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Jack Nicholson Movies Ranked
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We’re ranking the movies of legendary actor Jack Nicholson! We start with the list with his Certified Fresh films, which are some of the “best” movies out there, like Best Picture winners (The Departed, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), arguably the best horror movie ever (The Shining), best counterculture movie (Easy Rider), and, of course, some best acting Oscar winners, like As Good As It Gets and Terms on Endearment. Then move on to his Fresh movies, like Hal Ashby’s raucous The Last Detail, later period rom-com Something’s Gotta Give, and the superhero landmark Batman. Some of his Rotten films with high audience marks include Anger Management, The Bucket List, and The Evening Star.
#1
Adjusted Score: 115253%
Critics Consensus: As bruised and cynical as the decade that produced it, this noir classic benefits from Robert Towne’s brilliant screenplay, director Roman Polanski’s steady hand, and wonderful performances from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.
Synopsis: When Los Angeles private eye J.J. “Jake” Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is hired by Evelyn Mulwray to investigate her husband’s activities,… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez
Directed By: Roman Polanski
#2
Adjusted Score: 102946%
Critics Consensus: Blockbuster dramatist James L. Brooks delivers with Broadcast News, fully entertaining with deft, deep characterization.
Synopsis: Intelligent satire of American television news. A highly strung news producer finds herself strangely attracted to a vapid anchorman even… [More]
Starring: William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter, Robert Prosky
Directed By: James L. Brooks
#3
Adjusted Score: 107411%
Critics Consensus: Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher are worthy adversaries in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, with Miloš Forman’s more grounded and morally ambiguous approach to Ken Kesey’s surrealistic novel yielding a film of outsized power.
Synopsis: When Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) gets transferred for evaluation from a prison farm to a mental institution, he assumes… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif, William Redfield
Directed By: Milos Forman
#4
Adjusted Score: 103188%
Critics Consensus: Featuring outstanding work from an excellent cast, The Departed is a thoroughly engrossing gangster drama with the gritty authenticity and soupy morality we come to expect from Martin Scorsese.
Synopsis: South Boston cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes under cover to infiltrate the organization of gangland chief Frank Costello (Jack… [More]
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
#5
Adjusted Score: 94363%
Critics Consensus: Brawny in both intellect and scope, Reds is an intimate epic that captures the tumult of revolutionary change and the passion of those navigating through it.
Synopsis: American journalist John Reed (Warren Beatty) journeys to Russia to document the Boleshevik Revolution and returns a revolutionary. His fervor… [More]
Starring: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Maureen Stapleton
Directed By: Warren Beatty
#6
Adjusted Score: 96311%
Critics Consensus: An important touchstone of the New Hollywood era, Five Easy Pieces is a haunting portrait of alienation that features one of Jack Nicholson’s greatest performances.
Synopsis: Rejecting his cultured upper-class background as a classical pianist, Robert Dupea (Jack Nicholson) opts for a blue-collar existence, working in… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach, Billy Green Bush
Directed By: Bob Rafelson
#7
Adjusted Score: 97017%
Critics Consensus: Antonioni’s classic, a tale of lonely, estranged characters on a journey though the mysterious landscapes of identity, shimmers with beauty and uncertainty.
Synopsis: David Locke (Jack Nicholson) is a world-weary American journalist who has been sent to cover a conflict in northern Africa,… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre, Ian Hendry
Directed By: Michelangelo Antonioni
#8
Adjusted Score: 91621%
Critics Consensus: James L. Brooks and Jack Nicholson, doing what they do best, combine smart dialogue and flawless acting to squeeze fresh entertainment value out of the romantic-comedy genre.
Synopsis: Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) is an obsessive-compulsive writer of romantic fiction who’s rude to everyone he meets, including his gay… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Directed By: James L. Brooks
#9
Adjusted Score: 91982%
Critics Consensus: In this funny, touching character study, Nicholson gives one of the best performances of his career.
Synopsis: Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) has arrived at several of life’s crossroads all at the same time. To begin with, he… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates
Directed By: Alexander Payne
#10
Adjusted Score: 88350%
Critics Consensus: Disturbing and sardonic, Prizzi’s Honor excels at black comedy because director John Huston and his game ensemble take the farce deadly seriously.
Synopsis: For Charley Partanna (Jack Nicholson), life in the Prizzi family is good as long as he honors the wishes of… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Anjelica Huston, Robert Loggia
Directed By: John Huston
#11
Adjusted Score: 89875%
Critics Consensus: An old-fashioned courtroom drama with a contemporary edge, A Few Good Men succeeds on the strength of its stars, with Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, and especially Jack Nicholson delivering powerful performances that more than compensate for the predictable plot.
