1990 in film

Highest-grossing films

The top ten films released in 1990 by worldwide gross are as follows:

Events

February 4 - Actor Tom Cruise and actress Mimi Rogers divorce.

March 30 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is released to massive box office success. At the time, it is the highest-grossing independent film in history.

December 24 - Tom Cruise and actress Nicole Kidman marry.

CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall (1990).

The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2.

The use of real-time computer graphics or "digital puppetry" to create a character in a motion picture is performed, in RoboCop 2.

Future movie stars Chris Rock and Adam Sandler join SNL.

Buchwald v. Paramount decided, a leading case on the financial rewards due to writers of film treatments.

Notable films released in 1990

U.S.A. unless stated

A-D

A

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, starring Andrew Dice Clay

After Dark, My Sweet, starring Jason Patric, Rachel Ward, Bruce Dern

Air America, directed by Roger Spottiswoode, starring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey, Jr.

Alice, directed by Woody Allen, starring Mia Farrow

The Ambulance, starring Eric Roberts

American Ninja 4: The Annihilation

Angel Town

Another 48 Hrs., starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte

Arachnophobia, starring Jeff Daniels

Avalon, directed by Barry Levinson, starring Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Pollak

Awakenings, directed by Penny Marshall, starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro

B

Back to the Future Part III, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen

Bad Influence, starring James Spader and Rob Lowe

Betsy's Wedding, directed by and starring Alan Alda, with Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Madeline Kahn

The Big Man aka Crossing the Line, starring Liam Neeson, Joanne Whalley and Billy Connolly

The Big Steal

Bird on a Wire, starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn

Blind Fury, starring Rutger Hauer

Blue Steel, starring Jamie Lee Curtis

Boiling Point, directed by Takeshi Kitano, starring Beat Takeshi

The Bonfire of the Vanities, directed by Brian De Palma, starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith

Bride of Re-Animator

C

Cadence, starring Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen

Cadillac Man, starring Robin Williams and Tim Robbins

Captain America, starring Matt Salinger

Childhood Days - Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year

Child's Play 2, starring Jenny Agutter

China Cry

City Hunter: Bay City Wars

Class of 1999, starring Malcolm McDowell and Pam Grier

Close-Up - (Iran)

Coins in the Fountain, starring Loni Anderson

Come See the Paradise, starring Dennis Quaid and Tamlyn Tomita

The Comfort of Strangers, starring Natasha Richardson and Helen Mirren

Crash and Burn

Cry-Baby, directed by John Waters, starring Johnny Depp

Cyrano de Bergerac, starring Gérard Depardieu - Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film

D

Dances with Wolves, directed by and starring Kevin Costner - Academy and Golden Globe (drama) Awards for Best Picture

Darkman, starring Liam Neeson

Days of Being Wild, directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau

Days of Thunder, starring Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, Nicole Kidman

Death Warrant, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme

Dei tau lung (Dragon Fighter)

Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection, starring Chuck Norris

Denial

Desperate Hours, directed by Michael Cimino, starring Anthony Hopkins and Mickey Rourke

Dick Tracy, directed by and starring Warren Beatty, with Madonna, Glenne Headly, Al Pacino

Die Hard 2, starring Bruce Willis

Downtown, starring Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker

Dreams, directed by Akira Kurosawa

DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp

E-K

E

Edward Scissorhands, directed by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest

The End of Innocence, directed by and starring Dyan Cannon

Ernest Goes to Jail, starring Jim Varney

Europa Europa - Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film (for 1991)

The Exorcist III, starring George C. Scott

F

Fantasia (restored version)

La Femme Nikita, directed by Luc Besson

The Field, starring Richard Harris

Fire Birds, starring Nicolas Cage and Tommy Lee Jones

The First Power, starring Lou Diamond Phillips

Flashback, starring Kiefer Sutherland and Dennis Hopper

Flatliners, directed by Joel Schumacher, starring Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon

The Fourth War, starring Roy Schneider and Jürgen Prochnow

Frankenstein Unbound, starring John Hurt

The Freshman, starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick

Funny About Love, directed by Leonard Nimoy, starring Gene Wilder and Christine Lahti

G

Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg

The Godfather Part III, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Joe Mantegna, Sofia Coppola

Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino

Graffiti Bridge, directed by and starring Prince

Green Card, starring Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell - Golden Globe Award for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

