5. “Romancing The Stone” (1984)
One of the few films to follow in the footsteps of Indiana Jones with any degree of success, and Zemeckis’ first big box-office hit, “Romancing The Stone” is a little neglected now among the director’s pictures, but it remains one of his most purely enjoyable outings. Penned by Diane Thomas (who was working as a waitress when the movie sold: sadly, she died in a car crash just two years later), the film stars Kathleen Turner, in a 180 from her breakout in “Body Heat,” as Joan, a mousy, lonely romance novelist who heads to Colombia in search of her kidnapped sister, teaming her up with treasure seeker Jack Colton (Michael Douglas), and pitting her against not just the kidnappers (Danny DeVito and Zack Norman), but also a sinister military man (Manuel Ojeda) — oddly, the drug dealer, played by filmmaker Alfonso Arua, is a good guy, one of the clearest indicators of how much ’80s filmmakers liked cocaine. Like “Raiders Of The Lost Ark,” it’s a movie taking its cues from cinema history, but less from classic serials and more from screwball comedy, mixed with a little “Treasure Of The Sierra Madre,” but brought to life with Zemeckis’ fresh filmmaking chops, which are more confident here than with his earlier pictures. The studio had little faith in the film during production (indeed, Zemeckis was meant to direct “Cocoon,” but was replaced with Ron Howard after the studio saw the first cut of ‘Romancing’), but it works far better than it has any right to: Thomas’ script is slickly plotted and sparkily funny, the chemistry between the leads sizzles, and the action’s consistently entertaining. Just avoid the lukewarm sequel, “The Jewel Of The Nile.”
4. “Back to the Future Part II” (1989)
Here at The Playlist, we pride ourselves on our ability to reach a consensus. And by consensus, we mean a definitive conclusion to an argument, which happens due to boredom or people having to go to bed in other time zones. Still, it means we are mostly fairly harmonious, and yet in this Eden of agreement, there is a single Serpent, and the name of that unresolved, ever contentious film? “Back to the Future II.” Which is why every time it crops up in a list I (Jess) swoop in to claim it: I think it’s absolutely brilliant. At the time it was regarded as overly complicated (presumably by people who cannot follow the literal two-line chalkboard diagram Doc Brown uses to explain the “alternate 1984” thing), but surely now that we’re all so versed in the idea of multiverses it’s revealed as actually quite far ahead of its time (!). It’s also the only ‘BTTF’ film that goes to the actual future (which will arrive in just 20 days time, apparently), and frankly, if you invented a Time Machine, would you really use it primarily to visit your mom when she was young, to get some crazy old coot an old-timey girlfriend, or would you go forward in time? It’s by far the most ambitious of the trilogy, requiring world-creation rather than recreation from Zemeckis, and if it doesn’t have the warmheartedness that makes the first film such an enduring classic, it has enough wit, invention, and even satire to make it damn near as smart.
3. “Cast Away” (2000)
No one needs to point out that Robert Zemeckis understands the power of spectacle, nor would they have any reason to doubt the director’s capacity to wow an audience. Yet every couple of years, Zemeckis quietly makes a film that reminds us that he can also deliver an honest-to-god emotional powerhouse for the multiplex crowd. These are the films where the director channels his showier tendencies and aims straight for the heart. He recently reverted to this more human mode of storytelling in his uneven, inexplicably Oscar-nominated “Flight,” but for our money, his 2000 survival story “Cast Away” is his most emotionally lacerating and powerful picture. The film also reunites the director with his All-American leading man Tom Hanks, who is a long way from the simple-minded namesake hero of “Forrest Gump” here. Those who have seen the film and are familiar with its central narrative conceit (dude gets stranded on an island after a horrific crash, reverts to primitivism, finds happiness and himself, etc.) know that Hanks is essentially putting on a one-man show here. And it’s a magnificent turn: quietly heartbreaking and teeming with layers of humanity, it is practically impossible to imagine any other actor in the role. Who can forget his funny, sad, and bizarre scenes with his island friend Wilson, in what is surely the most touching performance ever given by a piece of sports equipment? “Cast Away” is ultimately a dazzling fusion of everything that makes Zemeckis an indispensable creative force: his effortless command of the visual medium, his fine way with actors, and, perhaps most importantly, his unyielding belief in our own ingenuity and the value of our spirit and will to survive. Like its hero, “Cast Away” endures. It’s one of the director’s most mature, moving, and well-made films.
2. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” (1988)
It’s a film that probably shouldn’t have ever gotten made. A film that brought together classic cartoon characters from Disney, Looney Tunes, and plentiful other sources, and added in the star of several classic Brit gangster flicks and a long-running series of TV commercials for British Telecom. A family movie that was also a surprisingly effective “Chinatown”-esque noir. A picture melding live-action and animation like nothing that had come before. A big-budget extravaganza that starred the rather unlikely figure of Bob Hoskins. But thank Toontown it did get made, because the film remains one of the best blockbusters of the 1980s, and, aside from the obvious one, the clear high point of Zemeckis’ career. Opening with a bravura Tom & Jerry-ish short before revealing that we’re actually on a movie set where the titular Roger (voiced by Charles Fleischer) is the star, we’re soon thrust into a complex mystery in a world where humans live side-by-side with 2D animations, and toon-hating PI Eddie Valiant (Hoskins, who does so much to sell the reality of the effects) has to help the rabbit beat a murder rap and reunite with his wife Jessica (Kathleen Turner, thrusting much of the young audience into early puberty). It’s incredibly inventive, funny stuff, overwhelmed with a love for classic cartoons, while also spinning a genuinely involving plot that isn’t afraid to go into darker territory, and somehow uniting the two seemingly opposite tones. And unlike other visual effects showcases from years past, it hasn’t aged a day, and hasn’t (yet) had its memory tarnished with sequels and reboots, which makes it all the more cherishable.
1. “Back to the Future” (1985)
Sometimes getting older is just the worst, but then you get to remember that you’re part of the “Back To The Future” era and it doesn’t really feel that bad anymore. Simply one of the best high-concept, adventure-comedy mashups ever made (rivaled only by the previous year’s “Ghostbusters” in those stakes) it’s the rare childhood classic that absolutely stands the test of time (sorry, but the time puns just won’t stop). The deliriously inventive story of young Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox, defining a generation), and his inexplicable friendship with crazy old Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) who has just converted a DeLorean into a time machine, the film changes gears about twelve times throughout but somehow never shifts down. Brilliantly negotiating the ooginess of the potential incest subplot (seriously, how many films this uncomplicatedly enjoyable have a mom hitting on her own son?), as 1950s Marty saves Doc, repairs his 1980s crummy life, improves his parents’ marriage, bests bad guy Biff, and invents rock ‘n’ roll, it’s really the apotheosis of everything Zemeckis can do as both a writer and a director. Snappy, knowing dialogue, delivered by career-best actors who are entirely in on the joke and yet completely committed to their ludicrous situations, coupled with truly exciting set pieces that careen from one high point to another, it truly feels that with “Back To the Future,” the lightning rod of Zemeckis’ populism was finally struck with a bolt from the sky — 1.21 gigawatts of pure popcorn joy.
Honorable Mentions: If you wanted to be an absolute Zemeckis completist, you could also check out, among others, Spielberg’s “1941,” which he co-wrote, and Walter Hill’s “Trespass,” which he has an unlikely screenplay credit on. He also helmed an episode of Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories” show, and installments of “Johnny Bago,” “Two-Fisted Tales,” and “Tales From The Crypt,” which he was a producer on. And as some form of producer, he was involved in not just the various “Tales From The Crypt” franchise, but also 1992’s “The Public Eye,” Peter Jackson’s “The Frighteners”; various movies from his Dark Castle horror line with Joel Silver, including “House On Haunted Hill,” “Thir13en Ghosts,” “Ghost Ship,” “House Of Wax” and “Gothika”; performance capture animations “Monster House” (which is great) and “Mars Needs Moms” (which isn’t); and most recently, the Hugh Jackman robot boxing movie “Real Steel.” Next up? An untitled World War Two romance penned by “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight, and starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.
– Oliver Lyttelton, Jessica Kiang, Nicholas Laskin