Best Movies of 1997 by Rank
67
1
Curtis Hanson
Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger
Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Detective / Post-Noir / Period Film
USA
English
178
2
James Cameron
Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher
Drama / Romance / Epic / Period Film / Adventure / Family
USA
English
389
3
Paul Thomas Anderson
Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly
Drama / Comedy / Period Film
USA
English
439
4
Abbas Kiarostami
Homayon Ershadi, Abdolrahman Bagheri, Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari, Safar Ali Moradi
Drama
France / Iran
Persian
452
5
Peter Cattaneo
Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison
Comedy
UK
English
622
7
Roberto Benigni
Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi
Comedy / Romance / Drama / War
Italy
Italian
819
8
Neil Jordan
Eamonn Owens, Alan Boyle II, Sean McGinley, Peter Gowen
Comedy / Drama
Ireland / USA
English
879
9
James L. Brooks
Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
982
10
Mike Newell
Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Gangster / Detective
USA
English
1131
11
Kar Wai Wong
Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Chen Chang
Drama / Romance
Hong Kong
Mandarin
1245
12
Gus Van Sant
Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver
Drama / Romance
USA
English
1246
13
Aleksandr Sokurov
Aleksei Ananishnov, Gudrun Geyer
Drama
Germany / Russia
Russian
1271
14
Pavel Chukhraj
Vladimir Mashkov, Yekaterina Rednikova
Drama / Crime
Russia / France
Russian
1343
15
Michael Haneke
Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering, Stefan Clapczynski
Horror / Drama / Thriller / Crime
Austria
German
1351
16
Hayao Miyazaki
Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett Smith
Action / Fantasy / Adventure / Animation / Drama
Japan
English
1614
17
Woody Allen
Woody Allen, Richard Benjamin, Kirstie Alley, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis
Comedy
USA
English
1709
18
Ang Lee
Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Henry Czerny, Tobey Maguire
Drama / Period Film
USA
English
1742
19
Pedro Almodóvar
Javier Bardem, Francesca Neri, Liberto Rabal, Ángela Molina
Drama / Romance
France / Spain
Spanish
1762
20
Victor Nunez
Peter Fonda, Patricia Richardson, Christine Dunford, Tom Wood, Jessica Biel
Drama
USA
English
1780
21
John Madden
Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher, Gerard Butler
Drama / History / Romance / Period Film
UK / Ireland / USA
English
1783
22
Errol Morris
Dave Hoover, George Mendonça, Ray Mendez, Rodney Brooks
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
1847
23
Steven Spielberg
Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey
Drama / History / Period Film
USA
English
1854
24
Iain Softley
Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Charlotte Rampling
Drama / Romance / Period Film
USA / UK
English
1942
25
Paul Schrader
Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, Willem Dafoe
Drama / Crime
USA
English
1947
26
Paul Verhoeven
Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris
Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Thriller / War
USA
English
1988
27
Spike Lee
Maxine McNair, Chris McNair, Helen Pegues, Queen Nunn, Arthur Hanes Jr.
