Top Ten Films of 1988: World Premieres
Top Ten by U.S. Release Date (Updated) // My 1988 Oscar Ballot (Updated)
| 1. | Dead Ringers Dir. David Cronenberg. With Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold, Heidi von Palleske A |
| 2. | Distant Voices, Still Lives Dir. Terence Davies. With Freda Dowie, Pete Postlethwaite A |
| 3. | The Unbearable Lightness of Being Dir. Philip Kaufman. With Daniel Day-Lewis A |
| 4. | Chocolat Dir. Claire Denis. With Cécile Ducasse, Giulia Boschi, Isaach de Bankole A– |
| 5. | Bull Durham Dir. Ron Shelton. With Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins A– |
| 6. | Another Woman Dir. Woody Allen. With Gena Rowlands, Mia Farrow, Gene Hackman A– |
| 7. | Die Hard Dir. John McTiernan. With Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia A– |
| 8. | Married to the Mob Dir. Jonathan Demme. With Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine B+ |
| 9. | Medea Dir. Lars von Trier. With Kirsten Olesen, Udo Kier, Henning Jensen B+ |
| 10. | The Last Temptation of Christ Dir. Martin Scorsese. With Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel B+ |
Reviews from 1988
★ = Full-Length Review / © = Capsule-Length Review / ★ = Blog Review (New Window)
★ The Accidental Tourist Dir. Lawrence Kasdan. With William Hurt, Geena Davis, Kathleen Turner B
★ The Accused Dir. Jonathan Kaplan. With Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, Bernie Coulson, Ann Hearn B
★ Another Woman Dir. Woody Allen. With Gena Rowlands, Mia Farrow, Ian Holm, Gene Hackman A–
★ Another Woman Dir. Woody Allen. With Gena Rowlands, Mia Farrow, Ian Holm, Gene Hackman A–
★ Bull Durham Dir. Ron Shelton. With Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson A–
More Grades from 1988
Unreviewed titles I have seen recently enough to grade
Camille Claudel Dir. Bruno Nuytten. With Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, Laurent Grévill B
A Cry in the Dark Dir. Fred Schepisi. With Meryl Streep, Sam Neill, Bruce Myles, Charles Tingwell B–
Gorillas in the Mist Dir. Michael Apted. With Sigourney Weaver, John Omirah Miluwi, Bryan Brown B
High Hopes Dir. Mike Leigh. With Philip Davis, Ruth Sheen, Edna Doré, Heather Tobias, Philip Jackson B
Mississippi Burning Dir. Alan Parker. With Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand C–
Pelle the Conqueror Dir. Bille August. With Pelle Hvenegaard, Max von Sydow, Bjørn Granath B
Rain Man Dir. Barry Levinson. With Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen C
Urinal Dir. John Greyson. With Lance Eng, Keltie Creed, Olivia Rojas, Paul Bettis, Pauline Carey B
The Way to My Father's Village Dir. Richard Fung. Documentary about family-driven trip to China B
Working Girl Dir. Mike Nichols. With Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Philip Bosco C+
Also from 1988
The memories are fading, but they're somewhere in my brain
Fetching
Big Dir. Penny Marshall. With Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard
Cinema Paradiso Dir. Giuseppe Tornatore. With Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Agnèse Nano
A Fish Called Wanda Dir. Charles Crichton. With John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline
Hairspray Dir. John Waters. With Ricki Lake, Divine, Leslie Ann Powers, Colleen Fitzgerald
Medea Dir. Lars von Trier. With Kirsten Olesen, Udo Kier, Henning Jensen, Ludmilla Glinska
Fair
Beetlejuice Dir. Tim Burton. With Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder
Dangerous Liaisons Dir. Stephern Frears. With Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer
Grave of the Fireflies Dir. Isao Takahata. Animated. Voices of Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Dir. Robert Zemeckis. With Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Dir. Pedro Almodóvar. With Carmen Maura
Feh
Mystic Pizza Dir. Donald Petrie. With Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, Lili Taylor
Puissance de la parole Dir. Jean-Luc Godard. With Jean-Michel Irribaren, Jean Bouise
