My top 10 Jack Nicholson movies span almost 40 years. The top 10 Jack Nicholson movies I’ve chosen show this actor in some really memorable performances. These top 10 Jack Nicholson movies are in no particular order. Like Clint Eastwood, this man is one of my favorite actors of all time!
Top 10 Jack Nicholson Movies Selection Number 1: The Shining (1980)
I remember watching this movie for the first time on network television as a teenager, and it scared me so badly, that I had to keep turning the channel. Even though I’ve watched this movie a zillion times since, it is still something that I don’t take lightly. Stanley Kubrick didn’t have to use a lot of blood and gore to make a horror classic like so many of today’s inferior horror movies employ. No, he just let Jack Nicholson be “Jack”, so to speak, with all his humor, smart-alecness, and insanity to drive this film, along with that creepy hotel, The Overlook, easily making The Shining one of my top 10 Jack Nicholson movies.
Top 10 Jack Nicholson Movies Selection Number 2: Terms of Endearment (1983)
What I think I really like about this movie is that it shows that you can be aware of a person for a long, long time before they actually have any impact on you. Nicholson plays Shirley MacLaine’s (Aurora) next door neighbor Garrett Breedlove. He’s a womanizing drunk that doesn’t mean anything to Aurora for years on end, but eventually Jack’s charms and wittiness win her over, though with “Jack”, it’s never smoothly done, but it’s neat to witness!
Top 10 Jack Nicholson Movies Selection Number 3: A Few Good Men (1992)
Col. Nathan R. Jessep believes he can do whatever he wants to, that the end justifies the means for national security. One of the most famous movie lines in history is uttered by Jack Nicholson as he’s being questioned by Tom Cruise for his role in the death of a soldier: “You can’t handle the truth!” That part was made for this great actor and this film is easily one of my top 10 Jack Nicholson movies, as he performs this role with utter conviction via the arrogance the part demands.
Top 10 Jack Nicholson Movies Selection Number 4: Ironweed (1987)
This is as memorable of a top 10 Jack Nicholson movies choice for me as I’ve ever seen, even though his role as a down and out Great Depression Era drunk Francis Phelan doesn’t get the accolades so many of his other roles have gotten. Despite the wretchedness of his character, his soulfulness of humanity really shows via this part in one of my top 10 Jack Nicholson movies. If you are a Jack Nicholson fan and haven’t seen this movie, well…see it…now! Did I tell you that Meryl Streep has a prime role in this movie, too, as his girlfriend?
Top 10 Jack Nicholson Movies Selection Number 5: The Bucket List (2007)
In my opinion, I feel that Jack Nicholson has lost much of his edge over the years via the roles he’s chosen. His best work on a consistent level was some 20-30 years ago. Yet he does make an impact on me via this movie about making things right and following your heart, especially when it appears that you won’t be around much longer. He’s got that smart alec and loner streak in him as the terminally ill rich man Edward Cole, but ultimately, the goodness of his heart shows, like so many of his great roles have done, and so this recent performance by him makes it into my top 10 Jack Nicholson movies list!
Top 10 Jack Nicholson Movies Selection Number 6: One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Have you ever seen the movie trailer to this movie? Well, you can here at YouTube. It was one of the first previews that I ever remember being affected by as a little boy because of its creepy music. It weirded me out, and finally, when I was in high school, I got to see this movie in my Psychology class, and I loved it; and thus, it’s one of my favorite top 10 Jack Nicholson movies. I love the way he comes across as such a free spirit who sheds light on who’s really the “mentally ill” in our society – that is, it’s often those in the establishment who are in power.
Top 10 Jack Nicholson Movies Selection Number 7: Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Five Easy Pieces instantly reminds me of my childhood because of the settings and the Tammy Wynette music throughout. It’s such a blue collar time piece of the early 1970’s, where most of my first memories come from. As Robert Dupea, Nicholson really comes across as someone who’s got issues around commitment, which is why his life is such a litany of dead end jobs and relationships. Yet even with that, Dupea’s sense of humor rings out, especially when he’s in a diner trying to order something off the menu. It’s not a temper tantrum as much as it is a protest against the lack of common sense by so much of society. It’s one of the greatest movie scenes of all time, making it that much more one of my top 10 Jack Nicholson movies, and you can watch the scene here at YouTube.
After seeing that scene, those of you who remember the 1970’s can maybe see why we were able to at least get it our way at Burger King, for we could ask them to hold the pickles and the lettuce, since special orders didn’t upset them!
Top 10 Jack Nicholson Movies Selection Number 8: Batman (1989)
Whenever I think of Batman’s nemesis, The Joker, who else could I think of, but “Jack”? He’s so grandiose in his performance as the villain in this movie, and he also made a ton of money (around 60 million dollars) according to his bio at Wikipedia here.
Top 10 Jack Nicholson Movies Selection Number 9: Reds (1981)
Reds is an epic movie about writers during the Russian Revolution, and Jack Nicholson gives a memorable performance as the playwright Eugene O’Neill, who’s really hard up for the fickle Diane Keaton in this film. Those two really trade some verbal jabs at each other that I think about often. This movie is also something I recommend to writers who are experiencing writer’s block because it’s such a writing-themed movie. You can read my Associated Content article about writer’s block here.
Top 10 Jack Nicholson Movies Selection Number 10: Easy Rider (1969)
Thanks partly to Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, this is one of the greatest movies ever made. And of course, Jack Nicholson’s performance as a drunken lawyer who tags along with Fonda and Hopper on their motorcycle trip to New Orleans only makes this movie even greater! Nicholson knows how to make even the most undesirable characters irresistible, as he does in this film with his philosophy of life and sense of humor. Easy Rider is also one of my top 10 movies about travel, of which you can read the article here.
The filmography I used for reference for my top 10 movies by Jack Nicholson can be found at Wikipedia.
