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26 Fresh Philip Baker Hall Movies

These are the most acclaimed films of Philip Baker Hall, the prolific character actor who started his career at age 30 in 1961. Hall had an especially strong run in the 1990s, where he appeared in some of the decade’s biggest movies, including Rush Hour, The Truman Show, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Insider, Boogie Nights, and Magnolia. Hall became especially associated with Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed those latter two movies, with their collaboration beginning with 1996’s Hard Eight.

This ’90s renaissance was precipitated by his classic guest appearance in a 1991 episode of Seinfeld, where he plays the relentless, hard-nosed library cop Lt. Bookman, lightly parodying the characters he rose to prominence with in the ’70s and ’80s on TV. Hall appeared in just about every major TV show of those era, including Miami Vice, Cagney & Lacey, and MASH. (And his 1984 film with Robert Altman, Secret Honor where he portrayed Richard Nixon, drew significant acclaim.) Most recently, he had long TV stints on The Loop and Modern Family. Hall had even more uncredited and memorably brief parts in Argo, Enemy of the State, The Rock, Say Anything, Midnight Run, and Ghostbusters II. Alex Vo

#1

The Insider (1999)
96%

#1
Adjusted Score: 102744%
Critics Consensus: Intelligent, compelling, and packed with strong performances, The Insider is a potent corporate thriller.
Synopsis: After seeking the expertise of former "Big Tobacco" executive Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe), seasoned TV producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino)... [More]
Directed By: Michael Mann

#2

The Truman Show (1998)
94%

#2
Adjusted Score: 104146%
Critics Consensus: A funny, tender, and thought-provoking film, The Truman Show is all the more noteworthy for its remarkably prescient vision of runaway celebrity culture and a nation with an insatiable thirst for the private details of ordinary lives.
Synopsis: He doesn't know it, but everything in Truman Burbank's (Jim Carrey) life is part of a massive TV set. Executive... [More]
Directed By: Peter Weir

#3

50/50 (2011)
93%

#3
Adjusted Score: 100669%
Critics Consensus: A good-hearted film about a difficult topic, 50/50 maneuvers between jokes and drama with surprising finesse.
Synopsis: Adam Lerner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has always tried to take good care of his health, so it comes as a cruel... [More]
Directed By: Jonathan Levine

#4

Boogie Nights (1997)
94%

#4
Adjusted Score: 98908%
Critics Consensus: Grounded in strong characters, bold themes, and subtle storytelling, Boogie Nights is a groundbreaking film both for director P.T. Anderson and star Mark Wahlberg.
Synopsis: In the San Fernando Valley in 1977, teenage busboy Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) gets discovered by porn director Jack Horner... [More]
Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson

#5

Zodiac (2007)
90%

#5
Adjusted Score: 100669%
Critics Consensus: A quiet, dialogue-driven thriller that delivers with scene after scene of gut-wrenching anxiety. David Fincher also spends more time illustrating nuances of his characters and recreating the mood of the '70s than he does on gory details of murder.
Synopsis: In the late 1960s and 1970s, fear grips the city of San Francisco as a serial killer called Zodiac stalks... [More]
Directed By: David Fincher

#6
#6
Adjusted Score: 91749%
Critics Consensus: With Matt Damon's unsettling performance offering a darkly twisted counterpoint to Anthony Minghella's glossy direction, The Talented Mr. Ripley is a suspense thriller that lingers.
Synopsis: To be young and carefree amid the blue waters and idyllic landscape of sun-drenched Italy in the late 1950s; that's... [More]
Directed By: Anthony Minghella

#7

Magnolia (1999)
82%

#7
Adjusted Score: 93193%
Critics Consensus: An eruption of feeling that's as overwhelming as it is overwrought, Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia reaches a fevered crescendo and sustains it thanks to its fearlessly committed ensemble.
Synopsis: On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous... [More]
Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson

#8

In Good Company (2004)
82%

#8
Adjusted Score: 87378%
Critics Consensus: The witty and charming In Good Company offers laughs at the expense of corporate culture.
Synopsis: After years of working as an ad executive at a sports magazine, Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid) is demoted and replaced... [More]
Directed By: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz

#9

Hard Eight (1996)
82%

#9
Adjusted Score: 85038%
Critics Consensus: An absorbing showcase for Philip Baker Hall, Paul Thomason Anderson's feature debut is a gamble that pays off handsomely.
Synopsis: A stranger (Philip Baker Hall) mentors a young Reno gambler (John C. Reilly) who weds a hooker (Gwyneth Paltrow) and... [More]
Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson

#10

You Kill Me (2007)
79%

#10
Adjusted Score: 83028%
Critics Consensus: Featuring wonderful performances from Ben Kingsley and Tea Leoni, You Kill Me is a charming, funny take on the familiar inner-lives-of-hit-men premise.
Synopsis: An alcoholic mob hit man, Frank Falenczyk (Ben Kingsley), is forced into rehab by his boss (Philip Baker Hall). To... [More]
Directed By: John Dahl

