Want to know the best Sam Shepard movies? How about the worst Sam Shepard movies? Curious about Sam Shepard box office grosses or which Sam Shepard movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Sam Shepard movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which ones got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
More sad news from Hollywood today, as the news of Sam Shepard’s and Michael Parks’s passing away came out. Seems I have been watching Sam Shepard in movies most of my life. A quick look at my movie database showed I had 33 of his movies already 100% researched….so I figure as a mini-tribute to his career I would take a look at his movie career.
His IMDb page shows 68 acting credits from 1970-2017. This page will rank 37 Sam Shepard (1943-2017) movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. His television appearances, shorts and movies not released in North America were not included in the rankings.
Sam Shepard Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort Sam Shepard movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Sam Shepard movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Sam Shepard movies by by domestic yearly box office rank
- Sort Sam Shepard movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations each Sam Shepard movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Sam Shepard movie won.
- Sort Sam Shepard movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Both John Heard and Sam Shepard were in The Pelican Brief and died in the past 10 days or so. Sam was # 551 on the 2016 Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list and had actually moved up to 509 this year. These are the people who are on the 2010 list who appeared in a film with him.
1 ERIC ROBERTS Raggedy Man (1981)
10 MICHAEL CAINE Curtain Call (1999)
17 TOM SIZEMORE Black Hawk Down (2001)
20 MAX VON SYDOW Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
27 DENNIS HOPPER Leo (2002)
37 SALLY KIRKLAND Brand X (1970)
40 HARRY DEAN STANTON Fool for Love (1985)
40 HARRY DEAN STANTON Paris, Texas (1984)
40 HARRY DEAN STANTON Renaldo and Clara (1978)
40 HARRY DEAN STANTON The Pledge (2001)
45 STANLEY TUCCI The Pelican Brief (1993)
46 MATT DAMON All the Pretty Horses (2000)
50 STEVE BUSCEMI Charlotte’s Web (2006)
63 ED HARRIS IN DUBIOUS BATTLE (2017)
63 ED HARRIS The Right Stuff (1983)
64 JEFF GOLDBLUM The Right Stuff (1983)
66 SUSAN SARANDON Safe Passage (1994)
71 ROBERT DUVALL IN DUBIOUS BATTLE (2017)
75 WOODY HARRELSON This So-Called Disaster (2004)
79 BRAD PITT The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
85 LANCE HENRIKSEN The Right Stuff (1983)
87 MICKEY ROURKE The Pledge (2001)
108 KATHY BATES Charlotte’s Web (2006)
111 JAMES FRANCO IN DUBIOUS BATTLE (2017)
113 TRACEY WALTER Raggedy Man (1981)
113 TRACEY WALTER SAVANNAH (2014)
119 BRUCE MCGILL Fair Game (2010/I)
123 BILL MURRAY Hamlet (2000)
124 RICHARD JENKINS Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
125 VANESSA REDGRAVE The Pledge (2001)
128 TIM ROTH Don’t Come Knocking (2005)
129 NAOMI WATTS Fair Game (2010)
134 FAYE DUNAWAY Blind Horizon (2003)
137 VINCENT D’ONOFRIO IN DUBIOUS BATTLE (2017)
143 VAL KILMER Blind Horizon (2003)
143 VAL KILMER Felon (2008)
143 VAL KILMER Thunderheart (1992)
145 HELEN MIRREN The Pledge (2001)
147 DENNIS QUAID The Right Stuff (1983)
157 BURT YOUNG Bright Angel (1990)
163 JAMES CROMWELL Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
170 SCOTT GLENN The Right Stuff (1983)
171 JULIA ROBERTS August: Osage County (2013)
171 JULIA ROBERTS Charlotte’s Web (2006)
171 JULIA ROBERTS Steel Magnolias (1989)
171 JULIA ROBERTS The Pelican Brief (1993)
179 ROBERT PATRICK All the Pretty Horses (2000)
179 ROBERT PATRICK Safe House (2012)
179 ROBERT PATRICK The Only Thrill (1997)
187 DARYL HANNAH Steel Magnolias (1989)
