10 Essential Richard Gere Movies, Ranked

Richard Gere is one of the greatest actors to have never been nominated for an Academy Award, a fact that comes as a shock when considering how essential he’s been to many classic films. Not only was Gere one of the biggest heartthrobs of the ‘80s and ‘90s, but he continuously chose to work on challenging and transgressive material that pushed the industry to take more risks. Although Gere hasn’t been as active in recent years, his recent performance in Paul Schrader’s undersung masterwork Oh, Canada shows he is still capable of transforming himself when given a role in material that is worthwhile.

Gere has an interesting filmography to consider because he has been an icon of arthouse dramas, psychological mysteries, acclaimed awards contenders, epic crime dramas, and erotic thrillers. Here are the ten most essential Richard Gere films, ranked.

10 ‘The Cotton Club’ (1984)

The Cotton Club is one of the most underrated dramas directed by Francis Ford Coppola, as it has unfortunately been associated with how much of a box office disappointment it was. Coppola has always been a filmmaker who takes risks and invests heavily to ensure that his films capture the essence of the historical period in which they are set, and The Cotton Club is as great a depiction of the jazz scene as the industry has ever had.

Gere gives a subdued, charismatic performance, and is believable when doing his own trumpet playing. The Cotton Club has been remembered more fondly thanks to the director’s cut that Coppola released, which has more time to expand upon the characters and not get so bogged down in the plot. It includes a number of scenes between Gere and Nicolas Cage, who had been given one of his first roles by hic uncle.

9 ‘The Mothman Prophecies’ (2002)

The Mothman Prophecies is one of the most underrated supernatural thrillers of the 2000s, and a film that has suitably earned a cult following. Even though the phrase “based on a true story” has come to mean nothing because of how often Hollywood misappropriates the truth, The Mothman Prophecies draws from a compelling unsolved mystery to create a thoroughly haunting thriller in which the supernatural components aren’t completely explained.

The Mothman Prophecies needed someone of Gere’s caliber to lead it, as he is able to convey both great intelligence and capture the essence of a grieving father. Although it was released before the term “elevated horror” began to be more frequently used, The Mothman Prophecies gained more credibility as the result of Gere’s involvement and willingness to treat the material with the diligence that he would for any other type of film.

8 ‘Chicago’ (2002)

Chicago is one of the more forgotten Best Picture winners that, while not one of the all-time greatest, certainly sparked a revival in the popularity of cinematic musicals. The stage version of Chicago was so popular that it would be hard for a film to live up to expectations, but Chicago succeeded with a remarkable cast. Catherine Zeta-Jones ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her breakthrough performance, but her co-stars Renee Zellweger, Queen Latifah, and John C. Reilly was also recognized.

The fact that Gere was not nominated for Chicago is still baffling almost 25 years later; not only is he the male lead and could have rightfully earned the first Best Actor nomination of his entire career, but his performance is just the right blend of cheeky and sleazy, allowing Chicago to have a self-aware sense of dark humor.

7 ‘I’m Not There’ (2007)

I’m Not There is unlike any other music biopic because its goals are to be impressionistic, not realistic. Given that Bob Dylan was an artist who took on many different personas throughout the course of the unique eras of his career, Todd Haynes’ biopic was able to distill his essence by casting six different actors to play different personalities.

Gere’s performance in I’m Not There is perhaps the most underrated, as he’s playing a version of Dylan that isn’t capturing his likeness in the same way that Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale are. That being said, it takes an actor of Gere’s conviction to be bold enough to add his own interpretation to a musician who is so beloved; although Timothee Chalamet’s performance in A Complete Unknown may have been more popular, Gere’s work is a better encapsulation of who Dylan really was.

6 ‘Arbitrage’ (2012)

Arbitrage is one of the 2010s’ most underrated thrillers, and should have launched a second wave of Gere’s career considering how great his performance was. Gere has played many anti-heroes in the past, but Arbitrage is the rare psychological drama that is told from the perspective of a villain; Gere plays a hedge fund manager who becomes responsible for the death of his mistress, and must divert attention away from himself in order to ensure that a major business deal will go through.

