Best Films Of 1997
by TheAnimalMother | created - 17 Mar 2014 | updated - 6 months ago | PublicAll lists of this nature are obviously continuous works in progress...
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1. As Good as It Gets (1997)
PG-13 | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.
Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Votes: 318,300 | Gross: $148.48M
"Dr. Green, how can you diagnose someone as having obsessive compulsive disorder, and then act like I have some choice about barging in here?"
9/10
2. Boogie Nights (1997)
R | 155 min | Drama
Back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, an idealistic porn producer aspires to elevate his craft to an art when he discovers a hot young talent.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Luis Guzmán
Votes: 281,932 | Gross: $26.40M
I once saw Tom Hanks on Letterman, in the early 2000's I believe it was, and he claimed this was his all time favorite film. He said mainly because it really captures the vibe of that time. I agree with him entirely in this sense, it really does capture the time period so well. In fact I still feel that Anderson has yet to make another film as good as this one. He gets a lot of credit for his more modern films, but I still feel this is clearly his best work, and by a decent margin actually. 9/10
3. The Ice Storm (1997)
R | 112 min | Drama
In suburban New Canaan, Connecticut, 1973, middle-class families experimenting with casual sex and substance abuse find their lives beyond their control.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Henry Czerny
Votes: 59,949 | Gross: $7.84M
Electro-magnificent!
4. Donnie Brasco (1997)
R | 127 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and finds himself identifying more with the Mafia life--at the expense of his regular one.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby
Votes: 332,079 | Gross: $41.91M
Not Donnie. 8.5/10
5. Kundun (1997)
PG-13 | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
From childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, Gyurme Tethong, Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin, Tenzin Yeshi Paichang
Votes: 30,493 | Gross: $5.53M
"Are you the Buddha?"
"I think I am a reflection, like the moon upon the water. Think of me as yourself."
8.5/10
6. Contact (1997)
PG | 150 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
Votes: 292,991 | Gross: $100.92M
8.5/10
7. Jackie Brown (1997)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda
Votes: 374,802 | Gross: $39.67M
8.5/10
8. Habitat (1997)
R | 120 min | Sci-Fi
In a future world where Earth's ozone layer has been completely destroyed, a brilliant but obsessed scientist, Hank Symes uses illegally obtained biological materials for an experiment that... See full summary »
Director: Rene Daalder | Stars: Balthazar Getty, Tchéky Karyo, Alice Krige, Kenneth Welsh
Votes: 962
4.8 out of 10? Only 825 people have rated this film on here so far. These voters mostly of the absent-minded sort, or even worse I dare to assume. Daalder also made an old cult classic called Massacre at Central High that some of you may know. It's more the horror crowd that I think will enjoy this film the most, and some real Science fans as well.
8.5/10
9. Deconstructing Harry (1997)
R | 96 min | Comedy
Suffering from writer's block and eagerly awaiting his writing award, Harry Block remembers events from his past and scenes from his best-selling books as characters, real and fictional, come back to haunt him.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Judy Davis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephanie Roth Haberle
Votes: 47,795 | Gross: $10.69M
8.5/10
10. Good Will Hunting (1997)
R | 126 min | Drama, Romance
Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård
Votes: 1,067,225 | Gross: $138.43M
8.5/10
11. Face/Off (1997)
R | 138 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
To foil a terrorist plot, FBI agent Sean Archer assumes the identity of the criminal Castor Troy who murdered his son through facial transplant surgery, but the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.
Director: John Woo | Stars: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola
Votes: 400,736 | Gross: $112.23M
8/10
12. Event Horizon (1997)
R | 96 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A rescue crew is tasked with investigating the mysterious reappearance of a spaceship that had been lost for seven years.
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson | Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson
Votes: 197,063 | Gross: $26.67M
Most people that love horror films and actually love real Science as well do tend to love this film. I fit into this myself. Though I'm not just a horror lover, I love films of all genres. This film does have some great real Scientific theories that it uses in the story, so it helps to know these theories prior to watching the film. Event Horizon really does blend together far better than most films of its type, a very real Scientific side, and pairs it with a supernatural side as well. It's awesomely creative stuff! Perhaps it should even be higher on my list. It's impossible to rank films perfectly. There isn't such a thing possible. Anyway, the acting here is exceptional too by both Fishburne and Sam Neill is crazy off the charts great here to be honest. One of the scariest evil characters in film history, right here! The more you understand and buy into the story of the film, obviously the more the viewer will see this as well.
