True Romance (1993)

Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott, this is a mini-masterpiece that defies genre categorisation. 

Clarence (Christian Slater) and Alabama (Patricia Arquette) meet and experience love at first sight. But in attempting to flee the dangerous underworld contacts Alabama was mixed up with, they inherit a suitcase of cocaine and become associated with lethal gangsters (intimidatingly played by Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken and James Gandolfini).

The film cleverly works as both a sort of fairytale (the “true romance” of the title) and also as an absolutely brutal crime thriller. This uneasy combination gives it a fresh energy. Tarantino's usual preoccupations are evident, with martial arts, comic books, and Elvis Presley all figuring notably in the plot.

Slater is excellent – like a young Jack Nicholson, in terms of his charisma. Arquette is also superb, and the chemistry between the pair is unmistakable.

Perhaps most striking of all is Hans Zimmer’s beautiful soundtrack.

Carlito’s Way (1993)

Superb crime thriller.

Al Pacino plays Carlito Brigante, a Puerto Rican ex-con who is trying to make a fresh start. But his post-prison efforts to clean up are thwarted by a corrupt, drug-addicted lawyer friend (a suitably sleazy Sean Penn) and other remnants of his former criminal lifestyle. 

The story is told in flashback so we know what happens from the very beginning – which is a shame, in a way – but it’s fascinating to see how the plot winds back around to that point. 

Penelope Ann Miller is superb as Pacino’s love interest, who helps to redeem him. Brian DePalma’s direction is imaginative, utilising unusual angles and a fresh feel. Pacino as usual is hugely watchable – magnetic even – and oddly funny at the same time. It’s a masterful performance – one of his best.

The Remains of the Day (1993)

Masterful slow-burning drama based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s Booker Prize-winning novel. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant. 

The story focuses on a butler (Anthony Hopkins) and a housekeeper (Emma Thompson), who develop a deep love for one another but are unable to declare it. We see their story in two time periods – when they work at Darlington Hall in the late 1930s at a point when Lord Darlington (James Fox) begins entertaining fascist-sympathising aristocrats, and their attempt to meet up again in 1958.

The two lead performances are astonishing and perfectly nuanced. There’s so much feeling and power in what they don’t say. There’s passion and tenderness, too, even though it’s all held back behind the mask of duty. 

It’s a superbly shot film, too, becoming hypnotic where a lesser director would have made it merely dull.

Hugh Grant is excellent as Lord Darlington’s godson and Christopher Reeve adds gravitas as US Congressman Jack Lewis.

Philadelphia (1993)

Directed by Jonathan Demme, this is an emotional drama starring Tom Hanks as Andy Beckett, a lawyer who is dismissed from his firm for being a gay man with AIDS. Denzel Washington plays Joe Miller, the lawyer who represents him in court. 

The drama comes from two parallel threads. The first details Andy’s swift decline in health. The second deals with Joe having to work through his homophobia and put aside his prejudices to do what he knows is right. Washington is excellent at portraying that conflict. You can see his mixed feelings in every scene, as he slowly comes round to what his conscience is telling him. 

Parts of the film are unusually shot, and especially a section in which Andy enters a heightened state while listening to opera. Later, in the courtroom, unusual camera angles are employed to show his faltering consciousness.

It’s to Demme’s credit that he doesn’t opt for a tragic feel to the inevitable ending. Instead, he introduces a celebratory quality based on the sense of community and family love that the film has successfully established around Andy. 

There’s a strong soundtrack, mixing classical music with new songs written for the film by Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young.

Sommersby (1993)

From the back of the DVD: “People remember Jack Sommersby. They know him as a bitter, loutish man. But when Jack returns home after the Civil War, he's tender, caring and resourceful. Has the war changed him. or is the man calling himself Jack Sommersby an impostor?”

This is a brilliant drama starring Richard Gere and Jodie Foster as a married couple living in extraordinary circumstances. There are themes of identity running through it – Jack may or may not be who he says he is – and it also explores issues of race and personal relationships.

Foster and Gere are both excellent, juggling several plot threads: the story about who Jack is, the story of their marriage and the story of the town's agricultural fortunes. It’s moving and it keeps you guessing. 

James Earl Jones has gravitas as a judge, even if I can only hear him as Darth Vader.

Never Say Never Again (1983)

An “unofficial” James Bond film in that Eon were not involved. Sean Connery, however, was. He reprises the 007 role in a remake of Thunderball. It’s quite interesting to see that 1965 film recreated with a fair few differences. 