Running on Empty Dir. Sidney Lumet. With River Phoenix, Christine Lahti, Judd Hirsch
Stand and Deliver Dir. Ramon Menendez. With Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips
Flotsam
The Lady in White Dir. Frank LaLoggia. With Lukas Haas, Katherine Helmond, Len Cariou
Still to Come from 1988
Gourmet Prospects:
Bird Dir. Clint Eastwood. With Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, Michael Zelniker, Keith David
Drowning by Numbers Dir. Peter Greenaway. With Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson, Joely Richardson
Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie Dir. Marcel Ophüls. Documentary
Landscape in the Mist Dir. Theo Angelopoulos. With Michalis Zeke, Tania Palaiologou, Aliki Georgouli
My Neighbor Totoro Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Animated. Voices of Noriko Hidaka, Hitoshi Takagi
Salaam Bombay! Dir. Mira Nair. With Shafiq Syed, Hansa Vithal, Chanda Sharma, Raghuvir Yadav
A Short Film About Killing Dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski. With Miroslaw Baka, Krzysztof Globisz
The Thin Blue Line Dir. Errol Morris. Documentary inquiring into a death-row inmate's case
Time of the Gypsies Dir. Emir Kusturica. With Davor Dujmovic, Bora Todorovic, Ljubica Adzovic
A World Apart Dir. Chris Menges. With Jodhi May, Barbara Hershey, David Suchet, Jeroen Krabbé
Further Research:
36 Fillette Dir. Catherine Breillat. With Delphine Zentout, Etienne Chicot, Olivier Parnière
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen Dir. Terry Gilliam. With John Neville, Eric Idle
Akira Dir. Katsuhiro Ôtomo. Animated. Voices of Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama
Alice Dir. Jan Svankmajer. Partially Animated. With Kristyna Kohoutová
As Tears Go By Dir. Wong Kar-wai. With Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung, William Chang
Beaches Dir. Garry Marshall. With Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, John Heard, Spalding Gray
The Bear Dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud. With Tchéky Karyo, Jack Wallace, André Lacombe
The Big Blue Dir. Luc Besson. With Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette, Jean Reno, Paul Shenar
Biloxi Blues Dir. Mike Nichols. With Matthew Broderick, Christopher Walken, Matt Mulhern
The Blob Dir. Chuck Russell. With Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn
Bright Lights, Big City Dir. James Bridges. With Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, Phoebe Cates
Child's Play Dir. Tom Holland. With Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Clara's Heart Dir. Robert Mulligan. With Whoopi Goldberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Ontkean
Clean and Sober Dir. Glenn Gordon Caron. With Michael Keaton, Kathy Baker, Morgan Freeman
Colors Dir. Dennis Hopper. With Sean Penn, Robert Duvall, Maria Conchita Alonso, Randy Brooks
Coming to America Dir. John Landis. With Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones
Crossing Delancey Dir. Joan Micklin Silver. With Amy Irving, Peter Riegert, Jeroen Krabbé
Da Dir. Matt Clark. With Barnard Hughes, Martin Sheen, William Hickey, Karl Hayden, Hugh O'Conor
The Dead Pool Dir. Buddy Van Horn. With Clint Eastwood, Patricia Clarkson, Liam Neeson
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Dir. Frank Oz. With Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly
Dominick and Eugene Dir. Robert M. Young. With Ray Liotta, Tom Hulce, Jamie Lee Curtis
El Dorado Dir. Carlos Saura. With Omero Antonutti, Lambert Wilson, Eusebio Poncela, Gabriel Roel
Earth Girls Are Easy Dir. Julien Temple. With Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey
Eight Men Out Dir. John Sayles. With John Cusack, Clifton James, Michael Lerner, John Mahoney
Everybody's All-American Dir. Taylor Hackford. With Dennis Quaid, Jessica Lange, Timothy Hutton
Far North Dir. Sam Shepard. With Jessica Lange, Charles Durning, Tess Harper, Donald Moffat
Frantic Dir. Roman Polanski. With Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner, Betty Buckley, Djiby Soumare
