When a new drug promises a miraculous recovery from a crippling mental disease, Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) tests it on Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro), a grown man who became catatonic as a child. When the treatment proves successful, Leonard is freed from his internal prison. But, when the cure turns out to have limitations, both Leonard and Dr. Sayer have difficulty dealing with the outcome. Directed by Penny Marshall. With Julie Kavner, Penelope Ann Miller and John Heard. Categories: Drama, Based on a Novel. Year: 1990.
1990 in Awakenings
Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) flies back into the Old West to rescue Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) after getting a letter dated from 1885. Once there, Marty has a run-in with the villainous Tannen Gang, shows off the revolver skills he picked up at the 7-Eleven, and finds that Doc has fallen in love. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. With Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson, Lea Thompson and Elisabeth Shue. Categories: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Western. Year: 1990.
1990 in Back to the Future Part III
Documentarian Ken Burns provides a comprehensive survey of the American Civil War using over 16,000 archival photographs, paintings, and newspaper images from the time of the war intermixed with music, narration, anecdotes and insights from historians such as Shelby Foote, and quotes from historic figures, such as Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Walt Whitman, and Frederick Douglass. Categories: Documentary, History, War. Year: 1990.
1990 in The Civil War
Lt. John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) becomes a hero when he accidentally leads Union troops to victory in a key battle. Requesting assignment on the Western front, he finds himself sole guardian of an abandoned military outpost. There, he befriends a lonely wolf and a local Indian tribe, whose ways he grows to respect and adopt as their culture and lives are threatened by U.S. encroachment on their territories. An epic tale of the American West as it once was. Directed by Kevin Costner. With Mary McDonnell and Graham Greene. Categories: Adventure, Drama, Western. Year: 1990.
1990 in Dances with Wolves
Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise) is a young, cocky stock car driver who gets his chance to compete at the top level of NASCAR. Joining the hot-shot Trickle is mechanic mentor Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall), who acts as his crew chief. After a massive wreck that sends him to the hospital, Trickle meets Dr. Claire Lewicki (Nicole Kidman), a young, beautiful brain surgeon, and they fall in love. Directed by Tony Scott. With Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, John C. Reilly, Michael Rooker and Fred Dalton Thompson. Categories: Action, Drama, Romance, Sports. Year: 1990.
1990 in Days of Thunder
It's Christmas time again and New York City policeman John McClaine (Bruce Willis) is caught in the middle of another hostage situation. This time, he must stop an elite commando unit from kidnapping a big-time drug dealer and taking him to the Caribbean. And, he has to do it before his wife's plane, which has been circling overhead, runs out of fuel. Directed by Renny Harlin. With Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, William Sadler, John Amos, Dennis Franz, Art Evans and Fred Dalton Thompson. Categories: Action, Adventure, Thriller. Year: 1990.
1990 in Die Hard 2
Peg (Dianne Wiest), a perky Avon lady, discovers Edward (Johnny Depp), a mad scientist's half-finished experiment, while making her daily rounds. When she attempts to bring Edward into her suburban world to live among her family and gossipy neighbors, the gentle, kind-hearted misfit struggles to understand a world he knows nothing about. Directed by Tim Burton. With Winona Ryder, Anthony Michael Hall, Alan Arkin, Vincent Price and Kathy Baker. Categories: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance. Year: 1990.
1990 in Edward Scissorhands
When a group of medical students begins experimenting with near-death experiences, the secrets they unlock threaten to destroy them all. After having their hearts stopped, the students are revived and experience flashbacks of horrifying events from their childhoods. In their quest for answers, they have no choice but to journey deeper into the unknown to find a way to save themselves. Directed by Joel Schumacher. With Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt and Kimberly Scott. Categories: Horror, Thriller, Sci-Fi. Year: 1990.
1990 in Flatliners
Sam (Patrick Swayze) and Molly's (Demi Moore) relationship is great except for the fact that Sam has difficulty saying I love you. When the couple is mugged after a night out at the theater, Sam is tragically shot and killed, but remains on earth as a ghost trapped between two worlds. Unable to move on to the otherside, Sam realizes that he will have to settle some unfinished business first. Seeking help from another ghost (Vincent Schiavelli), who trains him to move objects by concentrating his emotions, and bogus psychic Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg), Sam sets out to expose the hidden agenda behind his murder and to prove his love to Molly once and for all. Directed by Jerry Zucker. With Tony Goldwyn. Categories: Drama, Mystery, Romance. Year: 1990.
1990 in Ghost
As aging mafia don Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) tries to remove the criminal ties from his empire and forge legitimate deals in real esate, he must contend with Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia), a rising gangster with a familiar, violent ambition that threatens to consume all that Michael has built. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. With Diane Keaton, Talia Shire and Bridget Fonda. Categories: Crime, Drama, New York. Year: 1990.
1990 in The Godfather: Part III
Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) always wanted to be a gangster. Starting out with small jobs for the local mafia boss (Paul Sorvino), he eventually quits school to focus full time on working his way up the mob hierarchy. Surrounded by money, power and dangerous men without boundaries, Henry becomes immersed in the lifestyle and begins to hatch his own schemes, partnering with Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro). But when lines are crossed and millions of dollars are on the line, Henry will have to decide who he can really trust if he wants to make it out alive. Directed by Martin Scorsese. With Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino and Debi Mazar. Categories: Crime, Drama, New York. Year: 1990.