Documentary / History / Biography
USA
English
1995
28
Barry Levinson
Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche, Denis Leary
Comedy
USA
English
2003
29
Quentin Tarantino
Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda
Crime / Drama / Thriller
USA
English
2090
30
Mike van Diem
Jan Decleir, Jonathan Maxwell Reeves, Fedja van Huêt
Drama / Period Film
Netherlands / Belgium
Dutch
2117
31
Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Osugi
Crime / Drama / Thriller
Japan
Japanese
2124
32
Majid Majidi
Mohammad Amir Naji, Amir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi
Comedy / Drama / Family
Iran
Persian
2129
33
David Fincher
Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger, James Rebhorn, Peter Donat
Mystery / Thriller / Adventure
USA
English
2144
34
Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash
Drama
USA
English
2196
35
Richard Kwietniowski
John Hurt, Jason Priestley, Fiona Loewi, Sheila Hancock
Drama / Comedy / Romance
UK / Canada
English
2199
36
Francis Ford Coppola
Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, Mary Kay Place
Drama / Thriller
USA
English
2212
37
Neil LaBute
Aaron Eckhart, Stacy Edwards, Matt Malloy, Emily Cline
Comedy / Drama
Canada / USA
English
2215
38
Alain Berliner
Michèle Laroque, Jean-Philippe Écoffey
Comedy / Drama
France / Belgium / UK
French
2229
39
Alejandro Amenábar
Eduardo Noriega, Penélope Cruz, Chete Lera, Fele Martínez
Drama / Romance / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Tech-Noir
Spain / France / Italy
Spanish
2240
40
Luc Besson
Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker
Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Cult
France
English
2256
41
John Woo
John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Gina Gershon
Action / Crime / Drama / Romance / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2257
42
John Sayles
Federico Luppi, Damián Delgado, Dan Rivera González
Drama / Adventure
USA
Spanish
2272
43
Kasi Lemmons
Jurnee Smollett, Samuel L. Jackson, Meagan Good, Lynn Whitfield
Drama / Period Film
USA
English
2281
44
Simon West
Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi
Action / Thriller
USA
English
2298
45
Adrian Lyne
Jeremy Irons, Melanie Griffith, Frank Langella, Dominique Swain
Drama / Romance
USA / France
English
2342
46
Kevin Smith
Ethan Suplee, Ben Affleck, Scott Mosier, Jason Lee, Casey Affleck, Dwight Ewell
Comedy / Romance / Drama
USA
English
2352
47
Robert Zemeckis
Jena Malone, David Morse, Jodie Foster, Geoffrey Blake, William Fichtner
Drama / Sci-Fi / Mystery
USA
English
2388
48
Jay Roach
Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Mimi Rogers, Robert Wagner
Action / Adventure / Comedy / Crime / Spy
USA / Germany
English
2411
49
Henry Jaglom
Stephen Dillane, Victoria Foyt, Vanessa Redgrave, Glynis Barber, Michael Brando
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2429
50
Gary Oldman
Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles, Laila Morse, Edna Doré
Drama
UK / France
English
2474
51
Thom Fitzgerald
Ian Parsons, Peter MacNeill, Troy Veinotte, Kerry Fox, Mark Austin
Drama / Romance
UK / Canada
English
2481
52
Barry Sonnenfeld
Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino
Action / Comedy / Sci-Fi / Family
USA
English
2510
53
Carine Adler
Samantha Morton, Claire Rushbrook, Rita Tushingham, Christine Tremarco
Drama
UK
English
2518
54
Hal Hartley
Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Parker Posey, Maria Porter
Comedy / Drama / Cult
USA
English
2525
55
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Kôji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa
Crime / Thriller / Detective
Japan
Japanese
2532
56
Gregory Nava
Jennifer Lopez, Jackie Guerra, Constance Marie, Alex Meneses, Jon Seda
Biography / Drama / Music
USA
English
2571
57
Sally Potter
Sally Potter, Morgane Maugran, Géraldine Maillet, Katerina Mechera
Drama / Romance / Comedy
UK / France / Argentina / Germany / Netherlands
English
2605
58
Mike Leigh
Katrin Cartlidge, Lynda Steadman, Kate Byers, Mark Benton, Andy Serkis
Drama / Comedy
UK / France
English
2605
58
Dana Ranga
Margarita Andrushkovich, Chris Doerk, Erich Gusko, Helmut Hanke, Barbara Harnisch
Documentary / Musical / History
France / Germany
English
2605
58
