The Year in Film: 1997

Best Picture

#1: L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)
#2: Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)
#3: The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan)
#4: Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino)
#5: The Ice Storm (Ang Lee)
#6: 4 Little Girls (Spike Lee)
#7: Fireworks (Takeshi Kitano)
#8: Men with Guns (John Sayles)
#9: Happy Together (Wong Kar-wai)
#10: Live Flesh (Pedro Almodóvar)

Honorable mentions: Gattaca (Andrew Niccol), Wag the Dog (Barry Levinson), Waco: The Rules of Engagement (William Gazecki), Life Is Beautiful (Roberto Benigni), Open Your Eyes (Alejandro Amenábar), 12 Angry Men (William Friedkin), In the Company of Men (Neil LaBute), Lolita (Adrian Lyne), Public Housing (Frederick Wiseman), Winter Sleepers (Tom Tykwer), Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami), Four Days in September (Bruno Barreto), Character (Mike van Diem), The Apostle (Robert Duvall), The Game (David Fincher), Ma Vie en Rose (Alain Berliner), The Spanish Prisoner (David Mamet), Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki), The Thief (Pavel Chukhraj), Regeneration (Gillies MacKinnon), Kundun (Martin Scorsese), Donnie Brasco (Mike Newell), Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant), Titanic (James Cameron), Blood and Wine (Bob Rafelson), Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (Errol Morris), The Kingdom II (Lars von Trier and Morten Arnfred), Face/Off (John Woo), The Wings of the Dove (Iain Softley), The Butcher Boy (Neil Jordan), Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Jay Roach), Air Force One (Wolfgang Petersen), and Weapons of Mass Distraction (Stephen Surjik).

[Other categories forthcoming.]
Best Director
#1: Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter)
#2: Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential)
#3: Ang Lee (The Ice Storm)
#4: Martin Scorsese (Kundun)
#5: Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights)
Best Actor
#1: Ian Holm (The Sweet Hereafter)

#2: Peter Fonda (Ulee’s Gold)
#3: Philip Baker Hall (Hard Eight)
#4: Robert Duvall (The Apostle)
#5: Kevin Kline (The Ice Storm)
Best Actress
#1: Joan Allen (The Ice Storm)
#2: Helena Bonham Carter (The Wings of the Dove)
#3: Julie Christie (Afterglow)
#4: Judi Dench (Mrs. Brown)
#5: Pam Grier (Jackie Brown)
Best Supporting Actor
#1: Kevin Spacey (L.A. Confidential)
#2: Jude Law (Gattaca)
#3: John C. Reilly (Boogie Nights)
#4: David Strathairn (L.A. Confidential)
#5: Bruce Greenwood (The Sweet Hereafter)
Best Supporting Actress
#1: Sarah Polley (The Sweet Hereafter)
#2: Sigourney Weaver (The Ice Storm)
#3: Kim Basinger (L.A. Confidential)
#4: Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights)
#5: Anne Heche (Wag the Dog)
Best Original Screenplay
#1: Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)
#2: The Game (John Brancato and Michael Ferris)
#3: In the Company of Men (Neil LaBute)
#4: The Apostle (Robert Duvall)
#5: Deconstructing Harry (Woody Allen)
Best Adapted Screenplay
#1: L.A. Confidential (Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson)
#2: The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan)
#3: The Ice Storm (James Schamus)
#4: Wag the Dog (Hilary Henkin and David Mamet)
#5: Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino)
Best Cinematography
#1: Roger Deakins (Kundun)
#2: Dante Spinotti (L.A. Confidential)
#3: Paul Sarossy (The Sweet Hereafter)
#4: Frederick Elmes (The Ice Storm)
#5: (Gattaca)
Best Film Editing
#1: L.A. Confidential

#2: Boogie Nights
#3: Jackie Brown
#4: The Sweet Hereafter
#5: The Ice Storm
Best Original Score
#1: L.A. Confidential (Jerry Goldsmith)
#2: Kundun (Philip Glass)
#3: The Sweet Hereafter (Mychael Danna)
#4: Gattaca (Michael Nyman)
#5: As Good As It Gets (Hans Zimmer)
Best Original Song
#1: “Tomorrow Never Dies” (Tomorrow Never Dies)
#2: “Once Upon a December” (Anastasia)
#3: “Miss Misery” (Good Will Hunting)
#4: “Journey to the Past” (Anastasia)
#5: “My Heart Will Go On” (Titanic)
Best Production Design
#1: Titanic
#2: L.A. Confidential
#3: Kundun
#4: Gattaca
#5: The Wings of the Dove
Best Costume Design
#1: The Wings of the Dove
#2: Titanic
#3: Kundun
#4: The Fifth Element
#5: L.A. Confidential
Best Makeup
#1: Titanic
#2: The Fifth Element
#3: Men in Black
#4: Kundun
#5: L.A. Confidential
Best Sound
#1: Contact
#2: Titanic
#3: L.A. Confidential
#4: The Fifth Element
#5: The Ice Storm
Best Visual Effects
#1: Titanic
#2: Contact
#3: The Fifth Element
#4: Starship Troopers
#5: Face/Off

 

–The Honorary Awards–

Best Breakthrough Performance – Male
Jude Law (Gattaca)
Best Breakthrough Performance – Female
Victoire Thivisol (Ponette)
Best First Feature
Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight)
Worst Film of the Year
Truth or Consequences, NM (dir: Kiefer Sutherland)