The Grifters, starring Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening

The Guardian, directed by William Friedkin

The Guyver

H

Hamlet, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Helena Bonham Carter

The Handmaid's Tale, directed by Volker Schlöndorff, starring Natasha Richardson, Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall

Hard to Kill, starring Steven Seagal

Havana, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Redford, Lena Olin, Raúl Juliá

Heart Condition, starring Bob Hoskins, and Denzel Washington

Heaven and Earth

Henry & June, starring Fred Ward, Maria de Medeiros and Uma Thurman

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Hidden Agenda, directed by Ken Loach, starring Frances McDormand

Home Alone, starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern

The Hot Spot, directed by Dennis Hopper, starring Don Johnson, Jennifer Connelly, Virginia Madsen

House Party

The Hunt for Red October, starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, directed by John McTiernan

I

I Come in Peace, starring Dolph Lundgren

I Love You to Death, starring Kevin Kline and Tracey Ullman

Internal Affairs, directed by Mike Figgis, starring Richard Gere and Andy García

J

Jacob's Ladder, starring Tim Robbins, directed by Adrian Lyne

Jetsons: The Movie

Joe Versus the Volcano, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan

John & Brandy

Journey of Hope (Reise der Hoffnung) - Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Ju Dou, directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang, starring Gong Li

K

Kindergarten Cop, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger

King of New York, directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Christopher Walken, Wesley Snipes, Laurence Fishburne

The Krays, directed by Peter Medak, starring Martin Kemp, Gary Kemp, Billie Whitelaw

L-Q

L

Larks on a String (Skrivánci na niti) - Golden Bear award

Last of the Finest

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III

The Lemon Sisters, starring Diane Keaton

Life Is Sweet, directed by Mike Leigh, starring Jim Broadbent

Lionheart, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme

Longtime Companion, starring Bruce Davison

The Long Walk Home, starring Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg

Look Who's Talking Too, starring John Travolta and Kirstie Alley

Loose Cannons, starring Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd

Lord of the Flies, starring Balthazar Getty

Love at Large, starring Tom Berenger

M

Mack the Knife, starring Raúl Juliá and Richard Harris

A Man Called Sarge, starring Gary Kroeger and Marc Singer

Marked for Death, starring Steven Seagal

The Match Factory Girl, directed by Aki Kaurismäki, starring Kati Outinen

Memories of a River

Memphis Belle, directed by Michael Caton-Jones, starring Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, John Lithgow

Men at Work, starring Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen

Mermaids, directed by Richard Benjamin, starring Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci

Metropolitan

Miami Blues, starring Fred Ward and Alec Baldwin

Midnight Ride, starring Mark Hamill

Miller's Crossing, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden

Milou in May

Misery, directed by Rob Reiner, starring James Caan and Kathy Bates

Mo' Better Blues, directed by Spike Lee, starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson

Mountains of the Moon, directed by Bob Rafelson, starring Patrick Bergin

Movie... In Your Face

Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward

Mr. Destiny, starring James Belushi

My Blue Heaven, starring Steve Martin and Rick Moranis

My Mother's Castle (Le Château de ma mère), directed by Yves Robert, Golden Space Needle award (for 1991) - see novel Le Château de ma mère

N

Narrow Margin, starring Gene Hackman and Anne Archer

The Nasty Girl (Das schreckliche Mädchen)

Navy SEALs, starring Charlie Sheen

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter

Nightbreed, starring Craig Sheffer

Nuns on the Run, starring Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane

The Nutcracker Prince

P

Pacific Heights, directed by John Schlesinger, starring Michael Keaton, Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine

Piece of Cake, directed by Jay Sandrich, starring T. K. Carter, Cleavant Derricks, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Tonya Lee Williams

Postcards from the Edge, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid

Predator 2, starring Danny Glover

Presumed Innocent, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Harrison Ford

Pretty Woman, directed by Garry Marshall, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere

Problem Child, starring John Ritter

Pump Up the Volume, directed by Allan Moyle, starring Christian Slater - Golden Space Needle award

Q

Q&A, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Nick Nolte and Timothy Hutton