Mark Jonathan Harris
Morgan Freeman, Edward Asner, Sean Astin, Martin Landau, Miriam Margolyes
Documentary / History / War
USA
English
2605
58
Lexy Lovell, Michael Uys
C.R. 'Tiny' Boland, Charley Bull, Rene Champion, Peggy De Hart, John Fawcett
Documentary / History / Biography
USA
English
2633
59
Shane Meadows
Bob Hoskins, Danny Nussbaum, Tony, Bruce Jones, Annette Badland
Comedy / Drama / Sports
UK
English
2644
60
Harmony Korine
Nick Sutton, Jacob Sewell, Jacob Reynolds, Lara Tosh
Drama / Experimental
USA
English
2659
61
James Cameron
Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher
Drama / Romance / Epic / Period Film / Adventure / Family
USA
English
2688
62
George Armitage
John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack, Alan Arkin, Hank Azaria
Comedy / Crime / Romance / Thriller
USA
English
2689
63
Roger Spottiswoode
Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher, Ricky Jay
Action / Adventure / Thriller / Spy / Family / Cult
UK / USA
English
2691
64
Alan Rudolph
Nick Nolte, Julie Christie, Lara Flynn Boyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Jay Underwood
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2709
65
Bruno Barreto
Alan Arkin, Pedro Cardoso, Fernanda Torres
Drama / Thriller
Brazil / USA
Portuguese
2709
65
Montxo Armendáriz
Carmelo Gómez, Charo López, Silvia Munt
Drama
France / Portugal / Spain
Spanish
2741
66
Claude Berri
Carole Bouquet, Daniel Auteuil, Patrice Chéreau, Jean-Roger Milo
Biography / Drama / Romance
France
French
2741
66
Philippe de Broca
Daniel Auteuil, Fabrice Luchini, Vincent Perez, Marie Gillain, Yann Collette
Drama / Adventure
France / Italy / Germany
French
2758
67
Shohei Imamura
Kôji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baisho, Akira Emoto
Drama
Japan
Japanese
2763
68
Don Bluth, Gary Goldman
Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria
Animation / Adventure / Family / Fantasy / Musical
USA
English
2763
68
Andrew Niccol
Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Gore Vidal, Xander Berkeley, Jayne Brook
Drama / Mystery / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Tech-Noir
USA
English
2763
68
Erik Skjoldbjærg
Maria Mathiesen, Stellan Skarsgård, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Gisken Armand
Crime / Thriller / Mystery / Post-Noir / Detective
Norway
Norwegian
2763
68
Sidney Lumet
Andy Garcia, Ian Holm, James Gandolfini, Lena Olin, Shiek Mahmud-Bey, Colm Feore
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2763
68
John Singleton
Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Bruce McGill, Loren Dean, Esther Rolle
Action / Drama / History
USA
English
2767
69
David Lynch
Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake
Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Horror / Crime
France / USA
English
2778
70
Jafar Panahi
Mina Mohammad Khani, Kazem Mojdehi, Naser Omuni
Drama / Experimental
Iran
Arabic
2788
71
Daniel Calparsoro
Najwa Nimri, Alfredo Villa, Ramón Barea, Elena Irureta
Thriller / Action
Spain
Spanish
2788
71
Wayne Wang
Jeremy Irons, Li Gong, Maggie Cheung, Michael Hui
Drama / Romance
France / Japan / USA
English
2788
71
Benoît Lamy
Richard Bohringer, Ute Lemper, Papa Wemba, Jacqueline Nicolas
Drama / Thriller
Belgium / Germany / France
French
2788
71
Anne Fontaine
Miou-Miou, Charles Berling, Stanislas Merhar, Mathilde Seigner
Drama
Spain / France
French
2788
71
Giuseppe M. Gaudino
Aldo Bufi Landi, Tina Femiano, Salvatore Grasso, Antonio Pennarella
Drama / Experimental
Italy
Italian
2788
71
Jerzy Stuhr
Jerzy Stuhr, Dominika Ostalowska, Irina Alfyorova
Romance / Comedy / Drama
Poland
Polish
2788
71
Antonio Capuano, Pappi Corsicato, Stefano Incerti, Mario Martone, Antonietta de Lilllo
Anna Bonaiuto, Iaia Forte, Enzo Moscato, Nunzia Di Somma
Comedy / Drama
Italy
Italian
2788
71
Jim McBride, Nicholas Meyer
Anthony Brophy, Cary Elwes, Timothy Dalton, Maria Lennon
Drama
Ireland / USA
English
2788
71
Bob Gosse
Robin Tunney, Henry Thomas, Michael Parks, Stephen Lang
Drama / Romance
USA / Canada
English
2788
71
Mike Figgis
Wesley Snipes, Nastassja Kinski, Kyle MacLachlan, Ming-Na
Drama
USA
English
2788
71
Pedro Costa
Vanda Duarte, Nuno Vaz, Mariya Lipkina, Isabel Ruth
Drama / Comedy
Portugal / France / Denmark
Portuguese
2788
71
Walter Lima Jr.
