Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: 1999 in films and TV-series

The Top 10 of the Year

1. Being John Malkovich - Spike Jonze + Best American Movie of the Year + Best Actress' Breakthrough of the Year: Catherine Keener + Best Dramedy of the Year + Best Fantasy Comedy of the Year + Most Undeserved Flop of the Year

2. Eyes Wide Shut - Stanley Kubrick + Best Erotic Movie of the Year + Best New York Movie of the Year + Best On-Screen Couple of the Year: Nicole Kidman & Tom Cruise

3. American Beauty - Sam Mendes + Best Debut of the Year + Best Drama of the Year + Best Mega-Hit Movie of the Year + Biggest Moneymaker of the Year: 127.48 mil. $ range

4. American Pie - Chris and Paul Weitz + Best High School Movie of the Year + Best Sex Comedy of the Year + Best Youth Movie of the Year

5. Bleeder - Nicolas Winding Refn + Best Copenhagen Movie of the Year + Best Crime Drama of the Year + Best Danish Movie of the Year + Best Huge Flop Movie of the Year

6. Frasier - season 7 - David Angell, Peter Casey, David Lee + Best Comedy of the Year + Best Returning TV-series of the Year + Best Romcom of the Year + Best Seattle Title of the Year

7. Freaks & Geeks - season 1 - Paul Feig + Best Coming-of-Age Title of the Year + Best New TV-series of the Year

8. A Texas Funeral - William Blake Herron + Best Box Office Disaster + Best Independent Movie of the Year + Best Texas Movie of the Year + Most Under-Appreciated Movie of the Year

9. The Blair Witch Project - Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez + Best Dollar Return of the Year: 1,243 Times Its Cost + Best Found Footage Movie of the Year + Best Horror Movie of the Year + Best Low-Budget Movie of the Year: 60k $ + Best Mockumentary of the Year

10. Boys Don't Cry - Kimberley Peirce + Best Rainbow Movie of the Year + Best Shooting Star Actress of the Year: Hilary Swank + Best True-Crime Movie of the Year

Other great 1999 movies (in alphabetical order):

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Jim Jarmusch + Best New Jersey Movie of the Year + Best Samurai Movie of the Year

Girl, Interrupted - James Mangold + Best Period Movie of the Year

Other good, recommendable 1999 movies (in alphabetical order):

Audition/オーディション (Ōdishon) - Takashi Miike + Best Feel-Bad Movie of the Year + Best Gore Movie of the Year + Best Japanese Movie of the Year

Bowfinger - Frank Oz + Best Big Flop Movie of the Year + Best Los Angeles Movie of the Year + Best Parody of the Year

Buena Vista Social Club, documentary - Wim Wenders

EdTV - Ron Howard + Best Mega-Flop Movie of the Year + Best Satire of the Year

Election - Alexander Payne + Best Nebraska Movie of the Year

The Green Mile - Frank Darabont + Best Ensemble of the Year: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sam Rockwell, David Morse, Michael Jeter, Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton, Doug Hutchison + Best Epic Movie of the Year + Best Prison Movie of the Year + Best Religious Movie of the Year + Best Shooting Star Actor of the Year: Michael Clarke Duncan

The Bottom 10 of the Year

1. At First Sight - Irwin Winkler

2. Baby Geniuses - Bob Clark + Most Undeserved Hit of the Year

3. Analyze This (1999) - Harold Ramis + Most Overrated Movie of the Year

4. Alice in Wonderland, TV movie - Nick Willing

5. Existenz/eXistenZ - David Cronenberg + Most Deserved Flop of the Year

6. From Fusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money - Scott Spiegel

7. The 13th Warrior - John McTiernan + Biggest Career-Killer of the Year: John McTiernan + Costliest Flop of the Year: 95.36 mil. $ range

8. Deep Blue Sea - Renny Harlin + Best Shark Movie of the Year

9. Any Given Sunday - Oliver Stone + Best Actor's Breakthrough of the Year: Jamie Foxx

10. End of Days - Peter Hyams

Other failed, poor and/or mediocre 1999 movies (in alphabetical order):

Criminal Lovers/Les Amants Criminels - François Ozon + Best French Movie of the Year + Worst Dollar Return of the Year: 0.18 Times Its Cost

Galaxy Quest - Dean Parisot

[30 titles in total]

Notes:

A slim first edition of the lists of the best and worst in movies and TV-series from 1999 contains one masterpiece and one grade zero title:

The top 10 opens with Spike Jonze's inspiring, awesome fantasy comedy masterpiece Being John Malkovich; Stanley Kubrick's awe-inspiring erotic drama-thriller Eyes Wide Shut takes silver; and Sam Mendes' suburbia-skewering major hit American Beauty takes the bronze. The list goes on with Chris and Paul Weitz's hilarious teen comedy American Pie; Nicolas Winding Refn's mysterious, violent drama Bleeder; David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee's romantic merry-maker Frasier - season 7; Paul Feig's warm, funny and nuanced teen dramedy Freaks & Geeks - season 1; William Blake Herron's unfairly under-seen Texas-set drama A Texas Funeral; Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez's sensational low-budget witch horror The Blair Witch Project; and finally Kimberley Peirce's stirring true-crime drama Boys Don't Cry.

Other noteworthy films of the year include a New Jersey-set samurai movie, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, a chuckle-worthy Hollywood parody, Bowfinger and another epic Stephen King adaptation set in a prison, The Green Mile.

On the year's bottom 10 list it is Irwin Winkler's thoroughly awful blindness melodrama At First Sight that takes the cake; followed by Bob Clark's baby monstrosity, grade zero shlock Baby Geniuses; and with Harold Ramis' cringe-worthy mob-themed comedy Analyze This taking the bronze. The list goes on with Nick Willing's TV movie ordeal Alice in Wonderland; David Cronenberg's high-minded sci-fi mumbo-jumbo Existenz; Scott Spiegel's poorly devised vampire flick From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money; John McTiernan's hugely misinformed adventure The 13th Warrior; Renny Harlin's corny shark horror Deep Blue Sea; Oliver Stone's blown-up-hard American football epic Any Given Sunday; and finally Peter Hyams' preposterous apocalyptic actioner End of Days. Another great filmmaker whose output this years registers below par is François Ozon with his hot crime-drama Criminal Lovers.

The year marked high points in the careers of stars John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich), Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) and Tom Hanks (The Green Mile). Conversely 1999 marked major defeats for stars Antonio Banderas (The 13th Warrior), Val Kilmer (At First Sight) and Eddie Murphy (Bowfinger).

Biggest flops of the year:

[The loss is based solely on the cost and box office earnings for the films. Marketing spends and additional revenue (home video, TV rights and other auxiliary profits) are not taken into account]

1. The 13th Warrior - 95.36 mil. $ range

2. EdTV - 65.92 mil. $ range

3. At First Sight - 48 mil. $ range

4. Girl, Interrupted - 20.68 mil. $ range

5. Election - 18.08 mil. $ range

6. Bowfinger - 15.6 mil. $ range

7. Any Given Sunday - 14.92 mil. $ range

8. Existenz - 13 mil. $ range

9. Galaxy Quest - 8.76 mil. $ range

10. Criminal Lovers - 1.58 mil. $ range

= Combined losses: 301.9 mil. $

Biggest hits of the year:

[The gain is based solely on the cost and box office earnings for the films. Marketing spends and additional revenue (home video, TV rights and other auxiliary profits) are not taken into account]

1. American Beauty - 127.48 mil. $ range

2. The Blair Witch Project - 99.38 mil. $ range

3. American Pie - 83.16 mil. $ range

4. The Green Mile - 54.72 mil. $ range

5. Analyze This - 40.72 mil. $ range

6. Buena Vista Social Club - 7.24 mil. $ range

7. Boys Don't Cry - 6.28 mil. $ range

8. Deep Blue Sea - 5.84 mil. $ range

9. Baby Geniuses - 2.56 mil. $ range

10. End of Days - 1.76 mil. $ range

= Combined profits: 429.14 mil. $

1999 titles still on the watch-list:

Kolobos, Double Jeopardy, In Dreams, The Iron Giant, Julien Donkey-Boy, Please Kill Mr. Kinski, Music of the Heart, Office Space, A Room for Romeo Brass

Previous annual lists:

2020 in films - according to Film Excess

2019 in films - according to Film Excess
2018 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2018 in films - according to Film Excess
2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2017 in films - according to Film Excess
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
2001 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

2000 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

What do you think of the lists?
What 1999 titles would make it to your top and bottom lists?
What worthwhile 1999 movies and TV-series are missing on the watch-list?

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

6/27/2021

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

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