Critics' Poll: ‘Goodfellas' Named Best Movie of the 1990s

“Goodfellas,” Martin Scorsese’s high-wire act of storytelling and visually masterful riff on the gangster genre, has topped our critics and industry poll as the best film of the 1990s. The survey, with 175 people from around the world voting, included directors, actors, producers, festival programmers, and historians. The closest competition to Scorsese’s film in the poll was Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 crime film, “Pulp Fiction,” which finished just 7 votes shy of “Goodfellas,” in second place.

The “Goodfellas” victory is just the latest honor in the film’s storied history. Despite losing Best Picture to “Dances With Wolves” at the 1990 Oscars, Scorsese’s film has aged like fine wine over time, finishing 92nd in AFI’s “100 years, 100 movies list” and selected in 2000 by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry, being deemed “culturally significant.” 

Critics were asked to submit their top 5 movies, unranked, released between January 1st, 1990 and December 31st, 1999. As mentioned, “Pulp Fiction” came in second place, followed by Jonathan Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs” and Joel Coen’s “Fargo.” Top non-American films included Wong Kar-Wai’s “Chungking Express” (#6) and the late Abbas Kiarostami’s “Close-Up” (#9), while non-fiction leaders were “Paris is Burning” (#35) and “Hoop Dreams” (#36).

Films that seemed to have aged well over time include, most especially, Stanley Kubrick’s final statement, “Eyes Wide Shut.” Released in 1999 to mixed reviews, it seems as though the last opus from the legendary director has gained notoriety over the years, impressively finishing in fifth place in our poll. Also positioning itself strongly was Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown” (#27) a film originally deemed to be a disappointment when released in the winter of 1997, but which has grown exponentially as a major cult favorite over the years, much like the Coen’s “The Big Lebowski” (#20)

Also breaking major ground is Kubrick’s supposed heir, Paul Thomas Anderson. Much like in our 2010s poll, PTA managed to sneak two films into the top ten (“Magnolia” and “Boogie Nights”).

A full list of the critics who participated – with all of the individual lists – can be found here.

1) Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese)
2) Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
3) The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme)
4) Fargo (Joel and Ethan Coen)
5) Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
6) Chungking Express (Wong Kar-Wai)
7) Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson)
8) Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)
9) Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami)
10) The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick)

11) Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)
12) Satantango (Bela Tarr)
13) Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg)
14) Beau Travail (Claire Denis)
15) A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang)
16) Safe (Todd Haynes)
17) The Matrix (Lana and Lilly Wachowski)
18) L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)
19) Heat (Michael Mann)
20) Fight Club (David Fincher)

21) The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen)
22) The Piano (Jane Campion)
23) Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg)
24) Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis)
25) Red (Krystof Kieslowski)
26) Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze)
27) Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino)
28) All About My Mother (Pedro Almodovar)
29) Rushmore (Wes Anderson)
30) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (David Lynch)

31) Blue (Krystof Kieslowski)
32) Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier)
33) The Long Day Closes (Terrence Davies)
34) Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater)
35) Paris is Burning (Jenni Livingston)
36) Hoop Dreams (Steve James)
37) After Life (Hirokazu Kore-Eda)
38) The Truman Show (Peter Weir)
39) Lost Highway (David Lynch)
40) The Flowers of Shanghai (Hous Hsiao-Hsien)