Lima Duarte, Fernando Torres, Leandra Leal, Floriano Peixoto
Fantasy / Drama / Mystery / Detective
Brazil
Portuguese
2788
71
Benoît Jacquot
Sandrine Kiberlain, Vincent Lindon, François Berléand
Drama / Comedy
France
French
2788
71
Alan Rickman
Emma Thompson, Phyllida Law, Gary Hollywood, Arlene Cockburn
Drama
UK / USA
English
2788
71
Yimou Zhang
Wen Jiang, Baotian Li, Qu Ying, You Ge, Yimou Zhang
Comedy / Romance
Hong Kong / China
Mandarin
2789
72
Agnès Merlet
Valentina Cervi, Michel Serrault, Miki Manojlovic
Drama / Biography / Period Film
France / Germany / Italy
French
2789
72
Pupi Avati
Diego Abatantuono, Inés Sastre, Dario Cantarelli
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Italy
Italian
2789
72
Jim Sheridan
Daniel Day-Lewis, Emily Watson, Brian Cox, Ken Stott
Drama / Romance
USA / Ireland
English
2789
72
P.J. Hogan
Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2792
73
Ko I-cheng
Tracy Su, Leon Dai, David Wang, Zhang han
Drama / Comedy / Romance / Experimental
Taiwan
Mandarin
2792
73
Youssef Chahine
Laila Eloui, Mahmoud Hémeida, Magdi Idris
Drama / History / Biography / Musical / Romance / Period Film
France / Egypt
French
2792
73
Joe Dante
Beau Bridges, James Coburn, Phil Hartman, Dan Hedaya
Drama / Sci-Fi / Comedy
USA
English
2796
74
Lee Tamahori
Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Elle Macpherson, Harold Perrineau, Bart the Bear
Drama / Action / Adventure / Thriller
USA
English
2799
75
Rob Sitch
Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Anthony Simcoe, Sophie Lee
Comedy
Australia
English
2799
75
Ademir Kenovic
Mustafa Nadarevic, Almedin Leleta, Almir Podgorica, Jasna Diklic, Mirela Lambic
Drama / War
Bosnia-Herzegovina / France
Serbo-Croatian
2800
76
Manuel Poirier
Sergi López, Sacha Bourdo, Élisabeth Vitali
Comedy / Drama / Romance
France
French
2801
77
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Scott Glenn
Thriller / Crime / Drama
USA
English
2801
77
Luis Llosa
Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde
Thriller / Horror / Adventure / Action
USA / Brazil / Peru
English
2801
77
Christian Duguay
Aidan Quinn, Donald Sutherland, Ben Kingsley, Claudia Ferri
Thriller / Spy
Canada
English
2801
77
Lance Young
Craig Sheffer, Sheryl Lee, Terence Stamp, Casey Siemaszko, Spalding Gray
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2801
77
Jill Sprecher
Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, Alanna Ubach, Helen FitzGerald
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2801
77
Ridley Scott
Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft, Jason Beghe, Daniel von Bargen
Action / Drama / War
USA
English
2801
77
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
2801
77
Gary Fleder
Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Cary Elwes, Alex McArthur, Tony Goldwyn
Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Crime / Detective
USA
English
2801
77
Werner Herzog
Dieter Dengler, Eugene Deatrick, Werner Herzog
Documentary / Biography / Drama / War / History
France / UK / Germany
English
2801
77
Guillermo del Toro
Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Alexander Goodwin, Giancarlo Giannini
Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2801
77
Marleen Gorris
Vanessa Redgrave, Natascha McElhone, Michael Kitchen, Alan Cox, Sarah Badel
Drama / Romance / Period Film
UK / USA / Netherlands
English
2801
77
Udayan Prasad
Om Puri, Rachel Griffiths, Akbar Kurtha, Stellan Skarsgård, Gopi Desai
Comedy / Drama / Romance
UK / France
English
2801
77
Kirby Dick
Kathe Burkhart, Kirby Dick, Bob Flanagan, Sheree Rose, Rita Valencia
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2801
77
George Tillman Jr.