While the critics mostly panned this film, it's also very likely that the vast percentage of them have no idea how much very real complex and very plausible Scientific ideas went into this film. This is a very rare film in how it presents such crazy, but yet very real working Scientific theories in the story. Unfortunately because of this unique complexity however, many viewers and critics alike will not entirely get out of this film, what some other viewers will. I almost feel like some of Christopher Nolan's more modern films have tried to do much the same thing as this film does do very successfully. Think Tenet and Interstellar. Nolan's films however so far have not worked so well in my view. They all come off as both gimmicky and clunky because everything is too forced, and doesn't really fit together quite right. This film however to real Science theory lovers will not disappoint in this same way, and this is the far older film. It really shouldn't be the older film here that still holds up to real Science better. Nonetheless, this easily does. Sorry Nolan, but truth is truth. Anyway, I do really love a few Nolan films as well, especially Memento.
8/10
13. The Devil's Advocate (1997)
R | 144 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
An exceptionally-adept Florida lawyer is offered a job at a high-end New York City law firm with a high-end boss--the biggest opportunity of his career to date.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Jeffrey Jones
Votes: 401,683 | Gross: $60.98M
8/10
14. Gattaca (1997)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
Director: Andrew Niccol | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Gore Vidal
Votes: 323,085 | Gross: $12.34M
8/10
15. The Rainmaker (1997)
PG-13 | 135 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An underdog lawyer takes on a fraudulent insurance company.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes, Jon Voight
Votes: 82,844 | Gross: $45.86M
8/10
16. Titanic (1997)
PG-13 | 194 min | Drama, Romance
A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates
Votes: 1,279,562 | Gross: $659.33M
17. The Full Monty (1997)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama
Six unemployed steel workers form a male striptease act. The women cheer them on to go for "the full monty" - total nudity.
Director: Peter Cattaneo | Stars: Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy, Wim Snape
Votes: 114,089 | Gross: $45.95M
8/10
18. Cube (1997)
R | 90 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.
Director: Vincenzo Natali | Stars: Nicole de Boer, Maurice Dean Wint, David Hewlett, Andrew Miller
Votes: 247,547 | Gross: $0.50M
8/10
19. Chasing Amy (1997)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Holden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything's going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.
Director: Kevin Smith | Stars: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Ethan Suplee, Scott Mosier
Votes: 143,762 | Gross: $12.02M
8/10
20. The Fifth Element (1997)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr. Zorg at bay.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm
Votes: 505,905 | Gross: $63.54M
8/10
21. Little Boy Blue (1997)
R | 105 min | Drama
19 y.o. Jimmy' s dad is a vicious, impotent Vietnam vet, who forces his wife and son to have incest. He has a secret he'll kill to keep. Jimmy won't abandon his two kid brothers by leaving.
Director: Antonio Tibaldi | Stars: Ryan Phillippe, Nastassja Kinski, John Savage, Shirley Knight
Votes: 2,247
A very underrated and underseen film. If you don't mind your mystery films being a little disturbing, this film is one you should see.
22. Touch (1997)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
At the discovery of his ability to work miracles, Juvenal becomes a media sensation, but now he's prone to those who want to exploit him.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Bridget Fonda, Christopher Walken, Skeet Ulrich, LL Cool J
Votes: 2,700 | Gross: $0.41M
23. In the Company of Men (1997)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
Two business executives--one an avowed misogynist, the other recently emotionally wounded by his love interest--set out to exact revenge on the female gender by seeking out the most innocent, uncorrupted girl they can find and ruining her life.
Director: Neil LaBute | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Matt Malloy, Stacy Edwards, Michael Martin
Votes: 14,284 | Gross: $2.86M
7.5/10
24. Wag the Dog (1997)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche, Woody Harrelson
Votes: 88,446 | Gross: $43.02M
7.5/10
25. Men in Black (1997)
PG-13 | 98 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
James, an NYC cop, is hired by Agent K of a secret government agency that monitors extraterrestrial life on Earth. Together, they must recover an item that has been stolen by an intergalactic villain.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio
Votes: 612,599 | Gross: $250.69M
7/10
26. The Game (1997)
R | 129 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After a wealthy San Francisco banker is given an opportunity to participate in a mysterious game, his life is turned upside down as he begins to question if it might really be a concealed conspiracy to destroy him.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Michael Douglas, Deborah Kara Unger, Sean Penn, James Rebhorn
Votes: 429,060 | Gross: $48.32M
7/10
27. G.I. Jane (1997)
R | 125 min | Action, Drama, War
Lt. Jordan, a US Navy topographic analyst, joins the US Navy Special Warfare Group and struggles to prove her worth in a unit dominated by men. But a cynical woman Texan senator has sold her out.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft, Jason Beghe
Votes: 86,984 | Gross: $48.17M
Demi Moore is actually pretty good in a few films, but certainly never better than in this one. She actually makes this based on a true story film feel quite believable; Which for a Hollywood film is pretty unusual in itself. I honestly think that Ridley Scott is a little overrated as a director generally, but to me this is one of his more underappreciated films really. It's not a great film, but it's definitely quite good. 7/10
28. Private Parts (1997)
R | 109 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The autobiographical story of Howard Stern, the radio rebel who is now also a TV personality, an author and a movie star.
