MovieChat Forums > Mickey Rourke Discussion > What are his best films?

What are his best films?


I just finished watching Angel Heart (yeah I know late to the party) and it was amazing.

Just wondering what people rate as his best films? Preferably his older ones?
I liked The Wrestler but Angel Heart got me thinking i'm not actually all that familiar with his body of work.

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Here are my suggestions of what you can't miss:

Diner

Rumble Fish

The Pope of Greenwich Village

Year of the Dragon

Nine 1/2 Weeks

Barfly

A Prayer for the Dying

Francesco (possibly the full uncut version)

Johnny Handsome

Wild Orchid

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man

White Sands

Bullet

Animal Factory

Get Carter

Spun

Sin City

Killshot

Ashby

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1980s:
Anything from 80s is worth watching, with a possible exception of "Homeboy" and maybe "A Prayer for the Dying" which are not that interesting. It's his golden decade.

1990s and 2000s:
"White Sands" is an entertaining neo-noir. He had some excellent supporting roles or cameos in some great films such as "The Rainmaker", "Buffalo 66", "Thursday", "Animal Factory" and "The Pledge". 1990s were full of DTV stuff though, I only liked the one called "Fall Time".
"Killshot" and "Bullet" are also OK. Then there's of course, "Sin City".

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"Thursday"

Oh yeah! Always a pleasure to meet people who know this little gem! :)

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I really didn't like The Westler so much... :/

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My fav has always been The Pope Of Greenwich Village. I loved him in that.

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Diner
Eureka (though his role is very small)
Johnny Handsome
Rumble Fish
Barfly

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I love pretty much all of his work.
What he does in Rumble Fish really blows me away.
I've never seen anything quite like it. Even just the little things--how he acts with his eyes, his expressions, his voice, etc. Just amazing stuff.

Another one which is kind of an underrated gem is...his very small role in Body Heat.
It's really the role that introduced Mickey to the world. He had just a couple small scenes, but you couldn't take your eyes off him. He just had some magnetic screen presence, and left you wanting more.

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The Pope Of Greenwich Village - his best performance I think
Diner - close second
The Wrestler
Angel Heart
...and his brief appearance in Body Heat steals the show imho.

"Somebody showed me a picture, and I just laughed
Dignity never been photographed."

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