Cineliteracy: What You Need to Know about 1997 as Movie Year
My Oscar Book
Top-Grossing Films of 1997
Rank Title Distributor Worldwide gross (USD)
1 Titanic Paramount / 20th Century Fox $1,843,201,268
2 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Universal $618,638,999
3 Men in Black Sony Pictures / Columbia $589,390,539
4 Tomorrow Never Dies MGM / UIP $333,011,068
5 Air Force One Sony Pictures / Columbia / Buena Vista $315,156,409
6 As Good as It Gets Sony Pictures / TriStar $314,178,011
7 Liar Liar Universal $302,710,615
8 My Best Friend’s Wedding Sony Pictures / TriStar $299,288,605
9 The Fifth Element Sony Pictures / Columbia / Gaumont $263,920,180
10 The Full Monty 20th Century Fox $257,938,649
Box office records
Titanic, the first film in history to pass $1 billion at the box office on March 1, 1998. Titanic held record for highest-grossing film for 12 years until it was surpassed by Avatar (also directed by Cameron) on Jan 25, 2010.
The Jurassic Park franchise, the sixth series to gross $1 billion with the release of The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Sony Pictures became the year’s highest-grossing distributor in the US, with $1.3 billion in domestic gross. It was the first time Sony topped domestic box office, after Disney was the top-grossing distributor for previous 3 years.
Events
The Star Wars Special Editions, anniversary edition of the original Star Wars trilogy, celebrating 20th anniversary of release of Star Wars: Episode IV: New Hope, are released.
The Fifth Element became global box office success, the top-grossing French film of all time, a record for 14 years until release of The Intouchables in 2011.
Titanic, the first film to gross US$1 billion at the box office, the highest-grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park grosses record $90,161,880 on Memorial Day Weekend.
Festival Awards:
Palme d’Or (Cannes Film Fest): Tie, Taste of Cherry, Abbas Kiarostami, Iran; The Eel, Shohei Imamura, Japan
Golden Lion (Venice Film Fest): Hana-bi (Fireworks), Takeshi Kitano, Japan
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Fest): The People vs. Larry Flynt, Miloš Forman, Canada / United States
Award ceremonies
January 18, 1998 3rd Critics’ Choice Awards
January 20, 1998 Producers, Directors, Screen Actors, Writers Guild Awards
Oscars: 70th Academy Awards, March 23, 1998
Best Film Titanic
Best Director James Cameron,Titanic
Best Actor: Jack Nicholson. As Good as It Gets
Best Actress: Helen Hunt, As Good as It Gets
Best Supporting Actor: Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting
Best Supporting Actress Kim Basinger, L.A. Confidential
Best Screenplay, Adapted: L.A. Confidential, Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson
Best Screenplay, Original Good Will Hunting,Ben Affleck and Matt Damon
As Good As It Gets Good Will Hunting
Best Original Score Titanic
Best Original Song “My Heart Will Go On”
Best Foreign Language Film: Character (Netherlands)
Deaths
Month Date Name Age Country Profession Notable films
January
Jn 4
Bill Lancaster 49 US Screenwriter, The Thing, The Bad News Bears
5 Burton Lane 84 US Composer, Lyricist
Royal WeddingOn a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Jan 6
Catherine Scorsese 84 US Actress, Goodfellas, The Godfather Part III
9 Jesse White 80 US Actor
HarveyIt’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
10 Sheldon Leonard 89 US Actor, Director, Producer
It’s a Wonderful LifeTo Have and Have Not
18 Diana Lewis 77 US Actress
Go WestIt’s a Gift
19 Adriana Caselotti 80 US Actress, Snow White and the Seven DwarfsThe Wizard of Oz
