Best Drama Movies of the 1990s

1. 1
   The Shawshank Redemption 1994

   Directed by Frank Darabont · Streaming on MGM Plus, TNT, TBS
   8.7

   8.7 · 32K votes
2. 2
   Schindler's List 1993

   Directed by Steven Spielberg
   8.6

   8.6 · 18K votes
3. 3
   The Green Mile 1999

   Directed by Frank Darabont · Streaming on Tubi TV
   8.5

   8.5 · 20K votes
4. 4
   Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge 1995

   Directed by Aditya Chopra · Streaming on Netflix
   8.5

   8.5 · 4.6K votes
5. 5
   Forrest Gump 1994

   Directed by Robert Zemeckis · Streaming on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
   8.5

   8.5 · 31K votes
6. 6
   GoodFellas 1990

   Directed by Martin Scorsese · Streaming on Howdy
   8.4

   8.5 · 15K votes
7. 7
   Fight Club 1999

   Directed by David Fincher
   8.4

   8.4 · 33K votes
8. 8
   Life Is Beautiful 1997

   Directed by Roberto Benigni · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Paramount Plus Premium
   8.4

   8.4 · 14K votes
9. 9
   The Silence of the Lambs 1991

   Directed by Jonathan Demme · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Kanopy
   8.3

   8.3 · 19K votes
10. 10
    American History X 1998

    Directed by Tony Kaye
    8.3

    8.3 · 13K votes
11. 11
    Léon: The Professional 1994

    Directed by Luc Besson · Streaming on Sundance Now, YouTube Free, Tubi TV
    8.3

    8.3 · 17K votes
12. 12
    The Lion King 1994

    Directed by Roger Allers · Streaming on Disney Plus
    8.2

    8.3 · 20K votes
13. 13
    Saving Private Ryan 1998

    Directed by Steven Spielberg · Streaming on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Peacock Premium
    8.2

    8.2 · 18K votes
14. 14
    Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion 1997

    Directed by Hideaki Anno · Streaming on Netflix, Criterion Channel
    8.2

    8.3 · 2K votes
15. 15
    Good Will Hunting 1997

    Directed by Gus Van Sant · Streaming on Apple TV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
    8.2

    8.2 · 14K votes
16. 16
    The Truman Show 1998

    Directed by Peter Weir · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla
    8.2

    8.2 · 21K votes
17. 17
    The Usual Suspects 1995

    Directed by Bryan Singer · Streaming on HBO Max, Cinemax
    8.1

    8.2 · 12K votes
18. 18
    Bound by Honor 1993

    Directed by Taylor Hackford
    8.1

    8.2 · 1.7K votes
19. 19
    The Legend of 1900 1998

    Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
    8.1

    8.2 · 2.5K votes
20. 20
    La Haine 1995

    Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    8.1

    8.1 · 4.8K votes
21. 21
    American Beauty 1999

    Directed by Sam Mendes · Streaming on Hoopla
    8.0

    8.0 · 13K votes
22. 22
    Casino 1995

    Directed by Martin Scorsese · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV
    8.0

    8.0 · 6.8K votes
23. 23
    Central Station 1998

    Directed by Walter Salles
    8.0

    8.1 · 1.1K votes
24. 24
    The Sixth Sense 1999

    Directed by M. Night Shyamalan · Streaming on Netflix, Apple TV, Hulu
    7.9

    8.0 · 14K votes
25. 25
    Trainspotting 1996

    Directed by Danny Boyle
    7.9

    8.0 · 11K votes
26. 26
    The Iron Giant 1999

    Directed by Brad Bird · Streaming on YouTube Free
    7.9

    8.0 · 6.4K votes
27. 27
    Before Sunrise 1995

    Directed by Richard Linklater · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Tubi TV
    7.9

    8.0 · 4.9K votes
28. 28
    Chungking Express 1994

    Directed by Wong Kar-wai · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.9

    8.0 · 2.3K votes
29. 29
    Braveheart 1995

    Directed by Mel Gibson · Streaming on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+
    7.9

    7.9 · 12K votes
30. 30
    Heat 1995

    Directed by Michael Mann · Streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV
    7.9

    7.9 · 8.8K votes
31. 31
    Titanic 1997

    Directed by James Cameron · Streaming on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+
    7.9

