Top Ten Films of 1989: World Premieres
Top Ten by U.S. Release Date (Updated) // My 1989 Oscar Ballot (Updated)
| 1. | Black Rain Dir. Shohei Imamura. With Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kitamura, Etsuko Ichihara A |
| 2. | When Harry Met Sally... Dir. Rob Reiner. With Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher A |
| 3. | Do the Right Thing Dir. Spike Lee. With Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, John Turturro, Bill Nunn A |
| 4. | Crimes and Misdemeanors Dir. Woody Allen. With Woody Allen, Martin Landau A |
| 5. | Roger & Me Dir. Michael Moore. Documentary about labor crisis in Flint, Michigan A– |
| 6. | Henry V Dir. Kenneth Branagh. With Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Paul Scofield A– |
| 7. | The Fabulous Baker Boys Dir. Steve Kloves. With Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer A– |
| 8. | Sweetie Dir. Jane Campion. With Karen Colston, Geneviève Lemon, Tom Lycos A– |
| 9. | Valmont Dir. Miloš Forman. With Annette Bening, Colin Firth, Meg Tilly, Fairuza Balk A– |
| 10. | War Requiem Dir. Derek Jarman. With Nathaniel Parker, Owen Teale, Tilda Swinton A– |
Exemplary Shorts: Cycles, Living Inside, Me and Rubyfruit
Reviews from 1989
★ = Full-Length Review / © = Capsule-Length Review / ★ = Blog Review (New Window)
★ The Abyss Dir. James Cameron. With Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Ed Harris, Michael Biehn B+
★ Born on the Fourth of July Dir. Oliver Stone. With Tom Cruise, Willem Dafoe, Kyra Sedgwick B
★ Sweetie Dir. Jane Campion. With Karen Colston, Geneviève Lemon, Tom Lycos, Jon Darling A–
© When Harry Met Sally... Dir. Rob Reiner. With Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher A+
More Grades from 1989
Unreviewed titles I have seen recently enough to grade
Cycles Dir. Zeinabu Irene Davis. With Stephanie Ingram, Zeinabu Irene Davis, Marc Chéry B
Dead Calm Dir. Phillip Noyce. With Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, Billy Zane, Rod Mullinar B+
Driving Miss Daisy Dir. Bruce Beresford. With Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd C
Drugstore Cowboy Dir. Gus Van Sant. With Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Le Gros
Hearing Voices Dir. Sharon Greytak. With Erika Nagy, Stephen Gatta, Tim Ahren D–
James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket Dir. Karen Thorsen. Documentary about the author B
Looking for Langston Dir. Isaac Julien. With Ben Ellison, Matthew Baidoo, Akim Mogaji B+
Music Box Dir. Costa-Gavras. With Jessica Lange, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Lukas Haas B–
My Left Foot Dir. Jim Sheridan. With Daniel Day-Lewis, Hugh O'Conor, Brenda Fricker B+
Parents Dir. Bob Balaban. With Bryan Madorsky, Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Sandy Dennis B+
Say Anything... Dir. Cameron Crowe. With John Cusack, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor, John Mahoney B
sex, lies, and videotape Dir. Steven Soderbergh. With Andie MacDowell, James Spader B+
She-Devil Dir. Susan Seidelman. With Roseanne Barr, Ed Begley Jr., Meryl Streep, Sylvia Miles D+
Shirley Valentine Dir. Lewis Gilbert. With Pauline Collins, Bernard Hill, Tom Conti C
Steel Magnolias Dir. Herbert Ross. With Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah B
Sweet Bird of Youth Dir. Nicolas Roeg. TV Movie. With Mark Harmon, Elizabeth Taylor D
Tongues Untied Dir. Marlon Riggs. With Marlon Riggs, Essex Hemphill, Steve Langley B+
Also from 1989
The memories are fading, but they're somewhere in my brain
Fetching
The War of the Roses Dir. Danny DeVito. With Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito
Wild Women Don't Have the Blues Dir. Christine Dall. Documentary about Harlem blues singers
Fair
Batman Dir. Tim Burton. With Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Michael Gough
Field of Dreams Dir. Phil Alden Robinson. With Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones
Glory Dir. Edward Zwick. With Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington
Heathers Dir. Michael Hoffman. With Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Kim Walker, Shannen Doherty
The Little Mermaid Dirs. Ron Clements & John Musker. Animated. Voice of Jodi Benson
Parenthood Dir. Ron Howard. With Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Rick Moranis
Feh
Blue Steel Dir. Kathryn Bigelow. With Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver, Clancy Brown, Elizabeth Peña
Casualties of War Dir. Brian De Palma. With Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, Thuy Thu Le, John Harvey
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover Dir. Peter Greenaway. With Michael Gambon
Dead Poets Society Dir. Peter Weir. With Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Dir. Joe Johnston. With Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Amy O'Neill
