Best Movies of 1996

The highest-rated films from 1996 according to MovieMagicScore. Rankings based purely on what viewers actually think.

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Trainspotting

1996 · 10,769 ratings

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

8.0

Fargo

1996 · 8,634 ratings

Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!

7.8

Primal Fear

1996 · 3,686 ratings

Defense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the greater good. His latest case involves an altar boy, accused of brutally murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Vail finds himself up against his ex-pupil and ex-lover, but as the case progresses and the Church's dark secrets are revealed, Vail finds that what appeared a simple case takes on a darker, more dangerous aspect.

7.7

Sleepers

1996 · 3,700 ratings

Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.

7.6

Scream

1996 · 7,987 ratings

A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.

7.4

“The Shorts” by Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo

1996 · 365 ratings

I Corti ("Shorts") by Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo was the first stage show of the comedy trio, with the participation of Marina Massironi. It was recorded live at the Teatro Nuovo in Ferrara on 28 and 29 March 1996. Produced by Agidi, with the theatre direction of Arturo Brachetti.

8.1

A Close Shave

1996 · 884 ratings

Wallace's whirlwind romance with the proprietor of the local wool shop puts his head in a spin, and Gromit is framed for sheep-rustling in a fiendish criminal plot.

7.6

A Time to Kill

1996 · 2,723 ratings

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.

7.4

Breaking the Waves

1996 · 1,064 ratings

In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.

7.5

#10

Secrets & Lies

1996 · 689 ratings

After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cynthia, a working class white woman.

7.6

#11

Sling Blade

1996 · 828 ratings

Karl Childers, a mentally disabled man, has been in the custody of the state mental hospital since the age of 12 for killing his mother and her lover. Although thoroughly institutionalized, he is deemed fit to be released into the outside world.

7.5

#12

Thesis

1996 · 893 ratings

While doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured to death. Soon she discovers that the girl was a former student at her college...

7.5

#13

Star Trek: First Contact

1996 · 1,868 ratings

The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy.

7.3

#14

Matilda

1996 · 4,645 ratings

Matilda Wormwood is an exquisite and intelligent little girl. Unfortunately, her parents, Harry and Zinnia misunderstand her because they think she is so different. As time passes, she finally starts school and has a kind teacher, loyal friends, and a sadistic headmistress. As she gets fed up with the constant cruelty, she begins to realize that she has a gift of telekinetic powers. After some days of practice, she suddenly turns the tables to stand up to Harry and Zinnia and outwit the headmistress.

7.2

#15

The Rock

1996 · 4,962 ratings

When vengeful General Francis X. Hummel seizes control of Alcatraz Island and threatens to launch missiles loaded with deadly chemical weapons into San Francisco, only a young FBI chemical weapons expert and notorious Federal prisoner have the skills to penetrate the impregnable island fortress and take him down.

7.1

#16

Shine

1996 · 680 ratings

Pianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.

7.4

#17

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1996 · 5,214 ratings

Isolated bell-ringer Quasimodo wishes to leave Notre Dame tower against the wishes of Judge Claude Frollo, his stern guardian and Paris' strait-laced Minister of Justice. His first venture to the outside world finds him Esmeralda, a kind-hearted and fearless Romani woman who openly stands up to Frollo's tyranny.

7.1

#18

The English Patient

1996 · 2,297 ratings

In the 1930s, Count Almásy is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almásy enters into a world of love, betrayal, and politics.

7.2

#19

Bound

1996 · 1,021 ratings

Corky, a tough female ex-convict working on an apartment renovation in a Chicago building, meets a couple living next door, Caesar, a paranoid mobster, and Violet, his seductive girlfriend, who is immediately attracted to her.

7.2

#20

Hamlet

1996 · 499 ratings

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother now marrying the murderer... his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.

7.3

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About 1996 Movies

These are the best-rated movies released in 1996 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 1996 memorable in cinema based on the collective opinion of movie lovers worldwide.

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