Critical Consensus: The Films Of 1997 (Fung)

Critic Top Ten Lists - 1997
From 1995 through 2002, Alex Fung - apparently a student at Carlton University - compiled year-end Top Ten lists from a significant number of film critics. Here are his results for 1996.

#1 L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, directed by Curtis Hanson
#2 THE SWEET HEREAFTER, directed by Atom Egoyan
#3 TITANIC, directed by James Cameron
#4 BOOGIE NIGHTS, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
#5 THE ICE STORM, directed by Ang Lee
#6 THE WINGS OF THE DOVE, directed by Iain Softley
#7 ULEE'S GOLD, directed by Victor Nunez
#8 THE FULL MONTY, directed Peter Cattaneo
#9 IN THE COMPANY OF MEN, directed by Neil LaBute
#10 FACE/OFF, directed by John Woo

#11 CHASING AMY, directed by Kevin Smith
#12 AS GOOD AS IT GETS, directed by James L. Brooks
#13 AMISTAD, directed by Steven Spielberg
#14 DONNIE BRASCO, directed by Mike Newell
#15 THE APOSTLE, directed by Robert Duvall
#16 PONETTE, directed by Jacques Doillon
#17 EVE'S BAYOU, directed by Kasi Lemmons
#18 FAST, CHEAP AND OUT OF CONTROL, directed by Errol Morris
#19 WAG THE DOG, directed by Barry Levinson
#20 SHALL WE DANCE?, directed by Masayuki Suo

#21 LA PROMESSE, directed by Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne
#22 MEN IN BLACK, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
#23 WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, directed by Christopher Guest
#24 GOOD WILL HUNTING, directed by Gus Van Sant
#25 DECONSTRUCTING HARRY, directed by Woody Allen
#26 WHEN WE WERE KINGS, directed by Leon Gast
#27 HAPPY TOGETHER, directed by Wong Kar-wai
#28 JACKIE BROWN, directed by Quentin Tarantino
#29 CONTACT, directed by Robert Zemeckis
#30 MRS BROWN, directed by John Madden

#31 GROSSE POINTE BLANK, directed by George Armitage
#32 IRMA VEP, directed by Olivier Assayas
#33 KUNDUN, directed by Martin Scorsese
#34 CRASH, directed by David Cronenberg
#35 MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING, directed by P.J. Hogan
#36 FAIRYTALE: A TRUE STORY, directed by Charles Sturridge
#37 LOST HIGHWAY, directed by David Lynch
#38 WELCOME TO SARAJEVO, directed by Michael Winterbottom
#39 HARD EIGHT, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
#40 THE DAYTRIPPERS, directed by Greg Mottola

#41 UN HEROS TRES DISCRET (A SELF-MADE HERO), directed by Jacques Audiard
#42 CAREER GIRLS, directed by Mike Leigh
#43 SLING BLADE, directed by Billy Bob Thornton
#44 DRIFTING CLOUDS, directed by Aki Kaurismaki
#45 COP LAND, directed by James Mangold
#46 4 LITTLE GIRLS, directed by Spike Lee
#47 GABBEH, directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf
#48 STARSHIP TROOPERS, directed by Paul Verhoeven
#49 WASHINGTON SQUARE, directed by Agnieszka Holland
#50 AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY, directed by Jay Roach

Fung: "Due to the wonders of platform releases, two films on this year’s list also made last year’s list; When We Were Kings and Crash (well, it was the Turner factor for the latter). Curiously, Sling Blade failed to make the list last year, it’s #43 this year."