1997: World Releases 1997: U.S. Releases 1997: Still Left to See 1997: Cannes Festival Looking Back Moving Ahead Browse Films by Title / Year / Reviews Home / Blog / E-Mail The Movies of 1997: U.S. Releases  By Grade // By Title, with Full Reviews Original Top Ten List When I built this website in January 1998, as a junior in college, I retroactively posted Top 10 lists for the years 1995, 1996, and 1997. Attending university in a large city enabled enough filmgoing opportunities that, for the first time, I could offer appraisals that weren't based on embarrassingly small fractions of what got released in a given year. These original Top 10 lists were based on U.S. theatrical release dates. 1.  L.A. Confidential Dir. Curtis Hanson. With Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey A 2.  The Sweet Hereafter Dir. Atom Egoyan. With Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Bruce Greenwood A 3.  Boogie Nights Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson. With Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore A 4.  Titanic Dir. James Cameron. With Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Billy Zane, Gloria Stuart A 5.  Oscar and Lucinda Dir. Gillian Armstrong. With Ralph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett, Tom Wilkinson A 6.  Donnie Brasco Dir. Mike Newell. With Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Anne Heche A 7.  The Wings of the Dove Dir. Iain Softley. With Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache A– 8.  Crash Dir. David Cronenberg. With James Spader, Deborah Kara Unger, Elias Koteas, Holly Hunter A– 9.  Eve's Bayou Dir. Kasi Lemmons. With Jurnee Smollett, Samuel L. Jackson, Debbi Morgan A– 10.  Face/Off Dir. John Woo. With Nicolas Cage, John Travolta, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola A– (Click back to Full and Updated List)