Jerry Bruckheimer top 10 films

Starting his producing career in the early 1970’s, to date, Jerry Bruckheimer has produced over 40 films and over 20 television shows. Bruckheimer boasts 77 Emmy Award nominations with 17 wins, 23 Golden Globe nominations with four wins and eight People’s choice nominations with four wins. Numbers aside, Bruckheimer has produced some amazing films, spanning across many different genres. Out of his 40+ films, which are the best? In preparation of his soon to be released film The Lone Ranger, let’s take a look at Bruckheimer’s top 10 films.

Flashdance (1983)
Negatively reviewed by critics, Flashdance was Jerry Bruckheimer’s first of many collaborations with Don Simpson and was hugely successful at the box office. Main character Alex, who welds by day and is an exotic dancer by night, strives to be accepted into a prestigious dance school. Featuring Irene Cara’s “Flashdance… What a Feeling” and Michael Sembello’s “Maniac,” the soundtrack of Flashdance was also a huge success selling over 6,000,000 copies in the US alone.

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
As well as being the movie that kick-started Eddie Murphy’s career, Beverly Hills Cop was the number one film in 1984, winning the People’s Choice Award for “Favourite Motion Picture” and receiving a nomination for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award.
Some of the film was shot in Bruckheimer’s birth place and Eddie Murphy is seen wearing a Mumford High School t-shirt, which is the school Bruckheimer attended.
Beverly Hills Cop is a must-see, regarded as a classic comedy.

Top Gun (1986)
“I feel the need… the need for speed!”
With the release of Top Gun, Bruckheimer had again created one of the most popular films of the year it was released and one of the most popular movie soundtracks to date. Top Gun has repeatedly appeared on lists of “best films of all time” and when it was released won a number of prestigious film awards. This film has lasted the test of time with a 6 day theatrical re-release in February of 2013.

Bad Boys (1995)
Another one of Bruckheimer’s buddy-cop action comedies, Bad Boys features Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Will Smith and Martin star Martin Lawrence as a cop comedy duo attempting to recover the $100 millions of seized heroin stolen from the Miami Police Department. The film’s car chases, violence, quick on-liners and high-energy pacing are what made it successful and what characterize it as one of Bruckheimer’s best.

Armageddon (1998)
This science fiction disaster drama film, the highest grossing film in 1998, features a large cast of well known actors including Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Billy Bob Thorton, and Steve Buscemi. Though there were accusations that the editing style of this film was an “assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense, and the human desire to be entertained,” it did very well in the box offices, suprassing the similarly themed film Deep Impact that was released earlier that year. Sci-fi film gone action film gone love story: Armageddon is assured to entertian.

Remember the Titans (2000)
Remember the Titans is a classic American sports film about the triumph of a football coach, played by Denzel Washington, as he tries to rid his football team of racial divisions and bring them together to win. Denzel’s character leads his team to acceptance and success in this heart warming film, winning Denzel a BET award for Best Actor in 2001. Though a slightly different genre than the rest of Bruckheimer’s work, this film was a huge box office success.

Black Hawk Down (2001)
Fast paced and full of action, Black Hawk Down was well received by critics, unlike some of Bruckheimer’s other films, and went on to win two Academy Awards, one for Best Film Editing and one for Best Sound, and two Golden Reel Awards for Best Sound Editing. An adaption of the book of the same name written by Mark Bowen, Black Hawk Down follows a team of US soldiers as they battle against the heavily armed Somalia soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu to capture the top lieutenants of a renegade warlord. The high-speed pace in this film characterizes it as one of Bruckheimer’s best war films to date.

Pearl Harbor (2001)
Following the lives of two best friends as they go to war, this film is another one of Bruckheimer’s that was very successful in the box office, but not so critically successful. It was criticized for its historical inaccuracies and lack of originality, but it’s his 8th highest grossing film to date. Out of over 40 films produced, 8th isn’t bad!

Pirates Of The Caribbean (2003-present)
The Pirates of the Caribbean series are perhaps Bruckheimer’s most well known films due to their relatively recent and massive success in the box office and with the critics. The series’ low beginnings (based off a Disney theme park ride) did not determine their end, with this movie franchise being the sixth highest grossing film series of all time. With a confirmed 5th film in the working, it is unlikely that it will be overtaken in this title any time soon.

National Treasure (2004)
National Treasure is the beginning of another famous film franchise produced by Bruckheimer with an additional film in the works. Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha and Diane Kruger capture the audience as they travel around the world trying to find clues that will lead them to the legendary treasures Cage’s character is determined to find before his rivals do. This time the audience didn’t seem to care about the historical inaccuracies, with the film grossing over $347.5 million worldwide.

Bruckheimer’s most recent work in progress:

The Lone Ranger (2013)
Two unlikely heroes work together to fight greed and corruption in this upcoming film directed by Bruckheimer. The classic tale of Tonto and John Reid to be depicted by Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer will hit UK theatres this August and is poised to be a huge box office success. But will it be placed in his top ten best movies?