Best of 1997
by KnutGaertner | created - 09 Nov 2011 | updated - 09 Nov 2011 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 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: 1,278,556 | Gross: $659.33M
2. 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: 1,066,024 | Gross: $138.43M
3. 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: 742,305 | Gross: $57.60M
4. 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: 505,493 | Gross: $63.54M
5. 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: 617,105 | Gross: $64.62M
6. 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: 322,898 | Gross: $12.34M
7. 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: 320,706 | Gross: $54.81M
8. 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: 612,182 | Gross: $250.69M
9. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
PG-13 | 129 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there, while an InGen team approaches with another agenda.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Vince Vaughn
Votes: 443,506 | Gross: $229.09M
10. Batman & Robin (1997)
PG-13 | 125 min | Action, Sci-Fi
Batman and Robin try to keep their relationship together even as they must stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman
Votes: 267,913 | Gross: $107.33M
11. 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: 281,794 | Gross: $26.40M
12. 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: 331,826 | Gross: $41.91M
13. 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: 256,872 | Gross: $53.88M
14. 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: 400,453 | Gross: $112.23M
15. Scream 2 (1997)
R | 120 min | Horror, Mystery
Two years after the first series of murders, as Sidney acclimates to college life, someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Jada Pinkett Smith
Votes: 209,473 | Gross: $101.36M
16. 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: 318,104 | Gross: $148.48M
17. 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: 374,422 | Gross: $39.67M
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: 247,421 | Gross: $0.50M
19. 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: 292,823 | Gross: $100.92M
20. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
R | 101 min | Horror, Mystery
Four young friends bound by a tragic accident are reunited when they find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding maniac in their small seaside town.
Director: Jim Gillespie | Stars: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Anne Heche, Ryan Phillippe
Votes: 157,988 | Gross: $72.59M
21. Alien: Resurrection (1997)
R | 109 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Two centuries after her death, a powerful human/alien hybrid clone of Ellen Ripley aids a crew of space pirates in stopping the aliens from reaching Earth.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Dominique Pinon, Ron Perlman
Votes: 263,121 | Gross: $47.75M
22. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond sets out to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher
Votes: 204,558 | Gross: $125.33M
23. 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: 153,013 | Gross: $3.80M
24. 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: 143,715 | Gross: $12.02M
25. 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: 155,776 | Gross: $37.96M
26. 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: 106,227 | Gross: $44.89M
27. 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: 83,906
28. 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: 88,407 | Gross: $43.02M
29. 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: 82,787 | Gross: $45.86M
30. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Martin Blank is a professional assassin. He is sent on a mission to a small Detroit suburb, Grosse Pointe, and, by coincidence, his ten-year high school reunion party is taking place there at the same time.
Director: George Armitage | Stars: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack
Votes: 99,550 | Gross: $28.01M
31. Vegas Vacation (1997)
PG | 93 min | Comedy
In the fourth outing for the vacation franchise, the Griswolds have to survive Vegas fever when they go to Las Vegas for a fun family vacation.
Director: Stephen Kessler | Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Ethan Embry
Votes: 53,101 | Gross: $36.43M
32. A Life Less Ordinary (1997)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
Upon being fired, a desperate guy kidnaps a daughter of his former boss. Two angels are sent to Earth to check if love is possible in this case.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Cameron Diaz, Ewan McGregor, Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo
Votes: 37,171 | Gross: $4.27M
33. The Borrowers (1997)
PG | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A secret family of four-inch people living inside the walls of a house must save their home from an evil real estate developer.
Director: Peter Hewitt | Stars: John Goodman, Jim Broadbent, Mark Williams, Celia Imrie
Votes: 23,597 | Gross: $22.36M
34. Nothing to Lose (1997)
R | 98 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Nick's wife's in bed with his boss. He later gets a gun to his head by a carjacker but steps on the gas pedal. They end up friends after adventures together - holdups, burglary, reckless driving, revenge etc. Twists follow.
