and romances all of which appear on this list.
There were certainly a lot of fantastic films that were made in the 1990s, but not all of them have great ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, and it's difficult to get a perfect rating on the site—here are some of the best from the decade!
Before Sunrise (1995)
Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy star in the first film in the 'Before' Trilogy that tracks the couple's relationship over three films created years apart to show their relationship in real-time. Before Sunrise is the first film in the trilogy and has a great balance of romance and drama throughout.
Hawke's character Jesse is an American who is planning to travel home before he meets Delpy's Celine. The film slowly builds their bond as they walk the streets of Vienna in a beautifully intimate film.
Searching For Bobby Fischer (1993)
Searching for Bobby Fischer is a family drama about a young kid who is quickly recognized as a chess prodigy after he beats his father at the game. The family rallies around the young boy and hires a famous coach (Ben Kingsley) to give him lessons while he also learns from speed chess players in the park (specifically Laurence Fishburne) and tries to utilize both sets of skills to his advantage. The film manages to be riveting from beginning to end even, with the intellectual game being its central premise.
Toy Story (1995)
The Toy Story franchise has a great balance between seriously sad moments and hilarious moments throughout its films. Toy Story tells the story of young Andy and his collection of toys who all come to life when no one is looking.
The toy characters have just as much feeling and emotion connected to them as human characters in other films, and it's impressive that Toy Story makes the audience feel so connected to these now-iconic characters like Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). The Pixar film has a lot of heart at its center as it builds the toys into relatable and entertaining characters and hints at the feeling of loss and longing that the later films in the franchise delve into.
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Toy Story 2 builds on the first film with an even balance of sadness and hilarity that the toy characters reckon with throughout the film. All the same characters from the first film are there, and new ones are introduced, including the rest of the toy collection that the main character, Woody, is a part of originally. Woody is stolen from his comfortable home with Andy and taken to a toy collector's lair, fixed up, and put on display with the rest of the 'Roundup' posse where he has to decide if he wants to stay with newfound friends or make a daring escape to return to Andy.
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)
Hearts of Darkness chronicles an entire behind-the-scenes look at the tumultuous filming of the highly regarded war epic Apocalypse Now. The scenes were shot by director Francis Ford Coppola's wife, Eleanor, while on set and gives an unprecedented look at how Hollywood films are really made. The film gives an in-depth look at the issues filming that happened on set from weather delays to star Martin Sheen's heart attack during production.
Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
Cyrano de Bergerac is based on the famous romantic and dramatic play of the same name. The film follows Cyrano (Gérard Depardieu) vying after the lovely Roxane but being embarrassed by his large nose and losing all confidence in talking with her face to face. Christian has also fallen for Roxane, and Cyrano agrees to write her love letters professing Christian's love for her, and Roxane falls for Cyrano's words.
Rambling Rose (1991)
This historical period drama stars Laura Dern as a domestic worker to a wealthy family during the Great Depression era in the United States. The film follows Dern's character Rose as she tries her best to survive during the trying financial times and avoid having to turn to prostitution. She develops a close relationship with the family she has been hired to care for, including the young son. Things become complicated when Rose starts making sexual advances toward the father (Robert Duvall) of the family.
Passion Fish (1992)
Passion Fish centers on actress Mary Alice (Mary McDonnell), who was tragically paralyzed after a car accident and chooses to shut herself away in a vacation home and wallow in her own self-pity. She turns to alcohol and becomes insufferably mean to anyone trying to help her, including the countless nurse's aides who quit after trying to take care of her.
Chantelle (Alfre Woodard) is hired and gets through the initial shock of Mary Alice's anger, and the film focuses on the two women bonding and slowly forming a life-long friendship.
The Wrong Trousers (1993)
Wallace and Gromit is a lovable claymation franchise of films full of adorable and impressive moments including this film that has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score. The Wrong Trousers is the second film, which follows the titular characters in their normal everyday lives that become extraordinary.
Wallace takes in a penguin roommate, and Gromit quickly realizes that the penguin is bad news and a wanted criminal. The penguin plans to use Wallace's techno trousers to pull off a heist, and Gromit has to convince his friend of the penguin's devious attitude and stop the plot.
My Voyage to Italy (1999)
Martin Scorsese has created and directed iconic characters in his career and chose to document his favorite films and most influential filmmakers in this documentary. The film turns into a documentary about Italian cinema as well as a deeply personal project for Scorsese. It's a great film to watch for anyone interested in film, anyone who loves Martin Scorsese films, or anyone who wants to learn more about Italian cinema.