Harrison Ford is back, baby! Well, he never really totally disappeared, but isn’t it a pleasure to see one of the biggest movie stars of all time on your television every week in two separate streaming shows? Both 1923 and Shrinking are showing why Ford remains a force to be reckoned with even 80 years young. Of course, even if he never made another TV show or movie, he would be one of the most legendary actors of all time. Hans Solo, Indiana Jones, Rick Deckard, Jack Ryan, and the list of iconic characters doesn’t stop there. In honor of his return to our screens, we’ve compiled a list of some of his best movie and TV shows, ranked from worst to best.
15. What Lies Beneath (2000)
The first movie on our list is Ford’s only true horror movie in his expansive filmography. Starring opposite Michelle Pfeiffer, What Lies Beneath tells the story of a couple whose seemingly idyllic life is quickly dismantled when a nefarious spirit begins to haunt their home. Of course, as with most horror movies, there is more going on beneath the surface of their marital home, both literally and figuratively. You can stream What Lies Beneath now on HBO Max.
14. Clear And Present Danger (1994)
Harrison Ford is notable for many reasons, but the primary one might be his ability to lead so many different film franchises to success both critically and at the box office. We will get to his more iconic roles later, but some may forget that he also played famed CIA agent Jack Ryan as well. Based on the series of novels by Tom Clancy, Ford first played Ryan in 1992’s Patriot Games before reprising the role here in Clear And Present Danger. Both films are surely worth your time, and feature the kind of statecraft and espionage you would expect, but this one just barely edges out its predecessor in execution.
13. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Speaking of famous film franchises, this is certainly one of the biggies for Ford, who first played the iconic role of Hans Solo back in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope. Here, however, we find Ford entering the end of his journey, playing Solo one last time in the first film of the updated trilogy. Despite coming to his untimely end, Solo plays an essential role in not only this movie, but the remainder of the trilogy, as his death sets into motion much of the film’s action.
12. 1923 (2023)
Back before he was Hans Solo, Indiana Jones, or Jack Ryan, Harrison Ford was kicking around broadcast television in a series of forgotten roles. Now, all these years later, he returns to the “small screen,” albeit in one of the biggest television franchises of all time. 1923 exists within the Yellowstone universe, though taking place nearly a century before the action of the primary narrative. Ford plays Jacob Dutton, leader of the famed Dutton ranch in and around the time of prohibition and The Great Depression. Like its predecessors, 1923 is a huge hit for its streaming service Paramount +, with many praising the lead performances by Ford and co-star Helen Mirren.
11. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
You might be picking up on a bit of a theme within Ford’s career. As of late, everything old is new again, and that includes this long-awaited sequel to 1982’s Blade Runner, an iconic sci-fi movie from Ridley Scott. This film, which sees Ford reprise his role as Rick Deckard, is directed by Dennis Villeneuve, now the director of the Dune franchise. Starring opposite Ford is Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, Robin Wright, and Jared Leto. As with any long-awaited sequel to a beloved movie, the release of Blade Runner 2049 came with its fair share of pressure. That said, most critics were very impressed with the film, praising the direction and acting, including Ford’s performance. You can stream the movie now on Hulu.
10. Working Girl (1988)
Working Girl is a little different from many of Ford’s most famous roles as it is a stand-alone romantic-comedy outside of any established franchise. Here, Ford plays the role of Jack Trainer, a businessman who is romantically involved with both of the film’s female leads, played by Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver. Working Girl was a massive hit in 1988, both critically and financially, nominated for six Academy Awards and making over $100 million at the box office.
9. The Mosquito Coast (1986)
1986’s Mosquito Coast is a drama directed by Peter Weir, the same man who directed Ford in Witness, a movie we will get to later on our list. The film, based on a 1981 novel of the same name by Paul Theroux, tells the story of Ford’s Allie Fox, an inventor who moves his family into the jungles of Central America in search of a lost dream. Though things start off well enough, Fox soon starts displaying signs of losing his grip with reality. The film was recently rebooted as a television series on Apple+ starring Justin Theroux who, incidentally, is the nephew of the novel’s author.
8. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
This is where we officially start our argument that Indiana Jones is one of, if not the coolest character in movie history. And who could argue? In June of this year, we will get a fifth installment to the Indiana Jones saga, coming over 40 years after the original film, proving audiences are still hungry for more Indy. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade marks the third film in the franchise and serves as a direct follow up to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Starring Sean Connery, River Phoenix, and Alison Doody, The Last Crusade was widely praised upon the time of its release, with many critics praising the lighthearted nature of the film, in contrast to the darker tone of the second movie in the series, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
7. American Graffiti (1973)
American Graffiti is one of the more influential films to come out of the early 1970s, a time capsule movie that focuses on a whole host of teenagers as they come of age in California in 1962. The idea that this modest story of hanging out, driving around, and eating hamburgers at the closest fast-food joint comes from the same mind that would bring the world Star Wars just four years later is pretty wild to consider. And yet American Graffiti, George Lucas’s first-ever feature, is quite charming in its own right, and features some excellent performances from a number of young actors and actresses, including Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, and, of course, Harrison Ford, here performing in one of his first ever film roles. You can stream American Graffiti now on Showtime.
6. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back is the second installment in the original Star Wars trilogy, though is now listed as episode four. Chronological confusion aside, this is considered by many to be one of the best movies in the series and certainly lived up to the hype that accompanied it around the time of its release. There’s no doubt that The Empire Strikes Back includes some of the most iconic scenes in not only Star Wars history but film history as a whole. The movie was a critical and financial success, making over $500 million at the box office and helping to establish the series as the dominant pop culture of the time.
5. The Fugitive (1993)
You could make a compelling argument that Harrison Ford is the most accomplished action movie star in Hollywood history, and The Fugitive would surely be central to that thesis. Describing a movie as a “non-stop thrill ride” is almost a parody at this point. Perhaps it’s because The Fugitive actually pulled off that qualifier so well that every other movie pales in comparison. This movie is relentless, starting hot and absolutely never cooling down for a second. The first 45 minutes see a murder, a wrongful conviction, a prison break, an epic chase, and a swan dive for the ages. That’s before we truly enter the meat of the story, which takes the form of a cat and mouse game between Harrison Ford’s Dr. Richard Kimble (the mouse) and Tommy Lee Jones’ Samuel Gerard (the wily cat).
4. Blade Runner (1982)
We’ve already discussed the recent sequel, but the original Blade Runner remains one of the more iconic sci-fi movies of all time. Based on the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, this movie is set in the dystopian future of…2019, in which artificial intelligence has seemingly become too smart for their own good. Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, The Gladiator), Blade Runner was not a huge financial hit at the time, but has since grown in estimation, becoming one of the most well-respected sci-fi movies in history.
3. Witness (1985)
1985’s Witness sees Harrison Ford play the role of detective John Book, a Philadelphia cop who gets drawn into a conspiracy which includes the very police force he works for. To escape detection, Book must hide out in rural Lancaster, Pennsylvania with an Amish community. Quickly, a mutual attraction blooms between Ford and a young Amish woman named Rachel (Kelly McGinnis) further complicating the situation. Directed by Peter Weir, Witness was a minor financial hit but earned Ford a Best Actor nomination at the 1986 Academy Awards.
2. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
Where it all started, A New Hope was an immediate smash hit, beginning the era of the blockbuster movie in a huge way in late 1970’s Hollywood. There are a million reasons why this movie works so well, but it is hard to argue that Ford is not among the biggest. Hans Solo remains one of the coolest, most recognizable characters in movie history, and only Ford could have played him with that amount of bravado and lovability.
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
As good as the rest of the movies on this list and continues to be even after a dozen rewatches, nothing quite holds up like Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first in the Indiana Jones film series. There are a lot of reasons this movie works; wonderful score, impeccable direction, swashbuckling story, melted Nazis, etc. But all pale in comparison to the man himself. Indiana Jones is, to put it simply, the greatest action hero of all time and it’s not particularly close. Ford took what he learned playing Hans Solo and brought it to another level, creating one of the greatest characters of all time.