Adrian (or Adrien) Nicholas Brody is a distinctive Hollywood actor with a remarkable appearance, sought-after and famous, after whom they even named an asteroid. He does not limit himself to a single genre, easily playing and masterpiece and simple roles in thrillers, dramas, comedies, sci-fi and crime thrillers. Brody – a true master of transformation, a brilliant tragedian and a great improviser.
We offer you a comprehensive list of the best movies with Adrien Brody, where each viewer can find a story to his liking. In the year 2023, two more movies with Adrien Brody are expected to premiere. They are the satirical comedy “Fool’s Paradise” and the sci-fi “Asteroid City”.
Manodrome
- Genre: Thriller, drama
- USA, UK production / 2023
- Directed by John Trengoff
- Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Adrien Brody, Odessa Young, Philip Ettinger, Ethan Sapley, Evan Jonikit, Caleb Eberhardt, George Mureshan
Ralphie is a young man, an aspiring bodybuilder who works as an Uber cab driver and lives in a tiny apartment with his pregnant girlfriend Sal. The prospect of becoming a father terrifies him, and one day his gym buddy Jason, learning of the guy’s problems, suggests he meet a community of real men who will turn Ralphy’s worldview upside down.
The community, which turns out to be a sect of ardent wife-haters who call themselves incels, is led by the charismatic Dan (Adrien Brody), who encourages Ralphie to leave his girlfriend and move closer to the “sons” and “fathers” of the community.
This film is the English-language debut of South African director John Trengov.
Ghosted
- Rating IMDB – 5.8
- Genre: Action, Melodrama, Comedy, Adventure
- USA Production / 2023
- Directed by Dexter Fletcher
- Cast: Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Mike Moe, Tim Blake Nelson, Tate Donovan, Amy Sedaris, Lizzie Broadway, Mustafa Shakir, Anthony Mackie
Adrien Brody stars as disgraced former French intelligence agent and now criminal trafficker Leveque of secret biological weapons in the fresh romantic action adventure film Ghosted.
Cute farmer Cole meets seductive Sadie at the market, spends time with her and falls madly in love. In the morning, the girl disappears, and all attempts to contact her are unsuccessful. The guy goes in search of his sweetheart, which turns out to be a spy adventure with a distinct taste of mortal danger.
The movie was the most-watched debut of the Apple TV +.
See How They Run
- Rating IMDB – 6.5
- Genre: Detective, comedy
- USA, UK production / 2022
- Worldwide gross: $21 966 634
- Directed by Tom George
- Cast: Sam Rockwell, Sirsha Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Rhys Shersmith, Harris Dickinson, David Oyelowo, Charlie Cooper, Shirley Henderson, Pippa Bennett-Warner
In the exquisite detective about theater life, Adrien Brody played the role of a murder victim, American director Leo Copernicus, who tries to buy the screen rights to an English play.
He gets drunk, tries to blackmail the play’s producer, criticizes the production, flirts with the prima donna, fights with her husband. And then the unfortunate American’s body is found backstage. And the play begins! That is, the investigation.
In Britain, the film was released a week earlier than in the United States, on September 9, 2022.
Blonde
- Rating IMDB – 5.5
- Genre: Biography, Drama
- USA production / 2022
- Budget: $20 000 000
- Directed by Andrew Dominic
- Cast: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Zavier Samuel, Julianne Nicholson, Ewan Williams, Toby Hass, David Warshofsky, Caspar Phillipson, Dan Butler
This biographical film about the life of the most famous blonde is a real psychological thriller revealing to the general public the whole nightmare in which the little Norma Jean lived, who later took the pseudonym of Marilyn Monroe, and the details of her later fate. Adrien Brody played the role of Norma’s third husband, who was Arthur Miller.
Gladys, Norma’s mother, suffered from mental illness. She claimed that the girl’s father lived in Hollywood, periodically tried to kill her daughter and was finally institutionalized. Growing up and starting a career as a pin-up model under a pseudonym known to the world, Norma dreams of an acting career, but her first audition turns out to be a rape…
The film is based on the biographical book by Joyce Carol Oates, and actress Ana de Armas’ performance as Marilyn was admired around the world and was awarded the Hollywood Rising Star Award.