Director: Betty Thomas | Stars: Howard Stern, Mary McCormack, Robin Quivers, Fred Norris
Votes: 39,185 | Gross: $41.20M
7/10
29. Affliction (1997)
R | 114 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A deeply troubled small-town cop investigates a suspicious hunting death while other events jeopardize his sanity.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, Brigid Tierney
Votes: 19,078 | Gross: $6.30M
30. Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
PG-13 | 136 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian climber, breaks out of prison and travels to the holy city of Lhasa. He is employed as an instructor to the 14th Dalai Lama and soon becomes his close confidante.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Brad Pitt, David Thewlis, BD Wong, Mako
Votes: 155,867 | Gross: $37.96M
7/10
31. L.A. Confidential (1997)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger
Votes: 617,553 | Gross: $64.62M
7/10
32. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
PG-13 | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy
A world-class playboy and part-time secret agent from the 1960s emerges after thirty years in a cryogenic state to battle with his nemesis Dr. Evil.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Mimi Rogers
Votes: 257,037 | Gross: $53.88M
7/10
33. Inventing the Abbotts (1997)
R | 110 min | Drama, Romance
Two working class brothers court three wealthy and beautiful sisters in a small Illinois town.
Director: Pat O'Connor | Stars: Liv Tyler, Jennifer Connelly, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup
Votes: 14,009 | Gross: $5.94M
I think I truly sorta fell in love with Jennifer Connelly in the 90's...but then again, who didn't?
34. Insomnia (1997)
Not Rated | 96 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
In a Norwegian city with a 24-hour daylight cycle a Swedish murder investigator has been brought in on a special case. Sleep deprived, he makes a horrible mistake which is discovered by the killer he has been hunting.
Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg | Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Maria Mathiesen, Gisken Armand
Votes: 15,581 | Gross: $0.22M
35. Cop Land (1997)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The Sheriff of a suburban New Jersey community, populated by New York City police officers, slowly discovers the town is a front for mob connections and corruption.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro
Votes: 106,321 | Gross: $44.89M
7/10
36. Prefontaine (1997)
PG-13 | 106 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Based on the life of Olympic hopeful Steve Prefontaine, a long distance runner who lived in Oregon and died young.
Director: Steve James | Stars: Jared Leto, R. Lee Ermey, Ed O'Neill, Breckin Meyer
Votes: 7,665 | Gross: $0.53M
7/10
37. Sara (1997)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Leon, the 40-year-old former soldier who is an alcoholic now, gets a job as a bodyguard. His duty is to take care of one of the Mafia leader's daughters. His problems begin when he falls in love with the 16-year-old girl.
Director: Maciej Slesicki | Stars: Boguslaw Linda, Agnieszka Wlodarczyk, Cezary Pazura, Marek Perepeczko
Votes: 2,856
This is basically a slightly more risqué Polish version of Leon: The Professional. It's more than just a somewhat exploitive ripoff however, it also very much makes itself its own, even though the Leon influence is strong. At least for a certain audience, it is very watchable. This is Leon meets Lolita in a very real sense.
38. Lawn Dogs (1997)
R | 101 min | Drama
When Devon, a 10-year-old girl, forges a friendship with Trent, a 21-year-old outsider who mows the neighborhood lawns, things suddenly get very complicated and private.
Director: John Duigan | Stars: Sam Rockwell, Kathleen Quinlan, Mischa Barton, Christopher McDonald
Votes: 8,562 | Gross: $0.11M
39. U Turn (1997)
R | 125 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A man heading to Vegas to pay off his gambling debt before the Russian mafia kills him is forced to stop in an Arizona town where everything that can go wrong does go wrong.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Billy Bob Thornton
Votes: 54,753 | Gross: $6.63M
7/10
40. Bella Mafia (1997 TV Movie)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama
Starting in Palermo, Italy, 1977 - The ups and downs of a mafia family opposed to drug trade until the men are murdered and the widows take over.
