90's Black Movies: Our List with More Than 100 Films

The 90s was a decade of defining moments in Black Cinema

Films like "Boyz n the Hood" and "Menace II Society" provided a raw and unfiltered look at urban life, while "Malcolm X" offered a powerful biographical depiction of a key figure in history. "Waiting to Exhale" was a celebration of Black Womanhood, and each film left its unique mark on the landscape of cinema.

Discover more about these films, their cast, trailers, and where to watch them.

The Last Angel of History

Documentary, Science Fiction
Watch The Trailer:
The Last Angel of History Trailer
Black Cast
George Clinton, Kodwo Eshun, Edward George, Derrick May, Nichelle Nichols, DJ Spooky
Directed By Black
John Akomfrah
Release Date
September 11, 1996
Synopsis
An examination of the hitherto unexplored relationships between Pan-African culture, science fiction, intergalactic travel, and rapidly progressing computer technology.
The Last Angel of History

Def by Temptation

Romance, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Watch The Trailer:
Def by Temptation Trailer
Black Cast
Bill Nunn, John Canada Terrell, Kadeem Hardison, Rony Clanton, Samuel L. Jackson, Cynthia Bond, James Bond III
Directed By Black
James Bond III
Written By Black
James Bond III
Release Date
March 23, 1990
Synopsis

An evil succubus is preying on libidinous black men in New York, and all that stands in her way is a minister-in-training, an aspiring actor, and a cop that specializes in cases involving the supernatural.

Def by Temptation

House Party

Comedy, Drama
Watch The Trailer:
House Party Trailer
Black Cast
Christopher Martin, Christopher Reid, Martin Lawrence, Reginald Hudlin, Robin Harris
Release Date
March 09, 1990
Synopsis

Young Kid has been invited to a party at his friend Play's house. But after a fight at school, Kid's father grounds him. None the less, Kid sneaks out when his father falls asleep. But Kid doesn't know that three of the thugs at school have decided to give him a lesson in behavior.

House Party

Mo' Better Blues

Comedy, Drama, Romance, Music
Watch The Trailer:
Mo' Better Blues Trailer
Black Cast
Charlie Murphy, Denzel Washington, Giancarlo Esposito, Joie Lee, Robin Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes
Directed By Black
Spike Lee
Written By Black
Spike Lee
Release Date
August 03, 1990
Synopsis

Opens with Bleek as a child learning to play the trumpet, his friends want him to come out and play but mother insists he finish his lessons. Bleek grows into adulthood and forms his own band - The Bleek Gilliam Quartet. The story of Bleek's and Shadow's friendly rivalry on stage which spills into their professional relationship and threatens to tear apart the quartet.

Mo' Better Blues

Ghost Dad

Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Watch The Trailer:
Ghost Dad Trailer
Black Cast
Bill Cosby, Omar Gooding, Salim Grant, Sidney Poitier
Release Date
June 29, 1990
Synopsis

Elliot Hopper is a widower with three children, he is currently working on a deal. It seems like his wife illness was very costly and this deal could put them out of the red. However he gets into a cab that is driven by a maniac, and Elliot crashes into a river. Elliot is sent back so that he could finish the deal and make sure that his children are taken care of.

Ghost Dad

Another 48 Hrs.

Comedy, Drama, Action, Crime, Thriller
Black Cast
Brent Jennings, Eddie Murphy
Release Date
June 08, 1990
Synopsis

For the past four years, San Francisco cop Jack Cates has been after an unidentified drug kingpin who calls himself the "Ice Man". Jack finds a picture that proves that the Ice Man has put a price on the head of Reggie Hammond, who is scheduled to be released from prison on the next day.

Another 48 Hrs.
Black Cast
Fred Williamson
Release Date
June 01, 1990
Synopsis

Shipment of American weapons is stolen in the Philippines. An American named Hawkins tries to find the weapons. Hawkins ends up dead. Chicago policeman Bob Malone is called in to investigate. Along with Interpol agent Greg Duncan, Malone travels the streets of Manila, tracking down leads. Criminals always seem to know where Duncan and Malone will be, which leads them to suspect a traitor in their midst.

The Black Cobra 3

A Rage in Harlem

Comedy, Crime
Watch The Trailer:
A Rage in Harlem Trailer
Black Cast
Anthonia Kitchen, Bill Duke, Danny Glover, Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, Reynaldo Rey, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Stack Pierce, T. K. Carter, Willard E. Pugh
Release Date
May 03, 1991
Synopsis

A beautiful black gangster's moll flees to Harlem with a trunkload of gold after a shootout, unaware that the rest of the gang, and a few other unsavoury characters, are on her trail. A pudgy momma's boy becomes the object of her affections and the unlikely hero of the tale.

A Rage in Harlem
Black Cast
Diahann Carroll, Harold Nicholas, Harry Lennix, John Canada Terrell, Leon, Roy Fegan, Tico Wells
Release Date
March 29, 1991
Synopsis

In the early 1960s, a quintet of hopeful, young African-American men form an amateur vocal group called The Five Heartbeats. After an initially rocky start, the group improves, turns pro, and rises to become a top flight music sensation. Along the way, however, the guys learn many hard lessons about the reality of the music industry.

