1996: World Premieres 1996: U.S. Releases 1996: Still Left to See 1996: Cannes Festival Looking Back Moving Ahead Browse Films by Title / Year / Reviews Home / Blog / E-Mail The Movies of 1996: U.S. Releases  By Title // By Grade, with Top Ten Complete Reviews ★ = Full Review   /   ★ = Capsule Review   /   ★ = Special Feature or Blog Review (new window) ★  Antonia's Line Dir. Marleen Gorris. With Willeke Van Ammelrooy, Els Dottermans F ★  Beautiful Thing Dir. Hettie Macdonald. With Glen Berry, Linda Henry, Scott Neal B+ ★  Cemetery Man Dir. Michele Soavi. With Rupert Everett, François Hadji-Lazaro, Anna Falchi B+ ★  Cremaster 1 Dir. Matthew Barney. With Marti Domination, Anne Bannert, Juliette Vassilkio B+ ★  The English Patient Dir. Anthony Minghella. With Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche B+ ★  The Long Kiss Goodnight Dir. Renny Harlin. With Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson C+ ★  The Portrait of a Lady Dir. Jane Campion. With Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich A ★  Ransom Dir. Ron Howard. With Mel Gibson, René Russo, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo B– ★  Surviving Picasso Dir. James Ivory. With Anthony Hopkins, Natascha McElhone, Julianne Moore D+ ★  Trainspotting Dir. Danny Boyle. With Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle B ★  Twelfth Night Dir. Trevor Nunn. With Imogen Stubbs, Helena Bonham Carter, Ben Kingsley B– ★  Two Friends Dir. Jane Campion. With Emma Coles, Kris Bidenko, Kris McQuade, Peter Hehir B– Full Listing of Films Screened Angels and Insects Dir. Philip Haas. With Mark Rylance, Patsy Kensit, Kristin Scott Thomas B Antonia's Line Dir. Marleen Gorris. With Willeke Van Ammelrooy, Els Dottermans F Beautiful Thing Dir. Hettie Macdonald. With Glen Berry, Linda Henry, Scott Neal B+ Beavis and Butt-head Do America Dir. Mike Judge. Animated. Voice of Mike Judge C– Before and After Dir. Barbet Schroeder. With Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Edward Furlong D– Big Night Dirs. Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott. With Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub A– Bound Dirs. Lana and Lilly Wachowski. With Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly, Joe Pantoliano A– Breaking the Waves Dir. Lars von Trier. With Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, Katrin Cartlidge A– Bye-Bye Dir. Karim Dridi. With Sami Bouajila, Ouassani Embarek, Philippe Ambrosini B Cemetery Man Dir. Michele Soavi. With Rupert Everett, François Hadji-Lazaro, Anna Falchi B+ Chungking Express Dir. Wong Kar-wai. With Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Faye Wong, Brigitte Lin B+ Le Confessionnal Dir. Robert Lepage. With Lothaire Bluteau, Patrick Goyette, Jean-Louis Millette B Cremaster 1 Dir. Matthew Barney. With Marti Domination, Anne Bannert, Juliette Vassilkio B+ The Crucible Dir. Nicholas Hytner. With Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Joan Allen B Dead Man Dir. Jim Jarmusch. With Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Lance Henriksen, Michael Wincott B Denise Calls Up Dir. Hal Salwen. With Caroleen Feeney, Liev Schreiber, Dan Gunther D The English Patient Dir. Anthony Minghella. With Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche B+ Everyone Says I Love You Dir. Woody Allen. With Woody Allen, Drew Barrymore, Goldie Hawn B Fargo Dir. Joel Coen. With William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare A The First Wives Club Dir. Hugh Hudson. With Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler B– Flirting with Disaster Dir. David O. Russell. With Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni B– The Flower of My Secret Dir. Pedro Almodóvar. With Marisa Paredes, Juan Echanove B Frisk Dir. Todd Verow. With Michael Gunther, Raoul O'Connor, Craig Chester, Parker Posey D Ghosts of Mississippi Dir. Rob Reiner. With Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, James Woods C– Girl 6 Dir. Spike Lee. With Theresa Randle, Spike Lee, Jenifer Lewis, Isaiah Washington, Debi Mazar B La Haine Dir. Mathieu Kassovitz. With Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui B I Shot Andy Warhol Dir. Mary Harron. With Lili Taylor, Jared Harris, Stephen Dorff B If These Walls Could Talk Dirs. Nancy Savoca, Cher. TV Movie. With Demi Moore C+ Jerry Maguire Dir. Cameron Crowe. With Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr. A– Jingle All the Way Dir. Brian Levant. With Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman F Jude Dir. Michael Winterbottom. With Christopher Eccleston, Kate Winslet, Liam Cunningham B+ Kansas City Dir. Robert Altman. With Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte B Land and Freedom Dir. Ken Loach. With Ian Hart, Rosana Pastor, Tom Gilroy, Marc Martínez B Life and Nothing More Dir. Abbas Kiarostami. With Farhad Kheradmand, Buba Bayour B+ Lone Star Dir. John Sayles. With Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Kris Kristofferson, Joe Morton A– The Long Kiss Goodnight Dir. Renny Harlin. With Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson C+ Mars Attacks! Dir. Tim Burton. With Jack Nicholson, Jim Brown, Annette Bening, Lukas Haas B Marvin's Room Dir. Jerry Zaks. With Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio B– Mother Dir. Albert Brooks. With Albert Brooks, Debbie Reynolds, Rob Morrow, Lisa Kudrow B– The Neon Bible Dir. Terence Davies. With Jacob Tierney, Gena Rowlands, Drake Bell B+ The Nutty Professor Dir. Tom