Clean
- Rating IMDB – 5.6
- Genre: Action, thriller, drama, crime
- US production / 2021
- Worldwide gross: $318 877
- Directed by Paul Solet
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Glenn Fleschler, Richie Merritt, Chandler DuPont, Mykelti Williamson, Michelle Wilson, John Bianco, RZA, Gerard Sorbero, Alex Corrado
The film Clean 2021 is one of Brody’s standout performances. He portrays a garbage man nicknamed “Clean” who leads a solitary lifestyle. In addition to collecting junk from the streets, he repairs old vacuum cleaners, feeds stray dogs, cooks food for an old lady, and is impeccably neat.
It’s all guilt-Pure once lost his daughter, and now he’s trying to atone for his violent past. But it catches up with Clean after a conflict with local gangster Michael.
Director Paul Soleta was inspired by the 1976 film Taxi Driver.
The French Dispatch
- Rating IMDB – 7.1
- Genre: Drama, melodrama, comedy
- Germany, USA production / 2020
- Budget: $25 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $46 333 545
- Directed by Wes Anderson
- Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Timothy Shalame, Bill Murray, Lina Kudry, Angelica Huston, Benicio Del Toro, Lea Seydoux
A spectacular ensemble cast and wonderful hilarious turmoil, including several vital reports and a turmoil in the journalist’s “kitchen” – this is the cinematic story of the making of the last issue of a French supplement to an American magazine after the death of its editor-in-chief.
One of the final reports is a real drama in the art world. Adrien Brody plays art dealer Julien Cadazio, who, while serving time for not paying taxes, finds a real nugget of an artist in prison and decides to get rich at his expense. But artists are unpredictable, and Cadazio finds himself in a ridiculous situation.
The inspiration for Wes Anderson’s script came from The New Yorker, an American weekly.
Bullet Head
- Rating IMDB – 5.4
- Genre: Thriller, drama, crime
- Bulgaria, USA production / 2017
- Worldwide gross: $361 965
- Directed by Paul Solet
- Cast: Adrien Brody, John Malkovich, Rory Culkin, Antonio Banderas, Ori Pheffer, Alexandra Dinu, Dejan Petrov, Jason Francis
If you’ve ever dealt with a specially trained fighting dog (swiftness, aggression and intelligence), you know that bloodthirsty zombies are far less frightening. “Bullet Head” is a Bulgarian chamber thriller about three thieves trapped in a building with a fighting dog.
Actors Brody, Malkovich and Culkin are Stacy, Walker and Gage’s sidekicks, who hide out in a vast warehouse after a botched robbery, and soon find out they’re not alone – a ferocious and cunning canary dog named “De Niro” walks around nearby, owned by an equally ferocious Blue (Antonio Banderas).
De Niro’s dog was played by three dogs in different scenes.
Manhattan Nocturne
- Rating IMDB – 6.2
- Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime, Detective
- US production / 2015
- Worldwide gross: $184 656
- Directed by Brian DeCubelis
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Yvonne Strahovski, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Beals, Steven Berkoff, Linda Lavin, Frank Diehl, Stan Karp, Madison Elizabeth Lajares, Thomas Bair
A detective movie about a journalist with Adrien Brody playing Porter Wren, a gambling scoop hunter. He is approached by sexy beauty Caroline to try to investigate the death of her husband Crowley, a prominent director.
Soon Wren and Caroline become lovers. The woman tries to manipulate the journalist, but he discovers her secret and finds dirt that changes everything about Crowley’s murder case.
The film is based on the book by Colin Harrison.
Backtrack
- Rating IMDB – 5.9
- Genre: Horror, fantasy, thriller, drama, detective
- Australia, UK, UAE production / 2014
- Directed by Michael Petroni
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Jenny Baird, Bruce Spence, Greg Poppleton, Barbara Guscos, Jill McKay, Sam Neal, Anne Lise Phillips, Chloe Bayliss, Emma O’Farrell
Australian mystical horror film about ghosts, in which Adrien Brody plays Peter Bauer, the central character in the story. Peter is a psychoanalyst who takes a hard look at the death of his young daughter.
