I am someone who has seen everything that Harrison Ford has ever done. He’s been the love of my life since my parents took me to see Air Force One in theaters. As an adult, I worked my way through his filmography because I liked the energy that Ford put into his work and I love going through entire filmographies of performers I like. All this to say that I am qualified to be making this list and telling the people what Harrison Ford movies they should start with.
Now that Ford is back in the limelight and working harder than ever with 1923, Shrinking, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny all coming out soon, there are a lot of people who are going to remember that Harrison Ford movies rule. And if you aren’t as familiar with him and his work, don’t worry. I’m here to be your guide into all things Ford. So let’s talk about 20 movies you should see if you’re getting into his filmography (which is impressive) and talk about why these choices make sense for those just starting to get into the Ford filmography.
20. Regarding Henry
So you might be thinking that The Force Awakens was the first time that J.J. Abrams and Harrison Ford worked together but you’d be wrong! The two actually worked together on Regarding Henry, Abrams’ second film credit as a writer. The movie is about a man named Henry, a ruthless lawyer and all around bad family man. But when he suffers from a gunshot wound to the head, he struggles to remember who he is and it begins to change his relationship with his family for the better.
This is on the list because we rarely get to see a more dramatic performance from Ford. He’s either shooting up a scene, being funny, or playing an iconic character we know and love, so in the rare cases when he is just giving us a quiet and dramatic performance, it is worth the watch.
19. What Lies Beneath
Should I have seen this movie in theaters as an 8 year old? Absolutely not. But I did because I love Harrison Ford and this psychological thriller is still high up on my list. From legendary director Robert Zemeckis, What Lies Beneath brings together Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as a married couple that are met with mysterious voices and unhidden truths about their relationships and what Dr. Norman Spencer (Ford) has done in the past. Honestly? There are still genuinely terrifying parts of this movie and I love it.
18. The Age of Adaline
If you watched my interview with Michiel Huisman for Echo 3, you know that I love The Age of Adaline. The movie has a never aging Blake Lively and includes a storyline where a young version of Harrison Ford meets her, falls in love, and when his son years later brings Adaline home, he’s met with the woman he loved all those years ago. It’s chaotic, but Blake Lively is rocking some amazing outfits in it, and I loved all the press stories about Ryan Reynolds trying to show Blake Lively who Harrison Ford was before filming. So it is a requirement.
17. Working Girl
You know how Harrison Ford is seen as a sex symbol but is more of an action star than anything else? That’s because they didn’t let him do more romantic comedies after Working Girl. It is, oddly, the perfect look at what the female gaze actually is versus what male directors think it is. Harrison Ford changing his shirt in the office but the shot isn’t glorifying muscles or anything to that degree? PERFECT! He’s charming, great, and it is truly one of the most shockingly good movies on his filmography. And yes, it did make me go take the Staten Island Ferry while listening to Carly Simon just to feel like Melanie Griffith.
16. The Fugitive
You know that movie that your parents would talk about a lot when talking about Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones? It’s this one. And they’re right to talk about it, it rules. The movie is about a man named Richard Kimble (Ford) who is wrongly accused of killing his wife and he is on the run for it. For a while there, a lot of movies in his filmography featured someone getting killed and Harrison Ford dealing with it but hey, they were all trying to master the art of The Fugitive . Which begs the question, when will we get to see Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones battling it out again?
15. Blade Runner 2049
The only reason that this is so late in the ranking is because you have to sort of see Blade Runner before you see this. And I love Blade Runner 2049 a lot. I think it is a perfect use of Rick and stops the questioning of Rick’s true identity, while also giving us a new dynamic for him to deal with in Ryan Gosling’s Officer K. It’s beautiful, in the same way that the original film was, and still maintains that gritty world that Ridley Scott gave to audiences, and I love returning to this world.
14. Star Wars: A New Hope
Now I know that people are probably going to be mad this is so far back but it is, in my opinion, the weakest of the original trilogy. We get to meet our heroes and love them from this movie, but there are better examples of why Han Solo works as a character in the context of the franchise. And so it is here because you should still watch A New Hope if you haven’t seen it, but it isn’t necessarily the most fun we get to have with these characters. Even if it does have one of the best Han Solo moments in it (when he’s dressed like a storm trooper.)
13. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
I’ll say this right out the gate: The hottest Harrison Ford has ever looked in a movie and that isn’t exactly an easy feat. The movie itself is messy and is the ranked third on my list of current Indy movies that are out (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull obviously is last) but it is genuinely fun and we get to see Harrison Ford and Ke Huy Quan interacting with each other. And while Winnie Scott is a bad character that I truly do not like, this movie is still fun and I love Indy and Short Round very much.
12. Presumed Innocent
A classic of the “Harrison Ford is dealing with court cases” movies phase. Presumed Innocent has so many twists and turns that it honestly is really fascinating to watch. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, the movie is about Rusty Sabitch (Ford) and his investigation into the rape and murder of their colleague Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi), who Rusty had a relationship with. Much like his series of 1990s thrillers, this one is worth it for the wild ride that it is.
