Ben Affleckwas recently a guest ofThe Criterion Collection’s Criterion Closet,picking out his favorite moviesto bring home and recommend to viewers. This was duringthe promo period forThe Accountant 2, the sequel to his highly popularThe Accountantfrom 2016, and Affleck picked out several movies he grew up with, starred in, and just loves very much.
His picks range from personal favorites to those that left a lasting impact on him from a filmmaker’s perspective,showing that most filmmakers, writers, and directors are just movie buffslike the rest of us. Here are the movies recommended by Ben Affleck (not including his commentary for theArmageddonDVD release).
10’Badlands' (1973)
Directed by Terrence Malick
NamingBadlandsas one ofTerrence Malick’s greatest films, Affleck introduces it as an inexplicablecombination of monstrous violence and the calm of suburban environments, emphasizing the beauty and pain of youth and rebellion. This is very well explained and pretty much to the point, sinceBadlandsis one of the essentialcoming-of-age movies that aren’t set in high school. It was received very well and was picked as one of the culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant movies by the US National Film Registry. This was also Malick’s directorial debut.
Badlandsis set in 1959, and follows narrator and protagonist Holly Sargis (Sissy Spacek), a 15-year-old girl who lives with her father and has a strained relationship with him. One day, Holly meets the Korean War veteran, now trash collector, Kit (Martin Sheen), who is 25, and they start a romantic relationship. With her father being against Kit,Holly runs away with her lover, and they start a killing spree while on the run. The movie was inspired by thetrue story ofCharles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, who went on a killing spree in 1958, just a year before the movie is set in.
9’The Rules of the Game' (1939)
Directed by Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir’s comedy of manners titledRules of the Gamewas Affleck’s first pick, and he highlighted it because of ahighly resonant sentence that guides the movie’s entire plot: “Everyone has their reasons.“Renoir’s ensemble comedy is more than just emotionally resonant; in terms of filmmaking, it’s iconic and often deemedone of the greatest movies ever made.
Rules of the Gamedepicts French aristocrats and their servants, set just before the start of WWII. It depicts the moral, social, and emotional decay of its characters, while the phrase “everyone has their reasons” tells us howeach person, regardless of their actions and behavior, acts out of personal conviction, ideas, and motivations.Rules of the Gamewas Renoir’s career peak, and despite great anticipation, the social criticism didn’t fare well. Themovie soon got banned in Francefor “influencing young people,” and the premiere went terribly, with numerous right-wing, bourgeois viewers causing havoc in theaters; recognizing yourself as a fictional character is common, but it’s very painful when it’s a character the movie tries to mock.
The Rules Of The Game
8’Traffic' (2000)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
One ofSteven Soderbergh’sbest and essential moviesisTraffic, which brought him the Best Director OscarandBenicio del Toro his first Oscaras Supporting Actor. TheStephen Gaghanscript was also praised, since it includes several sides of the same “conflict,” which is the drug trade in this case.Affleck saidTrafficwas one of his inspirations for becoming a director, calling the movie “seminal” and saying it left a lasting impression on him. Anyone who’s watchedTrafficor sees it for the first time will understand what he means.
Trafficfollows the illegal drug trade in the US from several perspectives, from those who use drugs, through the enforcers, all the way up to the politicians. Del Toro portrays Mexican police officer Javier Rodríguez Rodríguez, who gets involved in an operation to capture a Tijuana-based criminal. This is the Mexico storyline, and there’s one from the perspective of an Ohio judge, Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), and one from the perspective of the DEA and their case against a notorious Mexican drug lord. Soderbergh did most of the camerawork in the movie and used different color grading to make a distinction between each storyline.
A conservative judge is appointed by the President to spearhead America’s escalating war against drugs, only to discover that his teenage daughter is a crack addict. Two DEA agents protect an informant. A jailed drug baron’s wife attempts to carry on the family business.
7’Trainspotting' (1996)
Directed by Danny Boyle
Imitating the Scottish accent with some success, Affleck professed his love ofDanny Boyle’sTrainspotting, calling it one of his favorite movies; he mentioned an affinity for the region because he has Scottish roots.Trainspottingis indeed a great feature,a brilliant blend of black comedy and heaviness that only a British (or, well, Scottish) mind could devise. The movie was based on the same-name book byIrvine Welshand features a talented ensemble cast led byEwan McGregor,Kelly Macdonald,Kevin McKidd, andRobert Carlyle, among others of Scotland’s biggest names of today.
