Best Movies of 1994
Ranked by our critic's grades, best first.
The Shawshank RedemptionA machine for delivering earned catharsis, and every part is load-bearing.Read the review
Pulp FictionThe film that rewired 1990s cinema and still talks faster than its imitators.
Forrest GumpA technical marvel and an emotional juggernaut wrapped around an argument that falls apart the moment you poke it.
Little WomenArmstrong finds the warmth of the book in firelight and small rooms, then rushes the ending she spent two hours earning.
The Lion KingDisney's cleanest myth: eighty-eight minutes, no fat, and a stampede that still knocks the wind out.
Hoop DreamsFive years of tape on two Chicago kids, and still the best American film about how the escape hatch is rigged.
Léon: The ProfessionalBesson's hitman fable is stylish, funny and truly affecting, and in the longer cut it is also harder to watch, for reasons it never quite intends.
Dumb and DumberTwo of the most committed physical performances of the nineties, spent on characters with nothing behind the eyes.
True LiesA superb action comedy with a cruel streak toward its own heroine that has not aged well.
Prince of JutlandA cast this good should not sound this embarrassed, and Axel leaves the Amled legend as mud, stiff talk and little else.