The Five Heartbeats

New Jack City

Drama, Crime, Thriller
Watch The Trailer:
New Jack City Trailer
Black Cast
Bill Cobbs, Bill Nunn, Chris Rock, Christopher Williams, Ice-T, Mario Van Peebles, Michael Michele, Wesley Snipes
Release Date
March 08, 1991
Synopsis

A gangster, Nino, is in the Cash Money Brothers, making a million dollars every week selling crack. A cop, Scotty, discovers that the only way to infiltrate the gang is to become a dealer himself.

New Jack City

Brother Future

Fantasy, Science Fiction
Watch The Trailer:
Brother Future Trailer
Black Cast
Carl Lumbly, Moses Gunn, Akosua Busia, Vonetta McGee, Phill Lewis, Michael Burgess
Release Date
February 03, 1991
Synopsis

A young street rapper is transported back in time to the pre-Civil War South, where he finds himself in the middle of a slave revolt.

Brother Future

Juice

Drama, Action, Crime, Thriller
Watch The Trailer:
Juice Trailer
Black Cast
Donald Faison, Ernest R. Dickerson, Khalil Kain, Maggie Rush, Omar Epps, Queen Latifah, Samuel L. Jackson, Tupac Amaru Shakur, Vincent Laresca
Release Date
January 17, 1992
Synopsis

Four Harlem friends -- Bishop, Q, Steel and Raheem -- dabble in petty crime, but they decide to go big by knocking off a convenience store. Bishop, the magnetic leader of the group, has the gun. But Q has different aspirations. He wants to be a DJ and happens to have a gig the night of the robbery. Unfortunately for him, Bishop isn't willing to take no for answer in a game where everything's for keeps.

Juice

The People Under the Stairs

Comedy, Mystery, Horror
Watch The Trailer:
The People Under the Stairs Trailer
Black Cast
Bill Cobbs, Brandon Quintin Adams, Ving Rhames
Release Date
November 01, 1991
Synopsis

When young Poindexter "Fool" Williams breaks into the creepy, immense old home of his family's greedy and uncaring landlords, he uncovers a disturbing scenario underneath the stairs. In every neighborhood there is one house that adults whisper about and children cross the street to avoid.

The People Under the Stairs
Watch The Trailer:
House Party 2 Trailer
Black Cast
Christopher Martin, Christopher Reid, Georg Stanford Brown, Helen Martin, Iman, Martin Lawrence, Queen Latifah, Whoopi Goldberg
Release Date
October 23, 1991
Synopsis

Kid'N'Play leave their neighborhood and enter the world of adulthood and higher education. Play attempts to get rich quick in the music business while Kid faces the challenges of college.

House Party 2
Watch The Trailer:
Ricochet Trailer
Black Cast
Denzel Washington, Ice-T, John Amos, Victoria Dillard
Release Date
October 04, 1991
Synopsis

An attorney is terrorized by the criminal he put away years ago when he was a cop.

Ricochet

Livin' Large!

Comedy, Drama
Watch The Trailer:
Livin' Large! Trailer
Black Cast
Loretta Devine, Michael Schultz
Release Date
September 20, 1991
Synopsis

A young black reporter begins to lose his identity.

Livin' Large!

Mississippi Masala

Drama, Romance
Watch The Trailer:
Mississippi Masala Trailer
Black Cast
Charles S. Dutton, Denzel Washington, Mira Nair, Sarita Choudhury, Tico Wells
Release Date
September 18, 1991
Synopsis

An Indian family is expelled from Uganda when Idi Amin takes power. They move to Mississippi and time passes. The Indian daughter falls in love with a black man, and the respective families have to come to terms with it.

Mississippi Masala
Watch The Trailer:
Daughters of the Dust Trailer
Black Cast
Bahni Turpin, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Julie Dash, Tommy Redmond Hicks
Release Date
September 10, 1991
Synopsis

Languid look at the Gullah culture of the sea islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia where African folk-ways were maintained well into the 20th Century and was one of the last bastion of these mores in America.

Daughters of the Dust

Boyz n the Hood

Drama, Crime
Watch The Trailer:
Boyz n the Hood Trailer
Black Cast
Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Tyra Ferrell
Directed By Black
John Singleton
Written By Black
John Singleton
Release Date
July 12, 1991
Synopsis

Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles where teenagers are involved in gun fights and drug dealing on a daily basis.

Boyz n the Hood

Jungle Fever

Drama, Romance
Watch The Trailer:
Jungle Fever Trailer
Black Cast
Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes
Directed By Black
Spike Lee
Written By Black
Spike Lee
Release Date
June 07, 1991
Synopsis

A successful and married black man contemplates having an affair with a white girl from work. He's quite rightly worried that the racial difference would make an already taboo relationship even worse.

Jungle Fever