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.
The Channel Tunnel (French: Tunnel sous la Manche), sometimes referred to informally as the Chunnel, is a 50.46 km (31.35-mile) undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland. At its lowest point, it is 75 m (246 ft) below the sea bed and 115 m (377 ft) below sea level. At 37.9 km (23.5 miles), it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world and is the third-longest railway tunnel in the world. The speed limit for trains through the tunnel is 160 km/h (99 mph). The tunnel is owned and operated by Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel.
The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, LeShuttle services for road vehicles and freight trains. It connects end-to-end with high-speed railway lines: the LGV Nord in France and High Speed 1 in England. In 2017, rail services carried 10.3million passengers and 1.22million tonnes of freight, and the Shuttle carried 10.4million passengers, 2.6million cars, 51,000 coaches, and 1.6million lorries (equivalent to 21.3million tonnes of freight), compared with 11.7million passengers, 2.6million lorries and 2.2million cars by sea through the Port of Dover. (Full article...)
... that Cliff Christl, who became the Green Bay Packers team historian in 2014, estimated that he had recorded more than 250 oral histories with past players and coaches since the 1990s?
... that the singer Luci van Org followed up her mainstream success from the 1990s by starting a "Latin–disco–pop–country crossover" band?
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (/ˈbroʊ.dɪs/BROH-dis; born October 20, 1971), also known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, media personality, and actor. His initial fame dates back to 1992 following his guest appearance on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, "Deep Cover", and later on Dre's debut album, The Chronic that same year. Broadus has since sold over 23 million albums in the United States, and 35 million albums worldwide. His accolades include an American Music Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and 17 Grammy Award nominations.
Image 30Block-heeled shoes, popular from 1995 to 2001. (from 1990s in fashion)
Image 31The 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 32Group of young children displaying various fashion trends. Amman, 1998. (from 1990s in fashion)
Image 33Red and cream Indian woman's saree, late 1990s (from 1990s in fashion)
Image 65Rwandan 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 76The Nasdaq Composite displaying the dot-com bubble, which ballooned between 1997 and 2000. The bubble peaked on Friday, 10 March 2000. (from 1990s)
Image 85Women's rights demonstration in Paris, November 1995 (from 1990s)
Image 86The 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 115Go-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 118Women's side gusset shoes were popular among preppy and hip-hop subcultures in the mid- to late-1990s. (from 1990s in fashion)
Image 119The 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)
Producers Lynda Myles and Roger Randall-Cutler acquired the film rights to the novel in 1988, and commissioned Doyle, a first-time screenwriter, to write an adaptation. Doyle spent one year working on the script before Myles brought in veteran screenwriters Clement and La Frenais to help complete it. Upon reading the novel, Parker signed on as the film's director in 1989. An international co-production between Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom, The Commitments was the first film produced by Beacon Pictures, which provided an estimated budget of $12–15 million. The film's young lead actors were mostly inexperienced, and were cast because of their musical backgrounds and resemblance to the characters in the novel. Principal photography took place in Dublin, from late August to October, 1990. (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...)
Before Crichton's novel was published, four studios put in bids for its film rights. With the backing of Universal Pictures, Spielberg acquired the rights for $1.5 million before its publication in 1990. Crichton was hired for an additional $500,000 to adapt the novel for the screen. Koepp wrote the final draft, which left out much of the novel's exposition and violence, while making numerous changes to the characters. Filming took place in California and Hawaii from August to November 1992, and post-production lasted until May 1993, supervised by Spielberg in Poland as he filmed Schindler's List. The dinosaurs were created with groundbreaking computer-generated imagery by Industrial Light & Magic, and with life-sized animatronic dinosaurs built by Stan Winston's team. To showcase the film's sound design, which included a mixture of various animal noises for the dinosaur sounds, Spielberg invested in the creation of DTS, a company specializing in digital surround sound formats. The film was backed by an extensive $65 million marketing campaign, which included licensing deals with over 100 companies. (Full article...)
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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...)
Lyricist Howard Ashman pitched the idea, and the screenplay went through three drafts before Disney Studios president, Jeffrey Katzenberg, agreed to its production. The animators based their designs on the work of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, and computers were used for both finishing the artwork and creating some animated elements. The musical score was composed by Alan Menken, and features six songs with lyrics written by both Ashman and Tim Rice, the latter of whom took over following Ashman's death. (Full article...)