The Good Mother Dir. Leonard Nimoy. With Diane Keaton, Liam Neeson, Jason Robards, Ralph Bellamy
A Handful of Dust Dir. Charles Sturridge. With James Wilby, Kristin Scott Thomas, Judi Dench
Hanna's War Dir. Menahem Golan. With Maruschka Detmers, Ellen Burstyn, Anthony Andrews
Hanussen Dir. István Szabó. With Klaus Maria Brandauer, Erland Josephson, Ildikó Bánsági
Heart of Midnight Dir. Matthew Chapman. With Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brenda Vaccaro
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka Dir. Keenen Ivory Wayans. With Keenen Ivory Wayans, Bernie Casey
The Lair of the White Worm Dir. Ken Russell. With Amanda Donohoe, Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg
La Lectrice Dir. Michel Deville. With Miou-Miou, Régis Royer, María Casares, Pierre Dux
Little Dorrit Dir. Christine Edzard. With Sarah Pickering, Derek Jacobi, Joan Greenwood
Madame Sousatzka Dir. John Schlesinger. With Shirley MacLaine, Shabana Azmi, Peggy Ashcroft
Midnight Run Dir. Martin Brest. With Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, Dennis Farina
The Milagro Beanfield War Dir. Robert Redford. With Christopher Walken, Sonia Braga
The Moderns Dir. Alan Rudolph. With Keith Carradine, Linda Fiorentino, Wallace Shawn
Monkey Shines Dir. George Romero. With Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Kate McNeil, Joyce Van Patten
The Naked Gun Dir. David Zucker. With Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban
Pascali's Island Dir. James Dearden. With Ben Kingsley, Charles Dance, Helen Mirren
Patty Hearst Dir. Paul Schrader. With Natasha Richardson, William Forsythe, Ving Rhames
Pumpkinhead Dir. Stan Winston. With Lance Henriksen, Jeff East, John D'Aquino, Kimberly Ross
Punchline Dir. David Seltzer. With Tom Hanks, Sally Field, John Goodman, Mark Rydell
Salome's Last Dance Dir. Ken Russell. With Glenda Jackson, Stratford Johns, Nickolas Grace
Satisfaction Dir. Joan Freeman. With Justine Bateman, Trini Alvarado, Julia Roberts
School Daze Dir. Spike Lee. With Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, Tisha Campbell
The Serpent and the Rainbow Dir. Wes Craven. With Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae
A Short Film About Love Dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski. With Grazyna Szapolowska
Stars and Bars Dir. Pat O'Connor. With Daniel Day-Lewis, Harry Dean Stanton, Joan Cusack
Stormy Monday Dir. Mike Figgis. With Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones, Sting, Sean Bean
Story of Women Dir. Claude Chabrol. With Isabelle Huppert, François Cluzet, Nils Tavernier
Sunset Dir. Blake Edwards. With Bruce Willis, James Garner, Malcolm McDowell, Mariel Hemingway
Sur Dir. Fernando E. Solanas. With Susú Pecoraro, Miguel Ængel Solá, Philippe Léotard
Talk Radio Dir. Oliver Stone. With Eric Bogosian, Ellen Greene, Leslie Hope, John C. McGinley
Tequila Sunrise Dir. Robert Towne. With Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, Raul Julia
They Live Dir. John Carpenter. With Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, Peter Jason
A Time of Destiny Dir. Gregory Nava. With William Hurt, Timothy Hutton, Melissa Leo, Francisco Rabal
To Kill a Priest Dir. Agnieszka Holland. With Christopher Lambert, Ed Harris, Tim Roth
Torch Song Trilogy Dir. Paul Bogart. With Matthew Broderick, Anne Bancroft, Harvey Fierstein
Tucker: The Man and His Dream Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. With Jeff Bridges, Martin Landau
Twins Dir. Ivan Reitman. With Danny DeVito, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kelly Preston, Chloë Webb
The Vanishing Dir. George Sluizer. With Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gérard Sety
Vibes Dir. Ken Kwapis. With Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum, Julian Sands, Googy Gress, Peter Falk
Wilfred Owen: The Pity of War Dir. John Mead. Documentary about the English poet
Willow Dir. Ron Howard. With Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh
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