Tormented by guilt, he plunges headlong into his work, soon, however, horrified to discover that his patients are people who died 20 years ago on the same day. But what does that date have to do with it? Peter begins to delve into the past, where he has buried one horrifying secret…
Septembers of Shiraz
- Rating IMDB – 6.2
- Genre: Thriller
- USA production / 2015
- Directed by Wayne Blair
- Cast: Salma Hayek, Adrien Brody, Shohreh Agdashlu, Jamie Ward, Gabriella Wright, Alon Abutbul, Ben Yousef, Nasser Memarzia, Anthony Azizi, Ariana Molkara
Adrien Brody is absolutely convincing as Isaac Amin, a wealthy Jewish jeweler with sad eyes. The thriller “Septembers of Shiraz” is based on real events and tells the story of Amin and his family caught in the middle of the Islamic revolution in Iran. Actress Salma Hayek also plays in the film.
In the first months after the revolution, tensions persist and the tyranny of the new regime spreads. Amin is unexpectedly arrested, imprisoned and tortured. The investigator explains to him the injustice of the Jewish family’s wealth and gets Amin to give him all his money. But a Jew is no good unless he has a stash. Isaac saves the opportunity to escape and get his family out, but can he do it?
The film was shot entirely in Bulgaria.
Tian jiang xiong shi
- Rating IMDB – 5.9
- Genre: Fantasy, action, drama, history
- China, Hong Kong production / 2015
- Budget: $65 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $102 874 068
- Directed by Daniel Lee
- Cast: Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, Choi Chi-won, Lin Peng, Mika Wang, Xiao Yan, Wang Tili, Sammy Hong, William Feng
A historical action film straight out of Hong Kong, starring Jackie Chan and Adrien Brody. Events are set in ancient China, before our era. Ho An (Jackie Chan) is a commander of a Chinese unit guarding the Great Silk Road. One day he is unjustly accused and sent to the most dangerous fortress Goose Gate with orders to complete the structure as soon as possible.
On the spot, Ho An encounters a Roman general, Lucius (Brody), who attempts to seize the fortress. But because of a sandstorm, the two commanders conclude a truce and take refuge behind strong walls. The Chinaman discovers what Lucius is running from and offers him his help. Soon the former enemies will have to fight shoulder to shoulder against the cruel emperor Tiberius, protecting one child…
The role of Lucius, played by Brody, was originally offered to Mel Gibson.
American Heist
- Rating IMDB – 5.0
- Genre: Thriller, crime, drama, action
- USA, Russia production / 2014
- Budget: $10 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $2 931 475
- Directed by Sarik Andreasyan
- Cast: Hayden Christensen, Adrien Brody, Jordana Brewster, Eikon, Tori Kittles, Luis Da Silva Jr, Lance E. Nichols, John McConnell, Joe Cross, Aaron W. Williamson
An energetic crime thriller about two brothers embroiled in a major robbery. Adrien Brody plays Frankie, the older brother who has served 10 years in prison, taking the crime he committed with his brother.
By the time Frankie is released, his younger brother James is going through a series of setbacks, but does not want to take part in the crime planned by Frankie and his criminal buddies Ray and Sugar. He says, however, that he would not have survived in prison without the support of these two, and now owes them. The carefully devised robbery plan goes to hell from the first minutes, turning into a real bloodbath.
On its release, the film became a real box-office bomb, barely breaking even on one-fifth of its budget.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Rating IMDB – 8.1
- Genre: Comedy, adventure, detective, crime
- USA, Germany production / 2014
- Budget: €23 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $172 936 941
- Directed by Wes Anderson
- Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Sirsha Ronan, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Mathieu Amalric, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, Tilda Swinton
The film, set against the turbulent backdrop of the first half of the 20th century, was listed as one of the best films of the 21st century and won four Oscars.👍
Adrien Brody plays the feisty Dimitri, son and heir of hotel guest Madame D, who disagrees with the terms of his mother’s will. She’s signed away the priceless painting to her lover, concierge Gustav, who patronizes young corridor boy Zero Mustafa. It is these two men who are the protagonists of the hotel’s monumental story, unfolding before us over several decades.
