Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked
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1. 'Malcolm X' (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx4sEvhYeVE
This monumental performance as the slain civil rights leader in Spike Lee's masterful biopic remains the greatest thing he's done to date – a journey that takes in the man from small-time hustler to prisoner, preacher, leader and finally, martyr. But this Malcolm is a cumulative effort: At every stage, you see glimmers of the man he once was, so that he's always in a dialogue with his past selves. (This isn't just solid character work, but an actual theme in the film.) Lee and Washington are arguing that what made Malcolm so magnetic and powerful was his distillation of these many experiences – that he truly understood what it meant to be poor, dispossessed, and angry in the first half of the 20th century. The actor so thoroughly inhabits the part at every stage of these changes that, at the time, it was hard to think of him ever doing another movie after this. Amazingly, he was just getting started.
2. 'Training Day' (2001)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj4adAAHa68
The film that won Washington his second Oscar is still perhaps his best-known part. As the remorselessly corrupt LAPD detective Alonzo Harris, putting rookie Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) through what at first seems like the world's worst hazing ritual, Washington keeps us constantly uncertain as to his true intentions: Is he simply teaching Jake how to survive on the streets? Does he have something more nefarious in mind? That sense of never knowing where we stand with this character makes this a riveting, high-wire act of a performance. And when Harris finally does go totally over-the-top, it's a turn worthy of Jimmy Cagney. In the modern era, one can't imagine anybody but Denzel pulling it off. "King Kong ain't got sh*t on me!"
3. 'Mo' Better Blues' (1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mshs3b4-3MQ
Not everybody knew what to make of Spike Lee's jazz drama, about a talented but self-absorbed trumpeter split between two women and unwilling to compromise. (It was the director's follow-up to Do the Right Thing, and a lot of people were still expecting Angry Spike.) Today, however, the film looks like a near-masterpiece: an epic meditation on love, ? , art, and friendship, all anchored by Washington's marvelously sensual performance. The musician is a great talent, but he's also a dog – and the actor lets us see and feel the charisma as well as the hypocrisy. Plus he also absolutely commands the stage during those rambling, improvisatory jazz numbers, in which he assumes different postures, voices, and rhythms with almost shamanic grace. This is the loosest Washington has ever been: It's a startlingly alive and in-the-moment performance, a perfect match for a man living (and losing himself) in the now.
4. 'Flight' (2012)
The actor gives one of his greatest performances as Whip Whitaker, a pilot whose heroic exploits during a plane crash wind up inadvertently revealing the extent of his drug and alcohol addiction. Outraged that anyone would dare question his actions after he's saved hundreds of people, Whip slips further and further into anger and resentment. It's a role that requires an impressive range, as our hero goes from confidence to denial to fear to devastation. For all the film's amazing effects and tension – director Robert Zemeckis stages the plane crash with heart attack-inducing suspense – the real drama of this story plays out on Denzel's face. He is simply amazing.
5. 'Mississippi Masala' (1992)
In one of his sexiest performances, Washington is an enterprising Mississippi carpet cleaner who falls for Sarita Choudhury's independent-minded Indian immigrant. Mira Nair's lush, heartfelt romance glows with humanity and desire; it puts the "passion" back in "compassion." Denzel navigates his character's journey – from a handsome, cool, and even slightly smug business owner to hopeless romantic – with loads of magnetism, and he and Choudhury have incredible chemistry together. Even their phone conversations smolder.
6. 'Inside Man' (2006)
7. 'Crimson Tide' (1995)
8. 'The Mighty Quinn' (1989)
9. 'Cry Freedom' (1987)
10. 'Glory' (1989)
11. 'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' (2009)
12. 'Unstoppable' (2010)
13. 'Out of Time' (2003)
14. 'He Got Game' (1998)
15. 'Devil in a Blue Dress' (1995)
16. 'Courage Under Fire' (1996)
17. 'Philadelphia' (1993)
18. 'American Gangster' (2007)
19. 'The Hurricane' (1999)
20. 'Remember the Titans' (2000)
21. 'Man on Fire' (2004)
22. 'Deja Vu' (2006)
23. '2 Guns' (2013)
24. 'Antwone Fisher' (2002)
25. 'Ricochet' (1991)
26. 'Much Ado About Nothing' (1993)
27. 'A Soldier's Story' (1984)
28. 'The Bone Collector' (1999)
29. 'The Equalizer' (2014)
30. 'John Q' (2002)-They fu*ked this up. John Q is top ten
31. 'For Queen & Country' (1988)
32. 'The Preacher's Wife' (1996)
33. 'The Pelican Brief' (1993)
34. 'The Manchurian Candidate' (2004)
35. 'Power' (1986)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx4sEvhYeVEThis monumental performance as the slain civil rights leader in Spike Lee's masterful biopic remains the greatest thing he's done to date – a journey that takes in the man from small-time hustler to prisoner, preacher, leader and finally, martyr. But this Malcolm is a cumulative effort: At every stage, you see glimmers of the man he once was, so that he's always in a dialogue with his past selves. (This isn't just solid character work, but an actual theme in the film.) Lee and Washington are arguing that what made Malcolm so magnetic and powerful was his distillation of these many experiences – that he truly understood what it meant to be poor, dispossessed, and angry in the first half of the 20th century. The actor so thoroughly inhabits the part at every stage of these changes that, at the time, it was hard to think of him ever doing another movie after this. Amazingly, he was just getting started.
