10 Greatest Films Directed by Jonathan Demme

Jonathan Demme passed away today, at the age of 73. He was born in 1944 in New York and raised in Florida. He began his film career working for Roger Corman’s New World Pictures making the exploitation films that Corman mastered. He received critical acclaim for Citizens Band (1977) and Melvin and Howard (1980) His first big mainstream film was Swing Shift (1984).

Success came in 1991, when he won the Best Director Academy Award for The Silence of the Lambs. As a memorial post, this post is not researched and can only include films I’ve seen prior to today. Demme received a lot of acclaim for his documentaries, including concert films for Talking Heads and Bruce Springsteen. I have not seen those films.

10. Beloved (1998) — an adaptation of Toni Morrison’s novel about a former slave plagued by a poltergeist and guilt over a lost child. Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and Thandie Newton star.

“And the beat, beat, of your heart… Love it. More than the lungs that need yet to breathe free air. More than the womb, which holds life. More than the private parts that give life. Love your heart. This… this is the prize. Amen. This the prize… Amen!” — Baby Suggs

9. Swing Shift (1984) — Essentially a vehicle for star and producer Goldie Hawn, Swing Shift is a look at the homefront during World War II.

“I’m gonna’ tell you who I am: I’m Moon Willis, and I’ve been workin’ in this damn place for 12 long years, this is *my* parking space and I ain’t about to lose it to a bunch of fly-by-night women like you! Huh-uhh… You don’t belong here! None of ya’!” — Moon Willis

8. Melvin and Howard (1980) — a screwball dramedy about a man who once gave Howard Hughes a ride out of the desert and later apparently appears in a will as an heir to Hughes. Jason Robards, Paul Le Mat, and Mary Steenburgen star.

“Honey, they didn’t burn down Rome in one day — you got to keep pluggin’.” — Melvin

7. Something Wild (1986) — a road trip comedy starring Melanie Griffith, Jeff Daniels, Ray Liotta.

“Look, if you don’t turn around and take me back, you’re gonna make me do something that I don’t wanna do.” — Charlie

6. Ricki and the Flash (2015) –Meryl Streep as an aging rock performer trying to fix her long ignored family life. Kevin Kline plays her ex-husband. Meryl’s daughter Mamie Gummer plays her character’s daughter. Rick Springfield plays an aging singer.

“No, a heart isn’t something that’s like a steak, you know, that spoils. A heart is like a big mac; it just sits and sits and sits. It gets older, but it doesn’t change.” — Ricki

5. Married to the Mob (1988) –Michelle Pfeiffer plays Angela, the wife of a murdered mobster. Matthew Modine plays an FBI agent who is supposed to be investigating her but falls for her. The great Dean Stockwell plays another mobster interested in Angela.

“Oh, there’s a big difference, Mrs. de Marco. The mob is run by murdering, thieving, lying, cheating psychopaths. We work for the President of the United States of America.” — Franklin

4. The Manchurian Candidate (2011) — Meryl, Denzel Washington, and Liev Schreiber star in this remake of the 1962 classic. In this updated version, Liev is manipulated by nanotechnology.

“The assassin always dies, baby. It’s necessary for the national healing.” — Eleanor Shaw

3. Rachel Getting Married (2008) — Anne Hathaway received an Oscar nomination for her role as a young woman let out of rehab for a few days to attend her sister’s wedding, and in the process confront the damage she has done to her family.

“Yes, I was. Yes, I was stoned out of my mind. Who do I have to be now? I mean, I could be Mother Teresa and it wouldn’t make a difference, what I did. Did I sacrifice every bit of… love I’m allowed for this life because I killed our little brother?” — Kym

2. Philadelphia (1993) — Hanks plays a lawyer, dying of AIDS. He wants to sue his law firm for discrimination after he is fired without cause. The only lawyer he can find to take the case is a homophobe played by Denzel Washington. Hanks won his first Best Actor Oscar for this film.

“We’re standing here in Philadelphia, the, uh, city of brotherly love, the birthplace of freedom, where the, uh, founding fathers authored the Declaration of Independence, and I don’t recall that glorious document saying anything about all straight men are created equal. I believe it says all men are created equal.” — Joe Miller

1. Silence of the Lambs (1990) — Nominated for 7 Oscars, won 5. Director Jonathan Demme takes what could have been a forgettable B movie and elevates it by making it smart, and none so smart as Hannibal Lector, simultaneously charming and creepy.

“You see a lot, Doctor. But are you strong enough to point that high-powered perception at yourself? What about it? Why don’t you — why don’t you look at yourself and write down what you see? Or maybe you’re afraid to.” — Clarice Starling

What would make your list?