Movies: Mid 90's

Today we will discuss the movies from 1994 to 1996 and other related aspects.

The top grosser worldwide in 1994 was The Lion King ($768,625,889), which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time. Domestically in North America, it was slightly overtaken by Forrest Gump, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture and a second consecutive Academy Award for Best Actor for Tom Hanks.

There were also several popular action films, including Speed and True Lies. In the comedy realm, there was The Mask and Four Weddings and a Funeral, the latter of which shocked Forrest Gump to win the BAFTA award for Best Film. 1994 also featured the watershed Quentin Tarantino film and Palme d'Or winner, Pulp Fiction. Although a box office disappointment when originally released, 1994's The Shawshank Redemption, based on a Stephen King short story, would eventually become regarded as one of the films considered the greatest ever. Additionally, Hoop Dreams, a documentary that follows the story of two African-American high school students in Chicago and their dream of becoming professional basketball players, received high critical and popular acclaim and is generally considered one of the best documentary films ever made. In Blackburn, England, the discovery of approximately 800 well-preserved nitrate negatives shot by the British film pioneers Mitchell and Kenyon, active from 1897 to 1913 but previously known for only a handful of surviving titles, became a major contribution to early cinema.

 

The top grossing film of 1995 was Die Hard with a Vengeance ($366,101,666), which was the third movie in the popular Die Hard film series starring Bruce Willis.

Some notable film events were:

• March 13 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.
•  November 17 - After a six-year hiatus, the James Bond film series resumes with the successful GoldenEye.
• November 22 - Toy Story is released debuting at the #1 and remaining on the film charts for 18 weeks, marking the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery.

The highest grossing movie of 1996 was Independence Day ($817,400,891), starring Will Smith. Some other major releases in this year were: Major releases this year included Swingers, Fargo, Trainspotting, The Rock, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna. A funny fact is that in 1996 James Cameron officially begins writing the future blockbuster and highest grossing film of all time; Avatar.

Next time we will discuss the movies of the late 90’s!