The film is based on the stories of the Austrian classic Stefan Zweig.
Third Person
- Rating IMDB – 6.3
- Genre: Drama, melodrama
- Belgium, USA, UK, Germany, Italy production / 2013
- Budget: $28 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $2 624 761
- Directed by Paul Haggis
- Cast: Liam Neeson, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Moran Atias, Maria Bello, Kim Basinger, Michele Melega, Gianni Franco
A superb ensemble cast plays three connected love stories in Paul Haggis’ romantic drama The Third Person. Each couple features that third person, seriously complicating the protagonists’ relationship.
The novella, starring Adrian Brody, is a gripping and dangerous thriller about the unexpectedly flaring love of American businessman Scott (Brody) for Italian gypsy Monica. However, their passion is overshadowed by the kidnapping of Monica’s daughter for ransom.
The film premiered at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival.
Detachment
- Rating IMDB – 7.7
- Genre: Drama
- USA production / 2011
- Worldwide gross: $1 681 521
- Directed by Tony Kaye
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Sami Gayle, Betty Kaye, Christina Hendricks, Marcia Gay Harden, James Caan, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, Tim Blake Nelson, William Petersen
A heartbreaking story that will be remembered for a long time – a film about a great teacher who finds himself in a dysfunctional school and survives the most tragic moments of his life. Adrien Brody embodies the character of Henry Bart, a substitute teacher who roams from school to school, a charming, intelligent and compassionate man.
He truly loves children and is quick to earn respect from his bully wards. At the same time, he has a seriously ill grandfather and young Erica, an underage street girl whom he tries to help. And then one day, the ugliest and darkest girl in school falls in love with Henry…
The film won a rare “Revelation” award at the Deauville Film Festival and earned the prize for best feature of the year in Tokyo.
Midnight in Paris
- Rating IMDB – 7.7
- Genre: Fantasy, melodrama, comedy
- USA, Spain production / 2011
- Budget: $17 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $151 119 219
- Directed by Woody Allen
- Cast: Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Lea Seydoux, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy, Adrien Brody, Corey Stoll
In Woody Allen’s playful, Oscar-winning sci-fi comedy, Adrien Brody fits quite seamlessly into the minor but striking role of the famous painter Salvador Dali.
Events bounce between modernity and the 1920s, where a young successful screenwriter, Gil Pender, is immersed every night in his fantasies as he tries to write his debut novel about early 20th century bohemia. His rational fiancée disapproves of Gil’s dreams, demanding that he focus on down-to-earth and lucrative screenplays, but one day they find themselves together in Paris of yesteryear, in the very era Gil dreams of.
This is Woody Allen’s first film shot entirely in Paris.
Predators
- Rating IMDB – 6.4
- Genre: Sci-fi, action, thriller, adventure
- USA production / 2010
- Budget: $40 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $127 233 108
- Directed by Nimrod Antal
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alici Braga, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo, Louis Ozawa, Mahershala Ali, Cary Jones
A sci-fi action film without much frills with a gripping stalking plot. Adrien Brody plays Royce, a ruthless mercenary who unwittingly leads a peculiar expedition to an alien, hostile planet. His squad includes egregious thugs, criminals of all stripes, who fear neither God nor devil.
However, soon they begin to be pursued by an unknown predator, insidious, swift and ruthless, killing “tough guys” one by one. Finding themselves as victims, the former criminals try to survive and find their way back to Earth.
This film is the third installment of the overall iconic Predator franchise.
Wrecked
- Rating IMDB – 5.3
- Genre: Thriller, drama, detective, adventure
- USA, Canada production / 2010
- Worldwide gross: $226 767
- Directed by Michael Greenspan
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Karelyn Deverne, Ryan Robbins, Adrian Hughes, Adrian Holmes, Lloyd Adams, Mark McConchie, Jacob Blair
A dragging dark reality thriller, a great independent film with a murder mystery and an incredibly convincing Adrien Brody as the pathetic, battered and horrified protagonist of this story.
