The 1991 Movie Draft. Plus: Wim Wenders!

The teams drafting the movies of 1991

Chris Ryan

Drama

Boyz n the Hood 1991

First pick of the draft: John Singleton's South Central debut, which hit Chris and his friends as movies that finally looked like real life.

Action / Thriller / Horror

Dead Again 1991

Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson in a Hitchcockian reincarnation thriller from an early Scott Frank script, with a Robin Williams supporting turn. Sean had never seen it.

Comedy

Barton Fink 1991

The Coens' black comedy, drafted as a comedy; John Turturro as the blocked screenwriter, John Goodman next door, John Mahoney as a Faulkner stand-in.

Blockbuster

Backdraft 1991

Ron Howard's Chicago-firefighter movie and 14-year-old CR's favorite of the year; Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, and a stripped-down De Niro as the arson inspector.

Oscar Nominee

The Silence of the Lambs 1991

Jonathan Demme's film swept the top five Oscars, the last to do it, so Chris takes it here rather than in thriller.

Wild Card

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse 1991

Eleanor Coppola's documentary on the making of Apocalypse Now; for a stretch Chris rated it above the film itself.

Amanda Dobbins

Drama

Truly Madly Deeply 1991

Anthony Minghella's debut: Alan Rickman comes back as Juliet Stevenson's dead husband, a gentle magical-realism grief movie.

Action / Thriller / Horror

Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991

Taken a slot before Chris expected to lose it; Amanda came to it through a Big Picture movie-swap episode.

Comedy

Father of the Bride 1991

Amanda's favorite film of 1991; the Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer remake with Steve Martin, and the still-unsolved hot-dog-bun math.

Blockbuster

Beauty and the Beast 1991

The last animated film nominated for Best Picture for a long stretch; Amanda quotes Lumiere from memory.

Oscar Nominee

Thelma & Louise 1991

Ridley Scott's road movie, one of the few 1991 nominees not swallowed by the Silence of the Lambs sweep.

Wild Card

My Girl 1991

Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky; the bee-sting ending that still wrecks Amanda.

Sean Fennessey

Drama

New Jack City 1991

Mario Van Peebles' crime drama, Wesley Snipes as Nino Brown, with Ice-T, Chris Rock, and the Judd Nelson turn the Rewatchables named an award after.

Action / Thriller / Horror

Point Break 1991

Kathryn Bigelow's surfing-heist movie, Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze; producer Bobby Wagner had just seen it in theaters the night before.

Comedy

Defending Your Life 1991

Albert Brooks' afterlife comedy opposite a pre-comedy-star Meryl Streep, with Rip Torn as his lawyer. Sean calls Brooks his goat.

Blockbuster

Cape Fear 1991

Scorsese's remake of the 1962 thriller, De Niro as Max Cady and Nick Nolte as his target; Spielberg produced and nearly directed it. It cleared $75 million.

Oscar Nominee

JFK 1991

Oliver Stone's assassination epic, Kevin Costner as Garrison, Hank Corwin's editing; the subject of a Sean-and-Chris pod Amanda listens to once a year.

Wild Card

Raise the Red Lantern 1991

Zhang Yimou's 1920s-set drama, taken to spread the word on international film; the first movie Sean was shown in his college Film 101.

On the board, undrafted honorable mentions

Robin Hood: Prince of ThievesCity SlickersHookThe Addams FamilySleeping with the EnemyThe Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of FearTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the OozeAn American Tail: Fievel Goes WestL.A. StoryRosencrantz & Guildenstern Are DeadCareer OpportunitiesWild Hearts Can't Be BrokenUntil the End of the WorldThe Double Life of VéroniqueThe Lovers on the BridgeA Brighter Summer DayLife Is SweetMy Own Private IdahoThe Fisher KingNight on EarthCenter StageDelicatessenCity of HopeHomicideBugsyBilly BathgateThe Last Boy ScoutMississippi MasalaJungle FeverThe CommitmentsDaughters of the DustOne False MoveOnce Upon a Time in ChinaNaked LunchSki SchoolHigh HeelsThe Five HeartbeatsPoisonThe DoorsThe People Under the StairsBill & Ted's Bogus JourneyRushSlackerStraight Out of Brooklyn

In conversation

Wim Wenders on

Perfect Days 2023

His Tokyo film about a toilet cleaner who lives in the present; Koji Yakusho's near-wordless performance won Best Actor at Cannes, and it was Japan's international-feature Oscar entry. Wenders shot it in 17 days, mostly in chronological order, with the music playing live in the scenes.

Wim Wenders on

Anselm 2023

His 3D documentary on the artist Anselm Kiefer, shot in seven sessions over two and a half years and finished the same year as Perfect Days; an official Cannes entry.

Also mentioned raised along the way

Wenders on his own work Wings of DesireParis, TexasBuena Vista Social ClubPinaAlice in the CitiesTokyo-Ga

Named in the interview VertigoShall We DanceThe Zone of InterestAnatomy of a Fall

In passing GoodfellasDances with WolvesPretty WomanPulp FictionOne from the HeartBob Marley: One LoveArgylleThe BeekeeperTop Gun: MaverickThe Lion KingLa Belle et la BêteIron Man 3PhiladelphiaThe FugitiveSchindler's ListThe Da Vinci CodeApollo 13WillowParenthoodApocalypse NowRoundersFernGully: The Last RainforestCity Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold

Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads

TV Curb Your EnthusiasmMonsieur SpadeThe SimpsonsClariceHannibalOne Against the Wind

Podcasts The RewatchablesJMO

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