Best Movies of 1997 by Rank
68
1
Curtis Hanson
Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger
Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Detective / Post-Noir / Period Film
USA
English
180
2
James Cameron
Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher
Drama / Romance / Epic / Period Film / Adventure / Family
USA
English
409
3
Paul Thomas Anderson
Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly
Drama / Comedy / Period Film
USA
English
431
4
Peter Cattaneo
Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison
Comedy
UK
English
452
6
Abbas Kiarostami
Homayon Ershadi, Abdolrahman Bagheri, Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari, Safar Ali Moradi
Drama
France / Iran
Persian
552
7
Roberto Benigni
Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi
Comedy / Romance / Drama / War
Italy
Italian
836
8
Neil Jordan
Eamonn Owens, Alan Boyle II, Sean McGinley, Peter Gowen
Comedy / Drama
Ireland / USA
English
874
9
James L. Brooks
Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
1001
10
Mike Newell
Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Gangster / Detective
USA
English
1167
11
Gus Van Sant
Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver
Drama / Romance
USA
English
1170
12
Kar Wai Wong
Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Chen Chang
Drama / Romance
Hong Kong
Mandarin
1180
13
Pavel Chukhraj
Vladimir Mashkov, Yekaterina Rednikova
Drama / Crime
Russia / France
Russian
1282
14
Aleksandr Sokurov
Aleksei Ananishnov, Gudrun Geyer
Drama
Germany / Russia
Russian
1331
15
Hayao Miyazaki
Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett Smith
Action / Fantasy / Adventure / Animation / Drama
Japan
English
1368
16
Michael Haneke
Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering, Stefan Clapczynski
Horror / Drama / Thriller / Crime
Austria
German
1634
17
Woody Allen
Woody Allen, Richard Benjamin, Kirstie Alley, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis
Comedy
USA
English
1687
18
John Madden
Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher, Gerard Butler
Drama / History / Romance / Period Film
UK / Ireland / USA
English
1697
19
Steven Spielberg
Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey
Drama / History / Period Film
USA
English
1709
20
Barry Levinson
Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche, Denis Leary
Comedy
USA
English
1714
21
Errol Morris
Dave Hoover, George Mendonça, Ray Mendez, Rodney Brooks
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
1723
22
Victor Nunez
Peter Fonda, Patricia Richardson, Christine Dunford, Tom Wood, Jessica Biel
Drama
USA
English
1739
23
Ang Lee
Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Henry Czerny, Tobey Maguire
Drama / Period Film
USA
English
1753
24
Pedro Almodóvar
Javier Bardem, Francesca Neri, Liberto Rabal, Ángela Molina
Drama / Romance
France / Spain
Spanish
1807
25
Iain Softley
Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Charlotte Rampling
Drama / Romance / Period Film
USA / UK
English
1838
26
Paul Schrader
Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, Willem Dafoe
Drama / Crime
USA
English
1958
27
Spike Lee
Maxine McNair, Chris McNair, Helen Pegues, Queen Nunn, Arthur Hanes Jr.
