Remember the Titans, American Gangster and the best Denzel Washington movies

Cry Freedom

Yet another case where a heralded performance from Washington brings up what is mostly a mediocre-to-good film. Denzel plays black South African activist Steve Biko, whose death in police custody inspires journalist Donald Woods to write a book about Biko’s life and the country’s struggle with Apartheid. Cry Freedom brought Denzel his first Oscar nomination, so this movie gets a higher spot on this list than it might have otherwise.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia came out right in Tom Hanks’ early-mid ‘90s heyday (and landed him his first of two consecutive Best Actor Oscars), but Denzel is just as solid as the lawyer representing Hanks’ Andrew Beckett, who is suing his former employer for firing him because he is gay. Obviously not a lighthearted family romp, so you’ve got to be in the right mood to watch it, but it’s a powerful film with great performances all around.

The Hurricane

I first found out about the case of Rubin Carter from the Bob Dylan song “Hurricane.” Carter was a middleweight boxer falsely accused of a triple murder in the ‘60s and imprisoned for life before eventually being released in the mid-‘80s. Though the movie takes plenty of liberties (as biopics are wont to do), Washington is phenomenal in the role, portraying the despair and anger felt by Carter as he fights tooth and nail to clear himself of the charges against him. I have a feeling there was a lot less melodrama involved in the lead-up to his eventual release, but The Hurricane is still a solid film with a great lead performance.

Devil in a Blue Dress

Evoking all of the best qualities of the noir films of the 1940s, Devil in a Blue Dress is an enjoyable mystery from start to finish. Washington plays Easy, a World War II vet living in Los Angeles in the late ‘40s. He is enlisted to track down a missing woman, with the mystery getting more and more complex the further down the rabbit hole Easy goes. Don Cheadle and Denzel are standouts, and the humor and genuine twists make this a highly entertaining mystery film.

American Gangster

Going into it, I was expecting American Gangster to be a pretty run-of-the-mill crime movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. While it’s not nearly as memorable as a film like Scarface, by which director Ridley Scott was clearly inspired, solid performances from Washington as classy drug lord Frank Lucas and Russell Crowe as Detective Ritchie Roberts make this true-ish story imminently watchable.

Much Ado About Nothing

I recently gushed about my excitement for the release of Joss Whedon’s take on Much Ado, but my first experience with the play was the movie from 1993 that starred Denzel, Kenneth Branagh, Keanu Reeves, and a ton of other quality actors. The part of Don Pedro isn’t a huge one, but he, like everyone else in the movie (except Keanu) does a great job with the material. This is easily one of the better film adaptations of any Shakespeare play.

Malcolm X

One of the two most influential figures of the Civil Rights era deserves a biopic and an actor that does his legacy justice. Spike Lee and Washington accomplish that in spades with Malcolm X, a movie that works hard to portray every aspect of the Civil Rights leader. It’s clear throughout that both Washington and Lee care a lot about the project – Denzel occupies the title role with ease, giving a multifaceted, intense performance worthy of such an important person in American history.

Inside Man

Arguably Spike Lee’s best movie of the last ten years (the only real competition coming from the excellent 25^th Hour), Inside Man is Denzel at his best. His Detective Frazier is equal measures stylish, charming, and good at his job. Washington gives him swagger and cocky confidence that plays really well off stellar performances by Clive Owen and Jodie Foster. Not only that, but there are some really well thought-out and executed twists and turns as the story goes on that make Inside Man a fantastic heist movie.

Glory

Glory is easily one of the best Civil War movies ever, both because of excellent performances by Washington and Morgan Freeman and the fact that it takes a vastly different perspective on the war than films that came before or after. The position of black soldiers fighting for the Union was a criminally under-addressed aspect of the war, but Glory did wonders crafting a moving, compelling story about the 54^th Regiment of the Massachusetts Infantry. The movie legitimized what these unique soldiers experienced, and the aforementioned performances gave the story depth and resonance (and got Washington his first Academy Award).

Training Day

Training Day is a solid movie in its own right, but Washington’s performance really elevates it above similar films. Denzel rarely playshe villain, but his turn as dirty cop Alonzo Harris proved that the same charm that typically makes his characters so easy to root for can also make them dangerous. Washington portrays Harris as a man increasingly possessed by an inflated sense of power, someone who sees himself as entirely untouchable as he pushes the people he believes are totally under his control past their respective breaking points. Denzel had strong competition at 2002’s Oscars, with Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind), Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom), Sean Penn (I Am Sam), and Will Smith (Ali) all at the top of their game, but his win was very much deserved.