198 DEAN STOCKWELL Paris, Texas (1984)
201 JOHN CLEESE Charlotte’s Web (2006)
202 JASON ISAACS Black Hawk Down (2001)
206 KEVIN COSTNER Frances (1982)
211 JOHN HEARD The Pelican Brief (1993)
221 CYNTHIA LEBLANC MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (2016)
222 EWAN MCGREGOR August: Osage County (2013)
222 EWAN MCGREGOR Black Hawk Down (2001)
228 SEAN PENN Fair Game (2010)
228 SEAN PENN This So-Called Disaster (2004)
231 BILL PULLMAN Bright Angel (1990)
235 BENICIO DEL TORO The Pledge (2001)
237 STEPHEN DORFF Felon (2008)
239 JEREMY PIVEN Black Hawk Down (2001)
240 SCOTT WILSON The Right Stuff (1983)
242 JOE CHREST The Pelican Brief (1993)
248 GLENN MORSHOWER Black Hawk Down (2001)
250 WILLIAM FICHTNER Black Hawk Down (2001)
254 VINNIE JONES SWORDFISH (2001)
257 SALMA HAYEK Bandidas (2006)
266 DON CHEADLE Swordfish (2001)
274 BRUCE DERN All the Pretty Horses (2000)
276 KIRSTEN DUNST MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (2016)
278 SIMON RHEE BLIND HORIZON (2003)
279 MERYL STREEP August: Osage County (2013)
280 NATALIE PORTMAN Brothers (2009/I)
283 UMA THURMAN The Accidental Husband (2008)
290 BRYAN CRANSTON IN DUBIOUS BATTLE (2017)
297 FRED WARD The Right Stuff (1983)
297 FRED WARD Thunderheart (1992)
306 ADAM LEFEVRE Fair Game (2010/I)
313 GEORGE KENNEDY Don’t Come Knocking (2005)
322 MICHAEL SHANNON MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (2016)
324 LIEV SCHREIBER Hamlet (2000)
333 JOHN ROTHMAN The Accidental Husband (2008)
335 JAMES REBHORN Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
337 DIANE LANE The Only Thrill (1997)
349 ISABELLA ROSSELLINI The Accidental Husband (2008)
361 DENZEL WASHINGTON SAFE HOUSE (2012)
361 DENZEL WASHINGTON The Pelican Brief (1993)
366 GIANCARLO ESPOSITO Blind Horizon (2003)
367 CLIFTON COLLINS JR. BROTHERS (2009/I)
368 RANDY QUAID Fool for Love (1985)
370 CARY-HIROYUKI TAGAWA SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS (1999)
380 RICHARD GERE Days of Heaven (1978)
382 ANJELICA HUSTON Frances (1982)
383 ROSEMARY HOWARD COLD IN JULY (2014)
384 NAEEM UZIMANN THE ACCIDENTAL HUSBAND (2008)
394 JOHN LITHGOW The Pelican Brief (1993)
395 PENELOPE CRUZ All the Pretty Horses (2000)
395 PENELOPE CRUZ Bandidas (2006)
403 ROBERT REDFORD Charlotte’s Web (2006)
409 JOHN TRAVOLTA Swordfish (2001)
418 CHRIS COOPER August: Osage County (2013)
419 ELLEN BURSTYN Resurrection (1980)
420 MICHAEL PARKS The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
428 ETHAN HAWKE Hamlet (2000)
428 ETHAN HAWKE Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
433 MARGO MARTINDALE August: Osage County (2013)
439 CARMEN ARGENZIANO Swordfish (2001)
445 DERMOT MULRONEY AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (2013)
445 DERMOT MULRONEY BRIGHT ANGEL (1990)
448 LILI TAYLOR Bright Angel (1990)
455 SHIRLEY MACLAINE Steel Magnolias (1989)
472 OLYMPIA DUKAKIS Steel Magnolias (1989)
474 JULIO OSCAR MECHOSO ALL THE PRETTY HORSES (2000)
479 WILL PATTON Bright Angel (1990)
491 JACK NICHOLSON The Pledge (2001)
492 TIM BLAKE NELSON HAMLET (2000)
497 JEREMY RENNER THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007)
498 SAM ROCKWELL The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
507 TED LEVINE THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD R0BERT FORD (2007)
512 BRENDAN GLEESON SAFE HOUSE (2012)
513 DAVID CLENNON The Right Stuff (1983)
515 MARCIA GAY HARDEN Curtain Call (1999)
515 MARCIA GAY HARDEN Safe Passage (1994)
516 JEFFREY WRIGHT HAMLET (2000)
522 JAY O. SANDERS Defenseless (1991)
531 ZEIJKO IVANEK Black Hawk Down (2001)
531 ZEIJKO IVANEK Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
540 GRIFFIN DUNNE THE ACCIDENTAL HUSBAND (2008)
545 ROBIN WRIGHT The Pledge (2001)
546 NASTASSJA KINSKI Paris, Texas (1984)
549 JULIETTE LEWIS August: Osage County (2013)
570 JAMES GAMMON Don’t Come Knocking (2005)
