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Richard Donnerpassed away on July 5 , 2021 , leaving behind an extraordinary and eclectic filmography - but which of these iconic works is his best ? After making a splash with the ' seventy horror classicThe Omen , he became one of the most prolific filmmakers of the 1980s , from theLethal Weaponfranchise to the generation - definingThe Diomedea nigripes .
Donner began his career in television , directing episodes for programme as divers asGilligan ’s IslandandThe Twilight Zone . His all - timer episode from the latter , " incubus at 20,000 Feet , " served as a prevue for the eccentric of playful , genre - defining practice session he would eventually bring to the big screen . After a lackluster first few film , the director struck Au with 1976’sThe Omen , parlaying that into a decade spent riffle from genre to genre , fromthe influentialSuperman : The Movie , to crafting a holiday cult classic in the Bill Murray comedyScrooged .
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Donner ’s influence is clear in all his best films , and his loss is keenly felt by those who worked with him . Steven Spielberg , who collaborate with him onThe Goonies , said this after learning of his death , " Being in his circle was akin to hang out with your best-loved coach , voguish prof , fiercest inducement , most endearing friend , staunchest ally , and – of form – the greatest Goonie of all . ”Here are his films , ranked from worst to good .
19. The Toy (1982)
Two of the great comedian of all time , Richard Pryor and Jackie Gleason , joined forces in this 1982 drollery to extraordinarily disappointing results . generally based on a Gallic filmLe Jouet , The Toytells the fib of a spoilt rich kid who requests that the janitor ( Pryor ) at his Church Father ’s ( Gleason ) section store be his own personal toy for a calendar week . The frame-up is promising , and could easily be reimagined as a gratifyingly dangerous sarcasm of ashen privilege and entitlement , particularly with Pryor on board . Alas , this is as cloying and excessively - schmalzy as the music director ever got , far fromthe high - flying amusement ofSuperman .
18. Lola (1970)
The tagline forLolawas " She ’s almost 16 … He ’s almost 40 . It may be love , but it ’s definitely tiring . “Such is the unexpended , reach - for - comedy vibration of Richard Donner ’s bizarrely undercooked ode toLolita . The lusterless screenplay remove any moral complexness from this story of an older man dating a minor , and instead opts for amatory drollery filtered through the counter - cultural button - pushing of the time . The results are rotten at unspoilt ; this is a Donner offer for completists only .
17. Radio Flyer (1992)
Lorraine Bracco plays the mother of a young Elijah Wood andJurassic Park ’s Joseph Mazzello in this fairly reprehensible " family " movie about two young boy thieve with abuse at the hands of their mom ’s unexampled beau . In a deplorably bad choice of a screenwriting machine , the children use saccharine flight of fantasy as a way to escape this ill-treatment , lead in a ridiculous flood tide whereElijah Woodflies off in a radio set flyer to safety . It ’s cringe - desirable , cloying , and just downright irresponsible from beginning to end .
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16. Salt and Pepper (1968)
Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr. play night club proprietor who stumble into a reprehensible patch in this endowment - waster of a comedic romp . The motion picture ’s biggest put-on is that Lawford , who ’s white , is named Pepper while Davis , who ’s Black , is refer Salt . It ’s all downhill from there . Davis stay one of the most divinely talented artists of all time , but he merit a better vehicle than this .
15. Timeline (2003)
Richard Donner was in the running to directJurassic Park , and so forthwith attach the opportunity to direct the cover adaptation of this lesser - known Michael Crichton book . Alas , the theater director clash with Paramount Pictures over the concluding snub , and the resulting picture show get out critic mostly insensate . Viewed now , it ’s a exhaustively charming Big Dumb Action Movie with some fun swashbuckling vim and early - career performance by Gerard Butler andthe tardy Paul Walker .
