Considering ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ and other ‘best’ movies of the 90s

The online film publication Indie Wire recently compiled their list of the 100 best movies of the 1990s. In a bold move, they named Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” as the No. 1 film of the decade.

As a publication that celebrates independent and international film, their list casts a wide net, and even the most ardent cinephiles will likely discover titles to add to their watchlist. The Indie Wire list prioritizes advocacy over making “the right list.” They don’t want readers to sweat over the omissions and rankings; they want them to watch something new, or in the case of “Eyes Wide Shut,” reevaluate a complicated and galvanizing text.

Even with all that in mind, I can’t help but contemplate the primal question: What is the true best movie of the 1990s?

Honestly, “Eyes Wide Shut” wouldn’t have been top of mind. I saw Kubrick’s final film, an enigmatic and explicit look at the thorny sexual and psychological dynamics between an affluent married couple played by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, sometime in the early 2000s, probably around the time that the stars ended their long-running relationship in real life. Unsettling, entrancing and often confounding, I was especially surprised by how decidedly unsexy it was, especially considering the way the film was marketed upon release. Like many Stanley Kubrick films, I knew then that a single viewing wasn’t going to be enough for me to fully appreciate it.

Then I didn’t re-watch “Eyes Wide Shut” until just recently (you can currently stream it on Netflix). It’s the same movie I saw years ago, but at least I felt more equipped to better settle onto its wavelength. It’s a masterful display of filmmaking (duh), and one that invites even further examination.

I suspect that thinking is how the movie ultimately landed at No. 1 on the Indie Wire list, especially given how their writers gravitated to challenging cinema on the list rather than more typical crowd-pleasing entertainment. I loved reading their perspective, even as I couldn’t help but think that something like “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” was way, way, way too low on the list.

Determining what’s “best” is a challenging thought exercise because it requires you to at least partially set aside personal preferences and impressionable memories. I know beyond a doubt that my “favorite” movie of the 1990s is “Jurassic Park,” because the Steven Spielberg blockbuster acted as Patient Zero of my lifelong, often-times diseased obsession with movies.

For what it’s worth, “Jurassic Park” is a stellar movie in its own right, and even the “stuffy” Indie Wire list clocked it in at No. 50.

Putting aside those personal preferences though, I acknowledge that Spielberg managed to exceed the craft of “Jurassic Park” just a few months later that same year with his Oscar-winning “Schindler’s List,” a movie I would seriously consider as the actual “best” movie of the 90s (Indie Wire ranked all the way up at No. 3).

I know I disagree with their list’s placement of “Titanic” at No. 8, a movie that I appreciate but still can’t fully embrace (that dialogue!) Still, as a measure of the 90s and what “Titanic” meant to the culture, it’s hard to begrudge it as a contender.

I can see many cinephiles settling on Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” as the best 90s movie (Indie Wire ranking No. 14). I might have agreed 20 years ago. These days, I’m squarely in the “Jackie Brown is Tarantino’s best movie” camp (Indie Wire ranking No. 48).

The rest of the titles that immediately come to mind probably boast solid arguments, though I don’t think I can fairly divorce my personal feelings about favorites like “Groundhog Day” (Indie Wire No. 43), “The Truman Show” (No. 41), “Magnolia” (No. 27), “Clueless” (all the way up at No. 20 for Indie Wire!), “Malcolm X” (No. 16) and “Goodfellas” (No. 6).

Another one of my favorites, however, seems more impenetrable to accusations of bias: The Coen Brothers’ “Fargo,” which landed FAR TOO LOW on Indie Wire’s list at No. 31. “Fargo” gets better on every viewing, which seems like a near impossibility at this point. And perhaps more importantly, it well represents the way 90s cinema could be full of challenging creative choices while still serving as compelling cineplex entertainment.

Then again, give me two or three more viewings of “Eyes Wide Shut” and I might reconsider.

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Tyler Wilson is a member of the International Press Academy and has been writing about movies and pop culture for Inland Northwest publications since 2000, including a regular column in The Press since 2006. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.