19 James Dickey 73 US Screenwriter Deliverance
19 Charles Nelson 95 Sweden Film Editor
PicnicThe Big Heat
21 Marcello Danon 76 Bulgaria Producer, Screenwriter
La Cage aux FollesOSS 117 Is Unleashed
21 Polly Ann Young 88 US Actress
The Man from UtahThe Crimson Trail
23 David Waller 76 UK Actor
Lady JaneThe Secret Garden
23 Bill Zuckert 81 US Actor
Ace Ventura: Pet DetectiveHang ‘Em High
27 Bill Kennedy 88 US Actor
Now, VoyagerMr. Skeffington
27 Richard X. Slattery 71 US Actor
The Boston StranglerHerbie Rides Again
31 Eve Lister 83 UK Actress
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetNo Limit
February
Feb 1 Marjorie Reynolds 79 US Actress, Gone with the Wind, Holiday Inn
4 Robert Clouse 68 US Director
Enter the DragonIronheart
5 Harry Essex 86 US Screenwriter, Director
Creature from the Black LagoonThe Sons of Katie Elder
7 Mary Wills 82 US Costume Designer
The Diary of Anne FrankCape Fear
8 Robert Ridgely 65 US Actor
PhiladelphiaBoogie Nights
11 Barry Evans 53 UK Actor
Alfred the GreatHere We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
11 Don Porter 84 US Actor
The CandidateMame
12 James Cossins 63 UK Actor
The Man with the Golden GunGandhi
19 Frank Delfino 86 US Actor
Planet of the ApesWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
23 Frank Launder 91 UK Screenwriter, Director
I See a Dark StrangerNight Train to Munich
23 Oscar Lewenstein 80 UK Producer
Tom JonesThe Bride Wore Black
25 Scott Forbes 76 UK Actor
The Desert Fox: The Story of RommelOperation Pacific
25 Arthur Hewlett 89 UK Actor
Man About the HouseLittle Dorrit
26 David Doyle 67 US Actor
Capricorn OneLoving
26 Wende Wagner 55 US Actress
Rosemary’s BabyGuns of the Magnificent Seven
March
March 4 Carey Loftin 83 US Stuntman, Actor, The Deer Hunter, Patton
5 William Roberts 83 US Screenwriter
The Magnificent SevenThe Last American Hero
8 Alexander Salkind 75 Poland Producer
SupermanThe Three Musketeers
9 Terry Nation 66 UK Screenwriter
And Soon the DarknessDr. Who and the Daleks
13 Ronald Fraser 66 UK Actor
The Flight of the PhoenixThe Wild Geese
March 14
Fred Zinnemann 89 Austria Director, From Here to Eternity,High Noon
15 Gail Davis 71 US Actress
Six Gun MesaThe Far Frontier
16 Leda Gloria 84 Italy Actress
Le Petit Monde de Don CamilloLe Retour de Don Camillo
22 John Hoesli 78 UK Art Director
The African Queen2001: A Space Odyssey
29 Ellen Pollock 94 UK Actress
PiccadillyHorror Hospital
30 Jack Bernhard 82 US Director
Blonde IceDecoy
April
Apr 2 Anthony Bushell 92 UK Actor
A Night to RememberThe Battle of the River Plate
2 Tomoyuki Tanaka 86 Japan Producer
GodzillaKagemusha
4 Mike Raven 72 UK Actor
Lust for a VampireI, Monster
6 Barbara Yu Ling 58 Singapore Actress
The Satanic Rites of DraculaHardware
14 Michael Stroka 58 US Actor
King RatHouse of Dark Shadows
15 David Dockendorf 73 US Sound Engineer
ChinatownPlanet of the Apes
16 Roland Topor 59 France Screenwriter, Actor
The TenantFantastic Planet
20 Jean Louis 89 France Costume Designer
The Caine MutinyA Star Is Born
24 Pat Paulsen 69 Mexico Actor
Night PatrolHarper Valley PTA
25 Brian May 62 Australia Composer
Mad MaxFreddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
26 John Beal 87 US Actor
AlimonyMy Six Convicts
26 Joey Faye 87 US Actor
Top BananaThe Tender Trap
26 Neil Robinson 61 US Actor
8½Samson and Delilah
27 Gabriel Figueroa 90 Mexico Cinematographer
Kelly’s HeroesThe Exterminating Angel
27 Paul Lambert 74 US Actor
Planet of the ApesSpartacus
28 Steve Conte 77 Italy Actor
The Onion FieldThe Wild World of Batwoman
May