Arbitrage is a film that combines the intrigue of an Alfred Hitchcock thriller with the anti-capitalist satire of Succession, and succeeds as a feat of entertainment that is both captivating and thought-provoking. It’s not necessarily one of Gere’s most famous films or performances, but anyone who considers themselves to be a fan of his work owes it to themselves to check it out.

5 ‘Primal Fear’ (1996)

Primal Fear is one of the most highly-discussed films of the ‘90s because it has a shocking plot twist that genuinely took viewers by surprise, as the Internet had not yet invented spoiler culture. It’s not often that a thriller can set up a twist so well that doesn’t feel expected, yet still makes sense upon multiple viewings because of how well the logic checks out.

Gere is almost underrated for his work because all of the credit for the film was given to Edward Norton, whose breakthrough debut as an actor earned him an Academy Award nomination in the supporting category. Norton is without a doubt excellent, but Gere has just as challenging of a task playing the brilliant lawyer who realizes all too late that he’s been involved in a case that’s much more complicated than what he initially believed it to be.

4 ‘American Gigolo’ (1980)

American Gigolo wouldn’t be the last time that Gere worked with Paul Schrader, but it was a film that was equally important to both of their careers. Although Schrader was already prominent as the screenwriter behind Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, American Gigolo showed that he was an accomplished director in his own right, and was capable of making independent films that weren’t collaborations with Martin Scorsese.

Gere made his breakthrough with American Gigolo by playing a tough, cynical character who was unabashedly sexual, which challenged gender expectations of the era. In many ways, American Gigolo feels like the last remnant of the “New Hollywood” era that had begun with Bonnie & Clyde, as it represented the type of transgressive, anti-authoritarian cinema that slowly began to dissipate due to the blockbuster culture that became more prominent in the next ten years.

3 ‘Pretty Woman’ (1990)

Pretty Woman is a perfect romantic comedy and is responsible for inspiring many modern entries within the genre. It will always be known as the film that turned Julia Roberts into one of the biggest stars on the planet, but Pretty Woman needed someone of Gere’s complexity to play a sensitive, powerful, and ultimately sincere character who has a change of heart.

Gere is perfectly cast because he doesn’t attempt to overshadow Roberts, yet isn’t afraid to utilize his star power. It’s rare for a wealthy character to be genuinely sympathetic, but Gere is able to depict loneliness in a way that feels relatable. Pretty Woman needed someone who could be both humorous and authentic, and Gere was helpful in ensuring that the film didn’t swing too wildly in either direction; he and Roberts even teamed up nearly a decade later to make another romantic comedy, Runaway Bride.

2 ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ (1982)

An Officer and a Gentleman is one of the most defining films of the 80s and one of the most straightforward and powerful romantic dramas of all-time. There are many ways in which Taylor Hackford’s best film could have been mismanaged; it was sensual without being an erotic thriller, emotional without becoming saccharine, and centered on the military, even though it wasn’t a war film.

Gere was oddly snubbed for an Oscar, even though Louis Gossett Jr. won the Best Supporting Actor award, Debra Winger was nominated for Best Actress, and the single “Up Where We Belong” both earned the Best Original Song prize and became a massive hit. Gere showed the pressures put upon a young man to become self-actualized in the face of all sorts of pressure, and is a major reason why An Officer and a Gentleman is still such a powerful tearjerker.

1 ‘Days of Heaven’ (1978)

Days of Heaven is simply one of the most beautiful films ever made, and marked an important shift within the career of legendary writer/director Terrence Malick and his unusual study of the American dream. While Malick’s debut film Badlands was a cross-country crime thriller that drew frequent comparisons to Bonnie & Clyde, Days of Heaven was a beautifully observant romantic drama about an impossible love between two people who aren’t able to be meaningfully involved in each others’ lives.

Gere is a perfect fit for the dreamlike, atmospheric quality of Malick’s direction, and is able to excuse powerful emotions without saying a single word. While it’s generally thought that an arthouse experiment and a star vehicle are mutually exclusive definitions for a film, Gere and his performance within Days of Heaven showed how they could be one and the same.