Quick Change, starring Bill Murray, Geena Davis, Randy Quaid

Quigley Down Under, starring Tom Selleck and Alan Rickman

R-Z

R

The Reflecting Skin

Repossessed, a parody of The Exorcist, starring Leslie Nielsen and Linda Blair

The Rescuers Down Under

Revenge, starring Kevin Costner and Anthony Quinn

Reversal of Fortune, starring Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Ron Silver

RoboCop 2, starring Peter Weller and Nancy Allen

Robot Jox

Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever, starring Corey Feldman

Rockula

Rocky V, starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Tommy Morrison

Romeo.Juliet

The Rookie, starring Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Tim Roth - Golden Lion award

The Russia House, starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer

S

The Sheltering Sky, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Debra Winger and John Malkovich

Shipwrecked, starring Gabriel Byrne

Short Time, starring Dabney Coleman

A Show of Force, starring Amy Irving

Shreck

Sibling Rivalry, starring Kirstie Alley

Side Out, starring Courtney Thorne-Smith and C. Thomas Howell

Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation

Silent Scream, starring Robert Carlyle

Singapore Sling

Spaced Invaders, directed by Patrick Read Johnson, starring Douglas Barr, Royal Dano, Ariana Richards, J. J. Anderson

Stanley & Iris, starring Robert De Niro and Jane Fonda

State of Grace, starring Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman

Stella, starring Bette Midler

T

Taking Care of Business, starring James Belushi and Charles Grodin

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie

Tatie Danielle, starring Tsilla Chelton

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, directed by Steve Barron

Tekken

Texasville, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Cybill Shepherd

Three Men and a Little Lady, starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Antonio Banderas

Tilaï

Too Much Sun, directed by Robert Downey, Sr., starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Eric Idle

Total Recall, directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone

Treasure Island, starring Charlton Heston and Christian Bale

Tremors, starring Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward

Truly, Madly, Deeply, directed by Anthony Minghella, starring Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson

The Two Jakes, directed by and starring Jack Nicholson, with Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Eli Wallach

U

Uchū no hōsoku

Ultra Q The Movie: Legend of the Stars

V

Vincent & Theo, starring Tim Roth

Vincent and Me

W

Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, starring Winona Ryder

Where the Heart Is, starring Dabney Coleman

White Hunter Black Heart, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood

White Palace, starring Susan Sarandon and James Spader

Wild at Heart, directed by David Lynch, starring Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd

Wild Orchid, starring Mickey Rourke

The Witches, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Anjelica Huston

Y

Young Guns II, starring Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater, William Petersen

Births

January 13 - Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor

March 1 - Harry Eden, British actor

March 24 - Keisha Castle-Hughes, actress

April 9 - Kristen Stewart, American actress

April 10 - Alex Pettyfer, actor, model

April 15 - Emma Watson, British actress, model

April 16 - Lorraine Nicholson, American actress

April 23 - Dev Patel, British actor

May 14 - Sasha Spielberg, American actress, daughter of producer/director Steven Spielberg and actress Kate Capshaw

May 16 - Thomas Brodie-Sangster, British actor

June 13 - Aaron Taylor-Johnson, British actor

July 2 - Margot Robbie, Australian actress

July 6 - Jeremy Suarez, actor and voice actor

July 16 - James Maslow, actor

July 24 - Daveigh Chase, American actress

August 10 - Lucas Till, actor

August 15 - Jennifer Lawrence, American actress

August 17 - Rachel Hurd-Wood, British actress

September 9 - Klaudia Tiitsmaa, Estonian actress

October 22 - Jonathan Lipnicki, American actor

November 2 - Kendall Schmidt, actor

December 20 - JoJo, American singer-songwriter and actress

Debuts

Hank Azaria - Pretty Woman

Benjamin Bratt - Bright Angel

Julie Benz - Two Evil Eyes

Robert Carlyle - Silent Scream

Harry Connick, Jr. - Memphis Belle

Kevin Connolly - Rocky V

Russell Crowe - Blood Oath

Balthazar Getty - Lord of the Flies

Brendan Gleeson - The Field

Djimon Hounsou - Without You I'm Nothing

Charlie Korsmo - Men Don't Leave

Brad Garret - Jetsons: The Movie

Reba McEntire - Tremors

Julianne Moore - Tales from the Darkside: The Movie

Chris O'Donnell - Men Don't Leave

Robert Patrick - Die Hard 2

Christina Ricci - Mermaids

Catherine Zeta-Jones - Les 1001 Nuits