Trainspottingfollows thedaily lives of heroin addictsin Edinburgh, especially in its most economically depressed area;the squalor, poverty, and depression are almost like themain characters of the story, shedding light on the people who live and exist in it. McGregor is the lead as Mark Renton, and the film often takes his perspective; he’s friends with other drug users, like Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) and Spud (Ewen Bremner), while his acquaintances Tommy (McKidd) and Franco (Carlyle) abstain from it and frequently warn Mark of its dangers. Anyone who’s grown up in an economically arid landscape understandsTrainspottingand its characters well;this is an essential movie.
Trainspotting
Heroin addict Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends – Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Begbie (Robert Carlyle), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Tommy (Kevin McKidd). He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane (Kelly Macdonald), along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can’t escape the life he left behind when Begbie shows up at his front door on the lam, and a scheming Sick Boy follows
6’Dazed and Confused' (1993)
Directed by Richard Linklater
Dazed and Confusedis a movie that Affleck was in, and he chose it because of directorRichard Linklater’s approach to directing it. He mentions his method as “inviting,“giving the actors in the film a chance to direct themselvesand come up withrelatable dialogue for the film, which is great insight into a movie that’s reached cult status over the years. Home video really liftedDazed and Confusedfrom the ashes of a box office burnout, and it’s often cited as the quintessential high school experience film.
Dazed and Confusedis set onthe last day of high school in 1976, in Austin, Texas, and follows various people and their experiences during it. A group of seniors is preparing a hazing ritual for the freshmen, several freshmen are avoiding the ritual, a football player is trying to evade a clean living pledge, and a keg party is taking shape. The movie successfully and beautifully capturesthe vibe and atmosphereof a high school day, especially the last day, when everything is chaotic and unruly and people are free from the rules that apply on school grounds on a normal day.
Dazed and Confused
The coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused, directed by Richard Linklater, follows a group of high school students on the last day of school before summer vacation. Set in the 1970s, the film explores themes of rebellion, freedom, and nostalgia, and features an ensemble cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, and Parker Posey.
5’Fast Times at Ridgemont High' (1982)
Directed by Amy Heckerling
Affleck also pickedFast Times at Ridgemont Highas one of his recommendations because it had a direct impact onDazed and Confused, but also because it’s simply the “best high school movie of all time.“Fast Timesis so relatable and cool that it’ll impress anyone who watches it right away; it may even end up being your favorite movie if you haven’t seen it thus far.Fast Timeswas directed by Amy Heckerling, for whom this was a first-time directing experience; Heckerling is also known for some quintessential ’90s comedies, such asCluelessandA Night at the Roxbury.
Fast Times at Ridgemont Highwasbased onCameron Crowe’s screenplay, previously the bookFast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story. It chronicles a year in the life of high school sophomores Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Mark (Brian Backer), as well as the people around them, like stoner surfer Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) and Stacy’s older brother, Brad (Judge Reinhold). Everyone’s pretty cool, but the most memorable character is undoubtedly Spicoli, with Penn in one of hisessential and best film performances.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
A group of Southern California high school students are enjoying their most important subjects: sex, drugs and rock n' roll.
4’Miller’s Crossing' (1990)
Directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
Miller’s Crossingis one of the underratedCoen brothers' movies, but it’s such anessential viewing experience for anyone who enjoys a great gangster story. It’s one ofAlbert Finney’s greatest movies and one that confirmedJohn Turturroas one of the Coens' best collaborators. Affleck choseMiller’s Crossingas one of the most unique Coen brothers-directed experiences, calling it “haunting and evocative,” especially in the iconic opening with the hat drifting away from the camera in the autumnal breeze in the woods.
