1997 Best Movies (and some on my watchlist)
by jabox-oneandonly | created - 03 Dec 2022 | updated - 2 weeks ago | Publicdid this in particular because it's my birth year and wanted to see what that year represented. Not a bad year in general
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1. Taste of Cherry (1997)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
An Iranian man drives his car in search of someone who will quietly bury him under a cherry tree after he commits suicide.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Homayoun Ershadi, Abdolhosein Bagheri, Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari, Safar Ali Moradi
Votes: 36,784 | Gross: $0.31M
10/10, an emotional masterpiece and a perfect reflection on suicide. This film has helped me a lot when it came to my own feelings and helped me preserver over some of those problems. Besides the excellent performances, the directing and reincorporation was exquisite and the setting had lot of personality. Each character has purpose and so does the ending. The cinematography was very subtle in that regard as this isn't really a flashy movie. It doesn't even have music and I think that choice really added to the atmosphere and meaning. IMO my favorite movie from this director and it's probably his magnum opus. See it and tell me, apparently the late great Ebert didn't like this movie and I don't see why as there are other films he praised just like this. I also loved they did this in an Islamic country as it's more taboo.
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: 282,122 | Gross: $26.40M
10/10, film lovers who haven't seen this will adore this movie as I have. It's an impressive feat in every regard including it's flowing one track shots, erratic chaotic tone, real and realized characters and plot. The music choices really added to the scenes and fit like a puzzle piece. Its pace flows really nicely and should be celebrated as an achievement for how BIG (nice) this film is and what it's trying to say about the porn industry. And that's another thing, it's a great criticism while almost being gratuitous in its excess. I don't see people mentioning the script as it plays a great part in it too and while not as flashy as the other things, it really grounds the world they're setting. Which I have to add the costumes, locations, and style of filmmaking make it feel it's from that era. The extra mile to recreate old vintage porn was appreciated too. Almost everything. The only tiny problem might be the ending which I justify is him having no where to go besides the porn industry. Once you go that route it's hard to go back but I can see why people would have problems with it as do I (the reason I don't rate it a strong 10), it feels slightly rushed. Besides that if you haven't seen this then see it but don't watch with the parents as it's very expletive.
3. Perfect Blue (1997)
R | 81 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
A pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.
Director: Satoshi Kon | Stars: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ôkura
Votes: 95,580 | Gross: $0.78M
lowtosolid9/10, a beautiful and animated art piece on a waning star trapped in a blackhole like situation swallowing her up. I can see why Requiem for a Dream copied some visuals and tone as it's breathtaking even here. I think despite being similar in that aspect it's not similar at all in most areas (which is why I don't think it's an identical clone). It has amazing cuts which the director is known for and has amazing music plus voice acting. While not 10/10 perfect as the pace sometimes feels slogged in one scene, it's "perfect" as an animation perspective. The use of coloring and shading didn't go unnoticed and the cluttering of the screen really adds to that. See this if you haven't already, it's free on youtube if I remember
4. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
Director: Roberto Benigni | Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano
Votes: 743,360 | Gross: $57.60M
low8/10
5. 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: 429,517 | Gross: $48.32M
high7/10
6. 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: 1,068,430 | Gross: $138.43M
solidtohigh7/10
7. Fireworks (1997)
103 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Nishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Ôsugi, Susumu Terajima
Votes: 33,185 | Gross: $0.23M
low8/10, while I like Sonatine and Kukujiro a tee-bit more I thoroughly enjoyed this and it had some elements that made those so great. The violence is very blunt and the characters are very lovable. While I enjoy the tone and color palette of the other two more I would not mind seeing this again. The acting is commendable and so was the writing. The act structure was nice and tidy, leaving no major gripes besides not being as strong story wise as his other movies. The slowed down parts are what kept me giving it higher than a low 8. A little too repetitive for my taste in some scenes but rememberable overall.
8. Eve's Bayou (1997)
R | 108 min | Drama
What did little Eve see--and how will it haunt her? Husband, father and womanizer Louis Batiste is the head of an affluent family, but it's the women who rule this gothic world of secrets, lies and mystic forces.
Director: Kasi Lemmons | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Jurnee Smollett, Meagan Good, Lynn Whitfield
Votes: 11,619 | Gross: $14.82M
9. The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
R | 112 min | Drama
A bus crash in a small town brings a lawyer to defend the families, but he discovers everything isn't what it seems.
