With Jack back in the headlines after Nicholson was spotted for the first time since 2021, now is the perfect time to revisit the work of the reclusive actor, who never turned in a bad performance over the decades that he worked, working at the fringes of culture in the 60s before being moved into its center, turning in varied and interesting work even as Hollywood morphed in unexpected ways in the ensuing decades.
Quite simply, Jack Nicholson is the best film star in history. Don’t believe me? Here’s a smattering of some of his under-heralded work, which I guarantee will convince you that there’s never been anyone better.
Jack Nicholson’s most underrated movies
7. Wolf (1994)
Man, has this aged beautifully. Damned with faint praise at the time, Mike Nichols horror noir about a writer who is overpowered by the ancient curse of the werewolf is tense, funny, sexy and dramatically interesting, all with a wonderful score from Ennio Morricone and a deliciously detestable performance by James Spader as the antagonist. A pitch-perfect satire of the publishing world that needs to be seen more in 2023, written by one of the best writers in film history, Elaine May.
6. Ride in the Whirlwind (1965)
There is little cultural memory of Nicholson’s 60s westerns today, but if you’re going to dig up one, start with Ride the Whirlwind. (If you’re going to get two, add The Shooting, also in need of more supporters). Written by Jack himself, the film has tenents of great films of the genre while also capturing the countercultural ennui of Nicholson’s BBS work like Five Easy Pieces and Easy Rider.
5. The Border (1982)
Why do some movies stand the test of time, while others do not? While The Border features one of Nicholson’s best performances, the answer to this one’s obscurity lies likely in its upsetting nature and the controversy that surrounded it at the time of release. A neo-noir released within a year of Lawrence Kasdan’s smoldering Body Heat with none of the visual calling cards of the genre to draw viewers in, the film thrives on the layered, nuance performance of its star.
4. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
Much derided at the time and still in many circles, this adaptation of James M. Cain’s iconic book, already made into an excellent film in 1946, is deserving of reevaluation, pairing Nicholson with Jessica Lang, all operating from a minimalist script from David Mamet and cinematography from frequent Ingmar Bergman collaborator Sven Nykvist. It’s, grim, grimy and incredibly sensual, and feels real in a way that other noir adaptations really do.
3. The Fortune (1975)
While it may have felt like The Graduate director Mike Nichols’s flop era at the time, with The Day of the Dolphin and The Fortune underperforming, the latter has aged quite well, a charming 20s throwback that lives off the chemistry between Nicholson, Warren Beatty and Stockard Channing.
2. The Passenger (1975)
Another classic that has gotten its due for only scattered moments since its release nearly 50 years ago, The Passenger finds Nicholson perfectly at home in the wistful existentialism of Michelangelo Antonioni, here playing a journalist who assumes the identity of a dead businessman in Chad, which unknowingly pulls him into a dark world.
1 The Last Detail (1973)
While it’s hard to call a film that saw Nicholson nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor underrated, the fact that The Last Detail is not brought up in the same breath as films like Chinatown and The Shining is a crime, as it’s undoubtably one of the best performances, and best films, of Nicholson’s long career, as well as one of his most good-hearted. It follows two soldiers as they accompany a young private to prison, a punishment that doesn’t fit his crime. A true gem.