Williamson, who was struggling to get his projects off the ground, was inspired by reports of a series of murders by the Gainesville Ripper as he wrote a screenplay that satirized the clichés of the slasher genre popularized in films such as Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Developed under the title Scary Movie, Williamson's script became the subject of an intense bidding war from multiple studios before Miramax Films purchased the rights. Craven, despite turning down the opportunity multiple times, agreed to direct the film after he had read the script as he was determined to re-establish himself after several career setbacks. The involvement of Barrymore and Cox helped secure more support from the studio. Principal photography took place from April to June 1996 in California on a budget of $15million. Craven trimmed down the violence in the film after being involved in a tense conflict with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) over the desired R-rating. (Full article...)
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GoldenEye is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the series not to utilize any story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming. GoldenEye was also the first James Bond film not produced by Albert R. Broccoli, following his stepping down from Eon Productions and replacement by his daughter, Barbara Broccoli (along with Michael G. Wilson, although Broccoli was still involved as a consultant producer; it was his final film project before his death in 1996). The story was conceived and written by Michael France, with later collaboration by other writers. In the film, Bond fights to prevent a rogue ex-MI6 agent (Sean Bean) from using a satellite weapon against London to cause a global financial meltdown.
It is loosely based on the life of Joey Coyle (Cusack), who, in 1981, discovered $1.2 million that had fallen out of an armored van in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The film is a fictionalization of events, depicting Coyle's struggles with keeping the money over a five-day period. (Full article...)
The film was conceived by Feldman in 1987, and was originally pitched as a film treatment in the style of a police procedural, entitled The Message. When The Message failed to attract the studios, Feldman re-wrote it as a spec script, which ultimately led to the making of the film. The extraterrestrial aspect of Sil's character was created by H. R. Giger, who was also responsible for the beings from the Alien franchise. The effects combined practical models designed by Giger collaborator Steve Johnson and XFX, with computer-generated imagery done by Richard Edlund's Boss Film Studios. Giger felt that the film and the character were too similar to Alien, so he pushed for script changes. (Full article...)
Conceived by Emmerich while promoting Stargate (1994), the film aimed to depict a large-scale alien invasion, departing from typical portrayals of extraterrestrial visits. Filming began in July 1995 and was completed in October that same year. (Full article...)
The film was written by Jeanette Winterson, directed by Beeban Kidron and produced by Phillippa Gregory, the same creative team that collaborated on Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit in 1990. Winterson intended the screenplay to be reminiscent of a fairy tale, and was unhappy at being asked to write a new ending for its American release. (Full article...)
Alex Cox had tried to make a Mars Attacks film in the 1980s before Burton and Gems began development in 1993. When Gems turned in his first draft in 1994, Warner Bros. commissioned rewrites from Gems, Burton, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski in an attempt to lower the budget to $60 million. The final production budget came to $80 million, while Warner Bros. spent another $20 million on the Mars Attacks! marketing campaign. Filming took place from February to June 1996. The film was shot in California, Nevada, Kansas, Arizona and Argentina. (Full article...)
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Jacob's Ladder is a 1990 American psychological horror film directed by Adrian Lyne, produced by Alan Marshall and written by Bruce Joel Rubin. The film stars Tim Robbins as Jacob Singer, an American postman whose experiences before and during his military service in Vietnam result in strange, fragmentary visions and bizarre hallucinations that continue to haunt him. As his ordeal worsens, Jacob desperately attempts to figure out the truth. The film's supporting cast includes Elizabeth Peña and Danny Aiello.
Jacob's Ladder was made by Carolco Pictures ten years after being written by Rubin. Despite only being moderately successful upon its release, the film garnered a cult following, and its plot and special effects became a source of influence for various other works, such as the Silent Hill video game series. The film's remake by the same title was released in 2019. (Full article...)
Roger Corman acquired the rights to Brosnan's novel in 1991 and the project entered production two years later to capitalize on an extensive marketing campaign used to promote Jurassic Park. Simon was hired to direct Carnosaur and is credited with writing the screenplay, reworking most of the plot elements of the novel. Afforded an $850,000 budget, the special effects were completed with models and animatronics largely designed by John Carl Buechler. (Full article...)
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