Synopsis: Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is a military lawyer defending two U.S. Marines charged with killing a fellow Marine at… [More]
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon
Directed By: Rob Reiner
#12
Adjusted Score: 91780%
Critics Consensus: Edgy and seminal, Easy Rider encapsulates the dreams, hopes, and hopelessness of 1960s counterculture.
Synopsis: Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper), two Harley-riding hippies, complete a drug deal in Southern California and decide to… [More]
Starring: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Antonio Mendoza
Directed By: Dennis Hopper
#13
Adjusted Score: 94549%
Critics Consensus: Though it deviates from Stephen King’s novel, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a chilling, often baroque journey into madness — exemplified by an unforgettable turn from Jack Nicholson.
Synopsis: Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer’s block…. [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Directed By: Stanley Kubrick
#14
Adjusted Score: 93763%
Critics Consensus: A classic tearjerker, Terms of Endearment isn’t shy about reaching for the heartstrings — but is so well-acted and smartly scripted that it’s almost impossible to resist.
Synopsis: Widow Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter, Emma (Debra Winger), have a strong bond, but Emma marries teacher Flap… [More]
Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels
Directed By: James L. Brooks
#15
Adjusted Score: 82192%
Critics Consensus: Though its subject matter is grim and may make viewers queasy, The Pledge features an excellent, subtle performance by Jack Nicholson.
Synopsis: On the day of his retirement, detective Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) accepts a gift — an airline ticket to Mexico…. [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright, Aaron Eckhart, Patricia Clarkson
Directed By: Sean Penn
#16
Adjusted Score: 90441%
Critics Consensus: An eerie, haunting spectacle, Batman succeeds as dark entertainment, even if Jack Nicholson’s Joker too often overshadows the title character.
Synopsis: Having witnessed his parents’ brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) fights crime in Gotham City… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl
Directed By: Tim Burton
#17
Adjusted Score: 101630%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In the American West, Willet Gashade (Warren Oates), a former bounty hunter, and Coley Boyard (Will Hutchins), his dimwitted partner,… [More]
Starring: Millie Perkins, Jack Nicholson, Will Hutchins, Warren Oates
Directed By: Monte Hellman
#18
Adjusted Score: 100511%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In this musical, Daisy Gamble (Barbra Streisand) decides she’ll give hypnosis a try to help her stop smoking, at the… [More]
Starring: Barbra Streisand, Yves Montand, Bob Newhart, Larry Blyden
Directed By: Vincente Minnelli
#19
Adjusted Score: 95267%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Seymour Krelboin (Jonathan Haze) works in the Skid Row flower shop owned by Mr. Mushnik (Mel Welles). In his spare… [More]
Starring: Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Jack Nicholson
Directed By: Roger Corman
#20
Adjusted Score: 91460%
Critics Consensus: Although it comes lopsidedly from the male gaze, Carnal Knowledge is a sexually frank and ferociously well-acted battle between the sexes.
Synopsis: Nice guy Sandy (Art Garfunkel) and charming schemer Jonathan (Jack Nicholson) meet as college roommates in the late 1940s. Sandy… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Ann-Margret, Candice Bergen
Directed By: Mike Nichols
#21
Adjusted Score: 90458%
Critics Consensus: Very profane, very funny, very ’70s: Director Hal Ashby lets Jack Nicholson and the cast run loose, creating a unique dramedy that’s far out to sea.
Synopsis: When sailor Larry Meadows (Randy Quaid) is sentenced to eight years in a New Hampshire prison, Navy lifers Billy Buddusky… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James
Directed By: Hal Ashby
#22
Adjusted Score: 87074%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Cowboys Wes (Jack Nicholson), Vern (Cameron Mitchell) and Otis (Tom Filer) are journeying through Texas when they have the unfortunate… [More]
Starring: Cameron Mitchell, Jack Nicholson, Millie Perkins, Katherine Squire
Directed By: Monte Hellman
#23
Adjusted Score: 81916%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When vigilante land baron David Braxton (John McLiam) hangs one of the best friends of cattle rustler Tom Logan (Jack… [More]
Starring: Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, Kathleen Lloyd
Directed By: Arthur Penn
#24
Adjusted Score: 79532%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Itinerant troublemaker Frank Chambers (Jack Nicholson) has a meal at a roadside restaurant and meets devastating femme fatale Cora Papadakis… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, John Colicos, Michael Lerner
Directed By: Bob Rafelson
#25
Adjusted Score: 76377%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: For six excruciating years, Freddy Gale (Jack Nicholson) has fantasized about taking bloody revenge on John Booth (David Morse), the… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, David Morse, Anjelica Huston, Robin Wright
Directed By: Sean Penn
#26
Adjusted Score: 69920%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: According to the laws of the Old West town where criminal Henry Lloyd Moon (Jack Nicholson) is about to be… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Mary Steenburgen, Christopher Lloyd, John Belushi
Directed By: Jack Nicholson
#27
Adjusted Score: 77858%
Critics Consensus: Though it occasionally stumbles into sitcom territory, Something’s Gotta Give is mostly a smart, funny romantic comedy, with sharp performances from Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, and Keanu Reeves.
