BEST WARREN BEATTY MOVIES
“Splendor in the Grass” (1961) “Introducing Warren Beatty” was part of the billing for director Elia Kazan’s celebrated drama about the complex romance between two young people (Beatty, Natalie Wood). The Oscar-winning script is by William Inge.
“The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone” (1961) Directed by theater legend Jose Quintero, this drama features Beatty as the considerably younger lover of a recent widow (Vivien Leigh).
“Lilith” (1964) Writer-director Robert Rossen’s final film features Beatty as a novice therapist who takes an extreme interest in one of his patients (Jean Seberg) at a private institution.
“Mickey One” (1965) A unique filming style makes this portrait of a would-be comedian (Beatty) fearing underworld retribution all the more compelling. “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967) Beatty made huge strides as both an actor and a producer with this iconic retelling of the crime spree of Depression-era gangsters Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) and Clyde Barrow (Beatty). Co-star Estelle Parsons earned an Oscar for the film, which Turner Classic Movies shows Wednesday, March 8.
“Mccabe and Mrs. Miller” (1971) Director Robert Altman’s Western pairs Beatty with Julie Christie as a wily gambler and the woman he hires to operate the brothel he opens.
“The Parallax View” (1974) In producer-director Alan J. Pakula’s excellent thriller, a maverick reporter (Beatty) looks into a series of mysterious deaths among those who witnessed the assassination of a presidential candidate. “Shampoo” (1975) Producer and co-writer Beatty is terrific as a hairdresser who services female clients in other ways than just giving them new looks, putting him in hot water when he’s among several of them at a party on the eve of the 1968 presidential election.
“Heaven Can Wait” (1978) Beatty produced, co-directed (with co-star Buck Henry), cowrote (with Elaine May) and stars in this delightful fantasy-comedy, in which a pro football player taken to the afterlife before his time is restored to Earth in a millionaire’s body.
“Dick Tracy” (1990) Bringing comic-strip visuals to dazzling life, Beatty plays the legendary police detective – alongside such co-stars as Madonna and Al Pacino – in an action-comedy that he also produced and directed.
“Bugsy” (1991) Arguably Beatty’s biggest takeaway from playing mobster Bugsy Siegel was his real-life wife, since he later married his leading lady, Annette Bening (who portrays Siegel’s girlfriend, Virginia Hill).