Documentary / History / Biography
USA
English
1960
28
Quentin Tarantino
Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda
Crime / Drama / Thriller
USA
English
1962
29
Paul Verhoeven
Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris
Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Thriller / War
USA
English
2029
30
Mike van Diem
Jan Decleir, Jonathan Maxwell Reeves, Fedja van Huêt
Drama / Period Film
Netherlands / Belgium
Dutch
2048
31
Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Osugi
Crime / Drama / Thriller
Japan
Japanese
2060
32
Majid Majidi
Mohammad Amir Naji, Amir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi
Comedy / Drama / Family
Iran
Persian
2079
33
David Fincher
Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger, James Rebhorn, Peter Donat
Mystery / Thriller / Adventure
USA
English
2095
34
Alain Berliner
Michèle Laroque, Jean-Philippe Écoffey
Comedy / Drama
France / Belgium / UK
French
2127
35
Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash
Drama
USA
English
2140
36
John Sayles
Federico Luppi, Damián Delgado, Dan Rivera González
Drama / Adventure
USA
Spanish
2141
37
Francis Ford Coppola
Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, Mary Kay Place
Drama / Thriller
USA
English
2147
38
Kasi Lemmons
Jurnee Smollett, Samuel L. Jackson, Meagan Good, Lynn Whitfield
Drama / Period Film
USA
English
2189
39
Neil LaBute
Aaron Eckhart, Stacy Edwards, Matt Malloy, Emily Cline
Comedy / Drama
Canada / USA
English
2228
40
Robert Zemeckis
Jena Malone, David Morse, Jodie Foster, Geoffrey Blake, William Fichtner
Drama / Sci-Fi / Mystery
USA
English
2235
41
John Woo
John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Gina Gershon
Action / Crime / Drama / Romance / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2236
42
Alejandro Amenábar
Eduardo Noriega, Penélope Cruz, Chete Lera, Fele Martínez
Drama / Romance / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Tech-Noir
Spain / France / Italy
Spanish
2244
43
Richard Kwietniowski
John Hurt, Jason Priestley, Fiona Loewi, Sheila Hancock
Drama / Comedy / Romance
UK / Canada
English
2273
44
Luc Besson
Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker
Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Cult
France
English
2279
45
Adrian Lyne
Jeremy Irons, Melanie Griffith, Frank Langella, Dominique Swain
Drama / Romance
USA / France
English
2300
46
Simon West
Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi
Action / Thriller
USA
English
2322
47
Kevin Smith
Ethan Suplee, Ben Affleck, Scott Mosier, Jason Lee, Casey Affleck, Dwight Ewell
Comedy / Romance / Drama
USA
English
2396
48
Henry Jaglom
Stephen Dillane, Victoria Foyt, Vanessa Redgrave, Glynis Barber, Michael Brando
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2414
49
Gary Oldman
Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles, Laila Morse, Edna Doré
Drama
UK / France
English
2418
50
Gregory Nava
Jennifer Lopez, Jackie Guerra, Constance Marie, Alex Meneses, Jon Seda
Biography / Drama / Music
USA
English
2432
51
Thom Fitzgerald
Ian Parsons, Peter MacNeill, Troy Veinotte, Kerry Fox, Mark Austin
Drama / Romance
UK / Canada
English
2443
52
Hal Hartley
Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Parker Posey, Maria Porter
Comedy / Drama / Cult
USA
English
2458
53
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Kôji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa
Crime / Thriller / Detective
Japan
Japanese
2464
54
Sally Potter
Sally Potter, Morgane Maugran, Géraldine Maillet, Katerina Mechera
Drama / Romance / Comedy
UK / France / Argentina / Germany / Netherlands
English
2465
55
Barry Sonnenfeld
Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino
Action / Comedy / Sci-Fi / Family
USA
English
2470
56
Jay Roach
Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Mimi Rogers, Robert Wagner
Action / Adventure / Comedy / Crime / Spy
USA / Germany
English
2493
57
Carine Adler
Samantha Morton, Claire Rushbrook, Rita Tushingham, Christine Tremarco
Drama
UK
English
2525
58
Shane Meadows
Bob Hoskins, Danny Nussbaum, Tony, Bruce Jones, Annette Badland
Comedy / Drama / Sports
UK
English
2553
59
James Cameron
Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher
Drama / Romance / Epic / Period Film / Adventure / Family
USA
English
2591
61
Mike Leigh
Katrin Cartlidge, Lynda Steadman, Kate Byers, Mark Benton, Andy Serkis