Vanessa L. Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2801
77
David Mamet
Campbell Scott, Steve Martin, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ben Gazzara, Ricky Jay
Drama / Thriller / Mystery / Crime / Post-Noir
USA
English
2801
77
Mark A.Z. Dippé
Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, Theresa Randle, Nicol Williamson
Thriller / Action / Fantasy / Horror / Adventure
USA
English
2801
77
David D. Williams
Hermine Douglas, Brandon Flynn Wells, Alan Douglas, Anisa Dickens
Drama
USA
English
2801
77
William Gazecki
Dan Gifford, Clive Doyle, Jack Harwell, Dick J. Reavis, James D. Tabor
Documentary / History / Biography
USA
English
2801
77
Brian Gilbert
Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave, Jennifer Ehle, Gemma Jones
Biography / Drama / Period Film
UK / Germany / Japan
English
2805
78
Jonathan Nossiter
Lisa Harrow, David Suchet, Jared Harris, Fran Capo, Chen Tsun Kit
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2807
79
Kenneth Bowser
Ron Howard, Robert Altman, Edward Bernds, Frank Capra Jr., Allen Daviau
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2852
81
Alex Sichel
Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff, Cole Hauser, Wilson Cruz, Leisha Hailey
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2852
81
Charles Sturridge
Harvey Keitel, Jason Salkey, Peter O'Toole, Lara Morgan, Adam Franks, Guy Witcher
Family / Drama / Fantasy / Period Film
UK / USA
English
2852
81
Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe
Keith Fulton, Terry Gilliam, Dorothea Braemer, Kristi Connors, Ken Haas
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2852
81
Robert Downey Sr.
Alyssa Milano, Mark Boone Junior, Malcolm McDowell, Sean Penn, Robert Downey Jr.
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2852
81
Frank Oz
Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck, Matt Dillon, Debbie Reynolds
Comedy
USA
English
2852
81
John Patrick Kelley
Kate Capshaw, Jeremy Davies, Vince Vaughn, Ashley Judd, Paul Rudd, Daniel Meyer
Drama
USA
English
2852
81
Bruce Beresford
Glenn Close, Frances McDormand, Pauline Collins, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Ehle
Drama / War
Australia / USA
English
2852
81
Hilary Brougher
Terumi Matthews, Nicole Zaray, Belinda Becker, James Urbaniak, Thomas Pasley
Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Experimental / Romance
USA
English
2852
81
Claude Chabrol
Isabelle Huppert, Michel Serrault, François Cluzet
Comedy / Thriller / Crime
France / Switzerland
French
2852
81
Nicholas Barker
Aimee Copp, Michael De Stefano, Brenda Monte, Mikey Russo, Heather Feeney
Documentary / Experimental
France / UK / USA
English
2852
81
Michael Winterbottom
Stephen Dillane, Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Emira Nusevic, Kerry Fox
Drama / War
UK / USA
English
2860
82
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
