Harvey Keitel is one of the most believable character actors who ever lived. Ever since making his screen debut as a German Soldier in Hogan's Heroes in 1966, Keitel has left a lasting mark on the cinematic landscape. His long-running work with Martin Scorsese speaks for itself, and most recently, Keitel has struck a similar recurring work relationship with Wes Anderson.
Most recently, Keitel brought his trademark gravitas to The Irishman in the sweeping Scorsese gangster epic. Simply put, Keitel has appeared in some of the finest films ever made.
10 The Duellists (1977) 92%
For Ridley Scott's feature debut, he wisely cast Keitel and Keith Carradine as the title fighters trading swordplay in the Napoleonic era.
In 1801, two French officers with a lifetime of bitter hatred between them come to a head in a series of swordfights occurring over several decades. Keitel plays Gabriel Feraud, an impulsive and hot-headed Lieutenant who wants nothing more than to end the life of Armand d'Hubert, his arch-rival. The film was nominated for two BAFTAs.
9 Pulp Fiction (1994) 92%
Who can forget the ultra-cool presence of Keitel as Winston Wolf, the curt-talking super-fixer who gets Jules and Vincent out of a jam in Pulp Fiction?! Yeah, nobody!
What you may have missed, however, is the fact that Wolf is basically the same character Keitel played in the 1993 movie Point of No Return, itself a bald remake of the French thriller La Femme Nikita. Both men come into harry situations, calmly rectify the situation, then get paid for their troubles.
8 Smoke (1995) 93%
While Keitel is known for playing intense tough-guys, crooked cops, wicked pimps and sordid gangsters, he's never shown a softer and more kindhearted side of his soul than the way he does in the supremely underrated indie feature Smoke!
The quasi-anthology film revolves around a Brooklyn cigar shop and its various patrons. Keitel is the shop's owner, Auggie Wren, who becomes involved in a plot with a writer customer named Paul Benjamin (William Hurt). The Christmas story Auggie tells Paul at the end of the film is pure cinematic gold!
7 Moonrise Kingdom (2012) 93%
Moonrise Kingdom marks the first of three collaborations between Keitel and his newest directorial muse, Wes Anderson. Unfortunately, Keitel didn't get an invitation for Anderson's newest ditty, The French Dispatch.
In Moonrise, Keitel plays Commander Pierce, the top-ranking Boy Scout leader who conducts a mission to find their missing boy, Sam (Jared Gilman). For all of you trivia buffs, note how Keitel shares many of his scenes with Eric Chase Anderson, Wes's little brother.
6 The Irishman (2019) 96%
Despite the technical excellence and 96% approval among critics, it was shocking to see The Irishman shut out during awards season. Perhaps voters couldn't make it through the three and a half-hour runtime!
In a more mature and contemplative take on the gangster genre, Scorsese explored the loyalties among made-men during the 1960s. De Niro's Frank Sheehan is torn between his love of his Italian mob ties and his love of Irish union-leader Jimmy Hoffa, setting up for a harrowing decision of life or death in the end.
5 Mean Streets (1973) 97%
Although they collaborated once before in Who's That Knocking on My Door, Scorsese and Keitel put their first real stamp of personal filmmaking on the 1973 gangster pic Mean Streets.
Keitel takes center stage in this one as Charlie, a small-time criminal conflicted about entering an interracial relationship with an epileptic black woman. As his wild partner Johnny Boy (De Niro) acts out, the two become embroiled in a dangerous fight for their lives.
4 Taxi Driver (1976) 97%
In one of the most important, iconic and oft-imitated American classics ever made, Keitel gives a frightening performance as Sport, the overly-chipper pimp in Scorsese's Taxi Driver!
The rich character study of an isolated loner driven to violent means of catharsis is made even stronger by the presence of Keitel as Sport. The climactic action of the film goes down when Travis Bickle (De Niro) confronts Sport over his treatment of young Iris (Jodie Foster), leading to one of the most violent scenes ever filmed.
3 Fail Safe (2000) 100%
In the remake of Sidney Lumet's 1964 anti-nuclear war film Fail-Safe, an equally star-studded cast was up to the task. Among them, of course, is Keitel as Brig. General Warren Black!
Often bundled as the flipside of Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, Fail-Safe ditches the pitch-black humor and tells a deadly serious story of nuclear destruction when the U.S. is ordered to drop a bomb over Moscow during the Cold War. George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Richard Dreyfuss, Sam Elliot, Brian Dennehy, and several others star in the film.
2 Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam (1987) 100%
Despite lending only his voice in the riveting Vietnam war documentary, Keitel's heartfelt pathos in the film cannot be overstated. This is simply one of the most astounding wartime docs ever produced!
The intimate account of the scarifying Vietnam War is comprised of written letters by various U.S. soldiers, Marines, Air Force members and the like as they communicate with friends and family back home. Raw footage, archival newsreels, and firsthand accounts are spliced together to paint a grand picture of the horrors of war. A must-see for history buffs!
1 Blue Collar (1978) 100%
Starring alongside Richard Pryor and Yaphet Kotto in Paul Schrader's superb directorial feature debut, Blue Collar shows a side of Keitel we've rarely seen before. A humorous side!
The movie follows a trio of Detroit auto-workers who, after being stiffed by their cruel boss, decides to rob the union they belong to. In the process, the uncover widespread corruption among their own. Despite the palpable chemistry among the three leads in this so-called "buddy comedy," the three actors reportedly hated each other in real life. You'd never guess it based on how well they get along in the movie. Now that's acting!
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