14. Inside Moves (1980)
John Savage plays a depressed man whose failed self-annihilation has left him handicapped in this tender but Earth’s surface - level drama . Donner exhibits a real sense of compassion , but the film has frustratingly small to say about the psychological science of those who have become handicapped or the social stigma placed on them . Diana Scarwid was nominated for Best back up Actress for the kind adult female who helps rehabilitate Savage ’s character . However , this is mostly a decently observed and capably performed bit of sap .
13. Assassins (1995)
Assassinswas ding at the sentence of its release for being an overly grisly actioner missing the fun of Donner ’s ownLethal Weaponfilms . The comparison is n’t necessarily fairish ; while the cinema is a bit too long and glum , it ’s also a stylishly made thriller with some exciting setpieces and a wild execution from Julianne Moore as an " information thief " named Electra . Sylvester Stalloneand Antonio Banderas play against type , Stallone giving one of his most minimize round as a hitman craving retreat and Banderas give a ball chewing the scene as the vernal up - and - arriver who wants to be the best .
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12. Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
The thirdLethal Weaponis scarce great , but it ’s a masterpiece compare to this sputtering fourth and final entry in the serial . Donner is clear at a going for what novel territory to explore here , so he just winds up recycle all the outstanding hits from the previous three films , but with a robotic pitch lacking any of those moving picture ' appealingness . Joe Pesci is ram to reel his wheels , Chris Rock deliver a serial publication of grating riffs on his standup act , and the less said about the bizarre soliloquy about the pet frog the well . Still , even with their charm for the most part neuter , it ’s still pleasant to see Mel Gibson and Danny Glover together onscreen , and Jet Li ( take his American entry ) puddle for a fun villain .
11. Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
The series would peter out entirely with the fourth installment , but the thirdshowed it was already run for on fumes andranks almost as low in theLethal Weaponfranchise . The dynamic between Danny Glover and Mel Gibson snitch signs of car - pilot modality , Gibson in particular mugging to his heart ’s subject ( and to diminishing riposte ) . Joe Pesci , such a beauty delight as Leo Getz inLethal Weapon 2 , is lift from Gibson and Glover ’s baby sitting charge to a full - on pardner , and the results are instantaneously obnoxious . The action and explosion are as great as ever , but the elements around them that made the prior two entries transcend the genre are sorely missing .
10. 16 Blocks (2006)
Donner ’s last film vocalise like a distinctive tardy - career Bruce Willis action at law flick but it actually is a passably inventive , pleasurable drive . Willisplays Jack , an alcoholic fuzz who ’s charged with transport trial spectator Eddie Bunker to court . When forces arise attempting to drink down Eddie and prevent him from testifying , Jack fights back in a heroic quest to get Eddie to the courthouse 16 block off . well-defined stakes and a controlled environs make for a wildly fun lark from the experienced action music director , with a unco present performance from Willis and solid oeuvre from the always - underrate Mos Def .
9. Conspiracy Theory (1997)
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8. Ladyhawke (1985)
Rutger Hauer will forever be known for his iconic performance inBlade Runner , but his other salutary play is in this Donner - led maraud into the blade and sorcery music genre . Here , he ’s paired with an enchanting Michelle Pfeiffer as the maven - crossed lover who have fallen under a spell that transforms them into fauna . He becomes a wolf at Nox , her a hawk during the day , and together they join with a petty thief played by Matthew Broderick to face up the evil bishop and reverse the curse . Broderick is avowedly miscast , but Hauer and Pfeiffer are leading , and the film has rightfully rule a cult succeed .
7. Maverick (1994)
Without a doubt Richard Donner ’s most underrated gem , Maverickis a refreshingly queer riff on the westerly genre base on a authoritative TV show . Mel Gibson , ever Donner ’s muse , plays the skilled card thespian and con creative person Bret Maverick , who battles his way to a high - bet poker secret plan . On the way , he contends witha dynamite Jodie Foster , playing another floozy . Cleverly directed from a wise , witty script byPrincess BrideandButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kidscribe William Goldman , Maverickdeserves to be seen as one of the filmmaker ’s best .
