1. La Haine (1995)
Finally at number 1 comes a French Black and White film from famed French actor and director Matthieu Kassovitz. La Haine, translated into English means 'The Hatred,' and appropriately the film is about how prevalent racism is in 90s French society. The film follows three friends in one day as one attempts to exact revenge against the police for the beating and subsequent death of a young Arab in the banlieus (suburban ghettos) of Paris. The three main characters are Vinz (Vincent Cassel), a young Jew who thinks he can muster respect in the banlieu as a gangster by killing a policeman in retaliation for his friend Abdel's death. Hubert (Hubert Koundé) is an Afro-French boxer who's gym was destroyed in the rioting and utters his famous line "La haine attire la haine". Hatred breeds hatred. The final character in the trio is Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui) a young French Arab who provides mediation between his two friend's conflicting views. Aside from the great characters, the film looks amazing. The film was shot in colour but made black and white in post production, something that makes both the interior and exterior sequences all that more aesthetically pleasing. The film's ending is nothing less than spectacular, but this is one I don't want to spoil. The film won Kassovitz 'Best Director' at the 1995 Cannes film festival and will likely remain his best known work. Did your favourite film of the 90s come up on the list? Let us know your favourites in the comments below.