1997
A Life Less Ordinary
(1997)
John Hodge
1 win & 3 nominations.
Ewan McGregor stars as a cleaning man in L.A. who takes his boss' daughter hostage after being fired and replaced by a robot. Two "angels" who are in charge of human relationships on earth, offer some unsolicited help to bring this unlikely couple together.
Alien: Resurrection
(1997)
Dan O'Bannon (characters), Ronald Shusett (characters), Joss Whedon
5 wins & 16 nominations.
200 years after the conclusion of Alien 3, the Company is able to resurrect Ripley through the process of cloning and the scientists successfully take the Queen Alien out of her. But, Ripley's DNA gets mixed up with the Queen's and she begins to develop certain alien characteristics. The scientists begin breeding the aliens, but they later escape. Soon the Xeno-morphs are running amok on the ship, which is on course to Earth. The Queen then gives birth to a deadly new breed of alien, which could spell disaster for the entire human race. It's up to Ripley and a band of space pirates to stop the ship before it reaches Earth.
An American Werewolf in Paris
(1997)
John Landis (characters in An American Werewolf in London), Tim Burns, Tom Stern, Anthony Waller
3 wins & 1 nomination.
An American man unwittingly gets involved with French werewolves who have developed a serum allowing them to transform at will.
Face/Off
(1997)
Mike Werb, Michael Colleary
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 21 nominations.
Sean Archer, a very tough, rugged FBI Agent. Who is still grieving for his dead son Michael. Archer believes that his son's killer is his sworn enemy, a very powerful criminal, Castor Troy. One day, Archer has finally cornered Castor, however, their fight has knocked out Troy cold. As Archer finally breathes easy over the capture of his enemy, he finds out that Troy has planted a bomb that will destroy the entire city of Los Angeles and all of its inhabitants. Unfortunately the only other person who knows its location is Castor's brother Pollux, and he refuses to talk. The solution, a special operation doctor that can cut off people's faces, and can place a person's face onto another person. Archer undergoes one of those surgeries to talk to Pollux. However, Castor Troy somehow regains consciousness and now wants revenge on Archer for taking his face. Not only is Troy ruining Archer's mission, but his personal life as well. Archer must stop Troy again. This time, it's personal.
Funny Games
(1997)
Michael Haneke
4 wins & 6 nominations.
Two psychotic young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.
Grosse Pointe Blank
(1997)
Tom Jankiewicz (story), Tom Jankiewicz (screenplay), D.V. DeVincentis (screenplay), Steve Pink (screenplay), John Cusack (screenplay)
2 wins & 6 nominations.
Martin Blank is a freelance hitman who starts to develop a conscience, which causes him to muff a couple of routine assignments. On the advice of his secretary and his psychiatrist, he attends his 10th year High School reunion in Grosse Pointe, Michigan (a Detroit suburb where he's also contracted to kill someone). Hot on his tail are a couple of over-enthusiastic federal agents, another assassin who wants to kill him, and Grocer, an assassin who wants him to join an "Assassin's Union."
Hana-Bi
(1997)
Takeshi Kitano
22 wins & 17 nominations.
Nishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
Jackie Brown
(1997)
Quentin Tarantino (written for the screen by), Elmore Leonard (novel)
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 21 nominations.
The middle age stewardess Jackie Brown smuggles money from Mexico to Los Angeles for the arms dealer Ordell Robbie. When she gets caught by the agents Ray Nicolette and Mark Dargus with ten thousand dollars and cocaine in her purse, they propose a deal to her to help them to arrest Ordell in exchange of her freedom. Meanwhile Ordell asks the fifty-six year-old Max Cherry, who runs a bail bond business, to release Jackie Brown with the intention of eliminating her. Jackie suspects of Ordell's intention and plots a complicate confidence game with Max to steal half a million dollar from Ordell.
L.A. Confidential
(1997)
James Ellroy (novel), Brian Helgeland (screenplay), Curtis Hanson (screenplay)
Won 2 Oscars. Another 81 wins & 77 nominations.
As corruption grows in 1950s LA, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
Lost Highway
(1997)
David Lynch, Barry Gifford
1 win.
Fred Madison, a saxophonist, is accused under mysterious circumstances of murdering his wife Renee. On death row, he inexplicably morphs into a young man named Pete Dayton, leading a completely different life. When Pete is released, his and Fred's paths begin to cross in a surreal, suspenseful web of intrigue, orchestrated by a shady gangster boss named Dick Laurent.
Starship Troopers
(1997)
Edward Neumeier (screenplay), Robert A. Heinlein (book)
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 14 nominations.
Humans in a fascistic, militaristic future do battle with giant alien bugs in a fight for survival.
The Edge
(1997)
David Mamet
N/A
An intellectual billionaire and two lesser men struggle to band together and survive after getting stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with a blood thirsty Kodiak Bear hot on their trail.
The Fifth Element
(1997)
Luc Besson (story), Luc Besson (screenplay), Robert Mark Kamen (screenplay)
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 32 nominations.
In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr Zorg at bay.
The Game
(1997)
John Brancato, Michael Ferris
1 nomination.
Nicholas Van Orton is a very wealthy San Francisco banker, but he is an absolute loner, even spending his birthday alone. In the year of his 48th birthday (the age his father committed suicide) his brother Conrad, who has gone long ago and surrendered to addictions of all kinds, suddenly returns and gives Nicholas a card giving him entry to unusual entertainment provided by something called Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). Giving in to curiosity, Nicholas visits CRS and all kinds of weird and bad things start to happen to him.