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Top three Burt Lancaster movies - no order

patbpatb
in General Movies & TV Posts: 4,617
The Train
Seven Days in May
Field of Dreams

Comments

  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited April 2021 Posts: 25,184
    the-swimmer-burt-lancaster.jpg
    I bought The Swimmer the year before last superb film and allegory, based on a great short story.

    Many of Burt's films I have not watched since my childhood so would be difficult to rank them. I think The Crimson Pirate was the first film I watched that starred Burt.

    Edited: How could I forget The Killers a film noir classic that I own, very atmospheric.Ava-Gardners-costumes-The-Killers-1-e1395352268879.png
    Burt with the stunning Ava Gardner.
  • SomethingThatAteHimSomethingThatAteHim
    edited April 2021 Posts: 532
    Sweet Smell of Success is an easy #1 for me. One of the most viscous noirs out there despite its almost complete lack of violence. Lancaster is a titan in it.
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    From Here To Eternity.
    Sorry, Wrong Number.
    Vera Cruz.
  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    edited April 2021 Posts: 2,848
    A great new thread @patb.

    My top three (3) films – based purely on enjoyment level:
    1. The Train
    2. Sweet Smell of Success
    3. Elmer Gantry
    The Killers (both the Lancaster version and the 1964 re-make) is on my Criterion “wish list.” And don’t forget about “From Here to Eternity”, “The Swimmer”, “Birdman of Alcatraz”, and “Sorry, Wrong Number.”

    An outstanding actor, Lancaster tends to be overlooked at times IMO.
    BTW: Lancaster – in real life – was very athletic, so many of his films play to that strength (i.e., "Trapeze")
  • j_w_pepperj_w_pepper Born on the bayou, but I now hear a new dog barkin'
    edited April 2021 Posts: 9,041
    I dare not really rank his top three performances without reviewing several of them. I just checked my disk collection database and found It has 13 Blu-ray discs and four DVDs starring Lancaster. (That list includes "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid", I don't think I should count that). I'm ashamed to say I haven't watched some of them in spite of having them on my shelf for years. Such as Bertolucci's 1900 (my threshold against watching five-hour movies is quite high). But of those I remember I'd include (without any particular ranking)

    Run Silent, Run Deep
    The Train
    Birdman of Alcatraz
    The Killers
    From Here to Eternity
    The Leopard
    Judgment at Nuremberg
    Local Hero
    Atlantic City, USA

    There's really not a bad movie on his list of achievements that I know or have. And that list is far from being final.
  • ringfire211ringfire211
    Posts: 654
    1. Birdman of Alcatraz - his best film!
    2. The Professionals
    3. The Train

    HM: Seven Days in May, Twilight’s Last Gleaming
  • ToTheRightToTheRight
    Posts: 16,170
    The Killers
    Seven Days in May
    I Walk Alone
  • StirredNotShakenStirredNotShaken Toronto
    Posts: 2,402
    From first to third, Sweet Smell of Success, The Train, and Atlantic City.
  • Herr_StockmannHerr_Stockmann
    edited April 2021 Posts: 910
    As a big fan of Luchino Visconti, I cannot distinguish Lancaster from his collaboration with the Italian master and from two of the greatest films in the history of cinema:
    The Leopard (Il Gattopardo, 1963)
    Conversation Piece (Gruppo di famiglia in un interno, 1974)

    As for a third movie, The Killers would be my choice.
  • patbpatb
    Posts: 4,617
    All great lists. Really shows what a diverse range he left us and what a talent he was. There are not many actors who shared his brute force physicality with a sensitive side. Guilty of forgetting Local Hero. Transitioning from leading role, Hollywood star to supporting roles in smaller movies is not something that every actor can acheive.
  • R0bin1R0bin1 Chicago
    edited May 2021 Posts: 1
    Oh, yes! Those movies are delightful, I've seen them all. Thank you for reminding me of them. We'll watch them this weekend as a family. Eh, I remember watching all these movies on my DVD player a long time ago. There was a kind of romance to it. The smell of the fresh discs, the plastic. Then the regret if the movie was bad, because you didn't pay much. Now, of course, it's easier in that regard. Recently my son played movies from 123movies. I don't understand it. That is, the quality is higher than it was in our time. But it's not like that anymore. I guess I am, as they say now, a boomer.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    THE KILLERS
    FROM HERE TO ALCATRAZ
    BIRDMAN OF ETERNITY
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    The Professionals is such a cool film. The conversation between Burt Lancaster and Jack Palance, in which they compare their commitment to the revolution with the love for a woman, is absolutely fantastic.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    The Train
    The Swimmer
    Sweet Smell of Success
  • Mathis1Mathis1
    edited July 2023 Posts: 7,442
    I’ll echo @ringfire211
    1. The Train
    2. The Professionals
    3. Birdman of Alcatraz

    He did so many entertaining movies
    'Gunfight at the OK Corral'
    'The Crimson Pirate'
    'Vera Cruz'
    'Brute Force'
    'Seven Days in May'
    'Twilights Last Gleaming'
    'Apache' to name a few!!

  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,187
    I'm going to suggest THE UNFORGIVEN (1960) as a good Lancaster film. Other roles are played by John Saxon, Joseph Wiseman, and the lovely Audrey Hepburn. John Huston directed the film. It is by no means a perfect film, but with some distance of time, I'd say it's a decent enough "older" movie to enjoy.
  • FeyadorFeyador Montreal, Canada
    edited August 2023 Posts: 735
    1. Atlantic City
    2. The Leopard
    3. The Swimmer

    Bonus picks: Ulzana's Raid; Conversation Piece

    ... but so many, really

    Nobody, but nobody, played old men better than Burt, as in all of these.
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