In favor of waiting until I've seen absolutely everything (a bottomless task), I've decided to take a "running list" mentality to the awards. I've got many projects and only so much time so I've just decided to post the awards once I hit a critical mass, mention what I haven't seen and then update them as I (re)watch more 1997 films over time. You can see the last time I've updated it at the top. To help get the projects done, commentary might be light as well - mostly graphics and winners. Enjoy!
1997 Films Seen: 83
Number of Films with A or A+ Grade: 4
Key Films Still to See: n/a
Brief Summary: The cultural memory of this year is dominated by the phenomenon of Titanic. As a teenage boy when it came out, I think I instinctually hated the film simply because it was seen as a "teen girl's romance film" - though I did acknowledge the disaster scenes were done well. Over the years, I've grown to see Titanic as a masterpiece and that's kind of the story with the best films of this year (Contact, Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential, Gattaca); didn't quite get them as a teenager, but slowly came to love them. The year's best is quite top heavy, with three of the top ten finding their way into my top ten of all time at different points of my life. Still, beyond that there are some solid offerings beyond the usual dramas: action entries (Tomorrow Never Dies, Face/Off), comedies (Men in Black, Austin Powers, Wag the Dog), and science fiction (Gattaca, Contact, Fifth Element).
Not a "best of" list or a "favorite" list - but a list of the films and sequences (action, drama, comedy, & musical) that I think represent the best the year had to offer. So think of it as a strange mixture of favorite, best, and defining. Once you get to the top ten films, it definitely becomes more defined as a Top Ten list of the year. The number one film is my favorite of the year.
25. The Man Who Knew Too Little (B-)
24. Breakdown (B-)
23. Air Force One (B-)
22. Police Story 4: First Strike (B-)
21. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (B-)
20. Scream 2 (B-)
19. The Sweet Hereafter (B)
18. Wag the Dog (B)
17. Mrs. Brown (B)
16. As Good As It Gets (B)
15. Donnie Brasco (B)
14. Princess Mononoke (B)
13. Face/Off (B)
12. Tomorrow Never Dies (B)
11. Jackie Brown (B)
THE TOP TEN
10. The Game (B)
9. The Rainmaker (B+)
8. The Apostle (B+)
7. Men in Black (B+)
6. Amistad (A-)
5. Gattaca (A-)
4. L.A. Confidential (A)
3. Titanic (A)
2. Good Will Hunting (A+)
1. Contact (A+)
Commentary: n/a
FAVORITE ACTION SEQUENCES OF THE YEAR
The Very Good:
- "Mall Chase: Down Escalators & On Carriages" -Mr. Nice Guy
- "Parking Garage Chase: Bond Remote Controls a BMW" -Tomorrow Never Dies
- "Trailer Trouble: T-Rex Tips It Over a Cliff" -The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Great:
- "Finale: Victory Motel Shootout" -L.A. Confidential
- "Outpost Whiskey: Bug Ambush" -Starship Troopers
- "Escape from Carver: Handcuffed Bike Chase in Vietnam" -Tomorrow Never Dies
FAVORITE DRAMATIC SEQUENCES OF THE YEAR
- "Give Us, Us Free" –Amistad
- “Talking to the Members of a Car Wreck, Giving a Chance of Hope” –The Apostle
- “Partying in the 80s with a Murder-Suicide” – Boogie Nights
- “A Saboteur Brings Down the Machine” -Contact
- “Ellie Must Explain her Experience to the Court” -Contact
- “Soaring into Space/Meeting his End” –Gattaca
- “Interrogation of the Night Owl Suspects” –L.A. Confidential
- “Shotgun Chase of the Escaped Night Owl Suspects” -L.A. Confidential
- "Opening Stab Premiere" –Scream 2
- "Climbing Over a Knocked Out Killer" –Scream 2
- “Mitchell learns of his daughter being HIV positive over the phone” –The Sweet Hereafter
- “Rose is Drawn by Jack” –Titanic
- “Mr. Murdock shoots a passenger and then takes his own life” –Titanic
The Great:
- "Recounting the Middle Passage" –Amistad
- “Drug Deal Gone Bad to An 80’s Mix Tape” -Boogie Nights
- “Preparing to Enter the Pod/Traveling/Meeting the Aliens” -Contact
- “It’s Not Your Fault” -Good Will Hunting
- “Regret and Meeting his Wife in a Bar” -Good Will Hunting
- “Rose Passes Away and is Greeted by the Others on the Ship and Jack on the Stairway” –Titanic
- “Nearer My God To Thee: The Band plays as Several Characters Meet a Watery Death” –Titanic
- “The Titanic Cracks, Bobs and Goes Under as Passengers Fall Off and Hang On” -Titanic
The Best: “Taster’s Choice Moment for Men at the Pond” -Good Will Hunting
Commentary: n/a
BEST DIRECTOR
Nominees:
- James Cameron Titanic
- Curtis Hanson L.A. Confidential
- Gus Van Sant Good Will Hunting
- Steven Spielberg Amistad
- Robert Zemeckis Contact
FAVORITE FILM ENSEMBLE
Nominees:
- Amistad
- Boogie Nights
- Good Will Hunting
- L.A. Confidential
- Titanic
FAVORITE MALE PERFORMANCES
Nominees:
- Matt Damon Good Will Hunting
- Robert Duvall The Apostle
- Ethan Hawke Gattaca
- Ian Holm The Sweet Hereafter
- Djimon Hounsou Amistad
- Tommy Lee Jones Men in Black
- Jude Law Gattaca
- Jack Nicholson As Good As It Gets
- Kevin Spacey L.A. Confidential
- Robin Williams Good Will Hunting
FAVORITE FEMALE PERFORMANCES
Nominees:
- Joan Allen The Ice Storm
- Kim Basinger L.A. Confidential
- Judi Dench Mrs. Brown
- Minnie Driver Good Will Hunting
- Jodie Foster Contact
- Pam Grier Jackie Brown
- Helen Hunt As Good As It Gets
- Julianne Moore Boogie Nights
- Uma Thurman Gattaca
- Kate Winslet Titanic
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Nominees: n/a
Nominees:
- Anastasia
- Hercules
- Princess Mononoke
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nominees:
- Amistad
- Boogie Nights
- Contact
- Good Will Hunting
- Titanic
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Nominees:
- Contact
- The Fifth Element
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- Starship Troopers
- Titanic
BEST SOUND DESIGN
BIGGEST GUILTY PLEASURE
Nominees:
- Air Force One
- Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
- The Man Who Knew Too Little
- Vegas Vacation
MOST SURPRISING FILM
Nominees:
- Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
- L.A. Confidential
- Titanic
MOST DISAPPOINTING FILM
Nominees:
- Batman & Robin
- Chasing Amy
- The Ice Storm
MOST UNDERRATED FILM
Nominees:
Nominees:
- Chasing Amy
- Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
- The Postman
BEST COMPILATION OF WORK
- Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting, Grosse Point Blank, & Princess Mononoke)
ERIC BANA AWARD
*Given for the best performance in a bad film (See 2004's Troy)
- Michael Ironside in Starship Troopers
THE END!
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