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1996 Movies

Take a nostalgic look back at the top movies of 1996, celebrating the films, directors and actors that defined the year and left a lasting legacy in the world of entertainment.

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The Rock
Written by: David Weisberg, Douglas S. Cook, Mark Rosner
Directed by: Michael Bay
Starring: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, John Spencer, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn, David Morse
Country: United States of America
Outline: A group of rogue U.S. Marines seize control of Alcatraz Island, threatening San Francisco with chemical weapons. An FBI chemical weapons specialist and a former British spy are recruited to infiltrate the island and neutralize the threat.
source: imdb.com
Jerry Maguire
Written by: Cameron Crowe
Directed by: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Jonathan Lipnicki, Jay Mohr, Bonnie Hunt
Country: United States of America
Outline: A sports agent experiences a moral crisis and is fired from his firm. He starts his own agency, taking only one client, a football player, and a single mother as his assistant, leading to personal and professional challenges.
source: imdb.com
Mission: Impossible
Written by: David Koepp, Steven Zaillian, Robert Towne
Directed by: Brian De Palma
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Ving Rhames
Country: United States of America
Outline: Ethan Hunt, an IMF agent, is framed for the murder of his team during a mission gone awry. He goes rogue to uncover the real culprit and clear his name.
source: imdb.com
Independence Day
Written by: Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell
Country: United States of America
Outline: Earth faces a global alien invasion, and a group of survivors must unite to launch a counterattack to save humanity.
source: imdb.com
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Written by: Tab Murphy, Irene Mecchi, Bob Tzudiker, Noni White
Directed by: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Starring: Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, Charles Kimbrough
Country: United States of America
Outline: Quasimodo, the bell-ringer of Notre Dame, befriends the gypsy Esmeralda and stands up against the villainous Judge Frollo.
source: imdb.com
Twister
Written by: Michael Crichton, Anne-Marie Martin
Directed by: Jan de Bont
Starring: Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz
Country: United States of America
Outline: Storm chasers pursue the most powerful tornadoes in order to deploy a new research device.
source: imdb.com
Space Jam
Written by: Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, Herschel Weingrod
Directed by: Joe Pytka
Starring: Michael Jordan, Wayne Knight, Theresa Randle, Billy West
Country: United States of America
Outline: Michael Jordan teams up with the Looney Tunes characters to win a basketball game against alien invaders.
source: imdb.com
101 Dalmatians
Written by: Dodie Smith, John Hughes
Directed by: Stephen Herek
Starring: Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson
Country: United States of America
Outline: In this live-action adaptation of the classic Disney animated film, the villainous Cruella de Vil kidnaps a litter of Dalmatian puppies, leading their parents on a daring rescue mission.
source: imdb.com
Trainspotting
Written by: John Hodge
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald, Peter Mullan, Susan Vidler
Country: United States of America
Outline: A group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh struggle with their addiction, relationships, and the consequences of their lifestyle choices, leading to a series of life-changing events.
source: imdb.com
Fargo
Written by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Starring: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, Harve Presnell, Tony Denman, Kristin Rudrüd
Country: United States of America
Outline: A car salesman hires two criminals to kidnap his wife in a scheme to extort ransom from his wealthy father-in-law, leading to a series of unexpected and violent events in the snowy Minnesota landscape.
source: imdb.com
Sling Blade
Written by: Billy Bob Thornton
Directed by: Billy Bob Thornton
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J. T. Walsh, John Ritter, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, Robert Duvall
Country: United States of America
Outline: Karl Childers, a developmentally disabled man, is released from a psychiatric hospital after 25 years for murdering his mother and her lover. He returns to his hometown, where he forms a bond with a young boy and his mother, leading to unforeseen consequences.
source: rottentomatoes.com
Breaking the Waves
Written by: Lars von Trier
Directed by: Lars von Trier
Starring: Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, Katrin Cartlidge, Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier
Country: Denmark
Outline: A deeply religious woman in a small Scottish village sacrifices her own happiness for the man she loves, leading to profound consequences. The film explores themes of faith, love, and personal sacrifice.
source: imdb.com
Maachis
Written by: Gulzar
Directed by: Gulzar
Starring: Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Chandrachur Singh, Raj Zutshi, Javed Khan
Country: India
Outline: Set in the 1980s, the film follows a group of young men from Punjab who are drawn into the insurgency against the Indian government. It delves into themes of patriotism, betrayal, and the human cost of political conflict.
source: imdb.com
A Summer's Tale
Written by: Éric Rohmer
Directed by: Éric Rohmer
Starring: Amanda Langlet, Melvil Poupaud, Aurélia Nolin, Gwenaëlle Simon
Country: France
Outline: Gaspard, a mathematics graduate and musician, spends his summer in Dinard, Brittany, awaiting his girlfriend Léna. During his stay, he becomes entangled in romantic relationships with Margot and Solène, leading to a complex love triangle.
source: imdb.com
Sleepers
Written by: David Mamet
Directed by: Barry Levinson
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman
Country: United States of America
Outline: Four childhood friends from Hell's Kitchen, New York, are reunited after serving time in a juvenile detention center, where they were victims of abuse. They seek justice against those who wronged them.
source: imdb.com
Star Trek: First Contact
Written by: Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore
Directed by: Jonathan Frakes
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton
Country: United States of America
Outline: The crew of the Starship Enterprise travels back in time to 21st-century Earth to prevent the Borg from preventing humanity's first contact with an alien species.
source: imdb.com
Prisoner of the Mountains
Written by: Sergei Bodrov, Yuri Dachevsky
Directed by: Sergei Bodrov
Starring: Akhmed Akhmedov, Sergey Bodrov Jr., Viktor Sukhorukov, Mikhail Porechenkov
Country: Russian Federation
Outline: Two Russian soldiers are captured by Chechen rebels during the First Chechen War and held hostage in a remote mountain village, leading to an unexpected bond between captors and captives.
source: imdb.com
Ridicule
Written by: Yves Lavandier
Directed by: Patrice Leconte
Starring: Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort, Fanny Ardant
Country: France
Outline: In 18th-century France, a young nobleman seeks the king's favor to drain a swamp, but must navigate the perilous court of Versailles, where wit is the ultimate currency.
source: imdb.com