May 1 Bo Widerberg 66 Sweden Director, Screenwriter Raven’s End, Elvira Madigan
3 Hughie Green 77 UK Actor, Producer
Hills of HomeTom Brown’s School Days
4 Alvy Moore 75 US Actor, Producer
A Boy and His Dog5 Against the House
5 Walter Gotell 73 UK Actor
From Russia with LoveThe Spy Who Loved Me
6 Jorge Martínez de Hoyos 76 Mexico Actor
The Magnificent SevenCronos
9 Marco Ferreri 68 Italy Director, Screenwriter
Dillinger Is DeadLa Grande Bouffe
9 Paul Zastupnevich 75 US Costume Designer
The Towering InfernoThe Poseidon Adventure
10 John P. Austin 90 US Set Decorator
Touch of EvilDiamonds Are Forever
11 Catherine McLeod 75 US Actress
I’ve Always Loved YouThat’s My Man
11 Howard Morton 71 US Actor
The MechanicThe Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
14 Thelma Carpenter 75 US Singer, Actress
The WizThe Cotton Club
15 Bridgette Andersen 21 US Actress
NightmaresSavannah Smiles
16 Giuseppe De Santis 80 Italy Director, Screenwriter
Bitter RiceAttack and Retreat
20 John Rawlins 94 US Director, Film Editor
Dick Tracy’s DilemmaFort Defiance
22 Renzo Montagnani 66 Italy Actor
The DateThe Trade Unionist
23 Frances E. Nealy 78 US Actress
GhostbustersWarGames
24 Edward Mulhare 74 Ireland Actor
Von Ryan’s ExpressOut to Sea
28 Sydney Guilaroff 89 US Makeup Artist
The Wizard of OzNorth by Northwest
29 George Fenneman 77 US Actor
The Thing from Another WorldOcean’s 11
June
June 14 Marjorie Best 94 US Costume Designer, Rio Bravo, Giant
14 Richard Jaeckel 70 US Actor
The Dirty Dozen, Sometimes a Great Notion
16 Elizabeth McBride 42 US Costume Designer
Driving Miss DaisyThe Shawshank Redemption
17 Maurice Rootes 80 UK Film Editor
Jason and the ArgonautsFirst Men in the Moon
19 Olga Georges-Picot 57 France Actress
The Day of the JackalLove and Death
22 Don Henderson 65 UK Actor
Star WarsBrazil
24 Brian Keith 75 US Actor, The Parent Trap, mNevada Smith
June 25
Jacques Cousteau 87 France Documentarian, Silent World, World Without Sun
June 26
George Bassman 83 US Composer, Orchestrator, Wizard of Oz, GWTW
June 29
William Hickey 69 US Actor, Prizzi’s Honor (Oscar nominee)
July
July 1
Robert Mitchum, 79, US Actor, Cape Fear, Out of the Past
July 2
James Stewart, 89, US Actor, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Philadelphia Story
July 16
William Reynolds 87 US Film Editor, The Godfather, The Sound of Music
August
Aug 27
Sally Blane 87 US Actress, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, The Sheik
Aug 27
Brandon Tartikoff 48, US Studio Executive
September
Sep 9
Burgess Meredith 89 US Actor, Rocky, Batman
Sep 13
Georges Guétary 82 France Actor, American in Paris, Road to Paradise
17 Red Skelton 84 US Actor, Comedian, DuBarry Was Lady, The Fuller Brush Man
19 Jack May 75 UK Actor
The Man Who Would Be King, The Bounty
Sep 26
Dorothy Kingsley 87 US Screenwriter, Angels in the Outfield, Valley of the Dolls
October
Oct 3 John Ashley 62 US Actor, Producer
Muscle Beach Party, Young Dillinger
3 Verna Hillie 83 US Actress
The Star Packer, The Trail Beyond
3 Jarl Kulle 70 Sweden Actor, Director, Screenwriter
Fanny and AlexanderBabette’s Feast
5 Andrew Keir 71 UK Actor
CleopatraRob Roy
5 Debbie Linden 36 UK Actress
Eat the RichBloodbath at the House of Death
9 Arch Johnson 75 US Actor
The StingNiagara
10 Stella Bonheur 92 UK Actress
The Roman Spring of Mrs. StoneIntent to Kill
12 John Denver 53 US Singer, Actor
Oh, God!Fire and Ice
13 Joyce Compton 90 US Actress
The Best Years of Our LivesMildred Pierce
14 Hy Averback 76 US Director, Producer, Actor
I Love You, Alice B. ToklasWhere Were You When the Lights Went Out?