The man comes to his senses in a terrifying trap. He, bloody and helpless, is in a wrecked car at the bottom of a ravine somewhere in the deep jungle. His broken leg is stuck in the dashboard, two other passengers are dead, he can’t even remember his own name, and a hungry cougar roams around…
Adrien Brody said frankly why he decided to do an independent film – he believes that stage experiments are an excellent way to find new inspirational things.
High School
- Rating IMDB – 5.7
- Genre: Comedy
- USA production / 2011
- Budget: $1 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $221590
- Directed by John Stalberg
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Sean Marquette, Matt Bush, Colin Hanks, Adhir Kalyan, Michael Chiklis, Mykelti Williamson, Luis Chavez, Max Van Wille, Brett Kelly
The cool cupcakes in this hilarious stoner stoner movie are not a metaphor at all, but a way of saving the day. The school principal decides to start fighting marijuana and schedules a general drug test, despite the current final exams. As luck would have it, the day before, decent teenager Henry, along with his reckless friend Travis, smoked pot for the first time, and now he is facing expulsion.
To save the day, the friends come up with an ingenious plan: they steal drugs from the local psychotic dealer Ed (Adrien Brody) and slip them into the baked goods at a local yard sale. Amusing chaos reigns all around, and only the robbed dealer is left unhappy.
Splice
- Rating IMDB – 5.8
- Genre: Horror, sci-fi
- Canada, France, USA production / 2009
- Budget: $30 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $26 846 335
- Directed by Vincenzo Natali
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Dolphin Chaneak, Brandon MacGibbon, Simone Maikanescu, David Hewlett, Abigail Chu, Doug Hickton
Chimera is a quirky and underrated science fiction film from Canadian director Vincenzo Natali. The film was probably ahead of its time – nowadays such scenarios are popular and quickly get high ratings.
Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley play a married biotechnologist, Clive and Elsa, working for a large corporation N.E.R.D. The pair of scientists discover that using human material, they can get a special kind of protein that will help cope with most diseases. They begin a forbidden and secret experiment, creating Chimera, a sentient monster-girl who gradually grows aware of herself and her ugliness…
At the Sidges Festival, the film won an award for special effects and was nominated for Best Film of the Year.
Giallo
- Rating IMDB – 4.4
- Genre: Thriller, crime, detective
- Italy production / 2008
- Budget: $14 000 000
- Directed by Dario Argento
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Emmanuelle Seigner, Elsa Pataki, Robert Miano, Valentina Izumi, Sato Oh, Luis Molteni, Taio Yamanouchi, Daniela Fazzolari, Nicolas Morelli
An Italian crime film about a homicidal maniac starring Adrien Brody as police detective Enzo Avolfi, who investigates numerous kidnappings of beautiful girls in Turin.
When the model Selina is kidnapped, her sister Linda, who has come to stay in town, turns to Avolfi and then keeps him company in the difficult and dangerous investigation, giving him fresh and unconventional ideas to help track down the maniac. At the same time, Selina tries to survive her kidnapper’s captivity while he recalls his childhood in a brutal flashback.
Adrien Brody played two roles in this film at once: the gendarme Enzo and the maniac “Yellow,” for which he was carefully made up.
The Brothers Bloom
- Rating IMDB – 6.7
- Genre: Comedy, crime, melodrama, drama, action
- USA production / 2008
- Budget: $20 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $5 530 764
- Directed by Ryan Johnson
- Cast: Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi, Robbie Coltrane, Maximilian Schell, Ricky Jay, Zachary Gordun, Max Records, Andy Nyman
Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo star in a funny crime comedy about two scheming brothers who travel the world and defraud millionaires. Success comes to them on its own, but gradually the younger brother Bloom (Brody) gets tired of the endless adventures and reluctantly agrees to support his brother in the latest scheme to unobtrusively rob the eccentric recluse Penelope (Rachel Weisz).
However, it is this latest case that becomes the beginning of the most incredible adventures in which the intended victim Penelope will play the most important and active role.
During filming, Adrien Brody taught actress Weiss how to rap and ride a skateboard.