    7.9 · 28K votes
32. 32
    Whisper of the Heart 1995

    Directed by Yoshifumi Kondo · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.9

    7.9 · 2.4K votes
33. 33
    A Bronx Tale 1993

    Directed by Robert De Niro · Streaming on Philo, AMC Plus, AMC+
    7.9

    7.9 · 3.1K votes
34. 34
    A Brighter Summer Day 1991

    Directed by Edward Yang · Streaming on YouTube TV
    7.8

    8.2 · 414 votes
35. 35
    Fargo 1996

    Directed by Joel Coen · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    7.8

    7.8 · 9.5K votes
36. 36
    In the Name of the Father 1993

    Directed by Jim Sheridan
    7.8

    7.9 · 2.1K votes
37. 37
    Dances with Wolves 1990

    Directed by Kevin Costner · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, Amazon MX Player
    7.8

    7.8 · 4.9K votes
38. 38
    Three Colors: Red 1994

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel, TCM
    7.8

    7.9 · 1.6K votes
39. 39
    The Postman 1994

    Directed by Michael Radford
    7.8

    7.9 · 1.3K votes
40. 40
    Farewell My Concubine 1993

    Directed by Chen Kaige · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, MUBI
    7.8

    8.0 · 725 votes
41. 41
    Raise the Red Lantern 1991

    Directed by Zhang Yimou
    7.8

    7.9 · 834 votes
42. 42
    Carlito's Way 1993

    Directed by Brian De Palma · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Starz
    7.8

    7.8 · 3.6K votes
43. 43
    Scent of a Woman 1992

    Directed by Martin Brest · Streaming on YouTube Free
    7.8

    7.8 · 4.2K votes
44. 44
    Awakenings 1990

    Directed by Penny Marshall · Streaming on Tubi TV, Sony Pictures Core
    7.7

    7.8 · 3K votes
45. 45
    To Live 1994

    Directed by Zhang Yimou
    7.7

    8.1 · 400 votes
46. 46
    Misery 1990

    Directed by Rob Reiner · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.7

    7.8 · 5.5K votes
47. 47
    Edward Scissorhands 1990

    Directed by Tim Burton · Streaming on Disney Plus, Hulu, fuboTV
    7.7

    7.7 · 14K votes
48. 48
    Children of Heaven 1997

    Directed by Majid Majidi · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, YouTube Free
    7.7

    7.9 · 761 votes
49. 49
    Joseph 1995

    Directed by Roger Young
    7.7

    8.3 · 237 votes
50. 50
    Satantango 1994

    Directed by Béla Tarr · Streaming on Kanopy, Eternal Family
    7.7

    8.1 · 329 votes

Smart score = (votes × rating + 82 × 6.03) ÷ (votes + 82): the TMDB rating, pulled toward the catalog average as if every film had 82 extra average votes.

1. 1
   How Did I Come to Fall in Love With You? 1990

   Directed by Sergio Olhovich
   6.7

   8.8 · 28 votes
2. 2
   Les Misérables: 10th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall 1995

   Directed by Gavin Taylor
   6.7

   8.8 · 25 votes
3. 3
   Roaring Across the Horizon 1999

   Directed by Chen Guoxing
   6.5

   8.5 · 17 votes
4. 4
   El Quijote de Miguel de Cervantes 1992

   Directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón
   6.5

   8.5 · 17 votes
5. 5
   Premeditated Murder 1995

   Directed by Gorčin Stojanović
   6.5

   8.3 · 19 votes
6. 6
   Small things of unquantifiable value 1999

   Directed by Paolo Genovese
   6.4

   8.5 · 14 votes
7. 7
   Salserin, the First Time 1997

   Directed by Luis Alberto Lamata
   6.4

   8.1 · 19 votes
8. 8
   Tatar Ramazan Sürgünde 1992

   Directed by Melih Gülgen
   6.4

   8.2 · 17 votes
9. 9
   Krantiveer 1994

   Directed by Mehul Kumar · Streaming on Eros Now Select
   6.4

   8.2 · 17 votes
10. 10
    Crazy Horse 1996

    Directed by John Irvin
    6.3

    8.7 · 11 votes