584 M.C. GAINEY FRANCES (1982)
601 GARY TEAGUE THE RETURN (2006/I)
610 HAL HOLBROOK SAVANNAH (2014)
623 JAMES KAREN Frances (1982)
624 KIM BASINGER Fool for Love (1985)
629 DAVID WARSHOFSKY FAIR GAME (2010/I)
631 JAMIE FOXX Stealth (2005)
646 MARY KAY PLACE BRIGHT ANGEL (1990)
651 ROY SCHEIDER Resurrection (1980)
655 TOM SKERRITT Steel Magnolias (1989)
658 SEAN ASTIN SAFE PASSAGE (1994)
672 COSTAS MANDYLOR THE PLEDGE (2001)
677 BEAU BRIDGES Charlotte’s Web (2006)
698 JAMES MARSDEN THE NOTEBOOK (2004)
709 COLIN FIRTH The Accidental Husband (2008)
716 HUGH JACKMAN Swordfish (2001)
717 HALLE BERRY Swordfish (2001)
719 JOE MORTON STEALTH (2005)
720 HARRY SHEARER The Right Stuff (1983)
725 BARBARA HERSHEY Defenseless (1991)
725 BARBARA HERSHEY The Right Stuff (1983)
738 RICHARD TYSON Black Hawk Down (2001)
739 DIANE KEATON Baby Boom (1987)
739 DIANE KEATON Crimes of the Heart (1986)
739 DIANE KEATON The Only Thrill (1997)
752 JORGA CAYE DEFENSELESS (1991)
755 ILIA VOLOK SWORDFISH (2001)
758 GARY CARLOS CERVANTES BANDIDAS (2006)
759 KURT FULLER DON’T COME KNOCKING (2005)
768 PATRICIA CLARKSON THE PLEDGE (2001)
775 JOSH LUCAS STEALTH (2005)
777 DELROY LINDO BRIGHT ANGEL (1990)
798 JULIE DELPY Voyager (1991)
821 AARON ECKHART The Pledge (2001)
840 LOIS SMITH Resurrection (1980)
840 LOIS SMITH The Pledge (2001)
850 JESSE YARBOROUGH MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (2016)
881 TOM HARDY Black Hawk Down (2001)
882 JULIA STILES HAMLET (2000)
893 RYAN REYNOLDS Safe House (2012)
901 BENJAMIN BRATT BRIGHT ANGEL (1990)
902 PATRICK KEARNS MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (2016)
908 KIM COATES Black Hawk Down (2001)
928 BILL WALTERS FAIR GAME (2010/I)
932 STEPHEN REA Blackthorn (2011)
947 WILLIAM MAPOTHER SWORDFISH (2001)
965 GARY RODRIGUEZ SWORDFISH (2001)
977 GABRIEL MANN DON’T COME KNOCKING (2005)
978 JOAN ALLEN THE NOTEBOOK (2004)
979 DYLAN MCDERMOTT STEEL MAGNOLIAS (1989)
981 JOSH HARTNETT Black Hawk Down (2001)
986 J.T. WALSH Defenseless (1991)
A quick count shows me 34 Oscar winners he worked with.
ANJELICA HUSTON Frances (1982)
BENICIO DEL TORO The Pledge (2001)
CASEY AFFLECK HAMLET (2000)
CASEY AFFLECK THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007)
CHRIS COOPER August: Osage County (2013)
COLIN FIRTH The Accidental Husband (2008)
DENZEL WASHINGTON SAFE HOUSE (2012)
DENZEL WASHINGTON The Pelican Brief (1993)
DIANE KEATON Baby Boom (1987)
DIANE KEATON Crimes of the Heart (1986)
DIANE KEATON The Only Thrill (1997)
DIANNE WIEST DARLING COMPANION (2012)
ELLEN BURSTYN Resurrection (1980)
EVA MARIE SAINT Don’t Come Knocking (2005)
FAYE DUNAWAY Blind Horizon (2003)
GEORGE KENNEDY Don’t Come Knocking (2005)
HALLE BERRY Swordfish (2001)
HELEN MIRREN The Pledge (2001)
JACK NICHOLSON The Pledge (2001)
JAMIE FOXX Stealth (2005)
JESSICA LANGE Country (1984)
JESSICA LANGE Crimes of the Heart (1986)
JESSICA LANGE Don’t Come Knocking (2005)
JESSICA LANGE Frances (1982)
JULIA ROBERTS August: Osage County (2013)
JULIA ROBERTS Charlotte’s Web (2006)
JULIA ROBERTS Steel Magnolias (1989)
JULIA ROBERTS The Pelican Brief (1993)
KATHY BATES Charlotte’s Web (2006)
KIM BASINGER Fool for Love (1985)
MAGGIE SMITH Curtain Call (1999)
MARCIA GAY HARDEN Curtain Call (1999)
MARCIA GAY HARDEN Safe Passage (1994)
MERYL STREEP August: Osage County (2013)
MICHAEL CAINE Curtain Call (1999)
NATALIE PORTMAN Brothers (2009/I)
OLYMPIA DUKAKIS Steel Magnolias (1989)
PENELOPE CRUZ All the Pretty Horses (2000)
PENELOPE CRUZ Bandidas (2006)
ROBERT DUVALL IN DUBIOUS BATTLE (2017)
SALLY FIELD Steel Magnolias (1989)
SEAN PENN Fair Game (2010)
SEAN PENN This So-Called Disaster (2004)
SHIRLEY MACLAINE Steel Magnolias (1989)
SISSY SPACEK Crimes of the Heart (1986)
SISSY SPACEK Raggedy Man (1981)
SUSAN SARANDON Safe Passage (1994)
VANESSA REDGRAVE The Pledge (2001)
