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 recites his trademark giggle. 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...)
... that Bulkboeken ('bulk books') were cheap reprints of Dutch literary classics, published from 1971 to the late 1990s, and again from 2007?
... that just four days before his death in 2004, David B. McCall received a presidential pardon from George W. Bush for fraud charges dating from the 1990s?
... that Univel was an early-1990s attempt to compete with Microsoft on the desktop, but one industry consultant said of the company's goal, "they're dreaming"?
... that the singer Luci van Org followed up her mainstream success from the 1990s by starting a "Latin–disco–pop–country crossover" band?
... that Derek Jeter discusses his biracial upbringing and experiencing racism in Michigan in the 1980s and 1990s in The Captain?
Tupac Amaru Shakur (/ˈtuːpɑːkʃəˈkʊər/ⓘ; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Considered to be one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, academics regard him as one of the most influential music artists of the 20th century and a prominent political activist for Black America. In addition to his music career, Shakur also wrote poetry and had numerous starring roles in movies. Shakur is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. His lyrical content has been noted for addressing social injustice, political issues, and the marginalization of other African-Americans, but he was also synonymous with gangsta rap and violent lyrics.
Image 23Rwandan genocide: Genocide victims in Murambi Technical School. Estimates put the death toll of the Rwandan genocide as high as 800,000 people. (from 1990s)
Image 42The federal building that was bombed in the Oklahoma City bombing two days after the bombing, viewed from across the adjacent parking lot. (from 1990s)
Image 62Go-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 74The 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 114The compact disc reached its peak in popularity in the 1990s, and not once did another audio format surpass the CD in music sales from 1991 throughout the remainder of the decade. By 2000, the CD accounted for 92.3% of the entire market share in regard to music sales. (from 1990s)
Image 117Typical late 1990s fashions, 1997. (from 1990s in fashion)
Image 118The Nasdaq Composite displaying the dot-com bubble, which ballooned between 1997 and 2000. The bubble peaked on Friday, 10 March 2000. (from 1990s)
Image 119Flag map of the world from 1992 (from 1990s)
Image 120Model wearing a midriff shirt, a silver necklace, low ponytail and straight-leg leggings, 1999. (from 1990s in fashion)
Image 121Young man in 1995, sporting a short undercut hairstyle. (from 1990s in fashion)
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Money No Enough (Chinese: 钱不够用; pinyin: Qián Bǔgòu 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 during the National Day period 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 during Chinese New Year period on 1 February 2024. (Full article...)
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A Simple Plan is a 1998 neo-noircrime thriller film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Scott B. Smith, based on Smith's 1993 novel. The film stars Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, and Bridget Fonda. Set in rural Minnesota, the story follows brothers Hank (Paxton) and Jacob Mitchell (Thornton), who, along with Jacob's friend Lou (Brent Briscoe), discover a crashed plane containing $4.4 million in cash. The three men and Hank's wife Sarah (Fonda) go to great lengths to keep the money a secret but begin to doubt each other's trust, resulting in lies, deceit and murder.
Development of the film began in 1993 before the novel was published. Mike Nichols purchased the film rights, and the project was picked up by Savoy Pictures. After Nichols stepped down, the film adaptation became mired in development hell, with Ben Stiller and John Dahl turning down opportunities to direct it. After Savoy closed in November 1997, the project was sold to Paramount Pictures. John Boorman was hired to direct, but scheduling conflicts led to his replacement by Raimi. An international co-production between the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan, the film was financed by Mutual Film Company, its investors and Newmarket Capital Group, which allocated a budget of $17 million. Principal photography began in January 1998 and concluded in March after 55 days of filming in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The score was produced and composed by Danny Elfman. (Full article...)
Simon Moore's script was purchased by Sony Pictures Entertainment in May 1993, and actress Sharon Stone signed on as both star and co-producer. Development was fast tracked after director Sam Raimi's hiring, and principal photography began in Old Tucson Studios in Arizona on November 21, 1993. The film was distributed by TriStar Pictures and was released in the United States on February 10, 1995, to a dismal box-office performance, receiving mixed reviews from critics. In later years, however, the film has earned critical praise, especially for the performances, direction, cinematography, and musical score, with some critics noting it as underrated in Raimi's catalog. (Full article...)
Set in 1938 Los Angeles, California, The Rocketeer tells the story of stunt pilot Cliff Secord, who discovers a hidden rocket pack that he thereafter uses to fly without the need of an aircraft. His heroic deeds soon attract the attention of Howard Hughes and the FBI, who are hunting for the missing rocket pack, as well as the Nazi operatives who stole it from Hughes. (Full article...)
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City of Angels is a 1998 American romantic fantasy film directed by Brad Silberling and starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. Set in Los Angeles, California, the film is a loose remake of Wim Wenders's 1987 film Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin). As with the original, City of Angels tells the story of an angel (Cage) who falls in love with a mortal woman (Ryan), and wishes to become human to be with her. With the guidance of a man (Dennis Franz) who has already made the transition from immortality, the angel falls and begins the human experience.
