Happy Birthday (soon) to Kurt Russell, who turns 66 tomorrow.
People probably first think of Russell’s collaborations with John Carpenter when they hear his name. Looking at his filmography, those are indeed his best films (I do have Big Trouble In Little China a bit low but I could do with re-watching it).
You have to admit he did some truly dodgy movies in the 80s & 90s but I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t find him kind of hot as Captain Ron. 😉 I’ve always liked Russell just fine – I won’t go out of my way to watch his movies but I certainly won’t avoid them. I’m happy that Tarantino has managed to sort of revive his career (or, at least, save him from the really dodgy movies). There are quite a few Russell films I have yet to see but I’ve just watched The Hateful Eight as I felt it was one I better see before making this list. I have to say it was a massive disappointment! Not Russell’s worst but certainly Tarantino’s. Damn.
Okay – enough rambling. Here are My Top Ten Kurt Russell Movies, counting down to my favorite (and including all 18 I’ve seen). I gotta say that numbers 1 & 2 are leagues ahead of the rest…
**Updated March 2018 with Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2**
Top 19 (11-19 are fairly interchangeable):
19. Used Cars
18. Executive Decision
17. Unlawful Entry
16. Sky High
15. The Hateful Eight
14. Captain Ron
13. Escape From L.A.
12. Overboard
11. Backdraft
TOP TEN:
10. Breakdown
9. Vanilla Sky
8. Stargate
7. Silkwood
6. Big Trouble In Little China
5. Death Proof
4. The Fox And The Hound
3. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
2. Escape From New York
1. The Thing
Seen But Don’t Remember Well Enough To Add To List:
Tango & Cash
Tequila Sunrise
Not Seen:
Too many to list. I’m happy to take recommendations if you think I’ve missed one of Russell’s best movies.
Cinema Parrot Disco 
I wondered if Overboard would make it in. No idea he was in The Fox and Hound. I liked Breakdown a lot too.
Hehe. I did like Overboard. To be fair, I don’t remember a lot of these that well now & Overboard may be higher if I were to re-watch them all. ; ) I do remember liking Breakdown far more than I expected to! Not normally my sort of movie.
Pretty great in Silkwood. He held his own against Streep and Cher.
Agreed from what I remember. I must admit that my memory is hazy on quite a few of these as they were watched sooo long ago. Silkwood is one I could do with re-watching someday. Good film that seems somewhat forgotten. : )
He sure was hot. He’s been around my whole adult life. Backdraft and Silkwood are my favs. And The Thing.
He was! It’s funny – he’s at that sort of age where both a teenage me and my mom had a crush on him in movies in the late 80s/early 90s (especially Captain Ron. lol!). 😉 I loooove The Thing. Quite a few on this list were watched so long ago that my memory is hazy, though, and I could do with re-watching both Silkwood & Backdraft…
I’m right there with you. A revisit to many are in order. It’s hard to keep up with the current releases and revisiting old favorites, yes?
Definitely! I used to rewatch my favorites over & over as a kid. Now I rarely rewatch a movie. Never enough time… : (
I absolutely love Stargate! Enjoyed his role In Deepwater Horizon. I didnt get Bone Tomahawk, but it is good to see Kurt Russell back.
I loved Stargate at the time! Not watched it since. I should. I’m afraid it’s one that won’t have aged well, though? Bone Tomahawk sounds quite bizarre… I may check it out at some point. : )
Really weird film.
The Thing and Big Trouble In Little China are two of my favourite films. Tombstone and Miracle are worth checking out, as long as you like westerns and ice hockey!
I really could do with re-watching Big Trouble. : ) But I LOVE The Thing! Hmm… Not sure about Westerns (other than spaghetti Westerns) and hockey, though. 😉 I may check out Tombstone someday. Loads of big stars in that! I didn’t realize just how many until looking it up just now. And decent IMDb rating. And that stud Sam Elliott. Okay – you’ve talked me into watching Tombstone! Lol 🙂
Great list! Kurt (or should I say, Captain Ron 😉 ) always gives a fine performance. Never have seen this man mail-in or auto-pilot a performance for movies or TV. Glad to his rare villain role from Death Proof and his excellent support for Vanilla Sky on your tab. So many great stints, and yes, I claim his roles in Tequila Sunrise and Tango & Cash as favorites. I’ll highly recommend his Deepwater Horizon along with the awesome, but kick in the gut, Bone Tomahawk work, as well.
Hehe. Captain Kurt. 😉 I liked Death Proof quite a bit more than most people seemed to & he was great in it. Also thought Vanilla Sky was very strong. Yep – I do need to re-watch Tango & Cash and Tequila Sunrise! May watch Deepwater Horizon at some point and possibly Bone Tomahawk just because it sounds a bit bizarre. : )
Kurt has quite the ‘tash in Bone Tomahawk, worth seeing on that alone 😉
Haha! It does look interesting on the poster. 😉👨🏻
Russell is awesome. I do so love The Thing. Big fan of Bone Tomahawk, too.
He is! He’s a bit of a stud. : ) The Thing RULES. I’ll probably watch Bone Tomahawk at some point – mainly because it sounds a bit bizarre! 🙂
He’s a really cool guy. Like watching him in movies.
Yep! He definitely has that “cool” factor. Especially in his Escape From New York days. : )
He exudes a likeable presence in many ways.
I have a funny story about The Thing. When I was in school I read a story in my text book about people working in Antarctica and releasing some kind of monster. I also saw a movie that was the exact same story. I spent years talking to people and no know knew what I was talking about until I moved to Omaha and I joined a stitching group made up of mostly older ladies who turned out to be big science fiction fans. Someone finally told me that the movie I was looking for was The Thing. One day I saw the Netflix had it so I went to watch it and was VERY shocked. It was and was not the same movie I saw on T.V. In fact, the turns out that the movie was so heavily edited for t.v. that it felt like the full version was a different film. I couldn’t finish watching it.
What about his line of Disney movies he did as a teenager and a child actor?
Lol. That’s American TV for you! 😉 My UK hubby always finds it bizarre that I only saw heavily edited versions of lots of films for years. They don’t do that in the UK – they show the unedited films but late at night. A favorite of mine was Cronenberg’s The Fly. I had it recorded off TV & watched it so many times that that’s the version I still know best despite being a big fan of the unedited film as well. Hubby still mentions scenes from it and I’m like “Whaaaaat? Oh yeah – that wasn’t in the TV version I know best”. 😉 Some American TV versions actually have added scenes not in the theater version. The Breakfast Club is one. And I remember seeing the unedited Fast Times At Ridgemont High after years of the TV version & there were completely different scenes as well as scenes missing entirely as they were only in the TV version. So weird. Anyway…. The Thing is awesome! 😉