Edward Fox plays the irate M. Pamela Salem makes for a rather bland Miss Moneypenny. Rowan Atkinson plays a comedic Foreign Office representative named Nigel Small-Fawcett. Kim Basinger is Domino and Barbara Carrera plays SPECTRE agent Fatima Blush. Max von Sydow is underused as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, with the real villain being Klaus Maria Brandauer as Maximillian Largo. Irvin Kershner directs.

There are some enjoyable action sequences, including a motorcycle chase and a tokenistic jet-pack interlude, but the ending peters out somewhat. The bomb doesn’t even have a countdown display, so that removes any tension. 

It looks lower-budget than the official Bonds of this period. But if you like the sillier aspects of 007, there’s plenty to enjoy.

Indecent Proposal (1993)

A young couple struggling for money, David (Woody Harrelson) and Diana (Demi Moore), are offered a million dollars by wealthy businessman John Gage (Robert Redford) if he can spend a night with Diana. The pair are faced with a choice that will have huge implications for their lives. 

It’s an intriguing premise and the fall-out on the couple’s relationship makes up the bulk of the story, even though the initial premise itself is hardly explored at all. Details of the million-dollar night in question are discreetly avoided after the initial set-up in which we see Diana being whisked to a private yacht. You could argue that this is a wise move – we experience the same doubt and confusion about what went on as David – but it seems an oddly evasive approach for a film constructed on the very premise of that night.

Directed by Adrian Lyne, the film isn't sure whether it wants to be a thriller or a drama. I expected more running around, more psychological warfare and more peril, but the stakes remain disappointedly low. 

I liked the notion of Robert Redford as the villain, since he so rarely plays baddies, but the plot ultimately decided to show him as a nice guy. And it didn’t examine the more intriguing question of what kind of nice guy offers to buy a woman. By raising interesting ethical and personal issues and then shying away from them, Indecent Proposal ends up seeming merely glossy and a little shallow.

Shadowlands (1993)

Biographical drama about the relationship between author C.S. Lewis and an American divorcee who is dying of bone cancer. Directed by Richard Attenborough, it’s adapted from the stage play (which was itself adapted from a TV drama). 

Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger are absolutely superb as the two leads. Their unusual love story is more believable because of the restraint with which it’s demonstrated. The film picks up on every nuance of their speech and behaviour. 

It’s extremely moving, firstly when Lewis surprises himself by discovering that he’s in love and secondly when he finds out how much he now has to lose. 

The film tackles big questions about the meaning of life, too. How can we love when the end of love causes such pain? And what value do spiritual beliefs have in the face of seemingly godless events that lead to overwhelming grief?

There’s gentle humour too, such as in Joy and her son’s observations of English life in the 1950s.

In the Line of Fire (1993)

Thriller starring Clint Eastwood as a Secret Service agent who tries to protect the US president from a crazed assassin (John Malkovich). He has a troubling history in that early in his career he failed to save John F. Kennedy when he was shot in 1963. Clint is assisted by his timid partner (Dylan McDermott) and by a female agent he’s initially disrespectful to (Rene Russo). 

It’s a superb and gripping drama. Eastwood delivers all of the usual tough-guy moments, but there’s a welcome sense of (self-deprecating) humour that gives this an edge. It also plays around with the notion of him being too old for this sort of work – rather than shying away from it – and extracts material from that. For example, we see him getting out of breath when he runs alongside the president’s car and that becomes a plot thread. 

Malkovich, who I really can’t stand, is his usual deeply creepy self, but it works this time because he’s playing a psychopath. Russo is excellent: her understated charm works well alongside that of the film’s star.  

Plus, it has the funniest last line of any film I’ve ever watched.

The Fugitive (1993)

Harrison Ford is highly watchable as the smart Chicago doctor Richard Kimble, on the run after being wrongly accused of murdering his wife. Tommy Lee Jones is credible as the tough US marshall on his trail. It could have been awfully clichéd, but somehow ends up refreshing and compelling throughout. I especially liked the hair-raising “dam” sequence.

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Wonderful romantic comedy. It’s extremely well-written and would work well as a play – it’s all dialogue. No helicopter crashes here. 

Meg Ryan is brilliant as the slightly crazed woman who sets out to find the man (Tom Hanks) she heard baring his soul on a radio phone-in. 

Sweet and sentimental.

The pair would reunite for You've Got Mail.