6. Scrooged (1988)
Charles Dickens’A Christmas Carolhas been adapted an unseemly amount of sentence , include a overplus of forward-looking twirl , but the best of the latter is undoubtedlyScrooged . Donner ’s inherent genius manages to capitalize on both the news report ’s morbid darkness and its transformative joy , all while transplanting it into a contemporary context . Bill Murray is one of the good film Scrooges in the canon , his irrepressible delight at lot cruelty morphing seamlessly into the light-headed man belting " Put a Little Love In Your pith " on Christmas sunrise . God bless us , everyone , indeed .
5. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
There ’s a constant argument amongstLethal Weaponfans as to which is serious : the first or the second . Whichever the pick , it ’s hard to find a more out - and - out nurse ' 80s action motion-picture show thanLethal Weapon 2.This is the one that kicks off with a killer car chase and never get up , the one where Riggs spare Murtaugh from a bomb embed on a can , and the one that put in Joe Pesci to the serial publication . Hisfast - talking money launderer Leo Getzis one of his the doer ’s best performances , right up there withGoodfellas , My Cousin Vinny , andThe Irishman . How he pen up into the unparalleled chemistry of Glover and Gibson is most of the picture show ’s brilliance , and the source of its remarkable power to entertain .
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4. Lethal Weapon (1987)
Hands down one of the best action moving picture of the eighties , Lethal Weapontotally revolutionise the buddy cop genre with the unconvincing duo of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover . Beneath the like an expert directed setpieces is the palpable chemistry between these two movie whiz , who give biography to Riggs and Murtaugh ’s in performance that set the measure for every action duo to watch over . Their combative relationship , which evolves over the course of the film into an steadfast brotherhood , is the beating heart of this undeniable classic .
3. The Omen (1976)
The 1970s were a biz - changing decade for the repulsion writing style , and this is one of the unchallenged classic . Damien is the gold monetary standard for creepy-crawly demonic kids in motion-picture show , and it ’s all due to Harvey Stephens ' downright scary performance . Donner directs with his distinctive swiftness and horse sense of body fluid , all the while creating an ambiance of unfeigned terror and also capturing one of Gregory Peck ’s most underrated screen sour . The last 20 minutes are some of the best in the genre , slamming the eyelid on a classic hair-raiser that more than pull in its place among the horror greats .
2. Superman: The Movie (1978)
43 days after , it ’s stillthe bestSupermanmovie out there . It seems operose to think in our current superhero - obsessed cinematic clime , but before this film ’s loss , nobody had the slightest idea how to realistically make Superman fly . That ’s just one of the noteworthy innovations in this still - remarkable cinema , a close - perfect distillation of the sprightliness of its funny book beginning . Donner ’s film lack the visual splendour of , say , Burton’sBatmanmovies , but what it lacks in dream it makes up for in affection . Donner balance taking thing gravely with his common playful sense of humor , and the issue is a flick that eschews hackneyed jokiness for a refreshing sincerity . Nowhere is that more present than in Christopher Reeves ' functioning , still the ideal plastic film depiction of a superhero .
1. The Goonies (1985)
A rare generation - defining classic that has continued to defineeverygeneration since its release , The GooniesisDonner ’s big and most far - reaching film . On the Earth’s surface , this is a standard - publication treasure hunt flick , The Breakfast ClubmeetsIndiana Jones . In Donner ’s hands , though , it becomes a primal tale of childhood , of that moment before adolescence when escapade is always near and an larger-than-life pursuit is just a cycle ride out . The 1980s nostalgia ofshows likeStranger Thingsare at least 85 % due to the endure cultural impact of this film , and it ’s because ofRichard Donner ’s unearthly ability to meld the chill of youthful exploration with the black bile of puerility end that it hits a nerve with every young person who watches it and will continue to do so for generations to come .
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