Entertainment
The Best Jack Nicholson Movies
List Rules
Vote for your favorite movies, regardless of critic reviews or how big the role was.
List of the best Jack Nicholson movies, ranked best to worst with movie trailers when available. Jack Nicholson's highest grossing movies have received a lot of accolades over the years, earning millions upon millions around the world. The order of these top Jack Nicholson movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated Jack Nicholson movies will be at the top of the list. Jack Nicholson has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest Jack Nicholson movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining Jack Nicholson films to end the squabble once and for all.
If you think the best Jack Nicholson role isn't at the top, then upvote it so it has the chance to become number one. The greatest Jack Nicholson performances didn't necessarily come from the best movies, but in most cases they go hand in hand.
This list includes Five Easy Pieces, The Border and more.
"This list answers the questions, "What are the best Jack Nicholson movies?" and "What are the greatest Jack Nicholson roles of all time?"Ranked by
1Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif- Released: 1975
- Directed by: Milos Forman
When Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) gets transferred for evaluation from a prison farm to a mental institution, he assumes it will be a less restrictive environment. But the martinet Nurse ...more
2Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd- Released: 1980
- Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer's block. He settles in along with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and ...more![Chinatown]()
3Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston- Released: 1974
- Directed by: Roman Polanski
When Los Angeles private eye J.J. "Jake" Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is hired by Evelyn Mulwray to investigate her husband's activities, he believes it's a routine infidelity case. Jake's investigation ...more![A Few Good Men]()
4Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore- Released: 1992
- Directed by: Rob Reiner
Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is a military lawyer defending two U.S. Marines charged with killing a fellow Marine at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Although Kaffee is known for seeking plea ...more![As Good as It Gets]()
5Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear- Released: 1997
- Directed by: James L. Brooks
Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) is an obsessive-compulsive writer of romantic fiction who's rude to everyone he meets, including his gay neighbor Simon (Greg Kinnear), but when he has to look after ...more- 6Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Martin Scorsese
South Boston cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes under cover to infiltrate the organization of gangland chief Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). As Billy gains the mobster's trust, a career ...more - 7Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Tim Burton
Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into ...more ![Easy Rider]()
8Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson- Released: 1969
- Directed by: Dennis Hopper
Easy Rider is a 1969 American independent road drama film directed by Dennis Hopper. Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) are freewheeling motorcyclists that sell cocaine smuggled from ...more![Five Easy Pieces]()
9Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach- Released: 1970
- Directed by: Bob Rafelson
Rejecting his cultured upper-class background as a classical pianist, Robert Dupea (Jack Nicholson) opts for a blue-collar existence, working in a California oil field and spending time with his ...more![The Last Detail]()
10Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid- Released: 1973
- Directed by: Hal Ashby
When sailor Larry Meadows (Randy Quaid) is sentenced to eight years in a New Hampshire prison, Navy lifers Billy Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) and Mule Mulhall (Otis Young) are assigned to escort him ...more![Terms of Endearment]()
11Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson- Released: 1983
- Directed by: James L. Brooks
Widow Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter, Emma (Debra Winger), have a strong bond, but Emma marries teacher Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels) against her mother's wishes. When the marriage ...more![The Bucket List]()
12Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Rob Reiner
Billionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and car mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) are complete strangers, until fate lands them in the same hospital room. The men find they have two things ...more![Carnal Knowledge]()
13Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Ann-Margret- Released: 1971
- Directed by: Mike Nichols
Nice guy Sandy (Art Garfunkel) and charming schemer Jonathan (Jack Nicholson) meet as college roommates in the late 1940s. Sandy woos and eventually marries the sweetly virginal Susan (Candice ...more![Hoffa]()
14Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Armand Assante- Released: 1992
- Directed by: Danny DeVito
Dramatized biography of the infamous American union boss Jimmy Hoffa, following four decades of his life, from his rise as head of the Teamsters Union to the scandal that led to his downfall. His ...more![Prizzi's Honor]()
15Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Anjelica Huston- Released: 1985
- Directed by: John Huston
For Charley Partanna (Jack Nicholson), life in the Prizzi family is good as long as he honors the wishes of the Godfather (William Hickey). Partanna is respected for ruthlessly carrying out murder ...more![The Witches of Eastwick]()
16Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon- Released: 1987
- Directed by: George Miller
Three small-town friends, Alexandra (Cher), Jane (Susan Sarandon) and Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer), each having lost the man in their lives, are feeling unfulfilled -- until a furtive stranger, Daryl ...more![About Schmidt]()
17Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Alexander Payne
Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) has arrived at several of life's crossroads all at the same time. To begin with, he is retiring from a lifetime of service as an actuary for Woodmen of the World ...more![The Postman Always Rings Twice]()
18Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, John Colicos- Released: 1981
- Directed by: Bob Rafelson
Itinerant troublemaker Frank Chambers (Jack Nicholson) has a meal at a roadside restaurant and meets devastating femme fatale Cora Papadakis (Jessica Lange). As it turns out, Cora is married to the ...more![Anger Management]()
19Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Peter Segal
Dave Buznik (Adam Sandler) is usually a mild-mannered nonconfrontational guy. But after an altercation aboard an airplane, he is remanded to the care of an anger-management therapist, Dr. Buddy ...more![The Pledge]()
20Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright, Aaron Eckhart- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Sean Penn
On the day of his retirement, detective Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) accepts a gift -- an airline ticket to Mexico. But when the body of a murdered eight-year-old girl is discovered in the mountains, ...more![Wolf]()
21Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader- Released: 1994
- Directed by: Mike Nichols
After being bitten by a wolf in rural Vermont, aging book editor Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) finds himself full of youthful vigor. Randall then discovers that he's been fired and replaced by ...more![The Passenger]()
22Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre- Released: 1975
- Directed by: Michelangelo Antonioni
David Locke (Jack Nicholson) is a world-weary American journalist who has been sent to cover a conflict in northern Africa, but he makes little progress with the story. When he discovers the body of ...more![Goin' South]()
23Jack Nicholson, Mary Steenburgen, Christopher Lloyd- Released: 1978
- Directed by: Jack Nicholson
According to the laws of the Old West town where criminal Henry Lloyd Moon (Jack Nicholson) is about to be executed, a death row convict will be spared if a reputable woman promises to mend his ways. ...more![Reds]()
24Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson- Released: 1981
- Directed by: Warren Beatty
American journalist John Reed (Warren Beatty) journeys to Russia to document the Boleshevik Revolution and returns a revolutionary. His fervor for left-wing politics leads him to Louise Bryant (Diane ...more![The Crossing Guard]()
25Jack Nicholson, David Morse, Anjelica Huston- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Sean Penn
For six excruciating years, Freddy Gale (Jack Nicholson) has fantasized about taking bloody revenge on John Booth (David Morse), the drunk driver responsible for the traffic accident that killed his ...more