Director: Steve Oedekerk | Stars: Martin Lawrence, Tim Robbins, John C. McGinley, Giancarlo Esposito
Votes: 49,202 | Gross: $44.46M
35. Mousehunt (1997)
PG | 98 min | Comedy
Two stumblebum inheritors are determined to rid their antique house of a mouse who is equally determined to stay where he is.
Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Nathan Lane, Lee Evans, Vicki Lewis, Maury Chaykin
Votes: 60,442 | Gross: $61.92M
36. The Relic (1997)
R | 110 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A homicide detective and an anthropologist try to destroy a South American lizard-like god, who's on a people eating rampage in a Chicago museum.
Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt, James Whitmore
Votes: 30,150 | Gross: $33.96M
37. 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: 22,289 | Gross: $5.80M
38. An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
An American man unwittingly gets involved with French werewolves who have developed a serum allowing them to transform at will.
Director: Anthony Waller | Stars: Tom Everett Scott, Julie Delpy, Vince Vieluf, Phil Buckman
Votes: 26,960 | Gross: $26.57M
39. Suicide Kings (1997)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A group of youngsters kidnap a respected Mafia figure.
Director: Peter O'Fallon | Stars: Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Sean Patrick Flanery, Mark Watson
Votes: 29,152 | Gross: $1.69M
40. Rosewood (1997)
R | 140 min | Action, Drama, History
A dramatization of a 1923 horrific racist lynch mob attack on an African-American community.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Bruce McGill
Votes: 8,895 | Gross: $13.10M
41. Wishmaster (1997)
R | 90 min | Fantasy, Horror
A demonic djinn attempts to grant its owner three wishes, which will allow him to summon his brethren to Earth.
Director: Robert Kurtzman | Stars: Tammy Lauren, Andrew Divoff, Angus Scrimm, Ari Barak
Votes: 25,348 | Gross: $15.72M
42. 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: 18,742
43. Mr. Nice Guy (1997)
PG-13 | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A Chinese chef accidentally gets involved with a news reporter who filmed a drug bust that went awry, and is now being chased by gangs who are trying to get the video tape.
Director: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung | Stars: Jackie Chan, Richard Norton, Miki Lee, Karen McLymont
Votes: 28,792 | Gross: $12.67M
44. Perdita Durango (1997)
R | 129 min | Action, Crime, Horror
A psychotic criminal couple kidnaps a random teenage couple. The woman rapes the male captive, and lets him watch his lover being raped by the man. They then plan to sacrifice the couple.
Director: Álex de la Iglesia | Stars: Rosie Perez, Javier Bardem, Harley Cross, Aimee Graham
Votes: 9,827
45. Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997)
R | 121 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A 6 y.o. Inuit boy runs off a snowy roof in Copenhagen and dies. Smilla, a half Inuit who lives in the building and knows the boy, looks into it. What makes an acrophobic boy run up on the roof? The clues take her to Greenland.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Julia Ormond, Jens Jørgen Fleischer, Agga Olsen, Patrick Field
Votes: 15,205 | Gross: $2.22M
46. Mr. Magoo (1997)
PG | 87 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
The myopic millionaire defeats jewel smugglers in his usual bumbling manner.
Director: Stanley Tong | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Kelly Lynch, Matt Keeslar, Nick Chinlund
Votes: 16,151 | Gross: $21.38M
47. Shooting Fish (1997)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance
Two con artists' plan to steal enough for a house are twisted when a pretty girl enters the picture.
Director: Stefan Schwartz | Stars: Dan Futterman, Stuart Townsend, Kate Beckinsale, Rowena Cooper
Votes: 7,848 | Gross: $0.30M
48. Out to Sea (1997)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Romance
A failed gambler, intent on meeting a rich widow, tricks his widowed brother-in-law into boarding a cruise ship as dance hosts.
Director: Martha Coolidge | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Dyan Cannon, Gloria DeHaven
Votes: 9,508 | Gross: $27.97M
49. 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: 114,027 | Gross: $45.95M
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