Synopsis: When aging womanizer Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) and his young girlfriend, Marin (Amanda Peet), arrive at her family’s beach house… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand
Directed By: Nancy Meyers
#28
Adjusted Score: 72961%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Shortly after their TV show closed its final curtain, the Monkees took to the big screen in this mind-bending experiment… [More]
Starring: The Monkees, Annette Funicello, Timothy Carey, Victor Mature
Directed By: Bob Rafelson
#29
Adjusted Score: 74495%
Critics Consensus:Tommy is as erratic and propulsive as a game of pinball, incorporating The Who’s songs into an irreverent odyssey with the visual imagination that only director Ken Russell can conjure.
Synopsis: After seeing his stepfather murder his father during an argument over his mother, young Tommy goes into shock, suddenly becoming… [More]
Starring: Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Elton John
Directed By: Ken Russell
#30
Adjusted Score: 74118%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: David Staebler (Jack Nicholson) is a sullen radio personality who reconnects with his scheming brother, Jason (Bruce Dern), in Atlantic… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Ellen Burstyn, Julia Anne Robinson
Directed By: Bob Rafelson
#31
Adjusted Score: 75701%
Critics Consensus: While devotees of John Updike’s novel may want to put a hex on George Miller’s cartoonish and effects-laden adaptation, Jack Nicholson lends enough decadent devilry to make this high-concept comedy sizzle.
Synopsis: Three small-town friends, Alexandra (Cher), Jane (Susan Sarandon) and Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer), each having lost the man in their lives,… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer
Directed By: George Miller
#32
Adjusted Score: 66947%
Critics Consensus: It makes frustratingly facile work of its thorny premise, but Jack Nicholson’s gritty lead performance keeps The Border worth watching.
Synopsis: Charlie Smith (Jack Nicholson) barely scrapes by on his low salary, but his hectoring wife, Marcy (Valerie Perrine), is anxious… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Valerie Perrine, Warren Oates
Directed By: Tony Richardson
#33
Adjusted Score: 64813%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Private investigator and war veteran Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is hired by real estate developer Jake Berman (Harvey Keitel) for… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe
Directed By: Jack Nicholson
#34
Adjusted Score: 64573%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A safecracker, Victor Spanksy (Michael Caine), a philandering husband, Alex Gates (Jack Nicholson), an angry stepson and an illegal immigrant… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Stephen Dorff, Jennifer Lopez, Judy Davis
Directed By: Bob Rafelson
#35
Adjusted Score: 66002%
Critics Consensus:Wolf misses the jugular after showing flashes of killer instinct early on, but engaging stars and deft direction make this a unique horror-romance worth watching.
Synopsis: After being bitten by a wolf in rural Vermont, aging book editor Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) finds himself full of… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader, Kate Nelligan
Directed By: Mike Nichols
#36
Adjusted Score: 42724%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An Irish Roman Catholic youth (Christopher Knight) grows up poor and tough in 1920s Chicago…. [More]
Starring: Christopher Knight, Jack Nicholson, Jay C. Flippen, Frank Gorshin
Directed By: Irving Lerner
#37
Adjusted Score: 59503%
Critics Consensus: Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep play masterfully off each, but Ironweed‘s unrelenting bleakness proves to be more monotonous than compelling.
Synopsis: In Depression-era Albany, N.Y., erstwhile baseball star Francis Phelan (Jack Nicholson) has become an alcoholic vagabond after guilt over accidentally… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Tom Waits, Carroll Baker
Directed By: Hector Babenco
#38
Adjusted Score: 57838%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A basketball star (William Tepper) beds a professor’s wife (Karen Black), while his anti-war roommate (Michael Margotta) goes mad…. [More]
Starring: William Tepper, Karen Black, Michael Margotta, Bruce Dern
Directed By: Jack Nicholson
#39
Adjusted Score: 61914%
Critics Consensus: Tim Burton’s alien invasion spoof faithfully recreates the wooden characters and schlocky story of cheesy ’50s sci-fi and Ed Wood movies — perhaps a little too faithfully for audiences.