The Darjeeling Limited
- Rating IMDB – 7.2
- Genre: Drama, comedy, adventure
- USA, India production / 2007
- Budget: $17 500 000
- Worldwide gross: $35 078 918
- Directed by Wes Anderson
- Cast: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Amara Karan, Wallace Wolodarsky, Varis Ahluwalia, Irfan Khan, Barbet Schroeder, Camille Rutherford, Bill Murray
An adventure road movie set in India. The plot centers on three brothers who have not seen each other for many years. A trip together is planned for them by the older one, Francis (Owen Wilson), to bring them to their mother, who runs a monastery.
However, Francis carefully conceals the purpose of the trip from Peter (Adrian Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman), who are convinced that they are simply tourists in an ancient land. During their journey, the brothers get into all sorts of curiosities and meet interesting characters.
The film is dedicated to the memory of the Indian director Satyajit Rai.
Manolete
- Rating IMDB – 5.6
- Genre: Drama, melodrama, biography
- Spain, UK, France, USA, Germany production / 2008
- Budget: €28 000 000
- Directed by Menno Mayes
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Penelope Cruz, Santiago Segura, Ann Mitchell, Josep Linuesa, Juan Echanove, Pedro Casablanca, Nacho Aldeguer, Enrique Arce, Thomas Pozzi
A magnificent European historical and biographical drama about the fate of the most famous matador of all time, living in the first half of the 20th century, Manuel Rodriguez Sanchez, and his relationship with the actress Lupe Sinot. The lead roles were played by Adrien Brody and Penelope Cruz.
At the peak of his brilliant fame, the hereditary matador Manuel meets the charming young actress Lupe. The girl has a scandalous fame, and those around him try to keep the matador from continuing to meet, which only fuels his passion for the black-eyed beauty.
Despite the use of animated rather than real bulls in the film, animal activists have organized a real boycott of the film.
Hollywoodland
- Rating IMDB – 6.5
- Genre: Thriller, drama, melodrama, crime, detective, biography, story
- USA, Canada production / 2006
- Budget: $28 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $16 792 724
- Directed by Allen Coulter
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, Bob Hoskins, Robin Tunney, Kathleen Robertson, Lois Smith, Phillip McKenzie, Larry Cedar, Eric Kaldor
A vintage ’50s-inspired movie drama starring Ben Affleck and Adrien Brody. Brody plays private investigator Louis Sims, who is hired to investigate the mysterious death of Hollywood star, Superman performer George Reeves, who is found dead in his own home. Police concluded it was suicide, but the actor’s mother doesn’t believe it.
Digging into the mysteries of the Reeves family and becoming increasingly irritated with those around him, Sim discovers that Reeves was the lover of the wife of a movie studio executive who had the perfect motive for murder. But this is only the beginning of a whole pile of embarrassing secrets that the detective will bring to light.
The film is based on real events, and the death of George Reeves is still a controversial mystery.
King Kong
- Rating IMDB – 7.2
- Genre: Action, drama, melodrama, adventure, fantasy
- USA, New Zealand, Germany production / 2005
- Budget: $207 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $556 906 378
- Directed by Peter Jackson
- Cast: Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black, Thomas Kretschman, Andy Serkis, Colin Hanks, Jamie Bell, Kyle Chandler, Evan Park, Lobo Chan
A New Zealand reincarnation of the 1933 cult classic about Skull Island and the giant gorilla that lives there. Events begin in 1930s New York, at the height of the Great Depression. Pretty actress Anne Darrow agrees to star in director Carl Denham’s new film after learning that the script is written by her idol, playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrian Brody).
The full crew plunges into an old ship and sets off for the mysterious Skull Island, lost in the Indian Ocean. The filmmakers encounter natives and nature with prehistoric lizards and insects. And then the incredible King Kong enters the scene…
This film won three Oscars, not counting the other rather numerous awards.
The Jacket
- Rating IMDB – 7.1
- Genre: Thriller, sci-fi, detective, drama
- USA, Germany production / 2004
- Budget: $29 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $21 126 225
- Directed by John Maybury
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kelly Lynch, Brad Renfro, Daniel Craig, Stephen McIntosh, Brendan Coyle, McKenzie Phillips
A great time-travel sci-fi movie, one of Adrien Brody’s best roles. He plays the role of a shell-shocked Iraqi war veteran, Jack Starks, who suffers memory lapses accompanied by temporary loss of consciousness.