Drama / Comedy
UK / France
English
2591
61
Dana Ranga
Margarita Andrushkovich, Chris Doerk, Erich Gusko, Helmut Hanke, Barbara Harnisch
Documentary / Musical / History
France / Germany
English
2591
61
Mark Jonathan Harris
Morgan Freeman, Edward Asner, Sean Astin, Martin Landau, Miriam Margolyes
Documentary / History / War
USA
English
2591
61
Lexy Lovell, Michael Uys
C.R. 'Tiny' Boland, Charley Bull, Rene Champion, Peggy De Hart, John Fawcett
Documentary / History / Biography
USA
English
2606
62
Bruno Barreto
Alan Arkin, Pedro Cardoso, Fernanda Torres
Drama / Thriller
Brazil / USA
Portuguese
2606
62
Montxo Armendáriz
Carmelo Gómez, Charo López, Silvia Munt
Drama
France / Portugal / Spain
Spanish
2623
63
Harmony Korine
Nick Sutton, Jacob Sewell, Jacob Reynolds, Lara Tosh
Drama / Experimental
USA
English
2628
64
Roger Spottiswoode
Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher, Ricky Jay
Action / Adventure / Thriller / Spy / Family / Cult
UK / USA
English
2635
65
Alan Rudolph
Nick Nolte, Julie Christie, Lara Flynn Boyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Jay Underwood
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2646
66
Claude Berri
Carole Bouquet, Daniel Auteuil, Patrice Chéreau, Jean-Roger Milo
Biography / Drama / Romance
France
French
2646
66
Philippe de Broca
Daniel Auteuil, Fabrice Luchini, Vincent Perez, Marie Gillain, Yann Collette
Drama / Adventure
France / Italy / Germany
French
2657
67
George Armitage
John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack, Alan Arkin, Hank Azaria
Comedy / Crime / Romance / Thriller
USA
English
2664
68
Shohei Imamura
Kôji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baisho, Akira Emoto
Drama
Japan
Japanese
2669
69
David Lynch
Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake
Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Horror / Crime
France / USA
English
2671
70
Don Bluth, Gary Goldman
Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria
Animation / Adventure / Family / Fantasy / Musical
USA
English
2671
70
Andrew Niccol
Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Gore Vidal, Xander Berkeley, Jayne Brook
Drama / Mystery / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Tech-Noir
USA
English
2671
70
Erik Skjoldbjærg
Maria Mathiesen, Stellan Skarsgård, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Gisken Armand
Crime / Thriller / Mystery / Post-Noir / Detective
Norway
Norwegian
2671
70
Sidney Lumet
Andy Garcia, Ian Holm, James Gandolfini, Lena Olin, Shiek Mahmud-Bey, Colm Feore
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2671
70
John Singleton
Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Bruce McGill, Loren Dean, Esther Rolle
Action / Drama / History
USA
English
2681
71
Manuel Poirier
Sergi López, Sacha Bourdo, Élisabeth Vitali
Comedy / Drama / Romance
France
French
2689
73
Jafar Panahi
Mina Mohammad Khani, Kazem Mojdehi, Naser Omuni
Drama / Experimental
Iran
Arabic
2699
74
Daniel Calparsoro
Najwa Nimri, Alfredo Villa, Ramón Barea, Elena Irureta
Thriller / Action
Spain
Spanish
2699
74
Wayne Wang
Jeremy Irons, Li Gong, Maggie Cheung, Michael Hui
Drama / Romance
France / Japan / USA
English
2699
74
Benoît Lamy
Richard Bohringer, Ute Lemper, Papa Wemba, Jacqueline Nicolas
Drama / Thriller
Belgium / Germany / France
French
2699
74
Anne Fontaine
Miou-Miou, Charles Berling, Stanislas Merhar, Mathilde Seigner
Drama
Spain / France
French
2699
74
Giuseppe M. Gaudino
Aldo Bufi Landi, Tina Femiano, Salvatore Grasso, Antonio Pennarella
Drama / Experimental
Italy
Italian
2699
74
Jerzy Stuhr
Jerzy Stuhr, Dominika Ostalowska, Irina Alfyorova
Romance / Comedy / Drama
Poland
Polish
2699
74
Antonio Capuano, Pappi Corsicato, Stefano Incerti, Mario Martone, Antonietta de Lilllo
Anna Bonaiuto, Iaia Forte, Enzo Moscato, Nunzia Di Somma
Comedy / Drama
Italy
Italian
2699
74
Jim McBride, Nicholas Meyer
Anthony Brophy, Cary Elwes, Timothy Dalton, Maria Lennon
Drama
Ireland / USA
English
2699
74
Bob Gosse
Robin Tunney, Henry Thomas, Michael Parks, Stephen Lang
Drama / Romance
USA / Canada
English
2699
74
Mike Figgis
Wesley Snipes, Nastassja Kinski, Kyle MacLachlan, Ming-Na
Drama
USA
English
2699
74
Pedro Costa
Vanda Duarte, Nuno Vaz, Mariya Lipkina, Isabel Ruth
Drama / Comedy
Portugal / France / Denmark
Portuguese
2699
74
Walter Lima Jr.