#11

Air Force One (1997)
79%

#11
Adjusted Score: 83050%
Critics Consensus: This late-period Harrison Ford actioner is full of palpable, if not entirely seamless, thrills.
Synopsis: After making a speech in Moscow vowing to never negotiate with terrorists, President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) boards Air Force... [More]
Directed By: Wolfgang Petersen

#12

The Contender (2000)
76%

#12
Adjusted Score: 80922%
Critics Consensus: The Contender wears its political heart on its sleeve, but strong performances and a solid screenplay help the end result add up to a gripping drama from either side of the aisle.
Synopsis: When the sitting Vice President dies, Senator Laine Hanson is chosen by the President to be the first woman to... [More]
Directed By: Rod Lurie

#13

The Matador (2005)
75%

#13
Adjusted Score: 80476%
Critics Consensus: This humorously amoral, oddball comic thriller features strong performances by Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear as a flamboyant, aging hit-man and an out of work suburban businessman, respectively.
Synopsis: Salesman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) is working through his shaky marriage and the untimely death of his child when he... [More]
Directed By: Richard Shepard

#14

Path to War (2002)
100%

#14
Adjusted Score: 42387%
Critics Consensus: Path to War brings Lyndon B. Johnson's full term to vivid life with terrific performances and a screenplay that provides an intimate look into a president's psyche along with the far-reaching consequences of his decisions.
Synopsis: This film is a dramatization of the decision-making behind the Johnson administration's escalation of the Vietnam War in the mid... [More]
Directed By: John Frankenheimer

#15

Islander (2006)
88%

#15
Adjusted Score: 31928%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Angry that outsiders are depleting the locals' traps, a Maine lobsterman (Thomas Hildreth) takes matters into his own hands.... [More]
Directed By: Ian McCrudden

#16

Secret Honor (1984)
77%

#16
Adjusted Score: 77325%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In his New Jersey study, Richard Nixon (Philip Baker Hall) retraces the missteps of his political career, attempting to absolve... [More]
Directed By: Robert Altman

#17
#17
Adjusted Score: 23655%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After buying a piece of land, a woman hires a filmmaker (Laura San Giacomo) to document the construction of her... [More]
Directed By: Chuck Workman

#18

Dogville (2003)
70%

#18
Adjusted Score: 75550%
Critics Consensus: A challenging piece of experimental filmmaking.
Synopsis: A barren soundstage is stylishly utilized to create a minimalist small-town setting in which a mysterious woman named Grace (Nicole... [More]
Directed By: Lars von Trier

#19

Kiss of Death (1995)
68%

#19
Adjusted Score: 70369%
Critics Consensus: An outstanding ensemble cast propels Kiss of Death, a noir-ish crime thriller that's slick and big on atmosphere, even if its script may only provide sporadic bursts of tension.
Synopsis: After his time in prison, Jimmy Kilmartin (David Caruso) keeps his head down and provides for his wife and kids,... [More]
Directed By: Barbet Schroeder

#20

Bad Words (2014)
66%

#20
Adjusted Score: 71854%
Critics Consensus: Scabrously funny and gleefully amoral, Bad Words boasts one of Jason Bateman's best performances -- and proves he's a talented director in the bargain.
Synopsis: Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman), a 40-year-old misanthrope, makes waves at a regional spelling bee when, due to a loophole in... [More]
Directed By: Jason Bateman

#21

Cradle Will Rock (1999)
65%

#21
Adjusted Score: 68148%
Critics Consensus: Witty and provocative.
Synopsis: As labor strikes break out throughout the country, New York is alive with cultural revolution. Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack) commissions... [More]
Directed By: Tim Robbins

#22

Die Mommie Die! (2003)
65%

#22
Adjusted Score: 66353%
Critics Consensus: This stagy production has enough funny moments to work.
Synopsis: Ex-cabaret siren Angela Arden (Charles Busch) is no longer in love with her husband (Philip Baker Hall), and is disconnected... [More]
Directed By: Mark Rucker

#23

The TV Set (2006)
64%

#23
Adjusted Score: 66450%
Critics Consensus: Offering both broad and insider jokes, The TV Set is a sharp satire that will please both the average moviegoers and pop culture aficionados.
Synopsis: Mike Klein (David Duchovny), the creator of a TV pilot called "The Wexler Chronicles," learns the hard way about how... [More]
Directed By: Jake Kasdan

#24
#24
Adjusted Score: 57471%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Preppy high school reporter Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemaszko) is asked to write a story on a tough new kid named... [More]
Directed By: Phil Joanou

#25

Rush Hour (1998)
62%

#25
Adjusted Score: 66291%
Critics Consensus: While it won't win any awards for originality, the combustible chemistry between its stars means Rush Hour hits just as hard on either side of the action-comedy divide.
Synopsis: When a Chinese diplomat's daughter is kidnapped in Los Angeles, he calls in Hong Kong Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan)... [More]
Directed By: Brett Ratner

#26

Clear History (2013)
61%

#26
Adjusted Score: 61392%
Critics Consensus: Its semi-improvised structure finds Larry David squarely in his wheelhouse, but with few laughs and a muddled message, it doesn't live up to his usual standards.
Synopsis: A man (Larry David) hatches a plot for revenge when his former boss (Jon Hamm) visits the island that he... [More]
Directed By: Greg Mottola