Shadyac. With Eddie Murphy, Jada Pinkett, Larry Miller B+ The People vs. Larry Flynt Dir. Miloš Forman. With Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love B The Portrait of a Lady Dir. Jane Campion. With Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich A Ransom Dir. Ron Howard. With Mel Gibson, René Russo, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo, Lili Taylor B– The Rock Dir. Michael Bay. With Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, Ed Harris, Michael Biehn B Rude Dir. Clement Virgo. With Maurice Dean Wint, Richard Chevolleau, Rachael Crawford B– Scream Dir. Wes Craven. With Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Drew Barrymore B Secrets & Lies Dir. Mike Leigh. With Brenda Blethyn, Timothy Spall, Marianne Jean-Baptiste A– Set It Off Dir. F. Gary Gray. With Jada Pinkett, Vivica A. Fox, Queen Latifah, Kimberly Elise B– Someone Else's America Dir. Goran Paskaljević. With Miki Manojlović, Tom Conti D+ Surviving Picasso Dir. James Ivory. With Anthony Hopkins, Natascha McElhone, Julianne Moore D+ The Tale of the Three Jewels Dir. Michel Khleifi. With Mohammed Nahnal, Hana' Ne'meh B Tarantella Dir. Helen De Michiel. With Mira Sorvino, Rose Gregorio, Matthew Lillard C– Trainspotting Dir. Danny Boyle. With Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle B The Truth About Cats & Dogs Dir. Michael Lehmann. With Janeane Garofalo, Uma Thurman B Twelfth Night Dir. Trevor Nunn. With Imogen Stubbs, Helena Bonham Carter, Ben Kingsley B– Two Friends Dir. Jane Campion. With Emma Coles, Kris Bidenko, Kris McQuade, Peter Hehir B+ Under the Domim Tree Dir. Eli Cohen. With Kaipu Cohen, Riki Blich, Ohad Knoller C Unhook the Stars Dir. Nick Cassavetes. With Gena Rowlands, Marisa Tomei, Jake Lloyd B Walking and Talking Dir. Nicole Holofcener. With Catherine Keener, Anne Heche, Liev Schreiber B+ The White Balloon Dir. Jafar Panahi. With Aida Mohammadkhani, Mohsen Kafili B+ William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet Dir. Baz Luhrmann. With Leonardo DiCaprio B In Need of Reappraisal The memories are fading, but they're somewhere in my brain Basquiat Dir. Julian Schnabel. With Jeffrey Wright, Claire Forlani, Benicio Del Toro Beautiful Girls Dir. Ted Demme. With Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Michael Rapaport The Birdcage Dir. Mike Nichols. With Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman Butterfly Kiss Dir. Michael Winterbottom. With Amanda Plummer, Saskia Reeves The Celluloid Closet Dirs. Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman. Documentary on LGBT cinema Citizen Ruth Dir. Alexander Payne. With Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Mary Kay Place Cold Comfort Farm Dir. John Schlesinger. With Kate Beckinsale, Eileen Atkins, Rufus Sewell Courage Under Fire Dir. Edward Zwick. With Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Matt Damon Dadetown Dir. Russ Hexter. With Bill Garrison, Edith Meeks, Stephen Beals, Valerie Gilbert Diabolique Dir. Jeremiah Chechik. With Isabelle Adjani, Sharon Stone, Chazz Palminteri Emma Dir. Douglas McGrath. With Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam, Toni Collette, Greta Scacchi Evita Dir. Alan Parker. With Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce, Jimmy Nail Executive Suite Dir. Stuart Baird. With Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, John Leguizamo, Whip Hubley Hamlet Dir. Kenneth Branagh. With Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet The Hunchback of Notre Dame Dirs. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Animated Independence Day Dir. Roland Emmerich. With Bill Pullman, Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum Institute Benjamenta Dirs. The Brothers Quay. With Mark Rylance, Alice Krige, Gottfried John Jane Eyre Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. With Charlotte Gainsbourg, William Hurt, Anna Paquin, Fiona Shaw Mary Reilly Dir. Stephen Frears. With Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, George Cole, Glenn Close The Mirror Has Two Faces Dir. Barbra Streisand. With Barbra Streisand, Jeff Bridges Mission: Impossible Dir. Brian De Palma. With Tom Cruise, Emmanuelle Béart, Jon Voight Mr. Wrong Dir. Nick Castle. With Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Pullman, Joan Cusack, John Livingston The Pallbearer Dir. Matt Reeves. With David Schwimmer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Barbara Hershey Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills Dirs. Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky Primal Fear Dir. Gregory Hoblit. With Richard Gere, Edward Norton, Laura Linney, John Mahoney Shine Dir. Scott Hicks. With Geoffrey Rush, Noah Taylor, Armin Mueller-Stahl, John Gielgud Sling Blade Dir. Billy Bob Thornton. With Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday Stealing Beauty Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci. With Liv Tyler, Jeremy Irons, Sinéad Cusack, Rachel Weisz Sweet Nothing Dir. Gary Winick. With Michael Imperioli, Mira Sorvino, Paul Calderon A Time to Kill Dir. Joel Schumacher. With Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock Twister Dir. Jan De Bont. With Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, Alan Ruck Les Voleurs Dir. André Téchiné. With Daniel Auteuil, Laurence Cote, Catherine Deneuve Welcome to the Dollhouse Dir. Todd Solondz. With Heather Matarazzo, Brendan Sexton, Jr. The Whole Wide World Dir. Dan Ireland. With Renée Zellweger, Vincent D'Onofrio