Best Mike Nichols Movies, Ranked

Mike Nichols, an EGOT honoree, was a director for stage and film who created epic movies like The Graduate and Silkwood. In particular, through his unique style of filmmaking characterized by camera shots through objects, he became renowned in the film industry. During his career, Nichols embraced all sorts of genres leading to him being epitomized as a man who could never be defeated. His debut on Broadway with Barefoot in the Park in 1963 marked just another hit out of many he produced on the stage before finally grabbing a Tony for Direction on Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Warner Bros later invited him to direct Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? after growing his repertoire.

In every project he worked on since then, Nichols always brought in his own flavor earning him immediate fame right from college days. He had amassed an over-six-decade long career that netted him seven Academy Awards at the time of his death 2014 years ago and only sixteenth person globally has been recognized with EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony). Steven Spielberg paid homage to him while Whoopi Goldberg together with Kevin Spacey among others were among several people paying tribute to the gold that came from this filmmaker. Enjoying some of these will be the best way to remember this great American film director whose most notable films are listed below.

Primary Colors

Henry Burton is given the task of managing Governor Jack Stanton’s campaign for presidency. Burton watches as Stanton’s promiscuous behavior threatens his campaign while Stanton contends with his ambitious wife Susan.Based off Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, Primary Colors: A Novel about Politics which was nominated for two Academy awards was a fictionalized account about Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign during 1992.Travolta did well bringing out Jack Stanton character exactly as Bill Clinton would have played it though Emma Thompson’s portrayal as Susan was not anything like Hillary Clinton. The film raised eyebrows when it came out during Monica Lewinsky saga.

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Closer

Present day London: an American stripper named Alice meets Dan who takes her to hospital after being hit by a car thus setting in motion their relationship. From that point, Anna became involved with a dermatologist named Larry through photographer Dan (a love triangle). As time went on however, the strength of both relationships began to wane. Based on an award-winning play, the same name in this case, Closer is an ensemble cast movie featuring Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. A modern day version of Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” was created by this film leading to its several nominations and wins for its actors’ performances.

Working Girl

“Working Girl” is a 1988 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Kevin Wade. The film stars Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver. “Working Girl” tells the story of an ambitious young woman who wants to make it big in the world of business.

A series of events including her boss Katharine stealing her idea led to Tess impersonating Katherine in order to take revenge on her for this move, besides making an important deal with an investment broker. The success of Working Girl at the box office inspired NBC to create a television series based on the movie with the same name. The film earned Nichols an Academy Award nomination for Best Director and a Best Original Song Oscar for Carly Simon (“Let the River Run”).

The Birdcage

The Birdcage is an American comedy film based on La Cage aux Folles, a French farce that was originally made in 1978. In this movie, Val Goldman and Barbara Keeley have been introduced to their families before they get married suggesting that there must be something worth watching here as well about how love can conquer any kind of situation no matter how complicated it may seem at first glance.

Robin Williams and Nathan Lane play Armand Goldman and Albert Goldman respectively in The Birdcage; these two characters are forced to pretend that they aren’t homosexuals because their children are not aware of them being gay. It received multiple award nominations but one of its triumphs was Nathan Lane’s winning Funniest Lead Actor in a Motion Picture at the American Comedy Awards.

Silkwood

Streep stars alongside Kurt Russell and Cher in this crime drama about Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep), who dies under mysterious circumstances while investigating safety violations at a nuclear facility where she worked until her death in 1974 (Silkwood). Silkwood is considered one of Meryl Streep’s greatest performances thanks to it’s dramatic storyline that had a big impact on audiences. There are many awards for which Silkwood was nominated, including Best Director at the Academy Awards.

Carnal Knowledge

“Carnal Knowledge” is a 1971 American comedy-drama film written by Jules Feiffer and directed by Mike Nichols. Carnal Knowledge is a story about two friends who have very different attitudes towards women as they grow older; Jonathan (Jack Nicholson) being more of a ladies’ man than Sandy (Art Garfunkel).

Sandy marries Susan but learns soon after that she slept with Jonathan. In Part II, Sandy has become more like Jonathan in his behavior and attitude towards women, while Jonathan tries to settle down with Bobbie. The third section shows how the lives of the men have evolved into middle age. However, not all movie-goers liked it especially one Georgia-based cinema where the police conducted a raid and confiscated copies of the film because it was deemed “obscene”.

The Graduate

Mike Nichols directs this classic tale of young Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) and his struggle to find his identity after graduating from college, eventually seduced into an affair with Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). Hoffman was only six years younger than Bancroft when they filmed The Graduate so there had to be some movie magic used make her age up several years. Nichols won an Oscar for directing the movie called The Graduate. It turns out that Mike Nichols’ picture became so influential that The American Film Institute included it on their list of greatest 100 films ever made, ranking at number 17 on their list.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, whose real life relationship followed them on set, play a middle-aged couple in Who is afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the film. They are joined by Honey and Nick for drinks at their home after a staff party at the university. This night, they turn it into a brutal war over petty things. A young couple is dragged into this mess. Based on Edward Albee’s play, Mike Nichols makes his directorial debut.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was nominated for thirteen Academy Awards where it won five including Best Actress and best supporting actress amongst others. In November 1968, MPAA film rating system was implemented as a result of this movies forbidden nature and its sexually explicit language that surpassed the norm.