‘92 Year In Review : There’s No Crying Over This Year : From ‘Howards End’ to ‘A Brief History of Time,’ 1992’s Top 10 films were a diverse, quality group

Though it is nominally a time for celebration, the making of 10-best lists is occasionally used by critics as an excuse for lamentation. Donning enough sackcloth and ashes to outfit a dozen Jobs, they bemoan the sad state of the movie industry in general and the past year in particular. Where are the classic films, they wail, the triumphs of cinema that wooed and won us in our youth? Why, oh, why don’t they make them like they used to?

In 1992, they did.

Not all of them, of course. The year just ending certainly had more than its share of forgettable films, some of which sank without a trace while others, everything from “Basic Instinct” to “Batman Returns” to the current “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” managed to fool enough of the people enough of the time (or, more accurately, to vigorously distract the TV-deadened eye) to turn a tidy profit.

But instead of judging a year by its disappointments, which after all litter even the brightest horizon, it makes more sense to look to the quality, and the best films of 1992 are a very strong lot, sure to stand up to repeated viewings in years to come.

More than that, these films often succeeded in ways that were refreshingly old-fashioned, relying on virtues like an involving story and consummate acting to make their points. If there were more like them, to paraphrase Raymond Chandler, the world of movies would be a very safe place to live in, and yet not too dull to be worth living in.

In order, the choices are:

1 Howards End. Easily the film of the year, and one of the most affecting pieces of traditional filmmaking in memory. Based on the E. M. Forster novel of families in love and in conflict, with a script by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala that unfolds like an elegant tapestry, and impeccable acting by the entire cast (but most especially by Emma Thompson), “Howards End” provides no end of the richest, deepest satisfactions. Director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant have made fine films before, but nothing has ever been quite like this.

2 Unforgiven. No one is more suited to getting one more twist out of the durable Western genre than Clint Eastwood, who was shrewd enough to both recognize the idiosyncratic grace of David Webb Peoples’ screenplay and realize that he had to wait years until he was grizzled enough to play the leading role. Heroic and nihilistic, mythic and modern, this is a Western for all seasons and all persuasions.

3 The Crying Game. Writer-director Neal Jordan has not only written the year’s cleverest, most intricate script, he has confidently directed first-rate actors like Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson and Forest Whitaker in a sophisticated entertainment that skillfully mixes politics with affairs of the heart. A splendid example of how new ways can be found to tell even the oldest stories.

4 Aladdin. The elves over at Disney have done it again. After reinvigorating mainstream cartooning with “Beauty and the Beast,” they have returned to expand the boundaries of traditional animation and given Robin Williams what might turn out to be his most fondly remembered role as the ultimate in genies. Fueled by the last songs by the brilliant lyricist Howard Ashman, “Aladdin” generates as much on-screen magic as any film all year.

5 Laws of Gravity. Made for a more than modest $38,000, this volatile, streetwise film by first-time director Nick Gomez is an example of American independent filmmaking at its very best. Helped by wizardly director of photography Jean de Segonzac and a letter-perfect cast of unknowns, “Laws” gives the junior-league hard guys of Brooklyn’s Greenpoint section the heft and depth of genuine tragedy. Even if it had cost a hundred times as much, its ability to convey emotion and experience couldn’t be bettered.

6 Toto le Heros. Bristling with inventive glee but never forgetting its humanity, this French-language Belgian feature does all the exhilarating things you’ve probably forgotten films could do. Accompanying an old man as he looks back on the regrets of a lifetime, “Toto” audaciously attempts to cram all of existence into one brief film. A triumphant debut for director Jaco Van Dormael, a new talent who deserves a hero’s welcome.

7 The Waterdance. Wickedly funny, undeniably moving, featuring knockout performances by Eric Stoltz, William Forsythe, Helen Hunt and especially Wesley Snipes, this confident independent film has everything audiences have been missing in American films. Written by Neal Jimenez (who co-directed along with Michael Steinberg), “Waterdance” is unforced, unsentimental and unwilling to overdramatize its three-men-in-wheelchairs situation.

8 Husbands and Wives. Amid the chaos of his personal life, Woody Allen has turned out one of the best films of his long career, a lacerating comedy about love turned sour that is both funny and sad about the ways caring relationships turn into emotional dead ends. Allen understands his characters inside out and, with the help of a cast that includes Mia Farrow, Judy Davis and Sydney Pollack, he lets them run because he knows they have no place to hide.

9 Glengarry Glen Ross. Nothing is more disappointing than the way Hollywood usually transfers the printed word to film, gutting both the language and the essence of the original. David Mamet has been much luckier. This, his best play to date, has been brought to the screen by director James Foley and cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchia with Mamet’s scalding, bravura dialogue intact and his point of view unchanged. And the high-profile cast, including Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin and Kevin Spacey, knew enough not to overdo this kind of opportunity.

10 A Brief History of Time. Though hardly a favorite of the documentary branch of the academy, where he can’t seem to beg, borrow or steal a nomination, Errol Morris looks to be the premier nonfiction filmmaker of his generation. This film, which combines a biography of superstar physicist Stephen Hawking with an exploration of his theories, is made with a fluidity and puckish verve that compensate for its difficult subject matter. At its best, it offers a glimpse of eternity, a peek under the curtain of time, and how many films can manage that?

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Almost making it on the list were a pair of recent releases from major studios that dealt effectively with difficult subject matter. Both Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X” and George Miller’s “Lorenzo’s Oil” (to be released Dec. 30) are strong and confident films that reward the attention they demand to be given.

And, if you count both “Sister Act” and “Honeymoon in Vegas,” the year just ending was also a better-than-average stretch for mainstream comedies. “The Player,” “Bob Roberts” and “In the Soup” underlined the vitality and diversity of America’s independents, and “Adam’s Rib” from Russia and “Proof” from New Zealand showed how much small films from unexpected places can accomplish.

Finally, in a year where high-profile films like “The Lover,” “Damage” and “Basic Instinct” vied with each other in a kind of titillation sweepstakes, the sexiest film around turned out to be a modest Spanish import, “Lovers,” which detailed a steamy love triangle straight out of James M. Cain. Unfortunately, almost nobody saw this film except Madonna, who (according to the ads) told Arsenio Hall she was so affected, “I had to go home and * ! my boyfriend.” If someone as booked up as Madonna can find time to search out these little gems of cinema, why can’t you? Think about it.