1999 was one of the best years for new movies ever. That’s not just my opinion, by the way - it’s a widely held belief. Perhaps the only year that can truly compete is 1939, which saw the release of The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach, The Rules of the Game, Ninotchka… you get it.
THAT’s how good 1999 was.
Lest you doubt this claim, here’s a PARTIAL listing of great movies produced in 1999: Fight Club, Magnolia, Being John Malkovich, Election, Three Kings, The Sixth Sense, Audition, Run Lola Run, Dogma, The Iron Giant, the directorial debuts of Sofia Coppola, Sam Mendes, and Christopher Nolan, Stanley Kubrick’s final masterpiece, and, oh, yeah, some rinky-dink sci-fi movie you’ve maybe heard of before, The goddamn Matrix.
Hell, you could argue it was just a great year for narrative dramatic storytelling, period: 1999 was the year television gave the world The Sopranos, The West Wing, and Freaks and Geeks, too.
I’m going to spend 2024 revisiting and reevaluating all the great films (and some of the television shows) released in 1999 in commemoration of their collective 25th anniversary. There are so many different movies I hope to write about that I’m going to do them in (roughly) chronological order by release date rather than wait around for the 25th anniversary of each specific date. My aim is also to provide you all with a heads-up as to what I’m doing next so you can watch in advance if you so choose.
First up in January: The Blair Witch Project, Office Space, and the first season of The Sopranos. Join me, won’t you?