Director: Atom Egoyan | Stars: Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Caerthan Banks, Tom McCamus
Votes: 36,741 | Gross: $3.25M
10. 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: 613,081 | Gross: $250.69M
solid7/10
11. 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: 197,224 | Gross: $26.67M
high7/10
12. 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: 247,684 | Gross: $0.50M
low7-high6/10
13. 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: 506,383 | Gross: $63.54M
low8-high7/10
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: 323,299 | Gross: $12.34M
15. Happy Together (1997)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Romance
A couple take a trip to Argentina but both men find their lives drifting apart in opposite directions.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Chang Chen, Gregory Dayton
Votes: 34,055 | Gross: $0.19M
16. Funny Games (1997)
Not Rated | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Two violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.
Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering
Votes: 84,128
low8-high7/10
17. Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)
TV-MA | 87 min | Animation, Action, Drama
Concurrent theatrical ending of the TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995).
Directors: Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki | Stars: Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yûko Miyamura, Kotono Mitsuishi
Votes: 64,292
18. Starship Troopers (1997)
R | 129 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Humans, in a fascist militaristic future, wage war with giant alien bugs.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer, Jake Busey
Votes: 321,261 | Gross: $54.81M
solid8/10
19. 12 Angry Men (1997 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 117 min | Crime, Drama
Twelve men must decide the fate of one when one juror objects to the jury's decision.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Hume Cronyn, Ossie Davis
Votes: 17,058
20. 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: 1,280,755 | Gross: $659.33M
low7/10
21. Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997)
PG | 80 min | Documentary
An exploration of the careers of four unrelated professionals: a lion tamer, a robotics expert, a topiary gardener, and a naked mole rat specialist.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Dave Hoover, George Mendonça, Rodney Brooks, Raymond A. Mendez
Votes: 3,983 | Gross: $0.83M
22. 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: 617,956 | Gross: $64.62M
lowtosolid5/10
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: 14,291 | Gross: $2.86M
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: 88,482 | Gross: $43.02M
25. 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: 332,342 | Gross: $41.91M
high8-low9/10
26. 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: 375,083 | Gross: $39.67M
solidtohigh8/10, wasn't feeling this on my first watch but on my second I appreciated a lot more knowing what I was getting into. While not as flashy as his other movies, it's still an underappreciated underrated goliath of film making. The characters have character, the writing as always is on point, the directing is subtle and small. While I think this is better than django by a smidge, it's placed between deathproof for me. Thanks dunkey for getting me back into it. Kind of a slow burn, not as much as once upon a time. The acting this approach around is my favorite part. The best is when you have to decipher what they're thinking about just on looks or a word. An annoying character gets killed in this fashion and it's the best part of the movie for me
27. The Eel (1997)
Not Rated | 117 min | Drama
A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After the release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking almost to no one except an eel he befriended while in prison.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baishô, Akira Emoto
Votes: 6,403 | Gross: $0.41M
28. Open Your Eyes (1997)
R | 119 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A very handsome man finds the love of his life, but he suffers an accident and needs to have his face rebuilt by surgery after it is severely disfigured.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Eduardo Noriega, Penélope Cruz, Chete Lera, Fele Martínez
Votes: 73,261 | Gross: $0.37M
29. Mother and Son (1997)
73 min | Drama
A man goes for a walk through the countryside with his dying mother.
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov | Stars: Aleksei Ananishnov, Gudrun Geyer
Votes: 4,229
30. Lost Highway (1997)
R | 134 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Anonymous videotapes presage a musician's murder conviction, and a gangster's girlfriend leads a mechanic astray.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, John Roselius, Louis Eppolito
Votes: 153,231 | Gross: $3.80M
high6-low7/10
31. The Edge (1997)
R | 117 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An intellectual billionaire and two other men struggle to band together and survive after getting stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with a blood-thirsty Kodiak Bear hunting them down.
Director: Lee Tamahori | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Elle Macpherson, Harold Perrineau
Votes: 79,037 | Gross: $27.78M
32. Cure (1997)
Not Rated | 111 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Masato Hagiwara, Koji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa
Votes: 23,069 | Gross: $0.09M
high8-low9/10
33. Black Hawk Down (1997)
Not Rated | 57 min | Documentary
The story behind the infamous downing of an American Black Hawk helicopter by Somali gunmen.
Director: Chris Mills | Stars: Mike Goodale, Shawn Nelson, Dale Sizemore
Votes: 32,912
34. 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: 400,988 | Gross: $112.23M
low6-high5/10
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