2. 'Training Day' (2001)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj4adAAHa68The film that won Washington his second Oscar is still perhaps his best-known part. As the remorselessly corrupt LAPD detective Alonzo Harris, putting rookie Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) through what at first seems like the world's worst hazing ritual, Washington keeps us constantly uncertain as to his true intentions: Is he simply teaching Jake how to survive on the streets? Does he have something more nefarious in mind? That sense of never knowing where we stand with this character makes this a riveting, high-wire act of a performance. And when Harris finally does go totally over-the-top, it's a turn worthy of Jimmy Cagney. In the modern era, one can't imagine anybody but Denzel pulling it off. "King Kong ain't got sh*t on me!"
3. 'Mo' Better Blues' (1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mshs3b4-3MQNot everybody knew what to make of Spike Lee's jazz drama, about a talented but self-absorbed trumpeter split between two women and unwilling to compromise. (It was the director's follow-up to Do the Right Thing, and a lot of people were still expecting Angry Spike.) Today, however, the film looks like a near-masterpiece: an epic meditation on love, ? , art, and friendship, all anchored by Washington's marvelously sensual performance. The musician is a great talent, but he's also a dog – and the actor lets us see and feel the charisma as well as the hypocrisy. Plus he also absolutely commands the stage during those rambling, improvisatory jazz numbers, in which he assumes different postures, voices, and rhythms with almost shamanic grace. This is the loosest Washington has ever been: It's a startlingly alive and in-the-moment performance, a perfect match for a man living (and losing himself) in the now.
4. 'Flight' (2012)
The actor gives one of his greatest performances as Whip Whitaker, a pilot whose heroic exploits during a plane crash wind up inadvertently revealing the extent of his drug and alcohol addiction. Outraged that anyone would dare question his actions after he's saved hundreds of people, Whip slips further and further into anger and resentment. It's a role that requires an impressive range, as our hero goes from confidence to denial to fear to devastation. For all the film's amazing effects and tension – director Robert Zemeckis stages the plane crash with heart attack-inducing suspense – the real drama of this story plays out on Denzel's face. He is simply amazing.
5. 'Mississippi Masala' (1992)
In one of his sexiest performances, Washington is an enterprising Mississippi carpet cleaner who falls for Sarita Choudhury's independent-minded Indian immigrant. Mira Nair's lush, heartfelt romance glows with humanity and desire; it puts the "passion" back in "compassion." Denzel navigates his character's journey – from a handsome, cool, and even slightly smug business owner to hopeless romantic – with loads of magnetism, and he and Choudhury have incredible chemistry together. Even their phone conversations smolder.
6. 'Inside Man' (2006)
7. 'Crimson Tide' (1995)
8. 'The Mighty Quinn' (1989)
9. 'Cry Freedom' (1987)
10. 'Glory' (1989)
11. 'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' (2009)
12. 'Unstoppable' (2010)
13. 'Out of Time' (2003)
14. 'He Got Game' (1998)
15. 'Devil in a Blue Dress' (1995)
16. 'Courage Under Fire' (1996)
17. 'Philadelphia' (1993)
18. 'American Gangster' (2007)
19. 'The Hurricane' (1999)
20. 'Remember the Titans' (2000)
21. 'Man on Fire' (2004)
22. 'Deja Vu' (2006)
23. '2 Guns' (2013)
24. 'Antwone Fisher' (2002)
25. 'Ricochet' (1991)
26. 'Much Ado About Nothing' (1993)
27. 'A Soldier's Story' (1984)
28. 'The Bone Collector' (1999)
29. 'The Equalizer' (2014)
30. 'John Q' (2002)-They fu*ked this up. John Q is top ten
31. 'For Queen & Country' (1988)
32. 'The Preacher's Wife' (1996)
33. 'The Pelican Brief' (1993)
34. 'The Manchurian Candidate' (2004)
35. 'Power' (1986)
Comments
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Man on fire and john q too low
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His resume is sick, but the order is all the way ? up. Training Day ain't nowhere that high. John Q is way too low, Flight is too high etc.
Where's Safe House? -
List is all F'ed up.
How the hell is The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Unstoppable, Out of Time ahead of Man on Fire, Remember the Titans, The Hurricane, American Gangster, and He Got Game.
John Q is waaayyy to low and 2 Guns is waaayyy to high
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Well, they absolutely got #1 right
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Remember the titans should be higher.
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No complaints from me
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Antwone Fisher needs to be higher
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No Fallen or Virtuosity wtf???
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He got game is way too high.
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Mississippi Masala is definitely not in his top 5. Glory pretty much put him on the map I'm surprised it wasn't there instead.
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atribecalledgabi wrote: »Mississippi Masala is definitely not in his top 5. Glory pretty much put him on the map I'm surprised it wasn't there instead.
Saint Elsewhere and Cry Freedom put him on the map. -
fortyacres wrote: »atribecalledgabi wrote: »Mississippi Masala is definitely not in his top 5. Glory pretty much put him on the map I'm surprised it wasn't there instead.
Saint Elsewhere and Cry Freedom put him on the map.
Glory got him his first Oscar tho -
Inside man 6? Yup lost all credibility right there, should be close to last
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fortyacres wrote: »Remember the titans should be higher.
cuhz im bout to throw a fit if they dont move that ? to the top 5..
who did this ? !?!
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Didn't read it. Where does Ricochet stand?
Always loved that since way back when I watched it at the cinema as a shorty. -
fortyacres wrote: »atribecalledgabi wrote: »Mississippi Masala is definitely not in his top 5. Glory pretty much put him on the map I'm surprised it wasn't there instead.
Saint Elsewhere and Cry Freedom put him on the map.
St. Elsewhere was my show growing up. Mark Harmon and Howie Mandel owe a lot to that show too. -
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Smh @ #2
"Why Denzel have to be crooked before he took it" -
No book of eli? ? outta here
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How is Flight that ? high?
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How is Flight that ? high?
He finally kissed a white woman on screen. Their fetishistic fantasies were fulfilled.
