Top 6 Movies Celebrating 20th Anniversary in 2016

by Helen Earnshaw | 19 March 2016

Can you remember which movies were topping the box office and winning over audiences back in 1996? Have to admit, it is a big of a struggle for me as well.

Independence Day

Needless to say, 1996 was a terrific film year and there are a whole host of movies that are set to celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2016.

We take a look at some of the films that are twenty years old this year - do you remember settling down in the cinema to watch some of these?

- Independence Day

When it comes to most successful films of 1996, there was no movie that grossed more money at the box office than Independence Day; which grossed almost twice as much as the second most successful film that year.

Yes, it was back in 1996 when aliens invaded and we called on Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum to unite and save the planet and the human race from doom - and what a duo they turned out to be.

The movie marked the return of Roland Emmerich to the director's chair for his first feature film since Stargate two years earlier. As well as being in the director's chair. Emmerich also teamed up with Dean Devlin to pen the film's screenplay.

Smith and Goldblum take on the roles of Captain Steven Hiller and David Levinson, who set off for the mother ship to bring down the alien invaders. They were joined on the cast list by Bill Pullman, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, and Vivica A. Fox.

Independence Day is a rip-roaring big budget blockbuster that is as good today as it was back in 1996 - it really is a movie that has aged well over the last twenty years. It is a great spectacle of a film and it is one that I never grow tired of seeing.

Upon release, Independence Day grossed over $817 million at the global box office and was the biggest film to hit the big screen that year. Twenty years on, and this summer we are going to see the long talked about sequel Independence Day: Resurgence released.

- Twister

If you liked your disaster movies, the Twister is one that you have to check out as it is up there as one of the all-time best. This is another 1996 film that I still love as Helen Hunt teamed up with Bill Paxton as storm chasers.

Twister was only the second feature film of Jan de Bont's career and came two years after the success of his debut movie Speed. It marked the first time that he had teamed up with both Hunt and Paxton.

Hunt and Paxton take on the central characters of Jo and Bill Harding, advanced storm chasers who are on the brink of divorce. The couple must come together to try and get some data on a huge tornado that has touched down.

Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lois Smith, and Alan Ruck completed a great cast list.

Twister is a movie that really is a lot of fun and is driven by the terrific special effects - it is the tornados themselves that really do take centre stage. If you are looking for a film that has character development at every turn, then this is perhaps not one for you.

Twister is a movie that you can just kick back and be swept away with - if you forgive the fun. It is a movie that I have watched time and again over the years and still love.

The movie was a big hit in the summer of 1996, as it went on to gross over $494 million worldwide. It finished the year as the second highest grossing film - second on to Independence Day.

- Trainspotting

It wasn't all about the blockbusters in 1996, as Trainspotting, which was an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh, hit the big screen.

Trainspotting was one of the best - and grimmest films of the year - as Danny Boyle returned to the director's chair to explore drug addiction. Hard to believe, but Trainspotting was only the second feature film of Boyle's career and came two years after he made his debut with Shallow Grave.

Trainspotting followed a group of heroin addicts in the eighties and the impact this addiction has on their lives. This is a movie that was a very graphic look into heroin addiction and it is an incredibly powerful and dark movie.

Boyle dared to challenge the audience with this film and people really sat up and took note of his bold and daring filmmaking.

What is an ever greater testament to this director is that Trainspotting is nearly twenty years old and this is just as hard hitting as it was when it was released. Granted, this is not a film that you would watch on a regular basis, but it is one that you have to see if you are a fan of British cinema.

Trainspotting was the film that really launched the career of Boyle and leading actor Ewan McGregor. The movie was a huge critical hit and it widely regarded as one of the best British films of all time. It was also the highest grossing British film of 1996 as it took $72 million worldwide. The movie went on to become a real cult classic after it received its home release.

- The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The nineties was a good decade for Disney and it was The Hunchback of Notre Dame that hit the big screen in 1996. It was the thirty-fourth film from Disney and came a year after the success of Pocahontas.

Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise teamed up in the director's chair and the movie was based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. This was the second Disney film for Trousdale and Wise after they had steered Beauty and the Beast to critical and commercial success back in 1992.

The movie follows deformed bell-ringer Quasimodo who struggles to gain acceptance into society. He must shake off the influence of a vicious government minister to help save his friend

Esmeralda.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of Disney's darkest films as it explored themes of lust, sin, and damnation - it is only when watching this film back as an adult, do you realise just how dark some of the film's content is.

Despite that, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a grand movie that is packed with some terrific characters and beautiful animation. Of course, the film does differ hugely from the book but the darker themes that are included and the ideas of tolerance and acceptance are dealt with wonderfully and those latter issues do help the film send out a positive message.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame took $325 million at the global box office and was the fifth highest grossing movie of 1996.

- Mission: Impossible

Tom Cruise was no stranger to the big screen when he took on the role of Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible, but this was the film that truly cemented the actor as an action hero.

Cruise had been making a name for himself with Top Gun, Rain Man, and Born on the Fourth of July but it was Mission: Impossible that did turn him into a bonafide Hollywood star. It is hard to believe that this film is twenty years old and Cruise is still playing this character.

Brian De Palma was in the director's chair for the first film, which was based on the television series of the same name. Mission: Impossible followed Hunt as he tried to track down a mole that was responsible for getting his IMF team killed and him framed for murder.

Mission: Impossible is one of the action movies of the decade and, for me, it remains the best film in the series to date. The action comes thick and fast and never really allows the audience to catch their breath - the vault scene is still up there as one of my favourite moments from the whole franchise.

Cruise led the film and was joined on the cast list by Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Vanessa Redgrave,

Mission: Impossible was both a critical and commercial success as it grossed over $457 million at the box office - making it the third highest-grossing film of the year. Since the release in 1996, Cruise has starred in four other movies; Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation was released just last year.

- Primal Fear

Richard Gere enjoyed huge success in the nineties and Primal Fear is just one of the films that we saw the actor star in. Primal Fear was an adaptation of the novel of the same name by William Diehl and saw Gregory Hoblit was in the director's chair.

Gere takes on the central role of Martin Vail, a Chicago defence attorney, who believes that his alter boy client is not guilty of murdering an Archbishop.

Edward Norton took on the role of the accused Aaron Stampler and he and Gere were joined on the cast list by Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, and Frances McDormand.

Primal Fear is a terrific crime/drama that is as entertaining as it is unnerving. While Gere gives a terrific central performance, it is Norton who really shines and delivers a performance that made him a star - he also went on to pick up an Oscar nomination for his work.

Primal Fear is a fast-paced, tense, and well-crafted courtroom drama that really does keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The movie is packed with twists and turns and has a truly wonderful ending.