When producer Dawn Steel saw potential to pursue more story ideas in Wenders's original concept, she and her husband Charles Roven acquired the rights for an English-language adaptation. After years of delay, they found support from Warner Bros. and recruited Silberling and screenwriter Dana Stevens to execute the project. Themes were borrowed from Wenders's work, though the ending was altered, to a more tragic effect. City of Angels was filmed around California and dedicated to Steel, who died before the premiere. (Full article...)
The plot follows the interrogation of Roger "Verbal" Kint, a small-time con man, who is one of only two survivors of a massacre and fire on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles. Through flashback and narration, Kint tells an interrogator a convoluted story of events that led him and his criminal companions to the boat, and of a mysterious crime lord—known as Keyser Söze—who controlled them. The film was shot on a $6 million budget and began as a title taken from a column in Spy magazine called The Usual Suspects, after one of Claude Rains' most memorable lines in the classic film Casablanca, and Singer thought that it would make a good title for a film. (Full article...)
Most of the filming was done on the Greenway Trail along Seneca Creek in Montgomery County, Maryland. (Full article...)
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Apt Pupil is a 1998 American thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and starring Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro. It is based on the 1982 novella of the same name by Stephen King. In the 1980s in southern California, high school student Todd Bowden (Renfro) discovers fugitive Naziwar criminal Kurt Dussander (McKellen) living in his neighborhood under the pseudonym Arthur Denker. Bowden, obsessed with Nazism and acts of the Holocaust, persuades Dussander to share his stories, and their relationship stirs malice in each of them.
The novella was first published in King's 1982 collection Different Seasons. Producer Richard Kobritz sought to adapt the novella into a film during the 1980s, but two actors he invited to play Dussander died. When filming began in 1987, a loss of financing led to the production being shut down. Forty minutes of usable footage existed, but production was never revived. In 1995, when rights to the novella returned to King, Bryan Singer petitioned the author for an opportunity to adapt the novella. With King's support, Singer filmed Apt Pupil with McKellen and Renfro in Altadena, California, in 1997. The director shortened the novella's storyline, reduced its violence, and changed the ending. Singer called Apt Pupil "a study in cruelty" with Nazism only serving as a vehicle for the capacity of evil. (Full article...)
Beauty and the Beast focuses on the relationship between the Beast, a prince who is magically transformed into a monster and his servants into household objects as punishment for his arrogance and cruelty, and Belle, a young woman whom he imprisons in his castle in exchange for her father's freedom. To break the curse, the Beast must learn to love Belle and earn her love in return before the last petal from an enchanted rose falls, or else he will remain a monster forever. The film stars Paige O'Hara and Robby Benson as the voices of Belle and the Beast, respectively, as well as the ensemble voices of Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Jesse Corti, Rex Everhart, Jo Anne Worley, and Angela Lansbury. (Full article...)
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Audition (オーディション, Ōdishon) is a 1999 Japanese horror film directed by Takashi Miike and written by Daisuke Tengan. An adaptation of Ryu Murakami's 1997 novel, it stars Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina. The film follows a middle-aged widower who enlists the help of his film producer friend to stage a fake audition in order to meet a new girlfriend, only to find that the dark past of the woman he chooses severely affects their relationship.
The film was originally a project of the Japanese company Omega Project, who wanted to make another horror film after the financial success of Ring (1998). The company purchased the rights to Murakami's book and sought Miike and Tengan for an adaptation. The cast and crew consisted primarily of previous Miike collaborators, with the exception of Shiina, who had worked as a model prior to her acting career. The film was shot throughout Tokyo in approximately three weeks. (Full article...)
Hughes conceived Home Alone while on vacation, with Warner Bros. being originally intended to finance and distribute the film. However, Warner Bros. shut down the production after it exceeded its assigned budget. 20th Century Fox assumed responsibilities following secret meetings with Hughes. Columbus and Culkin were hired soon afterwards. Filming took place between February and May 1990 on location across Illinois. (Full article...)
The film's development began in 1994 as a musical with the involvement of the Who's Pete Townshend, though the project took root once Bird signed on as director and hired McCanlies to write the screenplay in 1996. The film was animated using traditional animation, with computer-generated imagery used to animate the Iron Giant and other effects. The understaffed crew of the film completed it with half of the time and budget of other animated features. Michael Kamen composed the film's score, which was performed by the Czech Philharmonic. It was the final film by Warner Bros. Feature Animation to be fully animated and not a live-action/animation hybrid. (Full article...)
The film was released to mainly positive reviews, and was generally considered a moderate financial success at both the box office and in home video sales. In 1998, it was followed by a direct-to-video sequel, FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue, although none of the original voice cast reprised their roles. (Full article...)
Moore was paid a then-unprecedented $12.5 million 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, the film grossed $113 million worldwide against its $50 million budget. However, it was panned by critics, won six Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Picture, and has come to be evaluated as one of the worst movies ever made. The debacle of the film marked a downturn in Moore's career. (Full article...)
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