The Best Movies of 1999 Catalogs the Very Best of Film

In the battle to decide the greatest movie year in American history, 1999 can duke it out with the best of 'em. The year has some very worthy opponents—most notably, Hollywood's Golden Year, 1939, which saw an increase in theater attendance and a dazzling array of classics like The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Gone With the Wind, and more. But even a quick scan of movies that premiered in 1999, 60 years later, reveals a near-dizzying, exhaustive list of box office hits and flops-turned-cult classics that remain just as relevant in pop culture today as they were 22 years ago. Esquire once declared 1999 "The Last Great Year in Movies," and though the distinction can (and will) be endlessly debated, 1999 was indeed a special year in American cinema.

The eve of the new millennium prophesied an entirely new era in Hollywood, one characterized by advancements in computer-generated imagery, avant-garde original storytelling, and the rising influence of digital video. The emergence of new auteurs like M. Night Shyamalan and Spike Jonze stole the film scene. Whereas today, Hollywood is so often focused on reboots, remakes, spinoffs, and franchises, many of the movies of 1999 were well-executed projects born from exciting original ideas. A concept!

From innovative science fiction masterpieces like Lana and Lilly Wachowski's The Matrix, to internet-savvy "found footage" horror flick The Blair Witch Project, read on for a collection of some of the best movies of 1999.