Hey Dan
1. Not a good month for supporting players in The Pelican Brief.
2. I actually watched The Circle (not good) last night….and seeing Bill Paxton and Glenne Headly playing Emma Watson’s mom and and dad was strange….as both have since passed as well.
3. So Sam actually moved up this year….and that is without making many movies in 2016 and 2017….he has one movie in post-production….so I imagine he will only be falling down the rankings from now on.
4. Only 2 in the Top 10….but one of them is Sir Michael Caine….I have seen Curtain Call….but I do not remember his role at all.
5. 4 Julia Roberts movies…I did not realize that…heck that is twice the times she starred with Richard Gere…who she is associated with the most.
6. 34 Oscar winning co-stars…pretty damn good for a guy that put acting pretty far down the list of things to do.
Great information…thanks for posting it.
This is looking like another bad year for celebrity deaths, but than it’s to be expected as each year passes and our favorites get older and older and illnesses take hold.
Sad news, I first noticed Sam Shephard playing Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff, one of my favorite films of the 1980s. He gave the character an almost mythic quality.
I saw The Right Stuff at the cinema on first release, I knew it was a long film but people in the audience weren’t expecting it to be quite that long (over 3 hours) and I distinctly remember an audible murmur all around me when at around the 3 hour mark there was another space launch in the film. The impression I was getting is that people were worried the movie would never end! Maybe they needed a toilet break or were worried about their children at home. They must have been relieved when the final credits came up. 🙂
I’ve seen 15 of the 37 films listed here. Favorites include – The Right Stuff, Stealth, Swordfish, and Black Hawk Down.
Mud higher than The Right Stuff on the critics chart, never even heard of this film.
Good to see Black Hawk Down topping the UMR, one of Ridley Scott’s best films. Was not impressed with his latest film Alien Covenant. He should have done Blade Runner 2049 instead.
A nice tribute Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve.
1. Thanks for checking out my Shepard tribute….that is three of these in about three weeks…..so maybe we are done for awhile.
2. I am right there with you about the first time I noticed Shepard….seems The Right Stuff was always on television when I was a teenager…great movie with a great Shepard performance.
3. The Right Stuff is long….but I find it very entertaining…so it does not seem so long…meanwhile when I was forced to see Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls…that 90 minute movie felt like it was 6 hours long…lol.
4. As for Mud….it got a 98% RottenTomatoe score back then….and for awhile it was above 8.0 on IMDb….that is still the case on RottenTomatoes but not the case on IMDb…as the 4 years since I included Mud into my database have actually lowered it’s rating score….I have since adjusted the score….and you will see it is now 2nd on the table…behind The Right Stuff. So you see I do listen…..even if I had to go back and fix Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon’s UMR pages too.
5. I have seen 28 of these movies…..my favorites would include two of yours The Right Stuff and Black Hawk Down and The Raggedy Man….though his part is very small.
6. Sorry you did not like Alien Covenant…..thinking Sir Ridley’s best days are behind him…with the exception of the Martian…things have been rough the last 5 years for him.
7. Blade Runner 2049 is one fall movie I am really looking forward to.
Good feedback as always.
Sad to hear of Shepard’s death. I loved The Notebook. I have also seen Steel Magnolias and Days of Heaven.
Hey Flora….thanks for checking out my Sam tribute. I liked Steel Magnolias and The Notebook..but I could never get into Days of Heaven. Sad news for sure.
Fitting that one of his best movies was The Right Stuff, as he had the rest stuff as a playwrite and as an actor. R.I.P.
Hey Pierce….good use of his movie The Right Stuff….and I agree with you 100%. Sad day indeed. RIP Sam Shepard.
Sam Shepard was one of the greatest playwrights of his day. Though he had little interest in acting he still became an outstanding actor. A huge loss.
Hey George. I read that he said that about falling into acting. That makes his movie career even more impressive. Thanks for the visit and the comment. RIP Mr. Shepard.