The 1990s (pronounced "nineteen-nineties"; shortened to "the '90s") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on 1 January 1990, and ended on 31 December 1999.
In the absence of world communism, which collapsed in the first two years of the decade, the 1990s was politically defined by a movement towards the right-wing, including increase in support for far-right parties in Europe[1] as well as the advent of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party[2] and cuts in social spending in the United States,[3] Canada,[4] New Zealand,[5] and the UK.[6] The United States also saw a massive revival in the use of the death penalty in the 1990s, which reversed in the early 21st century.[7] During the 1990s the character of the European Union and Euro were formed and codified in treaties.
A combination of factors, including the continued mass mobilization of capital markets through neo-liberalism, the thawing of the decades-long Cold War, the beginning of the widespread proliferation of new media such as the Internet from the middle of the decade onwards, increasing skepticism towards government, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union led to a realignment and reconsolidation of economic and political power across the world and within countries. The dot-com bubble of 1997–2000 brought wealth to some entrepreneurs before its crash between 2000 and 2001.
The 1990s saw extreme advances in technology, with the World Wide Web, the first gene therapy trial, and the first designer babies[8] all emerging in 1990 and being improved and built upon throughout the decade.
Tickle Me Elmo is a children's plush toy from Tyco Preschool, a division of Tyco Toys, of the Muppet character Elmo from the children's television show Sesame Street. When squeezed, Elmo plays a giggle sound. When squeezed three times, Elmo shakes and vibrates.
The toy was first produced in the United States in 1996 and slowly became a fad, reaching its apex during the 1996 Christmas shopping season, with some instances of violence reported over the limited available supply. People reported that the toy, which retailed for $28.99 according to its MSRP, was being re-sold by scalpers in newspapers and on the Internet for up to $1,500 by the end of 1996. (Full article...)
Tupac Amaru Shakur (/ˈtuːpɑːkʃəˈkʊər/ⓘTOO-pahk shə-KOOR; Spanish: Túpac; born Parish Lesane Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. He was one of the most influential musical artists of the 20th century, and a prominent political activist for Black America. He is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Some of Shakur's music addressed social injustice, political issues, and the marginalization of African Americans, but he was also synonymous with gangsta rap and violent lyrics.
Image 21The catsuit became a trend in the late 1990s. Normally made of latex, PVC, or spandex, it was often worn with high-heeled boots. (from 1990s in fashion)
Image 35Women's side gusset shoes were popular among preppy and hip-hop subcultures in the mid- to late-1990s. (from 1990s in fashion)
Image 36Rwandan genocide: Bones of genocide victims in Murambi Technical School. Estimates put the death toll of the Rwandan genocide as high as 800,000 people. (from 1990s)
Image 37The 1999 İzmit earthquake, which occurred in northwestern Turkey, killed 17,217 and injured 43,959. (from 1990s)
Image 44Go-go boots became fashionable again in 1995. They were worn by women of the hip-hop, alternative, and dance subcultures. (from 1990s in fashion)
Image 45Women's rights demonstration in Paris, November 1995 (from 1990s)
Produced between the first and second seasons of the series, the film follows Batman as he reconciles with a former lover, Andrea Beaumont, and faces a mysterious vigilante, the titular Phantasm, who is murdering Gotham City's crime bosses. The plot partly mirrors Mike W. Barr's "Batman: Year Two" comic book story arc, with the Reaper from it loosely inspiring the Phantasm character made for the film, while also borrowing elements from the "Batman: Year One" arc, recounting how Bruce Wayne became Batman and his first attempts to fight crime. (Full article...)
The Nightmare Before Christmas originated from a poem written by Tim Burton in 1982 while he was working as an animator at Walt Disney Productions. With the critical success of Vincent that same year, Burton began to consider developing the story as either a short film or a half-hour television special, to no avail. Over the years, Burton's thoughts regularly returned to the project, and in 1990 he made a development deal with the Walt Disney Studios. Production, under Burton and Denise Di Novi, started in July 1991. Disney initially released the film through the Touchstone Pictures label because the studio believed the film's Gothic tone would be "too dark and scary for kids." (Full article...)
The film was shot in Nagoya, Japan, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on a $25million budget, and premiered in February 1995, taking in $6.6million in U.S. box office. Most critic reviews found the plot clichéd and the acting unconvincing, while some praised Harada's performance. The critically well-received soundtrack featured music by the Japanese taiko troupe Kodō, which pervades the film. (Full article...)
Jacob's Ladder was produced by Carolco Pictures and released by Tri-Star Pictures on November 2, 1990, ten years after being written by Rubin. The film garnered a cult following, and its plot and special effects became a source of influence for various other works, such as the Silent Hill video game series. A remake was released in 2019. (Full article...)
The film was Woo's final Hong Kong film before his transition to Hollywood. Conceived in response to criticism that his earlier works romanticized criminals, Woo aimed to create a police-centered action film inspired by the Dirty Harry series. Production was marked by extensive improvisation and ongoing script revisions, particularly following the death of co-writer Barry Wong. Several characters and narrative elements were introduced or reworked during filming, while earlier story concepts—including a subplot involving a child-targeting criminal—were abandoned. (Full article...)
Executive producer Roger Corman acquired the rights to Brosnan's novel in 1991 and the project began filming a year later, after Corman learned that another dinosaur film, Jurassic Park, was entering production. Simon reworked most of the plot elements of the novel. Afforded an $850,000 budget, the special effects were completed with models and animatronics largely designed by John Carl Buechler. (Full article...)
