Nearly everyone on this list encompasses the biggest names the industry had to offer during this iconic decade of cinema. And while this is of course debatable, there's also a good argument that all these juggernauts delivered the most iconic entries of their respective filmographies in the 1990s.
These directors achieved in one decade what most filmmakers hope to achieve throughout their careers. These stripes are truly for the Hollywood history books. Now, with that said, here are ten well-known directors with incredible streaks in the 1990s.
10 Wes Craven
While he may have released his masterpiece in the previous decade, the 1980s were a weird time for it Wes Craven. On one side of the critical spectrum was Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), one of the greatest slasher movies ever made. But on the other side was The hills have eyes, part II (1985) with a rare 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And those were just two of his seven projects from that decade.
But in the 1990s, Craven had a better focus on quality than quantity. Sure, he still released six movies, but The people under the stairs (1991) and Wes Craven's new nightmare (1994) are both among the most underrated horror films of the decade. Then there is scream (1996). It rivals Nightmare on Elm Street as the seminal Wes Craven film, and its successor in Scream 2 (1997) established the property as one of the largest franchises on the Hollywood block. Of course, entries in that beloved slasher franchise are still being released, and we owe it all to Craven.
9 Michael Mann
Of the bat, the most praised Michael Mann movie of the decade Heat (1995). A hesitant film starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer, among others. And quite frankly, it is looked back on in a very venerable way in a contemporary light. It is one of the most successful movies of its kind to ever hit the big screen, and what's more related to Mann's case on this list is that Heat was released between two other critical sweethearts.
He stuck out The last of the Mohicans (1992) a few years earlier, and received huge acclaim across the board. But his work continues The initiate (1999) at the end of the decade really cemented Mann's spot on this list. He also had a great run in the 2000s, with movies like Ali (2001), Security (2006), and public enemies (2009). But in the 1990s, Mann threw nothing but heat.
8 Spike Lee
There are two other decades worth mentioning when it comes to the American filmmaker's career Spike Lee: the eighties and the eighties. In the former he released his masterpiece in Do the right thing (1989). Other than that, though, there wasn't much. In the 2000s he released the biggest box office success of his career with Inside human (2006), which is also a quality heist film in itself. And there was 25 hours (2002) from that decade, but nothing else really worth mentioning.
However, in the 1990s, Lee released as many as nine feature films. A few of them were quality duds, but for the most part he delivered his A-game with titles like Mo'Better Blues (1990), tropical fever (1992), Crooklyn (1994), ed whistleblowers (1995). Of course, this was also the decade in which Malcolm X (1992) was released, making Denzel Washington his best collaborator. And the two completed the 1990s to perfection He got game (1998).
7 Paul Thomas Anderson
He comes in at number seven, right Paul Thomas Anderson did not make his feature film debut until halfway through the decade. Hard eight (1996) is also about as underrated as it gets. But with its second successor Boogie nights (1997), PTA released arguably the biggest project of his career. And he wasn't even done yet, like he said Magnolia (1999) right around the turn of the century.
Make no mistake: There will be blood (2007) gives Boogie nights a valiant run for its money in regards to defining PTA's masterpiece. But the fact that he has released two other films of the highest quality in just four years Boogie nights ended up making this the hottest streak of PTA's career.
6 David Fincher
This stripe of David Fincher was one for the history books, if both Se7en (1995) and Fight club (1999) are among the highest quality films of the entire decade, let alone Fincher's filmography. The first followed two detectives (Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt) as they track down a serial killer (played by Kevin Spacey), and the result was a blockbuster that also received critical acclaim. That endgame plot twist also remains one of the most iconic in the entire film.
And as for Fight club: It's undoubtedly worth writing home about, but its cult classic status has made it one of the best-known films of the last thirty years. However, it would be a mockery to forget The game (1997). Starring Michael Douglass, it is one of the most underrated films of both Fincher's career and the entire decade. And the thrilling plot holds up completely today. Fincher also had a decent run in the 2000s and an even better one in the 2010s, but he was at his best in the 1990s.
5 Quentin Tarantino
Of course, the most relevant film is worth writing home about here Pulp Fiction (1994). It won Quentin Tarantino his first Oscar, one for Best Original Screenplay, and the film had several other nominations. Plus, it grossed fantastic money in theaters and has since been preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Film Registry. But those statistics don't even tell the whole story, because this is a really important piece of American cinema. Perhaps the most influential of the decade.
However, only two years before that, he released his debut Reservoir dogs (1992) to a hugely successful level. And then, towards the end of the decade, he adapted Elmore Leonard's novel Rum punch in a critical treasure called Jackie Brown (1997). It's ultimately hard to argue for a run of that caliber.
4 The Coen brothers
the beginning of the decade, Joel And Ethan Coen issued Miller's crossing (1990), an underrated gangster film. Then they succeeded miraculously Bart Finn (1991). Then, The Hudsucker proxy (1994) divided fans and critics alike. But on the other side, Fargo (1996) and The great Lebowski (1998) are both among the most famous and respected plays released in the 1990s, regardless of director.
Any three movies of those over six (except maybe for The Hudsucker proxy) would result in a legendary streak within the next decade. But the fact that the Coen Brothers didn't release all of those projects until the 1990s means that they end up at number four here.
3 Martin Scorsese
This acclaimed American director had a blast in the 1970s and released five films - notably Mean streets (1973) and Cab driver (1976). Also in the eighties Martin Scorsese had an admirable run: another five films including Oscar darlings Raging bull (1980) and The color of money (1986), among a few prominent others.
But almost with Good day (1990) alone you could say that Scorsese reached his peak in the 1990s. It's one of the most critically acclaimed films ever made, and of course it was just the beginning of Scorsese's legendary piece of this decade. Cape fear (1991) came next, followed by The era of innocence (1993) and Casino (1995) shortly afterwards. Neither Kundun (1997) neither Bringing out the dead (1999) achieved a lot commercially, but in the end they were both of sufficiently high quality.
2 Stephen Spielberg
Naturally, Stephen Spielberg also had an all-ages streak in the 1980s, with groundbreaking releases such as Raiders of the Lost Arch (1981) and ET the alien (1982) which was released during that decade. But the ensuing ten-year span saw what was arguably an even more impressive streak of Spielberg projects.
He kicked off the 1990s with Hook (1991) to a mediocre degree, but recovered in historic fashion just two years later. He released two projects in one year: Jurassic Park (1993), moreover an absolute juggernaut in terms of financial success Schindler's List (1993), one of the most acclaimed films of the decade with dozens of awards to its name. But there is also Saving Private Ryan (1998), one of the most critically acclaimed war films ever made. With those three titles alone, Steven Spielberg undoubtedly makes the list.
1 James Cameron
Behind Spielberg who previously appeared in the list, James Cameron is the second-highest-grossing director in film history, with $8.6 billion amassed during his career. About $3.2 billion of that was accrued in the 1990s alone – and perhaps an even more impressive statistic is that $2.2 billion of that number was earned by Titanic (1997). It, of course, starred Kate Winslet alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, and is undoubtedly Cameron's most notable film of the decade - apart from its record-breaking box-office results, it also won eleven of its fourteen nominations at the Oscars, and has since been preserved in the National Film Registry.
But qualitatively, Cameron's best film was arguably Terminator 2: doomsday (1991). It, of course, starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, marking the second of three collaborations between the two - the third of which would come a few years later with True lies (1994). Also a strong movie. In the end, it's not even worth mentioning the other decades in which Cameron released his films - he probably peaked in the 1990s and eventually tops the list.
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