11. Hollywood Homicide
I distinctly remember seeing this movie in theaters because when I rewatched it I remember being floored by how absolutely weird it is – in a fun way. Harrison Ford plays Sgt. Joe Gavilan who moonlights as a real estate agent because he doesn’t make enough money working on the homicide unit and his partner, Detective K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett), is really into yoga. This movie is a product of the early 2000s and it definitely still feels that way but man is it hilarious to see what we were doing to Harrison Ford back then and I love it.
10. Morning Glory
When someone tells you that Harrison Ford isn’t funny, make them watch the frittata scene from Morning Glory. This is my The Morning Show. It’s about a news station and Harrison Ford is on one the entire time, but it is genuinely funny and a highlight of how great that Harrison Ford can be when directors let him have fun.
9. 42
This might be because I loved Jackie Robinson growing up and would read books about him, but I really loved 42. The story of Robinson’s rise to baseball fame, it was a standout performance from Chadwick Boseman and his energy worked incredibly well with Harrison Ford’s. Most biopics feel stale but 42 really highlights why Robinson changed the world, and getting to see Boseman shine is something that really means a lot in retrospect, but it is just genuinely worth the watch.
8. Witness
There was a time in Harrison Ford’s career where he just said my name a bunch of times, in a bunch of movies, and Witness is one of them. The plot is simple: A young Amish boy (Lukas Haas) sees a murder when traveling with his mother Rachel (Kelly McGinnis) and the police offer them protection in the form of Harrison Ford coming to live with them. So you know it’s got some hot yard work from Harrison Ford. The movie is genuinely good and earned Ford an Oscar nomination, so it is a must see!
7. American Graffiti
We almost lost out on Harrison Ford as Han Solo because of this movie. George Lucas had worked with Ford in American Graffiti and didn’t want to work with the same actors over and over again. Luckily, a casting agent knew that Ford was perfect for Han Solo and orchestrated a little ploy to get him in the audition room. And honestly, I would be mad if it hadn’t worked out because while I love American Graffiti as a movie, Ford isn’t the stand out in it. The movie is a classic though and a must-see for fans of Lucas and Ford.
6. Air Force One
You see, this was the first movie I remember seeing that starred Harrison Ford. I’m sure my family had watched Star Wars or Indiana Jones, but I was too young to recognize it. So when my father and mother couldn’t find a babysitter and took me to see Air Force One in theaters, I fell in love. Ford plays President James Marshall, who is on Air Force One with his family when it gets highjacked by terrorists and he has to fight for his family and his plane until the end and honestly? Iconic.
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Force Awakens brought Harrison Ford’s Han Solo back to me in a way that fit so well with the character, and was so emotional, and I love it so much. He’s trying to figure out where he exists in this fight as an older man, and he clearly feels guilty for his son Ben (Adam Driver) being the cause of this new fight. He’s also still struggling with his past relationship to Leia (Carrie Fisher) as well. It’s so good? And I just wish we got more of him as this Han Solo because it was perfection.
4. Empire Strikes Back
Arguably the best of the original trilogy (even though it isn’t my favorite), Empire Strikes Back is the beginning (really) of Han and Leia’s relationship and we get to see them grow and fall in love. It all leads up to the moment when we’re not sure if Han is going to survive or not. He’s charming and yet struggles to flirt, and is so bad at it that he can’t even think around Leia. This is what makes Han such a fascinating character to me. Also come on, it’s the “I love you” and “I know” moment so, you have to love it.
3. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Legitimately a flawless film by cinematography standards, Raiders of the Lost Ark made us all fall in love with Indiana Jones. I got to see it re-released in cinemas last year and it was the coolest thing ever? I’d only ever watched it at home and seeing Indy fall into the snake pit was genuinely terrifying. I loved everyone second of it. It is, on paper, the best Indiana Jones movie, it isn’t my favorite but that’s not to say I don’t love it. I do, very much. I’m just someone who loves my favorite very much.
2. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Surprise, this is my favorite Star Wars movie, so it is my favorite Han movie (Solo is up there though). A movie all about Han questioning his own feelings, and Leia’s feelings, mixed with him just frankly confused by everything and it’s perfect. Return of the Jedi has a lot of moving parts, but Han really is our guide through it because he’s sort of figuring it out as the audience is. It’s so chaotic for him that you can’t help but love his reactions to it. And I love Han and Leia so, you know, perfect.
1. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Yeah, this is my favorite Indiana Jones movie and I will fight anyone for it. The third movie in that original trilogy, Last Crusade brings us a lot about Indy’s past. We get to see how he got his chin scar (when River Phoenix played a younger Indiana Jones) and we learned that the dog’s name was Indiana and his real name is Henry Jones Jr., which comes to us from his father Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery). It’s just very fun? Easily rewatchable an a highlight of why Harrison Ford is one of our best.
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Did your favorite make the cut? Let us know what your favorite Harrison Ford movie is in the comments!
(image: Lucasfilm)
