Goin' South (1978): Jack Nicholson, Mary Steenburgen and John Belushi

     Directed by and starring Jack Nicholson, Goin' South (1978) was not a huge hit upon it's release, but has developed a Cult following. The Western Comedy centers on an outlaw who get saved from the gallows by a bizarre ordinance in which he marries a virgin and tries to strike it rich mining gold. The cast is great and has good chemistry, including Jack Nicholson, Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito and Ed Begley Jr. Both Mary Steenburgen and John Belushi make their screen debuts.

Goin' South. 1978: Jack Nicholson

Goin' South. 1978: Christopher Lloyd

Goin' South. 1978: Jack Nicholson and Mary Steenburgen

Goin' South. 1978: Jack Nicholson and Mary Steenburgen

Goin' South. 1978: Jack Nicholson and Mary Steenburgen

Goin' South. 1978: John Belushi

Goin' South. 1978: Jack Nicholson and Mary Steenburgen

Goin' South. 1978: Jack Nicholson and Mary Steenburgen

Goin' South. 1978: Jack Nicholson and Mary Steenburgen

Goin' South. 1978: Jack Nicholson and Mary Steenburgen

"Goin' South"- trailer

The Missouri Breaks (1976): Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson

     Directed by Arthur Penn, The Missouri Breaks (1976) has grown in Cult status, but was a commercial failure upon it's initial release. Anticipation and high expectations killed the film's chances: It was Marlon Brando's first film since Last Tango in Paris and The Godfather, and Jack Nicholson's first since Chinatown and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. There was just too much hype to live up to. Nevertheless, The Missouri Breaks is a great Western film, held together by Arthur Penn's masterful direction. Jack Nicholson is crafty as a thieving rustler pretending to be a farmer, and Marlon Brando is chilling as a sociopathic Regulator out for the kill. The supporting cast is good as well, including Randy Quaid, Kathleen Lloyd and Harry Dean Stanton.

The Missouri Breaks. 1976: Jack Nicholson

The Missouri Breaks. 1976: Marlon Brando

The Missouri Breaks. 1976: Jack Nicholson

The Missouri Breaks. 1976: Marlon Brando

The Missouri Breaks. 1976: Jack Nicholson

The Missouri Breaks. 1976: Marlon Brando

The Missouri Breaks. 1976: Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson

The Missouri Breaks. 1976: Marlon Brando

The Missouri Breaks. 1976: Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson

"The Missouri Breaks"- movie trailer

Chinatown (1974): Roman Polanski, Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway

     Despite being made twenty years after the classic Film Noir period ended and being shot in color, Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974) still managed to capture all the atmosphere and feel of it's forebears and hence has become a true heavyweight in the genre. Full of grit, sexuality, corruption and mystery, it is a tense masterpiece of 1970's Cinema.

     Private Investigator Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) specializes in cases involving cheating spouses... 

Chinatown. 1974: Jack Nicholson

     He is hired by an impostor wife to investigate Mr. Mulwray, the Water and Power Commissioner for Los Angeles, who is suspected of cheating. Gittes' snooping reveals strange findings, and when Mr. Mulwray is found dead, he grows more suspicious and inquisitive. This leads him be involved with Mulwray's real wife, Evelyn (Faye Dunaway)... 

Chinatown. 1974: Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway

     Part of the mystery involves the building of a dam, the needless disposal of tons of the City's water supply during a major drought...

Chinatown. 1974: Jack Nicholson

 and the purchase of acres of barren farmland surrounding Los Angeles... 

Chinatown. 1974: Jack Nicholson

     The web grows more dangerous as Evelyn's father, Noah Cross (John Huston), a powerful man, is increasingly implicated in the events... 

Chinatown. 1974: Jack Nicholson

Chinatown. 1974: Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway

Chinatown. 1974: Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway

The Shining (1980): Stanley Kubrick, Stephen King and Jack Nicholson

     Co-written, produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, re-worked from the novel by Stephen King, The Shining (1980) is a true Horror masterpiece. The chilling story focuses on a man, hired as the winter caretaker at a remote Colorado hotel, and his family who tag along... and the terror that ensues as the man unravels into a murderous rage brought on by isolation and the haunting force of the hotel itself. With heavy use of the "steady-cam" and rolling track shots through the cavernous hotel spaces, the camera becomes very much a character in the film as well, under Kubrick's masterful direction. The cast is superb, including Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers. 

The Shining. 1980: Jack Nicholson

The Shining. 1980: Jack Nicholson

The Shining. 1980

The Shining. 1980

The Shining. 1980

The Shining. 1980: Jack Nicholson

The Shining. 1980

The Shining. 1980

The Shining. 1980

The Shining. 1980: Jack Nicholson

The Shining. 1980: Jack Nicholson

"The Shining"- movie trailer