1997

Viewed/Ranked

1. Amistad
2. Out to Sea
3. The Fifth Element
4. Men in Black
5. Liar Liar
6. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
7. Conspiracy Theory
8. Good Will Hunting
9. Jackie Brown
10. Grosse Pointe Blank
11. Titanic
12. Rosewood
13. U Turn
14. Batman & Robin
15. L.A. Confidential
16. Gattaca
17. Anastasia
18. Flubber
19. Cop Land
20. Hercules
21. In & Out
22. Scream 2
23. The Postman
24. Donnie Brasco
25. G.I. Jane
26. Face/Off
27. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
28. Princess Mononoke
29. The Butcher Boy
30. Masterminds
31. Dante's Peak
32. Starship Troopers
33. Kull the Conqueror
34. Steel
35. Spawn

Other Notable Releases

1. A Life Less Ordinary
2. Absolute Power
3. Air Bud
4. Air Force One
5. Alien Resurrection
6. Anaconda
7. As Good as It Gets
8. Bean
9. Boogie Nights
10. Chasing Amy
11. Con Air
12. Contact
13. Deconstructing Harry
14. The Devil's Own
15. Eve's Bayou
16. Event Horizon
17. Fierce Creatures
18. Fools Rush In
19. The Full Monty
20. The Game
21. Gone Fishin'
22. Good Burger
23. I Know What You Did Last Summer
24. The Ice Storm
25. The Jackal
26. Kiss the Girls
27. Kundun
28. Life is Beautiful
29. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
30. The Man Who Knew Too Little
31. Mimic
32. Money Talks
33. My Best Friend's Wedding
34. Nothing to Lose
35. The Peacemaker
36. Private Parts
37. The Rainmaker
38. Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
39. The Saint
40. Selena
41. Seven Years in Tibet
42. Soul Food
43. Speed 2: Cruise Control
44. Tomorrow Never Dies
45. Ulee's Gold
46. Vegas Vacation
47. Wag the Dog
48. Waiting for Guffman

Notes: A tough year to rank.  I like a lot of 1997 movies, but as for loving any of them...Amistad gets the top spot because it's awesome in a lot of ways, but I've never particularly thought of it among my all-time favorites.  The next five I would watch ahead of it just because they're so enjoyable, but being enjoyable isn't always the best way to determine which film is best.  The age-old dilemma...Rosewood started out as the film to beat, but aside from out-and-out bad-assery from Ving Rhames, I wondered if it was really better than some of the other contenders.  Hence it slipped pretty far down the list.  Batman & Robin is a historic stinker for a lot of people, but I've always liked it, hence a pretty high ranking, considering.  Other Notable Releases has a ton of movies I'd love to catch, and as always a few thrown in for strictly contextual purposes, although there will always be some omissions I simply don't feel like listing.