1990 in Goodfellas
A few years after Gremlins overran their town, Billy (Zach Galligan) and Kate (Phoebe Cates) move to New York to work for media mogul Daniel Clamp (John Glover). What they don't know is that Gizmo is being held in a genetics lab in their office building. Once again, the cuddly creature accidentally gets wet and the Gremlins are released into the building. While Gizmo, Billy and Kate figure out a way to fight back, a mutated Gremlin with increased intelligence is created, and plans to lead his fellow monsters out into the city as soon as it gets dark. Directed by Joe Dante. With Robert Picardo and Christopher Lee. Categories: Comedy, Horror, Fantasy. Year: 1990.
1990 in Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli. With Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Helena Bonham Carter and Ian Holm. Categories: Drama, Romance. Year: 1990.
1990 in Hamlet
When 8-year-old Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) discovers that his family has flown to France for their Christmas vacation without him, he thinks that missing out on presents will be the worst of his problems. Instead, he finds himself in an all-out war with a pair of bone-headed bandits (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), who plan on robbing his house while his parents are away. Using his imagination and a ton of booby traps, Kevin sets out to bring the criminals to justice and does his best to spread the Christmas spirit. Directed by Chris Columbus. With Catherine O'Hara and John Candy. Categories: Cult Classics, Comedy, Crime, Family. Year: 1990.
1990 in Home Alone
Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery), the man in charge of the USSR's newest nuclear submarine, defies orders and sets the Red October on a course for the USA. CIA agent Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) investigates the case, trying to determine if Ramius is defecting or starting WWIII. Directed by John McTiernan. With Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones and Peter Firth. Categories: Action, Adventure, Thriller. Year: 1990.
1990 in The Hunt for Red October
When Frank White (Christopher Walken), a drug lord with a twisted sense of morality, is released from a long stint in prison, he comes out with a unique plan. He's decided to take down all his competition and use a portion of his profits to help the poor and homeless citizens of his city. But, when negotiations with his fellow gang leaders turn bloody, Frank is forced to return to his ruthless ways. Directed by Abel Ferrara. With David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne, Wesley Snipes and Steve Buscemi. Categories: Politics, Action, Drama, Crime, New York. Year: 1990.
1990 in King of New York
Mrs. Flax (Cher), a single mother of two, has slightly eccentric parenting skills. When she suffers yet another failed relationship, she decides to move her family to the East Coast for a fresh start. Mrs. Flax's eldest daughter, Charlotte (Winona Ryder), exasperated by her mother's flightiness, wants nothing more than to be a nun, despite the fact that she happens to be Jewish. The younger daughter, Kate (Christina Ricci), is preoccupied with her attempt to become the world's best swimmer. The trio, although quite different, learn to appreciate the richness of their family as they deal with life's tribulations and unexpected joys. Directed by Richard Benjamin. With Bob Hoskins and Michael Schoeffling. Categories: Comedy, Drama, Romance. Year: 1990.
1990 in Mermaids
Leo (Albert Finney) is a crime boss at war with Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito), the only mobster able to stand up to Leo's criminal empire. When tension between the gangs reaches a boiling point, Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) steps in to keep the peace, but finds himself in over his head when he's ordered to kill the lowlife Bernie (John Turturro), brother to Leo's girlfriend Verna (Marcia Gay Harden). Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. With Al Mancini and Mike Starr. Categories: Crime, Drama, Thriller. Year: 1990.
1990 in Miller's Crossing
After crashing his car on a snowy deserted road, famous writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is rescued by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), his number one fan. Initially thankful to be alive, Paul soon learns that he has been thrown into a nightmare. Crippled, drugged and restrained by his unstable captor, Paul is forced to write the last novel in his famous series, while he secretly tries to find a way to escape. Directed by Rob Reiner. With Richard Farnsworth and Lauren Bacall. Categories: Drama, Thriller, Horror. Year: 1990.
1990 in Misery
Nikita (Anne Parillaud) is just a young woman when she commits robbery and murder while under the influence of drugs. Instead of being sent to jail, she is trained as a deadly spy and assassin, held by the hand until one day when she is suddenly given a gun and told to kill someone nearby in a restaurant. That single act throws her into a web of murder and conspiracy. Directed by Luc Besson. With Marc Duret, Patrick Fontana and Laura Chron. Categories: Thriller, Action, Crime, Drama, Romance. Year: 1990.
1990 in Nikita
In the midst of a bloody drug war between dueling LA street gangs, Lt. Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) stumbles upon an even greater threat. The Predator (Kevin Peter Hall) has returned to Earth for a new season of hunting human beings. After discovering that the Predator has killed off two of the major drug lords and is responsibe for his longtime partner's (Rubén Blades) death, Harrigan sets out to take out the alien intruder before more innocent lives are lost. Standing in Harrigan's way is Special Agent Peter Keyes (Danny Glover), who intends on capturing the Predator for research purposes. Directed by Stephen Hopkins. With Maria Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, Robert Davi and Adam Baldwin. Categories: Action, Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller. Year: 1990.
1990 in Predator 2
Terry (Sean Penn) moves back to his old neighborhood in New York and meets up with his friend, Jackie (Gary Oldman). Jackie works for his older brother, gangster boss Frankie (Ed Harris). Terry has to decide if he wants to get back into a life of crime. Meanwhile, he finds himself falling in love with Frankie and Jackie's sister (Robin Wright Penn), who wants to get out of the neighborhood. Directed by Phil Joanou. Categories: Crime, Drama, Thriller. Year: 1990.
1990 in State of Grace