The Best John Heard Movies

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Updated August 11, 2023 597 votes 105 voters
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List of the best John Heard movies, ranked best to worst with movie trailers when available. John Heard'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 John Heard movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated John Heard movies will be at the top of the list. John Heard has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest John Heard movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining John Heard films to end the squabble once and for all.

If you think the best John Heard role isn't at the top, then upvote it so it has the chance to become number one. The greatest John Heard performances didn't necessarily come from the best movies, but in most cases they go hand in hand.

List contains films like Waterland and Freak Weather.

"This list answers the questions, "What are the best John Heard movies?" and "What are the greatest John Heard roles of all time?"

Notable directors that have worked with John Heard include names like Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma and Garry Marshall.

Most divisive: C.H.U.D.
Ranked by
  • Cutter's Way
    1

    Cutter's Way

    Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn
    20 votes
    • Released: 1981
    • Directed by: Ivan Passer
    Best friends Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) and Alex Cutter (John Heard) are two middle-class guys living in an upper-class town. The Santa Barbara buddies get dragged into a murder mystery when Richard accidentally spots a man ditching a body into a trash can. Alex, an embittered Vietnam veteran who lost an eye and leg in the war, thinks what Richard saw is worth something, especially when it comes out that the potential murderer is a wealthy and powerful man in the community.

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  • Big
    2

    Big

    Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia
    22 votes
    • Released: 1988
    • Directed by: Penny Marshall
    In the classic comedy-drama Big, Josh Baskin (Tom Hanks) is an everyday 12-year-old boy who yearns for adulthood. After making a wish on a mystical arcade machine, he wakes up in the body of a 30-year-old man. Now navigating the adult world with a child's heart, Josh encounters everything from finding a job at a toy company to experiencing his first love with coworker Susan Lawrence (Elizabeth Perkins). Directed by Penny Marshall, Big earned Hanks an Academy Award nomination and solidified his status as a leading man in Hollywood. The movie gracefully explores the contrast between childhood innocence and adult responsibilities, serving both laughter and thought-provoking moments.

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  • Pollock
    3

    Pollock

    Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, Amy Madigan
    9 votes
    • Released: 2000
    • Directed by: Ed Harris
    In August of 1949, Life Magazine ran a banner headline that begged the question: "Jackson Pollock: Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" The film is a look back into the life of an extraordinary man, a man who has fittingly been called "an artist dedicated to concealment, a celebrity who nobody knew." As he struggled with self-doubt, engaging in a lonely tug-of-war between needing to express himself and wanting to shut the world out, Pollock began a downward spiral.

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  • Home Alone
    4

    Home Alone

    Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
    23 votes
    • Released: 1990
    • Directed by: Chris Columbus
    Home Alone, a comedic family film, spins the tale of Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), an 8-year-old boy accidentally left behind when his family flies to Paris for Christmas. In their absence, he must defend his suburban Chicago home from two bumbling burglars, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern). Using wit and daring traps, Kevin turns the tables on the intruders. Directed by Chris Columbus, this movie won a British Comedy Award and received two Academy Award nominations, cementing its place in holiday movie history. It's a delightful mix of humor, adventure, and the indomitable spirit of a child.

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  • The Pelican Brief
    5

    The Pelican Brief

    Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Sam Shepard
    14 votes
    • Released: 1993
    • Directed by: Alan J. Pakula
    In the suspenseful thriller The Pelican Brief, law student Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) finds herself entangled in a dangerous web of political intrigue. After drafting a legal brief predicting the motives behind two Supreme Court justices' murders, she becomes a target. As the plot thickens, investigative journalist Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) joins her to unravel the truth. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, this movie weaves a tale of mystery and peril where trust is scarce and every step could be deadly. With each twist and turn, it keeps viewers on the edge of their seats.

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  • The Scarlet Letter
    6

    The Scarlet Letter

    John Heard, Meg Foster, Kevin Conway
    7 votes
    • Released: 1979
    • Directed by: Rick Hauser
    The Scarlet Letter is a 1979 miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne: it aired on WGBH from March 3, 1979 to March 24, 1979. The series is four episodes long, 60 minutes each. Part 2 won the 1979 Emmy Award for Outstanding Video Tape Editing for a Limited Series or Special for film editors Ken Denisoff, Janet McFadden, and Tucker Wiard. In 1979, when most literary programs were being produced in the United Kingdom, Boston public television station WGBH decided to produce a homegrown literary classic of its own. The result was this version of Hawthorne's enduring novel of Puritan America in search of its soul. Hester Prynne becomes stigmatized after committing adultery, and is doomed to live with the consequences forever. Hawthorne's themes, the nature of sin, social hypocrisy, and community repression, still reverberate through American society. Hester Prynne is a young, Puritan woman who commits adultery while her husband is in Europe, and, upon the birth of her illegitimate child, is subsequently condemned to wear a scarlet "A" for the rest of her life.