Denzel Washington, I think, flourished in the 1990’s with films like Malcolm X, Philadelphia, Crimson Tide, and the Oscar-nominated The Hurricane. These high-profile films helped establish his career as an A-List actor, even if the films themselves weren’t his best.
For my money, I’d list the following films as my Top-5 favorite. Not only does his acting have to count, but the other ingredients of what makes a good movie into a great one have to apply here as well. And it doesn’t matter if A) it bombed at the box office; B) he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar – a movie in my Top 5 transcends all of that. At the same time, just because Denzel was up for an award doesn’t make it great, either. An example of this, IMHO, would be The Hurricane. Yes, he was nominated for an Oscar. Yes, it was based on a real-life person. Yes, he was very good in this film. But, for my tastes, it was overly sentimental (and not entirely factual, which I found out later).
My Top 5 Denzel films:
01: Glory (1989)
02: Philadelphia (1993)
03: Crimson Tide (1995)
04: Training Day (2001)
05: American Gangster (2007)
PopcornTreeCt
03-02-09, 04:54 PM
Malcolm X
Glory
Man on Fire
Training Day
The Hurricane
As much as I like Denzel, his filmography is less than impressive.
woody5254
03-02-09, 05:51 PM
1. Glory
2. Malcolm X
3. Man on Fire
4. Training Day
5. The Hurricane
dogmatica
03-02-09, 05:55 PM
Glory
Man On Fire
Devil in a Blue Dress
Crimson Tide
Malcolm X
Cardiac161
03-02-09, 06:06 PM
Malcolm X
Crimson Tide
Man on Fire
Training Day
American Gangster
MovieMaster11
03-02-09, 06:10 PM
1. The Hurricane
2. Training day
3. Philadelphia
4. Man on Fire
5. Out of time
Kal-El
03-02-09, 06:15 PM
In no particular order:
Crimson Tide
Remember the Titans
Fallen
Philadelphia
The Siege
Mondo Kane
03-02-09, 06:30 PM
Malcolm X
Glory
Mississippi Masala
He Got Game
Training Day
Daytripper
03-02-09, 07:25 PM
1) Glory
2) The Siege
3) Training Day
4) Out of Time
5) American Gangster
flixtime
03-02-09, 08:33 PM
1) Glory
2) Remember the Titans
3) Crimson Tide
4) Training Day
5) Man on Fire
mike7162
03-02-09, 09:06 PM
Malcolm X
Glory
Man on Fire
Training Day
The Hurricane
As much as I like Denzel, his filmography is less than impressive.
Agreed - a great actor/movie star, but not a lot of top shelf, memorable films.
My list -
1) Malcolm X
2) Training Day
3) He Got Game
4) Devil In a Blue Dress
5) Crimson Tide
Axeramm
03-02-09, 10:11 PM
Crimson Tide
The Bone Collector
Inside Man
Training Day
Remember the Titans
Ginwen
03-02-09, 11:20 PM
Glory
Mississippi Masala
Mo' Better Blues
Malcolm X
Philadelphia
PacMan2006
03-02-09, 11:34 PM
1) Training Day
2) Malcolm X
3) Man on Fire
4) He Got Game
5) American Gangster
Torchur317
03-03-09, 12:10 AM
1.Training Day
2.Man on Fire
3.American Gangster
4.Fallen
5.Malcolm X
BravesMG
03-03-09, 12:43 AM
Training Day
Crimson Tide
Man on Fire
Philadelphia
Virtuosity
RagingBull80
03-03-09, 12:47 AM
To be honest, other than Man on Fire, I really can't think of any Denzel movies I care about. I've enjoyed him in many movies but I just don't care about many of them.
I do love, love, love him in Man on Fire though so I think that counts for something.
Solid Snake PAC
03-03-09, 12:58 AM
Malcolm X
American Gangster
Training Day
Man on Fire
Inside Man (I just noticed that I don't really see a lot of his films)
AnonomusBob15
03-03-09, 01:12 AM
No order
He Got Game
Training Day
American Gangster
Man on Fire
Malcolm X
Not his biggest fan, though I will be in line for the next Hughes Bros. film.
