Top 6 Movies Celebrating 20th Anniversary In 2015

by Helen Earnshaw | 24 September 2015

It is hard to believe that movies that were released back in 1995 are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. So many great films were released that year and it doesn't seem like five minutes since we were discovering them for the first time.

Toy Story

We take a look back at some of the terrific movies that were released in 1995 and are celebrating that very special anniversary this year - boy there were plenty to choose from. Which were you favourite movies from this year?

- Toy Story

1995 was a big year for the animation genre as it was the year that the way these movies were made changed forever with the release of Toy Story. Toy Story saw Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures team up for the first time to bring us the first computer animated film.

The release of Toy Story was one of the most ground-breaking movie moments of the decade as this movie elevated the animation genre to something greater. Not only that, but a great franchise and two wonderful characters were born, in the form of Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

Unknown at the time, Toy Story would go on to become one of the biggest, most successful, and most-loved animation franchises of all time. John Lasseter was in the director's chair for the first time, while Tom Hanks and Tim Allen brought the characters of Woody and Buzz to life for the first time. Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, and John Ratzenberger were also part of the voice cast.

Toy Story single-handedly reinvigorated and brought the magic back to the animation genre. What is so great about all of the Toy Story movies is the heart that is at the core of all of the movies - it is what has made this movie so wonderful and enduring.

Toy Story was one of the greatest children's movies to hit the big screen in the nineties and it remains a kid's film classic. Toy Story was a movie that only just scratched the surface of what Pixar could achieve in the animation genre and the studio has gone from strength to strength over the last twenty years.

Toy Story ended 1995 as the second highest grossing film - behind Die Hard with a Vengeance - as it won over critics and audiences and took over $361 million at the global box office. Sadly, at the time the Best Animated Feature Oscar category had not yet been introduced.

- Apollo 13

I have been a huge fan of both Tom Hanks and Ron Howard and 1995 proved to be a very successful year for the pair as they teamed up with space drama Apollo 13 - I really cannot believe that this movie is twenty years old.

The movie follows astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert, whose dreams of reaching the moon are dashed when their spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage. The lives of the three astronauts are in jeopardy and NASA must pull out all of the stops to get them home.

The movie was based on the aborted 1970 Apollo 13 lunar mission and adapted from the book Lost Moon by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. When it comes to space movies, Apollo 13 remains one of the best and is a film I go back to and watch often. For me, Apollo 13 is a wonderfully tense drama with some great central performances from Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, and Ed Harris.

Not only is this a wonderful looking movie - Howard really does capture the vast emptiness and loneliness of space so well - but it is also a character study of astronauts who risked it all to achieve their dream of reaching the moon.

The nineties was a great decade for Hanks as he enjoyed success with Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Toy Story and Apollo 13 - showing the he was one of the most talented and versatile actors working in Hollywood. He was a great choice as Lovell, the family man who wanted to the touch the stars.

Apollo 13 opened to critical acclaim and would end the year as the third highest grossing film. It was also nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture. It would scoop Best Film Editing and Best Sound.

- The Usual Suspects

The nineties was a great decade for crime dramas and The Usual Suspects was one of the most talked about movies of the decade in this genre. It was only the second feature film for director Bryan Singer and came two years after he made his debut with Public Access - Christopher McQuarrie was also on board as he penned the screenplay.

A sole survivor tells of the twisty events leading up to a horrific gun battle on a boat, which begin when five criminals meet at a seemingly random police line-up.

When it comes to movie twists, there is none greater than the only that is in The Usual Suspects -

it is a plot twist that really as gone down in movie history as Singer left the film's greatest moment right until the end. It is a scene that still brings a smile to my face as it is just so clever and unexpected.

I have always liked Singer and the way he tells and crafts stories and The Usual Suspects is no different. He starts out with a fairly simple story and then adds layers of lies, deceit, and twists and turns that is packed with violence and edge of your seat suspense. It is a story that stands up to repeated viewings and is a crime thriller that really had endured over the last twenty years.

You cannot beat a good crime thriller and The Usual Suspects is right up there amongst the very best in this genre. The Usual Suspects is widely regarded as one of the best movies of all time.

The movie was met with acclaim when it was released and went on to win the two Oscars that it was nominated for; Best Supporting Oscar for Kevin Spacey and Best Original Screenplay for McQuarrie.

- Braveheart

When you talk about movies that hit the big screen in 1995, you can't not talk about Braveheart, as Mel Gibson took on the central role of William Wallace and returned to the director's chair. This was only the second feature for Gibson as director and came two years after he made his debut with The Man Without a Face.

William Wallace is a man who wants a quiet life to raise a family. But when his secret bride is executed for assaulting an English soldier who tried to rape her, he begins a revolt and leads Scottish warriors against the English King, who rules Scotland with an iron fist.

It's fair to say that Braveheart may not be the most historically accurate film, but that does not stop it from being an terrific movie and a great watch. Braveheart was a movie on an epic scale and Gibson managed to recreate the bloody and violent battle scenes - those moments when the Scottish and English armies come face to face are some of the film's best moments.

Of course, this is a movie about one country's fight for independence and what they sacrificed to kick the English out of Scotland, but it is also a character study of Wallace. A reluctant hero who never wanted a life of battle and war. Gibson gives a truly rousing performance as Wallace and you just can't imagine another actor taking on this role - it also remains one of the actor's most iconic performances.

For me, it doesn't matter if Braveheart is historically accurate or not, it doesn't make it any less a powerful and exciting watch. Braveheart is a David vs Goliath story that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Braveheart went on to be nominated for ten Oscars, winning five; Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, and Best Makeup.

- Heat

We have already looked at some American crime movie that made a splash in 1995, and now we are going to look at a second in the form of the fantastic Heat. Written and directed by Michael Mann, Heat is a compelling and fascinating movie about two men on opposite sides of the law.

Robert De Niro takes on the role of Neil McCauley, a successful career criminal considers getting out of the business after one last score. Al Pacino plays Lt. Vincent Hanna, an obsessive cop desperately tries to put him behind bars. It's not long before the group of professional bank robbers start to feel the police closing in after they leave a clue at their latest heist.

De Niro and Pacino were two of Hollywood's biggest and most successful stars when Heat hit the big screen and yet, the two actors come face to face for only several moments of the 170 minute run time. The cafe scene is one of the film's best as the two men play a game of chess to see who can outwit the other.

The crime drama is a genre that doesn't often focus on character development, but that is what puts Heat head and shoulder above all the rest. Of course, there are some explosive moments of action and violence, but Mann is interested in the cat and mouse game between McCauley and Hanna. The development of these two characters and the relationships in their live are punctuated with blasts of action that really will keep you hooked.

From start to finish Heat is just a classy movie that is smart, stylish, full of interesting characters, and packed with explosive and action packed moments. This remains the greatest movie from filmmaker Mann and cemented him as a real master in this genre.

Heat was only a modest success at the box office when it was released in 1995 but it has gone on to become one of the most praised and highly-regarded crime thrillers.

- Se7en

Sticking with the crime genre, Se7en was another terrific film to hit the big screen in 1995 as Brad Pitt teamed up with Morgan Freeman for the very first time.

David Fincher is one of the best director's working in Hollywood and has brought us films such as Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Social Network during his career, but Se7en was the only his second feature film.

Se7en came three years after he made his feature film directorial debut with Alien 3 and marked the first time that he teamed up with Pitt; they have gone on to work together on two other film projects in the last twenty years.

Se7en follows detectives Somerset and Mills - one a veteran and one a rookie - who are on the hunt for a serial killer who is using the seven deadly sins to hunt down and kill his victims. Fincher has gone on to direct a whole host of terrific films, but Se7en remains my favourite.

No matter how many times you watch this film, it remains a gut-wrenching and tense experience from the first murder right through to the unexpected and chilling climax. Freeman and Pitt make a great detective team but it is Kevin Spacey who really steals the show as the creepy John Doe.

The nineties really was a great year for the crime/drama and Se7en was one of the truly standout films in this genre that is as great and chilling a watch today as it was twenty years ago.