16 Audra Lindley 79 US Actress
The Heartbreak KidBest Friends
17 Ben Welden 96 US Actor
The Big SleepThe Roaring Twenties
18 Milt Neil 83 US Animator
FantasiaDumbo
19 Arthur Ibbetson 75 UK Cinematographer
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryWhere Eagles Dare
20 Ron Tarr 60 UK Actor
WillowA View to a Kill
24 Michael Balfour 79 UK Actor
BatmanFahrenheit 451
24 Don Messick 71 US Voice Actor
Jetsons: The MovieThe Transformers: The Movie
28 Paul Jarrico 82 US Screenwriter
Tom, Dick and HarryThe Girl Most Likely
30 Samuel Fuller 85 US Director, Screenwriter
The Big Red OneShock Corridor
November
Nov 5 Louise Campbell 86 US Actress
Emergency SquadNight Club Scandal
6 William Watson 59 US Actor
In the Heat of the NightChato’s Land
8 Michael Ward 88 UK Actor
Frankenstein and the Monster from HellRevenge of the Pink Panther
10 Ave Ninchi 82 Italy Actress
Lacombe LucienMurmur of the Heart
11 William Alland 81 US Producer, Actor
Citizen KaneCreature from the Black Lagoon
12 Sándor Szabó 82 Hungary Actor
TopazBluebeard
13 Dietrich Lohmann 54 Germany Cinematographer
Deep ImpactThe Peacemaker
15 Saul Chaplin 85 US Musical Director, Producer
West Side StorySeven Brides for Seven Brothers
15 Warren Douglas 86 US Actor, Screenwriter
HomicideIncident
15 David Toguri 64 Canada Choreographer, Actor
Who Framed Roger RabbitThe Rocky Horror Picture Show
16 David K. Stewart 60 ?? Visual Effects Artist
Blade RunnerAlien 3
17 Peter James 73 UK Set Decorator, Art Director
LolitaThe Parent Trap
17 Wilfred Josephs 70 UK Composer, Orchestrator
The Deadly BeesFrantic
19 Alfred Roome 88 UK Film Editor, Director
Carry OnThe Lady Vanishes
21 Jack Purvis 60 UK Actor
Star WarsTime Bandits
22 Joanna Moore 63 US Actress
Follow That DreamWalk on the Wild Side
23 Robert Lewis 88 US Director, Actor
Anything GoesZiegfeld Follies
25 Charles Hallahan 54 US Actor
The ThingDante’s Peak
30 Glyn Dearman 57 UK Actor
ScroogeThe Flesh and the Fiends
December
Dec 20
Dawn Steel 51 US Producer, Executive, City of Angels, Cool Runnings
Dec 23
Stanley Cortez 89 US Cinematographer, Chinatown, The Night of the Hunter
Dec 24 Toshiro Mifune 77 Japan Acto, Seven Samurai, Rashomon
Film Debuts
Simon Baker – L.A. Confidential
Eric Bana – The Castle
Paul Bettany – Bent
Leslie Bibb – Private Parts
Jessica Biel – Ulee’s Gold
Cate Blanchett – Paradise Road
Orlando Bloom – Wilde
Gerard Butler – Mrs. Brown
John Cho – Shopping for Fangs
Jason Clarke – Dilemma
James D’Arcy – Wilde
Jack Davenport – Fierce Creatures
Chiwetel Ejiofor – Amistad
Shannon Elizabeth – Jack Frost
Mike Epps – Strays
Jennifer Garner – Deconstructing Harry
Judy Greer – Stricken
Ioan Gruffudd – Wilde
Katie Holmes – The Ice Storm
Sanaa Lathan – Drive
Method Man – One Eight Seven
Ken Marino – Gattaca
Samantha Morton – This Is the Sea
Alessandro Nivola – Inventing the Abbotts
Nick Offerman – Going All the Way
Cheri Oteri – Liar Liar
Sarah Paulson – Levitation
Sara Paxton – Liar Liar
Norman Reedus – Floating
Matthew Rhys – House of America
Maya Rudolph – Gattaca
Amy Sedaris – Commandments
Amy Smart – Campfire Tales
Scott Speedman – Kitchen Party
Mena Suvari – Nowhere
Dominique Swain – Lolita
Milo Ventimiglia – Boys Life 2
Olivia Williams – Gaston’s War
Dean Winters – Conspiracy Theory
Evan Rachel Wood – Digging to China