EdTheRipper
03-03-09, 10:30 AM
No love for Ricochet?
:D
Here are my 5, in no particular order...
American Gangster
Fallen
Ricochet
Out of Time
Training Day
toddly6666
03-03-09, 10:44 AM
1. Training Day
2. American Gangster
3. Mississippi Masala
Giles
03-03-09, 10:47 AM
Virtuosity (I want this on bu)
Remember the Titans (Will Patton IMO was the better lead actor of the two)
Mississippi Masala
Crimson Tide
Inside Man
Maxflier
03-03-09, 10:52 AM
1) Deja Vu
2) Training Day
3) Man On Fire
Not the biggest fan of his movies in general, but I do enjoy the 3 I ranked above.
inri222
03-03-09, 10:55 AM
Malcolm X
Glory
Training Day
Mo' Better Blues
He Got Game
bootsy
03-03-09, 11:06 AM
Agreed - a great actor/movie star, but not a lot of top shelf, memorable films.
My list -
1) Malcolm X
2) Training Day
3) He Got Game
4) Devil In a Blue Dress
5) Crimson Tide
I disagree, he has been in a lot of good films. Has he been in a lot of blockbusters? No but good quality films, Definitely. And the memorable films, he's got those too. The ones you named in your top 5 at least 3 of them are what I would term memorable. I guess it is a matter of how you classify memorable. If it is an actor that you remember a classic line from a movie or an actor where you go 'yeah I remember him in that movie he was very good'
mike7162
03-04-09, 03:47 AM
I disagree, he has been in a lot of good films. Has he been in a lot of blockbusters? No but good quality films, Definitely. And the memorable films, he's got those too. The ones you named in your top 5 at least 3 of them are what I would term memorable. I guess it is a matter of how you classify memorable. If it is an actor that you remember a classic line from a movie or an actor where you go 'yeah I remember him in that movie he was very good'
There's no disputing that many of the titles mentioned above are fine films, including the five I prefer; none (with the exception of, perhaps, Philadelphia) are what I would term "great films". There are many that are successful in one regard or another, but I couldn't call any of his films a classic. Denzel has always reminded me of Clark Gable - movie star looks, lots of talent and a broad spectrum of work. I just don't think Denzel has made his Gone With the Wind or It Happened One Night yet. Time will tell.
superdeluxe
03-04-09, 10:02 AM
Glory, Man on Fire, American Gangster, The Hurricane, Training Day
tommyp007
03-04-09, 10:07 AM
In no Order
Malcolm X
Crimson Tide
Inside Man
The Siege
Philadelphia
Solid Snake PAC
03-04-09, 11:38 AM
There's no disputing that many of the titles mentioned above are fine films, including the five I prefer; none (with the exception of, perhaps, Philadelphia) are what I would term "great films". There are many that are successful in one regard or another, but I couldn't call any of his films a classic. Denzel has always reminded me of Clark Gable - movie star looks, lots of talent and a broad spectrum of work. I just don't think Denzel has made his Gone With the Wind or It Happened One Night yet. Time will tell.
Really? Cuz I think Washington is a much better actor than Gable...while I don't think Washington has made a film that is as big as Gone..he does have Malcolm X...which alone trumps Gable in acting ability. Gone was overrated to much as well....too much.
bootsy
03-04-09, 01:34 PM
My favorites:
Training Day
Inside Man
Glory
Man On Fire
Remember The Titans
His best performances:
Malcolm X
Training Day
Glory
The Hurricane
Crimson Tide
joefrog91
03-04-09, 02:36 PM
1. Glory
2. Malcolm X
3. Training Day
3. Mo' Better Blues
5. Philadelphia
Charlie Goose
03-05-09, 03:35 AM
1) Man on Fire
2) Ricochet
3) The Siege
4) Glory
5) A Soldier's Story
Looking forward to The Taking of Pelham 123.
mikelowry
03-05-09, 06:10 AM
1. Training Day
2. Man on Fire
3. American Gangster
4. Glory
5. Dejavu
Buy: