# Every Best Picture winner of the 1990s

> The ten Best Picture winners from the 1991 to the 2000 ceremonies, from Dances with Wolves to Schindler's List, Titanic and American Beauty.

Source: https://rankiew.app/blog/best-picture-winners-1990s
Published: 2026-10-23
Author: Rankiew
Tags: oscars, best picture, oscar winners, schindler's list, forrest gump

From the American frontier to suburban America, these ten films won Best Picture at the ceremonies from 1991 to 2000. The decade has Schindler's List, the 11 Oscars of Titanic and the surprise of Shakespeare in Love.

# The ten winners of the decade

## 1. Dances with Wolves (1990)

::film[Dances with Wolves|1990]

A Union officer befriends the Lakota on the frontier.

- **Director:** Kevin Costner
- **Genre:** Adventure, Drama

**Worth it if:** you want a big western with a human heart.

**Oscars:** 1991 · Winner: Best Picture

## 2. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

::film[The Silence of the Lambs|1991]

FBI trainee Clarice Starling seeks the help of cannibal Hannibal Lecter to catch a killer.

- **Director:** Jonathan Demme
- **Genre:** Thriller, Crime

**Worth it if:** you want one of the great thrillers of all time.

**Oscars:** 1992 · Winner: Best Picture

## 3. Unforgiven (1992)

::film[Unforgiven|1992]

A retired gunslinger takes one last job.

- **Director:** Clint Eastwood
- **Genre:** Drama

**Worth it if:** you want the western that buried the myth of the western.

**Oscars:** 1993 · Winner: Best Picture

## 4. Schindler's List (1993)

::film[Schindler's List|1993]

Oskar Schindler saves more than a thousand Jews during the Holocaust.

- **Director:** Steven Spielberg
- **Genre:** History, War

**Worth it if:** you are ready for one of the most important films ever made.

**Oscars:** 1994 · Winner: Best Picture

## 5. Forrest Gump (1994)

::film[Forrest Gump|1994]

A kind, simple man from Alabama lives through decades of American history.

- **Director:** Robert Zemeckis
- **Genre:** Drama, Comedy

**Worth it if:** you want an emotional classic that covers a whole life.

**Oscars:** 1995 · Winner: Best Picture

## 6. Braveheart (1995)

::film[Braveheart|1995]

William Wallace leads the Scots against England.

- **Director:** Mel Gibson
- **Genre:** War, History

**Worth it if:** you want battles, freedom and big speeches.

**Oscars:** 1996 · Winner: Best Picture

## 7. The English Patient (1996)

::film[The English Patient|1996]

A badly burned man tells his love story at the end of World War II.

- **Director:** Anthony Minghella
- **Genre:** Drama, War

**Worth it if:** you want a sweeping and sad romantic epic.

**Oscars:** 1997 · Winner: Best Picture

## 8. Titanic (1997)

::film[Titanic|1997]

Jack and Rose fall in love aboard the ship that would sink in 1912.

- **Director:** James Cameron
- **Genre:** Drama, History

**Worth it if:** you want the great romantic disaster epic.

**Oscars:** 1998 · Winner: Best Picture

## 9. Shakespeare in Love (1998)

::film[Shakespeare in Love|1998]

A young Shakespeare falls in love while writing Romeo and Juliet.

- **Director:** John Madden
- **Genre:** Comedy, History

**Worth it if:** you want a witty romantic comedy about theater.

**Oscars:** 1999 · Winner: Best Picture

## 10. American Beauty (1999)

::film[American Beauty|1999]

A suburban father in a midlife crisis turns his life and his family upside down.

- **Director:** Sam Mendes
- **Genre:** Drama

**Worth it if:** you like dark satires of suburban life.

**Oscars:** 2000 · Winner: Best Picture

# Which film won Best Picture at the end of the decade?

American Beauty closed the decade at the 2000 ceremony, and Sam Mendes won Best Director for his first film.

# Which one is your favorite?

Pick your favorite on Rankiew: rate every film, write reviews, build lists and start clubs to talk movies with friends.

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**More from the series:** [Oscars 2021: every nominee and winner, category by category](/blog/oscars-2021-all-nominees)