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The Best '90s Movies on Netflix What to Watch on Netflix


Scott Meslow

Flash back to the pre-millennium with these '90s classics.

Barton Fink (1991)

One of the most underrated entries in the Coen brothers’ canon, Barton Fink almost perversely defies description. It’s a pitch-black satire of the entertainment industry in the mid-1940s, and a surrealist existential horror film that’s often very, very funny. John Turturro stars as the titular Barton, a budding screenwriter whose writer’s block seems to manifest in the collapse of world around him, with Coen mainstays like John Goodman and Steve Buscemi in key supporting roles.

Schindler’s List (1993)

Steven Spielberg’s now-legendary Best Picture winner tells the true story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a German man who saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust. Heartbreaking, harrowing, and ultimately deeply humanistic, Schindler’s List the kind of movie that elevates the art form, compelling audiences to bear witness to a tragedy too many might otherwise forget.

Quiz Show (1994)

Full disclosure: Forrest Gump—which actually won Best Picture in 1995—is also available on Netflix right now. But I prefer Quiz Show, an undersung runner-up for the Academy’s top prize. Robert Redford’s perfectly calibrated historical drama digs into the real-life quiz show scandals that dominated headlines in the 1950s, when a congressional subcommittee investigated (accurate) allegations that TV game shows were rigged. It’s a compelling story on its own, elevated by a capable cast that includes John Turturro, Ralph Fiennes, and Paul Scofield.

Scream (1996)

The late Wes Craven had already earned a permanent spot in the Hollywood horror pantheon with 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street—but more than a decade later, he re-solidified his place with Scream. A slasher film that’s openly familiar with the conventions of slasher films—right down to the instantly iconic catchphrase "Do you like scary movies?"—Scream’s self-aware blend of horror was ripped off by a bunch of wannabes, but none that came close to the still-entertaining original.


Yeah, yeah, you’ve probably seen Titanic. It’s the second highest-grossing movie in history. But when was the last time you, you know… watched Titanic? James Cameron’s disaster epic holds up today, balancing a clever framing device with a couple of can’t-miss young romantic leads in Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet—who went on, of course, to become two of the most acclaimed actors in modern-day Hollywood—offset a hilariously over-the-top villain played by Billy Zane. And I don’t care how cool you are—you’re never too cool to swoon to "My Heart Will Go On."

The Matrix (1999)

The Wachowskis redefined the action movie with this classic blend of mind-bending sci-fi and pulse-pounding shoot-'em-up. It’s easy to hold the flaws of The Matrix against it—crappy sequels, a bunch of lazy bullet-time spoofs, obnoxious MRA dudes talking about taking the red pill—but the original still holds up as an unusually brainy action flick.

The Iron Giant (1999)

Unjustly overlooked at the time of its release, The Iron Giant has since been championed by many critics as one of the great animated films of the 1990s—and some would make a case for greatest films of the 1990s. Written and directed by Brad Bird (who would go on to make his name at Pixar with The Incredibles and Ratatouille), this story about a young boy and his giant robot is uncommonly and achingly tender, humanizing the titular hunk of metal as effectively as E.T. humanized an ugly alien.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

For better or worse, The Sixth Sense will always be remembered for its twist, which shocked audiences in 1999 (and is so widely known today that I’m sure you’ve already had it spoiled). But don’t let the heat of that twist direct you from the rest of the movie: A moody, atmospheric gothic thriller in which M. Night Shymalan painstakingly weaves a beautiful rug before pulling it out from under you. And twist or no twist, The Sixth Sense contains one of the great performances of Bruce Willis’ entire career, alongside Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette (who earned an Academy Award nomination for her stellar supporting turn).

Ravenous (1999)

I’ll be honest: Ravenous is definitely a love-it-or-hate-it proposition, as its 45 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes will attest. But damn, do I want you to watch this weird, wonderful movie. A period drama (or is it a comedy?) about cannibalism during America’s westward expansion in the mid-1840s, Ravenous enlisted a once-in-a-lifetime cast of soon-to-be-leading men and character actors—including Guy Pearce, David Arquette, Robert Carlyle, Jeremy Davies, Neal McDonough, and John Spencer—to bring this stomach-churning story to life. (And I haven’t even mentioned the score, which is probably the strangest I’ve ever heard in a mainstream-ish Hollywood release.)




