The 1990s is a decade many cinema buffs look fondly back on, whether it was for Disney's Golden Age, the advent of CGI or the beginning of major film franchises like The Matrix.
These films generated millions at the box office and had cinemagoers coming back for more. Who else can remember their first reaction to seeing 'Bullet Time' in The Matrix or the eye-catching swirling sculpture in The Devil's Advocate?
However, despite these scenes wowing audiences, behind-the-scenes, things were very different, with producers facing legal headaches.
Discover your favourite movie scenes from the decade which led to legal fights…
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© Alamy Stock PhotoThe global franchise has been hit with plagiarism allegations
The Matrix
Bullet Time is one of The Matrix's most iconic scenes, and fans were blown away when Keanu Reeves' and Carrie-Anne Moss' Neo and Trinity enter slow motion during a major shootout, allowing them to dodge the fired bullets.
However, four years after the film was released, production company Warner Bros. were sued by the author Sophia Stewart, who alleged the idea of the film, as well as The Terminator, were plagiarised from her film treatment, The Third Eye.
The case was dismissed in 2005, with Judge Margaret Morrow saying in a 53-page ruling that Sophia and her legal team "had not entered any evidence to bolster its key claims or demonstrated any striking similarity between her work and the accused directors' films".
Despite losing the case, internet rumours claiming that Sophia actually won became widespread, and the author has a website detailing all of her claims.
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© Alamy Stock PhotoOne of the artworks in the film led to a battle in the courts
The Devil's Advocate
The Matrix wasn't the only 1990s film starring Keanu Reeves that got into legal hot water, as his star role in The Devil's Advocate also caused controversy. A lawsuit claimed that sculptures featuring human forms in John Milton's (Al Pacino) apartment closely resembled the Ex nihilo sculpture that was designed by Frederick Hart.
Frederick was joined in his legal battle by the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington D.C., where the sculpture was housed. Although Warner Bros. claimed no knowledge of the statue, a federal judge ruled that the film couldn't be released on home video until a settlement was reached.
The studio eventually agreed to edit the scene for future releases and attached stickers to existing copies of the film that all artwork in the film was separate from that of Frederick's.
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© Alamy Stock PhotoThe legal battle nearly stopped the release of the film
12 Monkeys
Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt's sci-fi epic 12 Monkeys was one of the defining films of the decade, but scenes involving Bruce found themselves in the middle of a legal battle that nearly led to the film being pulled from cinemas.
During the film, Bruce's character Cole is strapped to a chair attached to a vertical rail and interrogated by investigators on screens of varying sizes. Architect Lebbeus Woods filed a suit claiming the chair was using his work, Neomechanical Tower (Upper) Chamber, without his permission.
Lebbeus was successful in his case, but Universal managed to negotiate a six-figure settlement with him so that the scenes could still be used in the film.
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© Alamy Stock PhotoThe Disney classic was sued
The Lion King
The Lion King is one of Disney's most beloved films of all time, but even the Hamlet-inspired animation found itself getting sued. In one clip from the film, meerkat Timon and warthog Pumbaa are heard singing The Lion Sleeps Tonight, which comes from Solomon Linda's 1939 composition Mbube.
Ten years after its release, members of Solomon's family brought a legal case seeking royalties from Disney. In 2006, a settlement was made with Abilene Music, who held the worldwide rights to the song, and an undisclosed sum was paid to the family.
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© Alamy Stock PhotoThe iconic skyline led to a major legal battle
Batman Forever
One of the most memorable scenes from Batman Forever was when Batman, played by Val Kilmer, foiled a robbery at the Second National Bank of Gotham City. Doubling as the bank was an LA building that featured distinctive metalwork that depicted the history of Los Angeles.
The building's facade was designed by sculptor Andrew Leicester, who sued Warner Bros. following the movie's release claiming his work was used without his permission. The case was dismissed, with a judge ruling that the facade counted as an architectural work and therefore, under copyright law, could be freely photographed.
Following the case, Robert Schwartz from the law firm O'Melveny & Myers, who represented Warner Bros. in the case, said: "Congress intended the American landscape to belong to everyone, including filmmakers producing commercial movies. This decision holds that cities and streets can be freely filmed without fear of being dragged into court."
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© Alamy Stock PhotoThe movie has reportedly inspired copycat killings
Natural Born Killers
One of the most controversial films of the decade was Natural Born Killers, which starred Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis as Mickey and Mallory Knox, a pair of mass murderers on a killing spree.
Since its release, the film has been blamed for many copycat acts, including the Columbine High School massacre and the murder of William Savage and shooting of Patsy Byers. Patsy survived the 1995 shooting from Sarah Edmondson and her boyfriend Benjamin Darras, who were both 18 and had watched the film the night before, but was rendered as a quadriplegic.
Patsy brought filmmaker Oliver Stone and the Time Warner Company to court, claiming filmmakers "should have known that the film would cause and inspire people" to carry out acts of violence. The case was finally dismissed in 2001 after it was ruled that the filmmakers did not intend to incite violence.
A similar case brought by the families of the victims of the 1997 Heath High School shooting was also dismissed.
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© Alamy Stock PhotoPhotos nearly stopped this picture
Se7en
Se7en is one of the most iconic crime films of the decade, but one scene proved to be a legal headache for producers.
Photographer Jorge Antonio Sandoval sued New Line Cinema claiming that the film had used his photographs without his permission. Jorge's photographs were seen on an apartment wall for 35.6 seconds, and even though New Line admitted they hadn't sought permission to use the images, the case was dismissed.
Judge Michael Telesca stated that using the photos fell under de minimis use, especially with them only appearing in the movie for 35.6 seconds, and during that scene they were out of focus and not presented with sufficient detail for them to be identified.