Director: David Greene | Stars: Vanessa Redgrave, Dennis Farina, Nastassja Kinski, Jennifer Tilly
Votes: 2,429
7.0/10
41. Playing God (1997)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A disgraced surgeon leaves his former life and reinvents himself as a gunshot doctor in the criminal underworld.
Director: Andy Wilson | Stars: David Duchovny, Timothy Hutton, Angelina Jolie, Michael Massee
Votes: 7,966 | Gross: $4.05M
42. Two Girls and a Guy (1997)
R | 84 min | Drama
Two girls wait outside a young actor's door and find out he's had them both as "only" girlfriend the last ten months. They wait inside after breaking in. When Blake comes home he just can't stop lying but they stay.
Director: James Toback | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Heather Graham, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Angel David
Votes: 8,708 | Gross: $1.95M
While the film itself really isn't that good, Robert Downey Jr. is phenomenal. The movie is worth its share of praise simply on the merit of his performance alone.
43. The Devil's Own (1997)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A police officer uncovers the real identity of his house-guest, an I.R.A. terrorist in hiding.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Margaret Colin, Rubén Blades
Votes: 71,619 | Gross: $42.87M
7/10
44. The Big One (1997)
PG-13 | 91 min | Documentary, Comedy, Crime
On his book tour, Michael Moore exposes more wrongdoing by greedy big businesses and callous politicians around America.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Elaine Bly, Dan Burns, Chip Carter
Votes: 8,046 | Gross: $0.72M
7/10
45. Absolute Power (1997)
R | 121 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Career thief Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood) witnesses a horrific crime involving U.S. President Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman).
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney
Votes: 60,125 | Gross: $50.01M
7/10
46. Dangerous Ground (1997)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Vusi Madlazi returns to the South African village he left as a young boy (he was organizing against apartheid and left in fear of his life) to bury his father. He meets up with his brother ... See full summary »
Director: Darrell Roodt | Stars: Ice Cube, Elizabeth Hurley, Thokozani Nkosi, Ron Smerczak
Votes: 2,020 | Gross: $5.08M
Far less than 2000 people have rated this film on here so far. I don't know, I kind of enjoy this film. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and just tells a pretty decent story with some heart and a good bit of fun. I like Ice Cube, because really he's just a pretty genuine guy (all his kidding aside.), and Hurley was a total knockout back then. 7/10
47. The Boxer (1997)
R | 113 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
Young Danny Flynn is released from prison 14 years after "taking the rap" for the IRA and tries to rebuild his life in his old Belfast neighborhood.
Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Emily Watson, Daragh Donnelly, Frank Coughlan
Votes: 22,299 | Gross: $5.80M
6.5/10
48. Liar Liar (1997)
PG-13 | 86 min | Comedy, Fantasy
A pathological liar-lawyer finds his career turned upside down when he inexplicably cannot physically lie for 24 whole hours.
Director: Tom Shadyac | Stars: Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Amanda Donohoe, Jennifer Tilly
Votes: 333,220 | Gross: $181.41M
6.5/10
49. Wounded (1997)
R | 96 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
The forest rangers Julie Clayton and her boyfriend Don Powell find several grizzly-bear slaughtered in the forest. They report to their superior and he comes with the FBI Agent Eric Ashton ... See full summary »
Director: Richard Martin | Stars: Mädchen Amick, Graham Greene, Adrian Pasdar, Robert Costanzo
Votes: 735
50. Dobermann (1997)
R | 103 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Dobermann is the world's most ruthless bank robber and with his gang rob bank after bank, now in Paris. What can the police do but to let the mad, morally bankrupt police commissioner loose on him?
Director: Jan Kounen | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Tchéky Karyo, Monica Bellucci, Antoine Basler
Votes: 18,751
51. Breakdown (I) (1997)
R | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A man searches for his missing wife after his car breaks down in the middle of the desert.
Director: Jonathan Mostow | Stars: Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey
Votes: 61,664 | Gross: $50.13M
52. Breast Men (1997 TV Movie)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
Two doctors create breast implants, but when success and money come their way, they separate and follow different paths.
Director: Lawrence O'Neil | Stars: David Schwimmer, Chris Cooper, Emily Procter, Matt Frewer
Votes: 4,825
6.5/10
53. Hoodlum (1997)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama
Black gangsters in 1930 Harlem fights Dutch Schultz who is trying to horn in on their numbers racket.
Director: Bill Duke | Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth, Vanessa Williams, Andy Garcia
Votes: 12,563 | Gross: $23.46M
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