The film was written by Randy Kornfield. Producer Chris Columbus rewrote the script, adding in elements of satire about the commercialization of Christmas, and the project was picked up by 20th Century Fox. Delays to Fox's reboot of Planet of the Apes allowed Schwarzenegger to come on board the film, while Columbus opted to cast Sinbad instead of Joe Pesci as Myron. Jingle All the Way was set and filmed in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul at a variety of locations, including the Mall of America. After five weeks of filming, production moved to California, where scenes such as the end parade were shot. The film's swift production meant merchandising was limited to a replica of the Turbo Man action figure used in the film. (Full article...)
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Money No Enough (Chinese:钱不够用; pinyin:Qián Bù Gòu Yòng) is a 1998 Singaporean comedy film written by Jack Neo, directed by Tay Teck Lock, and produced by JSP films. The movie stars Neo, Mark Lee and Henry Thia as three close and best friends who start a car polishing business together to resolve their financial problems. Released in cinemas on 7 May 1998, the film received mixed reviews from critics but earned over S$5.8 million and was the all-time highest-grossing Singaporean film until 2012. Its success helped revive the Singaporean film industry and pave the way for the emergence of other Singaporean cultural phenomena.
It was followed by a second standalone installment titled Money No Enough 2, which was directed by Neo, and also starring Thia, Lee and Neo himself, and was released on 31 July 2008. A third standalone installment titled Money No Enough 3, was also directed by Neo and also stars Lee, Thia and Neo himself, and was released on 1 February 2024. (Full article...)
Moore was paid a then-unprecedented $12.5million to star in Striptease, making her the highest-paid film actress up to that time. Released theatrically on June 28, 1996, by Columbia Pictures and produced by Castle Rock Entertainment with a $50million budget, the film grossed $33million domestically (47th place) and $113million worldwide. It was somewhat more successful in the subsequent video rental market. However, it was panned by critics and won six Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Picture. (Full article...)
Primarily centered on themes of censorship and scapegoating, the film also parodies and satirizes the animated films of the Disney Renaissance, musicals such as Les Misérables, and controversies surrounding the series itself. The film also heavily satirizes the Motion Picture Association of America; during production, Parker and Stone disputed with the MPAA, which returned the film multiple times with an NC-17 rating due to its frequent use of profanity. The film's songs were written by Parker and Marc Shaiman, the latter of whom composed the score. (Full article...)
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The Frighteners is a 1996 supernaturalcomedy horror film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with Fran Walsh. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Dee Wallace Stone, Jeffrey Combs, R. Lee Ermey and Jake Busey. The Frighteners tells the story of Frank Bannister (Fox), an architect who develops psychic abilities allowing him to see, hear, and communicate with ghosts after his wife's murder. He initially uses his new abilities to befriend ghosts, whom he sends to haunt people so that he can charge them handsome fees for "exorcising" the ghosts. However, the spirit of a mass murderer appears posing as the Grim Reaper, able to attack the living and the dead, prompting Frank to investigate the supernatural presence.
Jackson and Walsh conceived the idea for The Frighteners during the script-writing phase of Heavenly Creatures. Executive producer Robert Zemeckis hired the duo to write the script, with the original intention of Zemeckis directing The Frighteners as a spin-off film of the television series Tales from the Crypt. With Jackson and Walsh's first draft submitted in January 1994, Zemeckis believed the film would be better off directed by Jackson, produced by Zemeckis and funded/distributed by Universal Studios. The visual effects were created by Jackson's Weta Digital, which had only been in existence for three years. This, plus the fact that The Frighteners required more digital effects shots than almost any movie made until that time, resulted in the eighteen-month period for effects work by Weta Digital being largely stressed. (Full article...)
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Parasite Eve (Japanese: パラサイト・イヴ, Hepburn: Parasaito Ivu) is a 1997 Japanese science fiction film that was directed by Masayuki Ochiai and is based on the 1995 novel Parasite Eve by Hideaki Sena. Kiyomi (Riona Hazuki), the wife of Toshiaki Nagashima (Hiroshi Mikami), is left brain dead after a traffic accident on the day of their first wedding anniversary. Nagashima attempts to make Kiyomi live again by making a deal with a doctor who wants to harvest Kiyomi's kidneys for transplanting into a young girl in the same hospital. Nagashima agrees on the condition that he can have his wife's liver. While Nagashima experiments with the organ, the doctor finds one night the samples have emerged as a gelatinous form in the form of Toshiaki's dead wife and reveal themselves as an organization of sentient mitochondria that are bent on making a new species that will wipe out humanity.
In 1997, Kadokawa Shoten decided to use the film production side of its business to develop a film version of Parasite Eve, making it its first film in three years. The film was co-produced by Kadokawa and Fuji TV's Motion Picture Division. Ochiai made his debut as a feature film director, having worked in Japanese television on horror series such as Night Head. Parasite Eve was filmed in eight weeks with a budget of ¥550 million. Ochiai was not entirely pleased with the result of the film, feeling he was pressured to push the love story element of the story, later saying there were "so many compromises I had to make that it couldn't be a true horror movie". The film was released in Japan on February 1, 1997, with limited release outside the country. It received mixed reviews; The Daily Yomiuri found the film "mildly enjoyable at times" and Fangoria called it "flawed but fascinating". (Full article...)
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