Rentals
Nineties Rentals
Exploring the films and filmmakers that broke the rules of cinema in the 1990s.
Our collection focusing on the titles that created a new cinematic language and challenged aesthetic and formal conventions. The influence of these films can still be felt today; some of them challenged what was expected of a director, of moving image, of a national cinema. We celebrate the rule breakers and rebels who defined a decade.

Daughters of the DustDaughters of the Dust
Drama1991112 minsDirector: Julie Dash
Julie Dash’s groundbreaking Daughters of the Dust remains urgent and poetic and continues to resonate, most recently inspiring Beyoncé’s Lemonade.

Eve's BayouEve's Bayou
Drama1997115 minsDirector: Kasi Lemmons
Samuel L. Jackson stars in this seething slice of Southern Gothic, about the travails of a Louisiana family bedevilled by infidelity, incest and witchcraft.

Brassed OffBrassed Off
Drama1996107 minsDirector: Mark Herman
Pete Postlethwaite stars in this emotional drama about members of a colliery brass band who learn their mine may soon be closing.

The Crying GameThe Crying Game
Drama1992112 minsDirector: Neil Jordan
Neil Jordan's acclaimed 1992 drama-mystery tells the story of Fergus (Stephen Rea), who looks after the lover (Jaye Davidson) of a British soldier he once knew. But what is Dil hiding?

Beautiful ThingBeautiful Thing
Comedy199691 minsDirector: Hettie Macdonald
Hettie MacDonald’s 1996 comedy tells the story of two classmates and neighbours (Glen Berry, Scott Neal) who fall in love over one summer in South East London.

Trying to Kiss the MoonTrying to Kiss the Moon
Animation & Artists Moving Image199496 minsDirector: Stephen Dwoskin
Autobiographical film by the veteran disabled experimental filmmaker, Steve Dwoskin.

Reservoir DogsReservoir Dogs
Film noir199199 minsDirector: Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino explodes onto the screen with his debut feature following a jewellery heist gone horribly, violently wrong.

Trees LoungeTrees Lounge
Comedy199691 minsDirector: Steve Buscemi
Venerable character actor Steve Buscemi steps behind the camera in this profound character study on a lonely, alcoholic, and unemployed mechanic.

PiPi
Science Fiction199784 minsDirector: Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky’s magisterial monochrome mystery concerns a mathematician whose discovery of a powerful number leads to the dark side.

TrainspottingTrainspotting
Drama199590 minsDirector: Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle's exhilarating, narcotic trip follows a group of heroin-addicted friends as they navigate their way through Glasgow's seedy 1990s drug culture.

Bhaji on the BeachBhaji on the Beach
Comedy1993101 minsDirector: Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha's charming and critically acclaimed comedy about a group of British Asian women from Birmingham who bond during a day-trip to Blackpool.

BabymotherBabymother
Musical199877 minsDirector: Julian Henriques
Neeta and her crew rise to dancehall fame in North West London's Caribbean community, in the first Black British musical.

Blue Black PermanentBlue Black Permanent
Drama199286 minsDirector: Margaret Tait
Engaging, poetic story of three generations of Scottish women made by artist Margaret Tait.

Brothers in TroubleBrothers in Trouble
Drama1995103 minsDirector: Udayan Prasad
Udayan Prasad's perceptive 1995 drama follows Amir (Pavan Malhotra), a Pakistani immigrant living in England and adjusting to his new life - including meeting an Irish girl who moves into his boarding house.

East Is EastEast Is East
Comedy199997 minsDirector: Damien O'Donnell
Damien O'Donnell's charming comedy-drama about Zaheed Khan (Om Puri), the patriarch of a Pakistani-British family whose children begin to reject their heritage and embrace UK life.

Open Your EyesOpen Your Eyes
Thriller1997119 minsDirector: Alejandro Amenábar
Alejandro Amenabar’s signature science-fiction drama follows a young man who falls for his dream woman, before he is disfigured in an accident.

