There's no doubt that the 1990s were a great time for cinema. There was a range of great movies spread out across multiple genres, and it was also a time when blockbusters seemed to thrive alongside indie films that were surprisingly popular. Regardless of a person's taste in movies, it was a 10-year period in cinema history where it truly felt like there was something for everyone.

Few individual years within the 1990s can compete with 1994, however, when it comes to great titles released. There were so many iconic movies that it's hard to capture them all within one brief ranking, and there are a host of honorable mentions that sadly couldn't make the cut, including The Legend of Drunken Master, Once Were Warriors, and Leon: The Professional. 1994 was just a little too great for its own good, with the following representing the best of what the year had to offer.

12 'Forrest Gump'

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

1994 was a year when the Oscar winner for Best Picture, while very good, wasn't even close to being the very best of the year. That film is Forrest Gump, a beloved classic that's one of the decade's most popular, being a dramedy that spans many years, telling the surprisingly eventful story of its title character while exploring his simple but charming outlook on life.

Forrest Gump has been remade before, and also quoted/referenced to death through pop culture, with it being one of those rare movies that seemingly everyone has heard of. Without a doubt, Forrest Gump is unapologetic about having mass appeal and being sentimental, but it all works well, and is a technically impressive and entertaining movie, with a great lead performance by Tom Hanks at its center.

11 'Three Colors: Red'

Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski

When it comes to arthouse cinema in the 1990s, few films are quite as acclaimed and well-known as the Three Colors trilogy, all directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and released between 1993 and 1994. The first in the trilogy, Blue, is a downbeat and haunting exploration of grief, the second, White, is a bit lighter and more farcical, and then the third film, 1994’s Red, represents the trilogy at its most enigmatic.

The narrative of Three Colors: Red is relatively loose, following a young woman who strikes up an unusual bond with a retired judge who’s as reclusive as he is mysterious a neighbor. Like all the Three Colors films, Red is bold and distinctive visually, naturally using the titular color prominently throughout while telling a unique story that sticks with one more than might be expected once it’s over.

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10 'Eat Drink Man Woman'

Directed by Ang Lee

So long as you don’t watch it on an empty stomach, Eat Drink Man Woman is a difficult-to-dislike film, perhaps even being one of the greatest romantic movies of all time. It sees the ever-versatile Ang Lee helming a relatable, heartfelt, funny, and bittersweet narrative, mostly centered on a father and his three daughters, all of whom are experiencing difficulties in life, particularly when it comes to relationships.

Eat Drink Man Woman is a perfect slice-of-life kind of movie, just being about the ups and downs of life in a way that’s surprisingly captivating. But for real, there is so much food featured in this movie, and it all looks dangerously tasty. As such, anyone who watches it while hungry will come away from it inevitably starving… so make sure to tackle watching it with a bucket of popcorn or three on hand.

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9 'Speed'

Directed by Jan de Bont

Of all the action movies that came out in a post-Die Hard world that feel influenced by the 1988 classic, Speed is one of the best. It's largely contained to a single bus that's been rigged to explode by a terrorist if the vehicle's speed drops below 50 miles per hour.

It's the kind of great premise that instantly establishes tension and a consistent feeling of suspense throughout much of the movie's duration. It's also helped by some solid filmmaking behind the camera, and memorable performances in front of it by a talented cast, including Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, and (especially) Dennis Hopper as the villain. Importantly, Speed also demonstrated Reeves' capacity to work as an action star, predating the action-packed beginning of the Matrix series by a few years.