Lima Duarte, Fernando Torres, Leandra Leal, Floriano Peixoto
Fantasy / Drama / Mystery / Detective
Brazil
Portuguese
2699
74
Benoît Jacquot
Sandrine Kiberlain, Vincent Lindon, François Berléand
Drama / Comedy
France
French
2699
74
Alan Rickman
Emma Thompson, Phyllida Law, Gary Hollywood, Arlene Cockburn
Drama
UK / USA
English
2699
74
Yimou Zhang
Wen Jiang, Baotian Li, Qu Ying, You Ge, Yimou Zhang
Comedy / Romance
Hong Kong / China
Mandarin
2700
75
Agnès Merlet
Valentina Cervi, Michel Serrault, Miki Manojlovic
Drama / Biography / Period Film
France / Germany / Italy
French
2700
75
Pupi Avati
Diego Abatantuono, Inés Sastre, Dario Cantarelli
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Italy
Italian
2700
75
Jim Sheridan
Daniel Day-Lewis, Emily Watson, Brian Cox, Ken Stott
Drama / Romance
USA / Ireland
English
2700
75
P.J. Hogan
Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2707
76
Lee Tamahori
Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Elle Macpherson, Harold Perrineau, Bart the Bear
Drama / Action / Adventure / Thriller
USA
English
2710
77
Rob Sitch
Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Anthony Simcoe, Sophie Lee
Comedy
Australia
English
2710
77
Ademir Kenovic
Mustafa Nadarevic, Almedin Leleta, Almir Podgorica, Jasna Diklic, Mirela Lambic
Drama / War
Bosnia-Herzegovina / France
Serbo-Croatian
2712
78
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Scott Glenn
Thriller / Crime / Drama
USA
English
2712
78
Luis Llosa
Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde
Thriller / Horror / Adventure / Action
USA / Brazil / Peru
English
2712
78
Christian Duguay
Aidan Quinn, Donald Sutherland, Ben Kingsley, Claudia Ferri
Thriller / Spy
Canada
English
2712
78
Lance Young
Craig Sheffer, Sheryl Lee, Terence Stamp, Casey Siemaszko, Spalding Gray
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2712
78
Jill Sprecher
Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, Alanna Ubach, Helen FitzGerald
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2712
78
Ridley Scott
Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft, Jason Beghe, Daniel von Bargen
Action / Drama / War
USA
English
2712
78
Ron Clements, John Musker
Tate Donovan, Josh Keaton, Roger Bart, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Susan Egan
Animation / Adventure / Comedy / Family / Musical / Fantasy / Romance
USA
English
2712
78
Gary Fleder
Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Cary Elwes, Alex McArthur, Tony Goldwyn
Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Crime / Detective
USA
English
2712
78
Werner Herzog
Dieter Dengler, Eugene Deatrick, Werner Herzog
Documentary / Biography / Drama / War / History
France / UK / Germany
English
2712
78
Guillermo del Toro
Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Alexander Goodwin, Giancarlo Giannini
Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2712
78
Marleen Gorris
Vanessa Redgrave, Natascha McElhone, Michael Kitchen, Alan Cox, Sarah Badel
Drama / Romance / Period Film
UK / USA / Netherlands
English
2712
78
Udayan Prasad
Om Puri, Rachel Griffiths, Akbar Kurtha, Stellan Skarsgård, Gopi Desai
Comedy / Drama / Romance
UK / France
English
2712
78
Kirby Dick
Kathe Burkhart, Kirby Dick, Bob Flanagan, Sheree Rose, Rita Valencia
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2712
78
George Tillman Jr.