Live FleshLive Flesh
Drama199797 minsDirector: Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar’s sexy and suspenseful thriller follows the intertwining destinies of a cop (Javier Bardem) and the criminal who paralyses him.

OrphansOrphans
Comedy199798 minsDirector: Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan steps behind the camera for this pitch-black comedy surrounding a family who reunite for their mother’s funeral.

Institute Benjamenta Institute Benjamenta
Drama1995105 minsDirector: Brothers Quay
Mark Rylance stars in the debut feature film from the Brothers Quay. A student at a peculiar school for servants gradually uncovers its secrets and, by extension, those of life itself.

Remembrance of Things FastRemembrance of Things Fast
Animation & Artists Moving Image199362 minsDirector: John Maybury
John Maybury’s dark, queer state of the nation film starring Tilda Swinton and Rupert Everett

Citizen RuthCitizen Ruth
Drama1996106 minsDirector: Alexander Payne
Laura Dern is hilarious an addict unwittingly caught in the midst of America's culture wars, in Alexander Payne's superb first feature - previously unreleased in the UK.

Menace II SocietyMenace II Society
Drama199397 minsDirector: Albert Hughes
The Hughes brothers' lean, powerful and unflinching look at the mean streets of the urban ghetto.

Malcolm XMalcolm X
Biopic1992202 minsDirector: Spike Lee
Denzel Washington takes the lead in one of the great screen biopics, directed by Spike Lee.

Do the Right ThingDo the Right Thing
Comedy1989120 minsDirector: Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s awesome cinematic sucker-punch remains one of the great films about race relations.

My Own Private IdahoMy Own Private Idaho
Drama1991104 minsDirector: Gus Van Sant
A narcoleptic hustler (River Phoenix) and his friend (Keanu Reeves) hit the road in this landmark of New Queer Cinema from Gus Van Sant.

Se7enSe7en
Crime1995127 minsDirector: David Fincher
David Fincher's breakthrough film is a disturbing and visceral thriller starring Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt as detectives hunting down a meticulous serial killer.

The MatrixThe Matrix
Science Fiction1999136 minsDirector: Larry Wachowski
Hacker Neo (Keanu Reeves) is drawn into a burgeoning underground rebellion against the machines that enslave humanity, in the hugely influential action sci-fi.

MagnoliaMagnolia
Drama1999189 minsDirector: Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson's sprawling, intense and multi-layered study of a collection of characters going through varying levels of crisis.

Boogie NightsBoogie Nights
Drama1997155 minsDirector: Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson's deliriously entertaining account of the mid-70s porn industry, with an unforgettable Mark Wahlberg as 'Dirk Diggler' and Burt Reynolds as his producer.

ClerksClerks
Comedy199492 minsDirector: Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith ushered in a new wave of no-budget indie filmmaking, and introduced the world to his enduring one-man brand, with this classic convenience-store comedy.

Before SunriseBefore Sunrise
Drama1995101 minsDirector: Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater's lovely Rohmer-esque romance, in which an American student (Ethan Hawke) convinces a Parisian student (Julie Delpy) to spend the next 14 hours in his company.

Eyes Wide ShutEyes Wide Shut
Drama1999159 minsDirector: Stanley Kubrick
Kubrick’s final film, released posthumously, is a precise portrayal of a fragile relationship, played out by then-couple Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.

The Blair Witch ProjectThe Blair Witch Project
Horror199981 minsDirector: Eduardo Sanchez
Three student filmmakers attempt to make a documentary about a local urban legend, in this terrifying and groundbreaking pioneer of the ‘found-footage’ genre.

GoodFellasGoodFellas
Gangster1990145 minsDirector: Martin Scorsese
Scorsese’s dazzling depiction of organised crime from the 50s to late 70s contains some of his most memorably stylish set-pieces.

Pulp FictionPulp Fiction
Crime1994154 minsDirector: Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino’s crackling crime classic still retains its swagger as one of the great American films of recent decades.

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