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Dir. Steven Spielberg. With Harrison Ford, Sean Connery
Last Exit to Brooklyn Dir. Uli Edel. With Stephen Lang, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Burt Young
Look Back in Anger Dirs. Judi Dench & David Jones. With Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson
Pet Sematary Dir. Mary Lambert. With Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby
Shag: The Movie Dir. Zelda Barron. With Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda, Annabeth Gish
Still to Come from 1989
Ten Most Enticing Prospects:
Dekalog 10: Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Goods Dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
Enemies, a Love Story Dir. Paul Schrader. With Ron Silver, Lena Olin, Anjelica Huston
Jésus de Montréal Dir. Denys Arcand. With Lothaire Bluteau, Catherine Wilkening, Rémy Girard
The Killer Dir. John Woo. With Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Chu Kong, Kenneth Tsang
Monsieur Hire Dir. Patrice Leconte. With Michel Blanc, Sandrine Bonnaire, Luc Thuillier
The Seventh Continent Dir. Michael Haneke. With Birgit Doll, Dieter Berner, Leni Tanzer
Speaking Parts Dir. Atom Egoyan. With Michael McManus, Arsinée Khanjian, Gabrielle Rose
True Love Dir. Nancy Savoca. With Annabella Sciorra, Ron Eldard, Aida Turturro, Roger Rignack
The Unbelievable Truth Dir. Hal Hartley. With Adrienne Shelly, Robert John Burke, Chris Cooke
Yaaba Dir. Idrissa Ouédraogo. With Fatimata Sanga, Noufou Ouédraogo, Roukietou Barry
Further Research:
Always Dir. Steven Spielberg. With Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson
Black Rain Dir. Ridley Scott. With Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Ken Takakura
Blaze Dir. Ron Shelton. With Paul Newman, Lolita Davidovich, Jerry Hardin
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt Dirs. Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman
Creature Comforts Dir. Nick Park. Animated. Voice of Julie Sedgewick
The Cyclist Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf. With Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Esmail Soltanian
A Dry White Season Dir. Euzhan Palcy. With Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman
Eat a Bowl of Tea Dir. Wayne Wang. With Cora Miao, Russell Wong, Victor Wong
Fat Man and Little Boy Dir. Roland Joffé. With Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz
The Fly II Dir. Chris Walas. With Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga, Lee Richardson, John Getz
A Grand Day Out Dir. Nick Park. Animated. Voice of Peter Sallis
Harlem Nights Dir. Eddie Murphy. With Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx
Homework Dir. Abbas Kiarostami. Documentary about Iranian school children
How to Get Ahead in Advertising Dir. Bruce Robinson. With Richard E. Grant
Immediate Family Dir. Jonathan Kaplan. With Glenn Close, Mary Stuart Masterson
In Country Dir. Norman Jewison. With Bruce Willis, Emily Lloyd, Joan Allen
Jacknife Dir. David Hugh Jones. With Robert De Niro, Kathy Baker, Ed Harris
Kiki's Delivery Service Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Animated. Voice of Minami Takayama
Lean on Me Dir. John G. Avildsen. With Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, Robert Guillaume
Licence to Kill Dir. John Glen. With Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi
Life and Nothing But Dir. Bertrand Tavernier. With Philippe Noiret, Sabine Azéma
Lonesome Dove Dir. Simon Wincer. TV Movie. With Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones
Meet the Feebles Dir. Peter Jackson. Animated. Voices of Donna Akersten, Stuart Devenie
Miss Firecracker Dir. Thomas Schlamme. With Holly Hunter, Mary Steenburgen, Tim Robbins
Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story Dir. Brian Gibson. TV Movie
Mystery Train Dir. Jim Jarmusch. With Youki Kudoh, Nicoletta Braschi, Steve Buscemi
New York Stories Dirs. Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese
Old Gringo Dir. Luis Puenzo. With Jane Fonda, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Smits, Patricio Contreras
Pink Cadillac Dir. Buddy Van Horn. With Clint Eastwood, Bernadette Peters
Sea of Love Dir. Harold Becker. With Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, Michael Rooker
Slaves of New York Dir. James Ivory. With Bernadette Peters, Chris Sarandon, Mary Beth Hurt
The Tall Guy Dir. Mel Smith. With Jeff Goldblum, Rowan Atkinson, Emma Thompson
Tango & Cash Dir. Andrei Konchalovsky. With Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell
Too Beautiful for You Dir. Bertrand Blier. With Josiane Balasko, Gérard Depardieu
True Believer Dir. Joseph Ruben. With James Woods, Robert Downey Jr., Yuji Okumoto
We're No Angels Dir. Neil Jordan. With Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, Demi Moore, Hoyt Axton
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