Best Movies of 1990

The highest-rated films from 1990 according to MovieMagicScore. Rankings based purely on what viewers actually think.

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GoodFellas

1990 · 14,338 ratings

The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.

8.5

Dances with Wolves

1990 · 4,496 ratings

Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.

7.8

Edward Scissorhands

1990 · 13,394 ratings

A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.

7.7

Misery

1990 · 4,947 ratings

After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.

7.7

Awakenings

1990 · 2,718 ratings

Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.

7.8

Back to the Future Part III

1990 · 11,127 ratings

The final installment finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time machine breaks down, the travelers are stranded in a land of spurs. More problems arise when Doc falls for pretty schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and Marty tangles with Buford Tannen.

7.5

Pretty Woman

1990 · 8,674 ratings

While on a business trip in Los Angeles, Edward Lewis, a millionaire entrepreneur who makes a living buying and breaking up companies, picks up a prostitute, Vivian, while asking for directions; after, Edward hires Vivian to stay with him for the weekend to accompany him to a few social events, and the two get closer only to discover there are significant hurdles to overcome as they try to bridge the gap between their very different worlds.

7.5

Home Alone

1990 · 11,945 ratings

Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. When thieves try to break into his home, he puts up a fight like no other.

7.4

The Godfather Part III

1990 · 6,569 ratings

In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.

7.4

#10

Close-Up

1990 · 422 ratings

This fiction-documentary hybrid uses a sensational real-life event—the arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated the well-known filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf—as the basis for a stunning, multilayered investigation into movies, identity, artistic creation, and existence, in which the real people from the case play themselves.

8.0

#11

Miller's Crossing

1990 · 1,760 ratings

Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.

7.4

#12

The Hunt for Red October

1990 · 3,474 ratings

A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius. The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. Lone CIA analyst Jack Ryan has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it - because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find Ramius, too. The hunt is on!

7.4

#13

Total Recall

1990 · 6,155 ratings

Construction worker Douglas Quaid's obsession with the planet Mars leads him to visit Recall, a company that manufactures memories. When his memory implant goes wrong, Doug can no longer be sure what is and isn't reality.

7.3

#14

A Grand Day Out

1990 · 954 ratings

Wallace and Gromit have run out of cheese, and this provides an excellent excuse for the duo to take their holiday to the moon, where, as everyone knows, there is ample cheese. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

7.5

#15

Dreams

1990 · 519 ratings

Eight visually rich vignettes drawn from Kurosawa’s own dreams—fox weddings and vanished orchards, a soldier’s ghosts, a walk through Van Gogh’s canvases, nuclear nightmares, and a water-mill utopia—meditate on childhood, art, mortality, and humanity’s uneasy bond with nature.

7.7

#16

Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku

1990 · 745 ratings

Bardock, Son Goku's father, is a low-ranking Saiyan soldier who was given the power to see into the future by the last remaining alien on a planet he just destroyed. He witnesses the destruction of his race and must now do his best to stop Frieza's impending massacre.

7.6

#17

Jacob's Ladder

1990 · 1,781 ratings

After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around him morph and twist into disturbing images. His girlfriend, Jezzie, and ex-wife, Sarah, try to help, but to little avail. Even Singer's chiropractor friend, Louis, fails to reach him as he descends into madness.

7.3

#18

Ghost

1990 · 5,803 ratings

After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.

7.2

#19

Cyrano de Bergerac

1990 · 793 ratings

Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.

7.3

#20

Bullet in the Head

1990 · 292 ratings

Three childhood friends from the slums of Hong Kong flee to war-time Saigon after accidentally murdering a gang leader, but their troubles only escalate.

7.6

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About 1990 Movies

These are the best-rated movies released in 1990 according to MovieMagicScore. Our ranking system aggregates genuine viewer ratings to give you an honest picture of what audiences actually think about these films.

From blockbusters to indie gems, discover what made 1990 memorable in cinema based on the collective opinion of movie lovers worldwide.

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