SBS World Movies: Iconic '90s Season

Was the nineties the best decade for cinema? In September SBS World Movies lets the audience decide by showcasing some of the most iconic movies from the decade over two big weeks.

Iconic '90s

L-R: Natural Born Killers, Philadelphia, Point Break, Three Colours: Red, The Commitments Source: SBS Movies

  • Audio Description (AD) available for Philadelphia, Point Break and The Commitments
  • Closed Captions (CC) available for The Commitments

The Apartment

Monday 5 September, 9:30pm / Now streaming at SBS On Demand

M
Italy, Spain, France, 1996
Genre: Drama, Romance, Mystery
Language: French
Director: Gilles Mimouni
Starring: Monica Bellucci, Sandrine Kiberlain, Vincent Cassel, Romane Bohringer, Olivier Granier
What's it about?
Follows the romantic obsession of Max (Cassel), a recently-engaged young corporate hotshot who leaves his successful new world behind to search for his elusive ex-lover, Lisa (Bellucci). However, he encounters a long-time admirer (Bohringer) who arranged their split. Remade as the 2004 film Wicker Park starring Josh Hartnett, Rose Byrne and Diane Kruger.

Rumble in the Bronx

Tuesday 6 September, 9:35pm / Now streaming at SBS On Demand

M
Hong Kong, 1995
Genre: Crime, Action, Comedy, Thriller
Language: English
Director: Stanley Tong
Starring: Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Françoise Yip, Bill Tung, Marc Akerstream, Garvin Cross
What's it about?
In his Hollywood breakthrough, Jackie Chan stars as Ah Keung, a cop from Hong Kong who comes to New York City to attend his uncle's wedding. He plans a little relaxation, a little sightseeing and little work at the family grocery store. But the best-laid plans often go awry, and Ah soon lands at the centre of a rumble in the Bronx.
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The Power of One

Wednesday 7 September, 9:40pm / Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand

PG
Australia, South Africa, USA, Zimbabwe, 1992
Genre: Drama
Language: German, English
Director: John G. Avildsen
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Stephen Dorff, Simon Fenton, Guy Witcher, Armin Mueller-Stahl
What's it about?
An orphan terrorised for his family's political beliefs in South Africa in the 1930s, young P.K. (Dorff), turns to his only friend: a kindly, world-wise prisoner (Freeman) who teaches him how to box. Directed by John G. Avildsen (Rocky, The Karate Kid) and based on the novel by Bryce Courtenay.

Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand:
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Philadelphia

Thursday 8 September, 9:30pm / Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand

PG, AD
USA, 1993
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas
What's it about?
Andrew Beckett (Hanks, in an Oscar-winning performance), a young Philadelphia lawyer infected with AIDS, keeps his homosexuality hidden from his employers. When he is suddenly dismissed by his law firm, Andrew hires a small-time, homophobic lawyer (Washington) as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit. Directed by Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs, Rachel Getting Married).

Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand:
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Point Break

Friday 9 September, 9:30pm / Now streaming at SBS On Demand

M, AD
USA, 1991
Genre: Drama, Action
Language: English
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, James Le Gros
What's it about?
In Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers commit their crimes while wearing masks of former U.S. Presidents. The F.B.I. believes that the members of the gang could be surfers, and send young Agent Johnny Utah undercover at the beach to mix with the surfers and gather information. Utah meets surfer Bodhi, and gets drawn into the lifestyle of his new friend. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty).

Three Colours: Red

Monday 12 September, 9:30pm / Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand

M
France, Poland, Switzerland, 1994
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Language: French
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Starring: Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jean-Pierre Lorit, Frédérique Feder
What's it about?
A young model's (Jacob) life is changed forever after a chance encounter with her neighbour (Trintignant), a retired judge whose hobby is to listen in on his neighbours' phone calls. The last and most acclaimed of Kieslowski's Three Colours trilogy, the film was nominated for three 1994 Academy Awards (Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography).

Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand:
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Natural Born Killers

Tuesday 13 September, 9:35pm / Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand

MA15+
USA, 1994
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama
Language: English
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones
What's it about?
Mickey (Harrelson) and Mallory Knox (Lewis), united by their common love for violence, go on an interstate killing spree that triggers a deadly pursuit and garners high ratings for a tabloid journalist (Downey Jr.). Directed by Oliver Stone (Platoon, JFK).

Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand:
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Entrapment

Wednesday 14 September, 9:35pm / Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand

MA15+
UK, USA, 1999
Genre: Romance, Drama, Mystery
Language: English
Director: Jon Amiel
Starring: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sean Connery, Will Patton, Maury Chaykin, Ving Rhames
What's it about?
Virginia (Zeta-Jones), an insurance agent, sets out to nab MacDougal (Connery), a master thief who steals exquisite pieces of art. To do so, she masquerades as a thief herself and together they start to steal priceless artefacts.
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The Client

Thursday 15 September, 9:30pm / Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand

M
USA, 1994
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Language: English
Director: Joel Schumacher
Starring: Brad Renfro, Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Mary-Louise Parker
What's it about?
A street-wise kid, Mark Sway, sees the suicide of Jerome Clifford, a prominent Louisiana lawyer, whose current client is Barry 'The Blade' Muldano, a Mafia hit-man. Before Jerome shoots himself, he tells Mark where the body of a Senator is buried. Clifford shoots himself and Mark is found at the scene, and both the FBI and the Mafia quickly realize that Mark probably knows more than he says.
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The Commitments

Friday 16 September, 9:30pm / Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand

M, AD, CC
UK, Ireland, 1991
Genre: Music, Drama
Language: English, Italian
Director: Alan Parker
Starring: Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle Kennedy
What's it about?
Jimmy Rabbitte (Arkins), just a tick out of school, gets a brilliant idea: to put a soul band together in Barrytown, his slum home in north Dublin. First he needs musicians and singers; things slowly start to click when he finds three fine-voiced females virtually in his back yard, a lead singer at a wedding, and, responding to his ad, an aging trumpet player, Joey "The Lips" Fagan. Based on the 1987 novel by Roddy Doyle.
The Commitments
Source: SBS Movies


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6 min read
Published 6 September 2022 11:37am
Updated 6 September 2022 11:39am
By SBS Movies
Source: SBS

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