Synopsis: A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world’s major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan
Directed By: Tim Burton
#40
Adjusted Score: 53528%
Critics Consensus: Jack Nicholson embodies Hoffa with malevolent relish, but a dearth of meaningful insight knocks this crime epic off the mark by a nose.
Synopsis: Dramatized biography of the infamous American union boss Jimmy Hoffa, following four decades of his life, from his rise as… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Armand Assante, J.T. Walsh
Directed By: Danny DeVito
#41
Adjusted Score: 46540%
Critics Consensus: Despite an astonishing collection of talent across the board, Heartburn‘s aimless plot inspires mild indigestion instead of romantic ardor.
Synopsis: Rachel Samstat (Meryl Streep), a New York food critic, beds Mark Forman (Jack Nicholson), a Washington, D.C., newspaper columnist. The… [More]
Starring: Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Maureen Stapleton, Jeff Daniels
Directed By: Mike Nichols
#42
Adjusted Score: 48612%
Critics Consensus: Thought not without its funny moments, Anger Management is ultimately stale and disappointingly one-note, especially considering its capable cast.
Synopsis: Dave Buznik (Adam Sandler) is usually a mild-mannered nonconfrontational guy. But after an altercation aboard an airplane, he is remanded… [More]
Starring: Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei, Luis Guzmán
Directed By: Peter Segal
#43
Adjusted Score: 42663%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Lt. Duvalier (Jack Nicholson), a French soldier, loses contact with his unit and is forced to wander alone near the… [More]
Starring: Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson, Sandra Knight, Dick Miller
Directed By: Roger Corman
#44
Adjusted Score: 47871%
Critics Consensus: Not even the earnest performances of the two leads can rescue The Bucket List from its schmaltzy script.
Synopsis: Billionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and car mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) are complete strangers, until fate lands them in… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow
Directed By: Rob Reiner
#45
Adjusted Score: 41024%
Critics Consensus:The Trip‘s groovy effects and compelling message can’t overcome the rough acting, long meandering stretches, and pedestrian plot.
Synopsis: Paul (Peter Fonda), a director saddened by his failed marriage and unsatisfied with his work, is looking to start over…. [More]
Starring: Peter Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper
Directed By: Roger Corman
#46
Adjusted Score: 36413%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In the 1920s, it is against the law to transport a woman across state lines for “immoral purposes.” But Nicky… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Stockard Channing, Florence Stanley
Directed By: Mike Nichols
#47
Adjusted Score: 35776%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s final, unfinished novel, Monroe Stahr (Robert De Niro) is a legendary hollywood producer… [More]
Starring: Robert De Niro, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jeanne Moreau
Directed By: Elia Kazan
#48
Adjusted Score: 36727%
Critics Consensus:How Do You Know boasts a quartet of likeable leads — and they deserve better than this glib, overlong misfire from writer/director James L. Brooks.
Synopsis: Lisa Jorgenson’s (Reese Witherspoon) entire life has been defined by softball, but at 31, she is deemed too old to… [More]
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, Jack Nicholson
Directed By: James L. Brooks
#49
Adjusted Score: 26691%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A gas-station attendant (Jack Nicholson) joins a motorcycle gang and moves in on the leader’s (Adam Roarke) girlfriend (Sabrina Scharf)…. [More]
Starring: Adam Roarke, Jack Nicholson, Sabrina Scharf, Jana Taylor
Directed By: Richard Rush
#50
Adjusted Score: 21814%
Critics Consensus: Even taken on its own terms, there’s nothing terribly endearing about this belated sequel.
Synopsis: A spunky woman (Shirley MacLaine) copes with her troubled adult grandchildren, feuds with an enemy and has a fling with… [More]
Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Bill Paxton, Juliette Lewis, Miranda Richardson
Directed By: Robert Harling
#51
Adjusted Score: 9033%
Critics Consensus:Man Trouble has brilliant stars and the germ of an interesting idea in its favor, which makes the scattered, unfunny results even more of a disappointment.
Synopsis: Harry Bliss (Jack Nicholson) operates a struggling security service and contends with numerous personal problems, including a faltering marriage. When… [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Ellen Barkin, Harry Dean Stanton, Beverly D’Angelo
Directed By: Bob Rafelson