Vanessa L. Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2712
78
David Mamet
Campbell Scott, Steve Martin, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ben Gazzara, Ricky Jay
Drama / Thriller / Mystery / Crime / Post-Noir
USA
English
2712
78
Mark A.Z. Dippé
Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, Theresa Randle, Nicol Williamson
Thriller / Action / Fantasy / Horror / Adventure
USA
English
2712
78
David D. Williams
Hermine Douglas, Brandon Flynn Wells, Alan Douglas, Anisa Dickens
Drama
USA
English
2712
78
William Gazecki
Dan Gifford, Clive Doyle, Jack Harwell, Dick J. Reavis, James D. Tabor
Documentary / History / Biography
USA
English
2712
78
Brian Gilbert
Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave, Jennifer Ehle, Gemma Jones
Biography / Drama / Period Film
UK / Germany / Japan
English
2717
79
Jonathan Nossiter
Lisa Harrow, David Suchet, Jared Harris, Fran Capo, Chen Tsun Kit
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2719
80
Kenneth Bowser
Ron Howard, Robert Altman, Edward Bernds, Frank Capra Jr., Allen Daviau
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2751
81
Ko I-cheng
Tracy Su, Leon Dai, David Wang, Zhang han
Drama / Comedy / Romance / Experimental
Taiwan
Mandarin
2751
81
Youssef Chahine
Laila Eloui, Mahmoud Hémeida, Magdi Idris
Drama / History / Biography / Musical / Romance / Period Film
France / Egypt
French
2751
81
Joe Dante
Beau Bridges, James Coburn, Phil Hartman, Dan Hedaya
Drama / Sci-Fi / Comedy
USA
English
2761
83
Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki
Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yûko Miyamura, Kotono Mitsuishi
Animation / Action / Drama / Sci-Fi / Adventure
Japan
Japanese
2765
84
Satoshi Kon
Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ôkura
Animation / Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller
Japan
Japanese
2768
85
Alex Sichel
Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff, Cole Hauser, Wilson Cruz, Leisha Hailey
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2768
85
Charles Sturridge
Harvey Keitel, Jason Salkey, Peter O'Toole, Lara Morgan, Adam Franks, Guy Witcher
Family / Drama / Fantasy / Period Film
UK / USA
English
2768
85
Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe
Keith Fulton, Terry Gilliam, Dorothea Braemer, Kristi Connors, Ken Haas
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2768
85
Robert Downey Sr.
Alyssa Milano, Mark Boone Junior, Malcolm McDowell, Sean Penn, Robert Downey Jr.
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2768
85
Frank Oz
Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck, Matt Dillon, Debbie Reynolds
Comedy
USA
English
2768
85
John Patrick Kelley
Kate Capshaw, Jeremy Davies, Vince Vaughn, Ashley Judd, Paul Rudd, Daniel Meyer
Drama
USA
English
2768
85
Bruce Beresford
Glenn Close, Frances McDormand, Pauline Collins, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Ehle
Drama / War
Australia / USA
English
2768
85
Hilary Brougher
Terumi Matthews, Nicole Zaray, Belinda Becker, James Urbaniak, Thomas Pasley
Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Experimental / Romance
USA
English
2768
85
Claude Chabrol
Isabelle Huppert, Michel Serrault, François Cluzet
Comedy / Thriller / Crime
France / Switzerland
French
2768
85
Nicholas Barker
Aimee Copp, Michael De Stefano, Brenda Monte, Mikey Russo, Heather Feeney
Documentary / Experimental
France / UK / USA
English
2768
85
Michael Winterbottom
Stephen Dillane, Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Emira Nusevic, Kerry Fox
Drama / War
UK / USA
English
2776
86
John Greyson
Michael Achtman, Matthew Ferguson, Damon D'Oliveira
Comedy / Drama / Experimental
Canada
English
NR
-
Wolfgang Petersen
Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson, Liesel Matthews
Action / Thriller / Drama
USA / Germany
English
NR
-
Tom Shadyac
Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Justin Cooper, Cary Elwes, Anne Haney
Comedy / Fantasy
USA
English
NR
-
Steven Spielberg
Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Richard Attenborough
Action / Adventure / Fantasy / Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
