1997

1. A Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami)
2. The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan)
3. Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki)
4. L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)
5. Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino)
6. Lost Highway (David Lynch)
7. Affliction (Paul Schrader)
8. The Apostle (Robert Duvall)
9. Children of Heaven (Majid Majidi)
10. Funny Games (Michael Haneke)

Honorable Mentions:
Deconstructing Harry (Woody Allen), Voyage to the Beginning of the World (Manoel de Oliviera), Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson), Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil (Clint Eastwood), Kundun (Martin Scorsese), Live Flesh (Pedro Almodovar), Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant), The End of Violence (Wim Wenders), Life Is Beautiful (Roberto Benigni), Little Dieter Needs To Fly (Werner Herzog)