Miller’s Crossingis seemingly simple in plot: Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) is an Irish mafia enforcer working for Leo O’Bannon (Finney). However, complications arise when Tom gets stuck between O’Bannon and his Italian gang rival, Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito), all because he crossed paths with gambler Bernie (Turturro) and his sister Verna (Marcia Gay Harden). Besides Turturro,Byrne delivers an emotionally weighty role, making his Irish roots prominent. The movie is a complex and layered story that requires a rewatch and lots of immersion; perhapsthat’s why the movie feels underrated—it needs to beunderstood.
Miller’s Crossing
Miller’s Crossing: In 1929, a political boss and his trusted advisor experience a rift in their relationship when romantic interests overlap, leading to a complex exploration of loyalty and betrayal. Amidst the backdrop of Prohibition-era crime, their actions resonate through the criminal underworld, revealing deeper power struggles and personal conflicts.
3’Malcolm X' (1992)
Directed by Spike Lee
After picking the DVD box forMalcolm X, Affleck mentioned remembering exactly where he was when he watched it for the first time; there are movies that impact us in such a way that we can’t seem to forget them, and for Affleck, that movie was theSpike Lee-directed biopic,Malcolm X. Indeed, it’sa movie that will leave anyone speechless and resolved to do and be betteroverall.Denzel Washington’s immersive portrayal ofMalcolm Xis still aniconic and essential performance, which he improvised in some parts and became the man he was playing in others.
Malcolm Xwas based on the autobiography of Malcolm X, which he worked on withAlex Haley, who completed it just after Malcolm’s assassination. The movie follows the book’s events almost entirely,showing the upbringing and rise of the man formerly known as Malcolm Little. It’s a surprise Washington didn’t get the Oscar for his portrayal of Malcolm X, marking just one of the timeshe was snubbed by the Academy, or, paraphrasing what Affleck said, there’s not a performance better than this.
A portrayal of a controversial and influential leader in the fight for civil rights, the narrative tracks his evolution from a criminal to a fervent advocate for the rights of African Americans. His pilgrimage to Mecca brings about a significant change in his approach to activism, leading to a broader vision of peace and unity that challenges his earlier views.
2’The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)
Directed by Jonathan Demme
The Silence of the Lambsis, as we already know, one of the greatest movies of all time. It ranksamong the greatest thrillers, horrors, and book adaptations and has left a massive dent in all those genres ever since it was made; Affleck mentioned something in a similar vein, sayingit’s one of the movies that’s been borrowed from the most, time and time again. He also called it “smart and terrifying,” which is a simple way of putting it, but it works because, well, it’s true.
The Silence of the Lambswas based on the book of the same name byThomas Harrisand follows FBI newcomer Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) working on a serial killer case that turns into a race against time. The killer she’s after is named Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), and to get insight into his psyche, methods, and motivations,Clarice begins consulting Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a psychiatrist locked in the hospital for the criminally insane due to his “affinity” for killing and eating people. As Clarice and Hannibal begin getting under each other’s skin, Buffalo Bill is closer to making another woman his victim. It’s just an amazing film and a pick that many filmmakers and film fans alike would include in their recommendations.
The Silence of the Lambs
A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
1’The Elephant Man' (1980)
Directed by David Lynch
David Lynch’sThe Elephant Manis probably the most personal Criterion Closet pick for Affleck, since he mentioned watching it with his father. Movies are personal, and we feel connected to the stories in more ways than just by watching and observing them.They can be a reminder of the moments we shared with others or a time we felt a certain way, and for Affleck,The Elephant Manis the reminder. Indeed,Lynch’s study of humanity, compassion, and indifference towards the most hurt individuals in society is heartbreaking, devastating, and beautiful.John Hurt portrays the protagonistunder a heavy mask of a deformed face, yet still thrills and shines brightly with his phenomenal performance.
The Elephant ManfollowsJohn Merrick(Hurt), a man with a severe face deformity living in 19th-century England as part of a Victorian freak show. Acclaimed surgeonSir Frederick Treves(Anthony Hopkins) discovers Merrick and takes him in, promising to help him become a socially adept and well-read individual. Of course, whileTreves and his wife treat Merrick as a fellow human for the first time in his life, others aren’t as keento get to know the man behind the deformity. The movie was based on a real-life personality, Joseph Merrick, and is considered one of the most important and best biopics of all time.
The Elephant Man
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
