Highlights: Harrison Ford
By Jason Barney
December 8, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
There is no secret formula. Money earned in the theaters isn't added to critical reception and then divided by how many times people have seen these films. The square root of how many quotable lines a film is not multiplied by how many people own a flick on DVD.
A number of factors are taken into account for each Career Highlights list. First, limited or small roles naturally hold down a film's chances of making anyone's top five. The screen time of a role that merely lasts a few minutes is difficult to weigh against a film where they appeared as the star. In addition, box office success is not major factor. There have been some really awful movies that have made mountains of money. Perhaps the best way to define how a movie makes the Career Highlights list is by acknowledging the"Enjoyment Factor. Please feel free to agree, disagree, and offer a comment or two... and if you disagree, let us know which films should have been included!
Today's debate involves the filmography of Harrison Ford.
1) Raiders of The Lost Ark (1981)
There are very few films that can match the first of the Jones films for energy, action, and memorable scenes. Nominated for nine Academy Awards including best picture, this is simply one of the best films ever made. Ford plays Professor Indiana Jones, an archeologist with a passion for collecting rare relics and getting himself in some very dangerous situations. The start of the film presents one of the most memorable action sequences of all time with Jones in the jungles of Peru attempting to find a golden idol. From using his whip to swing across bottomless pits, to dodging poisonous darts and figuring out booby traps, the first ten minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark is pure entertainment. The bar fight scene is awesome, the tension filled-but fun romance with Marion is great, and the action just doesn't stop. We feel for Indiana when thrown around by Nazi thugs, pursued by desert mercenaries, and swept up into a historic tale. While watching this film, it is hard for the viewer to not get the misconception that archeology is action packed. It's playful, incredibly entertaining, and Harrison Ford at his best.
2) The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Perhaps the best sequel of all-time, this movie is simply outstanding. It manages to pick up from where A New Hope left off to provide some truly outstanding and thought-provoking story locations. How many kids grew up playing in the snow, fantasizing about defending the ice world of Hoth against the Empire? How many science fiction fans saw Cloud City and day dreamed about such a place? Harrison Ford reprises the role of Han Solo, and is at the center of all of the humor, drama, and action in the film. Solo establishes himself as one of the most likeable movie heroes of all time when he rescues Luke Skywalker from freezing to death, romances Princess Leia, and eludes fleets of the Empire's destructive Star Destroyers. Perhaps the best moment in any of the Star Wars films happens when Solo is betrayed (kind of) by Lando Calrissian. The appearance of Darth Vader, one of the best movie villains of all time, on Bespin catches the audience and Solo off guard. In truly heroically tragic fashion Solo manages to get off a couple of blaster shots against Vader but then is captured. The film also provides a wonderfully tantalizing cliff hanger in which Solo is captured, frozen, and then shipped off to the villainous Jabba the Hutt. Still beloved by movie fans after 25 years, The Empire Strikes back is not only one of the best science fiction films of all time, it is about as good as it gets.
3) The Fugitive (1993)
This was an excellent film and was a transitional role for Harrison Ford. At some point in every action/adventure actor's career, they must move from their bread and butter roles to something new. After spending a decade and a half playing Han Solo and Indiana Jones, Ford started taking on a wider range of roles. In The Fugitive, he plays Dr. Richard Kimble, who is wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife. Ford portrays the quietly intelligent doctor who by chance is able to escape his jail sentence (in one of the most tense train accident scenes in movie history) and is one step ahead of the law enforcement. Tommy Lee Jones plays the US Marshall trying to capture him and also delivers a magnificent performance. Kimble's efforts to solve the mystery of how his wife was killed are gripping. There are a lot of worthy sequences in the film, but the best are when Kimble is trying to escape in an ambulance then gets caught inside of a dam, and when he is tracking down the one-armed man who actually murdered his wife. The movie is very complex but it all comes together in a very appropriate ending.
4) Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
It is difficult to think of this film not being the best science fiction film of all-time. Ford plays the memorable Han Solo, the likable, gambling, and smuggling rogue who gets caught up in a grand battle for galactic domination. Ford's character isn't even the first 20 minutes of the film, but he still manages to steal the show. Solo gets hired by Skywalker in the memorable cantina scene to transport members of the rebel alliance past Imperial forces. From his opening lines, Han Solo is the most likable character in the movie. One of his first actions is to eliminate a bounty hunter who has been pursuing him by shooting the mercenary casually through a tabletop. Ford's performance is so enjoyable that we laugh as he exits the bar after the confrontation, and fans find themselves actually drawn to his character more than Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker. The movie is one awesome ride that never slows down. Solo's love for his ship, the Millennium Falcon, is akin to man's love for his car, and his relationship with his Wookie companion, Chewbacca (and speaking the language), reveals he is a little smarter than the average smuggler. Finally, its significant to note that no matter how much Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star has earned iconic status in our movie-going culture, he would not have been able to do it if Han Solo had not come riding to the rescue.
5) Clear And Present Danger (1994)
This is perhaps the most underrated of all of Harrison Ford's films. It is an honest and direct examination of American military might and the leaders of the United States who wield that power. Ford plays Jack Ryan, a role previously played in Patriot Games. Clear and Present Danger was the third adaptation of a Tom Clancy novel. Ford is perfect in the role of a high-ranking government official who believes US foreign policy has a specific and defined purpose. Much of the film takes place in Columbia, where the President of the United States has sent the US military to engage in a top secret and deadly war against the Columbian drug cartels. Unbeknownst to Ryan, the US military is blowing the assets of the drug cartels up left and right. When his diplomatic convoy gets ambushed (in one of the films best scenes) in the streets of Bogota, Columbia, Ryan gets dragged into the specifics of the conflict. The Columbian drug lords want to send their own message back to the US president. Ford effectively portrays Ryan as someone who is nervous about the high level of the job he has been asked to take on. As Jack Ryan discovers what is happening, he attempts to use his own influence to save some U.S. forces that the U.S. leadership is willing to simply brush under the table. He's forced to fight for his survival in the jungles of Columbia while he tries to right the wrongs of his own government. Audiences can't help wishing that every high-ranking government official had the same morals as Jack Ryan.