’90s Soundtrack Movies
15 Episodes
Coprogrammed by Yasi Salek
In the 1990s, underground music—from punk and hip-hop to indie rock and electronica—exploded into the pop-culture consciousness through some of the defining films of the era. Movies like PUMP UP THE VOLUME didn’t just capture the social and aesthetic codes of disaffected Gen Xers; they also delivered the soundtracks that became their personal mixtapes. In that fleeting, miraculous moment, weirdos actually scored studio budgets and turned them into anthemic works that spoke directly to the zeitgeist. TRAINSPOTTING made heroin chic sound existential. GROSSE POINTE BLANK made ska feel like therapy. SINGLES anticipated the grunge boom. GOOD WILL HUNTING earned Elliott Smith an Oscar nomination. JUDGMENT NIGHT practically minted a new rap-rock crossover genre. Taken together, these films form a must-listen playlist from the era when indie and mainstream cultures converged, allowing genuinely strange and exciting art to flourish on multiplex screens and Walkman headphones alike.
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01:58Episode 1
’90s Soundtrack Movies Teaser
Episode 1
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2:06:37Episode 2
Good Will Hunting
Episode 2
Directed by Gus Van Sant • 1997 • United States
Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Robin WilliamsWhat does genius look like? The Oscar-winning cultural touchstone that launched the careers of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, this by turns witty and deeply tender drama stars the former as Will Hunting...
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1:59:20Episode 3
Velvet Goldmine
Episode 3
Directed by Todd Haynes • 1998 • United Kingdom, United States
Starring Ewan McGregor, Toni Collette, Christian BaleA CITIZEN KANE for the glittering, hedonistic glam-rock explosion, Todd Haynes’s deliriously flamboyant third feature follows journalist Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) as he launc...
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Mallrats
Episode 4
Directed by Kevin Smith • 1995 • United States
Starring Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Jason LeeKevin Smith tapped into the Gen X zeitgeist once again with his hilariously, proudly sophomoric follow-up to CLERKS. When Brodie (Jason Lee) and TS (Jeremy London) are both dumped by their girlfrien...
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1:47:28Episode 5
Grosse Pointe Blank
Episode 5
Directed by George Armitage • 1997 • United States
Starring John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan AykroydJohn Cusack’s unstoppable run as puppy-eyed Gen X heartthrob continued with this smart, wittily offbeat blend of hit-man thriller and romantic comedy. He stars as Martin Blank, a professional assa...
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1:41:46Episode 6
Pump Up the Volume
Episode 6
Directed by Allan Moyle • 1990 • United States, Canada
Starring Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Annie RossBy day, Mark Hunter (Christian Slater) is the painfully shy new kid in a small Arizona town. But by night, he’s Hard Harry, the cynical, uncensored DJ of a pirate radio station. Idolized...
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Singles
Episode 7
Directed by Cameron Crowe • 1992 • United States
Starring Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra SedgwickSix young Seattle urbanites just starting their lives—with bills to pay, budding careers, heightened social awareness, and restless hearts—share their dreams, their music, and the common courty...
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1:47:53Episode 8
Deep Cover
Episode 8
Directed by Bill Duke • 1992 • United States
Starring Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, Victoria DillardFilm noir hits the mean streets of 1990s Los Angeles in this stylish and subversive underworld odyssey from veteran actor-director Bill Duke. Laurence Fishburne stars as Russell Stevens, a p...
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1:49:38Episode 9
Judgment Night
Episode 9
Directed by Stephen Hopkins • 1993 • United States
Starring Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jeremy PivenBoys’ night out turns into a harrowing fight to survive in this turbocharged action extravaganza. Suburban family man Frank Wyatt (Emilio Estevez) and his buddies are on their way to Chicag...
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1:33:29Episode 10
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Episode 10
Directed by Thomas Schlamme • 1993 • United States
Starring Mike Myers, Nancy Travis, Anthony LaPagliaMike Myers brings his outlandish comic absurdism to this offbeat, cult-favorite rom-com. He’s Charlie, the commitment-phobic San Francisco poet whose love life has largely been a disaster—until...
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1:33:52Episode 11
Trainspotting
Episode 11
Directed by Danny Boyle • 1996 • United Kingdom
Starring Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert CarlyleDanny Boyle’s electrifying 1996 adaptation of the cult novel by Irvine Welsh is a heady tour through Edinburgh’s scuzzy eighties underground, where Renton, an aimless young man, bounces fr...
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SubUrbia
Episode 12
Directed by Richard Linklater • 1997 • United States
Starring Giovanni Ribisi, Parker Posey, Steve ZahnEric Bogosian adapts his hit stage play for the screen with acclaimed director Richard Linklater in this drama inspired by their own experiences. When a famous rock star (Jayce Bartok) visits ...
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1:56:08Episode 13
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Episode 13
Directed by Jim Jarmusch • 1999 • United States
Starring Forest Whitaker, John Tormey, Cliff GormanJim Jarmusch combined his love for the ice-cool crime dramas of Jean-Pierre Melville and Seijun Suzuki with the philosophical dimensions of samurai mythology for an eccentrically postmodern take o...
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2:14:50Episode 14
Lost Highway
Episode 14
Directed by David Lynch • 1997 • United States
Starring Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty“We’ve met before, haven’t we?” A mesmerizing meditation on the mysterious nature of identity, LOST HIGHWAY, David Lynch’s seventh feature film, is one of the filmmaker’s most potent cinemati...
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4:47:59Episode 15
Until the End of the World
Episode 15
Directed by Wim Wenders • 1991 • Germany, France, Australia
Starring William Hurt, Solveig Dommartin, Sam NeillConceived as the ultimate road movie, this decades-in-the-making science-fiction epic from Wim Wenders follows the restless Claire Tourneur (Solveig Dommartin) across continents as she...