He wanders the country and one day, waking up after another blackout, finds himself in the dock for the murder of a policeman. Jack has no recollection of whether he committed the crime and is soon sent to a mental institution for involuntary treatment.
As part of his “therapy,” he is locked in a cramped morgue closet, bound in a straitjacket. And it is this that becomes the impetus for his time travels, where a real tragedy plays out in which he can save someone’s life.
The film is remotely based on the book “The Star Rover” by Jack London.
The Village
- Rating IMDB – 6.6
- Genre: Thriller, melodrama
- USA production / 2004
- Budget: $60 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $256 697 520
- Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
- Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson, Cherry Jones, Celia Weston, John Christopher Jones, Frank Collison
Another gripping mystical tale by M. Night Shyamalan, starring Adrien Brody as Noah Percy, a mentally handicapped villager. The action is set in a small 19th-century forest settlement. Strange and deadly monsters live in the surrounding woods. A non-aggression pact is made with them on the condition that people will not enter the forest, but the village is fenced off and people are constantly on duty in the watchtowers.
One day, young Lucius Hunt asks the Elders for permission to attempt to cross the forest to bring home medicine from the outside world. The main argument in favor of his journey becomes Noah, an unperturbed underdog wandering in the thicket. But the Elders do not want to break the treaty, even if it threatens the extinction of the unfortunate village.
The director asked the entire cast to train in a nineteenth-century school settlement so that they could get into the atmosphere of the film.
The Pianist
- Rating IMDB – 8.5
- Genre: Drama, War, Biography, Music
- France, Poland, UK, Germany production / 2002
- Budget: $35 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $120 072 577
- Directed by Roman Polanski
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Emilia Fox, Daniel Caltagirone, Ed Stoppard, Maureen Lipman, Frank Finlay, Jessica Kate Meyer, Julia Reiner, Thomas Kretschmann, Michal Zebrowski
A musical film with a high rating. Roman Polanski’s masterpiece historical drama, for which Adrien Brody won an Oscar for the lead role. The film is based on the autobiography of the legendary pianist Spielmann.
It is the story of a Polish-Jewish musician who survives the Nazi occupation. He miraculously avoids a concentration camp, struggles to find shelter and refuge in his hometown, refusing to leave Warsaw, and his amazing musical talent helps him find good people.
For the shooting, Brody lost 13 kilograms and read Chopin. However, Janusz Olejniczak performed all the musical parts for the actor in the film.
Love the Hard Way
- Rating IMDB – 6.3
- Genre: Drama, melodrama, crime
- Germany, USA production / 2001
- Worldwide gross: $76 181
- Directed by Peter Zehr
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Charlotte Aiyanna, John Ceda, August Diehl, Pam Grier, Lisa Jesse Peterson, Elizabeth Regen, Kathryn Mennig, Joey Kern, Jonathan Hadari
A magnificent melodrama with an unusual plot. As a rule, love stories are about development and elevation, about people getting better. But not here. Although…
Jack is a petty thief accustomed to living illegally and not thinking of another fate. Claire is a decent girl, a university student who not only dreams of becoming a scientist, but also works to support herself. Their feelings, unexpected and sincere, capture both of them head-on. Claire tries to help her lover, who draws her into a criminal world from which there is no return.
The film is based on the novel by the Chinese cult writer Wang Shuo.
Harrison’s Flowers
- Rating IMDB – 7.1
- Genre: Drama, melodrama, war
- France production / 2000
- Budget: $63 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $3 033 646
- Directed by Elie Shuraki
- Cast: Andy McDowell, Elias Coteas, Brendan Gleeson, Adrian Brody, David Strathairn, Alan Armstrong, Caroline Goodall, Diane Baker, Quinn Shepard, Marie Trintignant
In the 1990s Croatia fought for its independence in a bloody confrontation with socialist Yugoslavia. Frenchman Elie Shuraki’s film tells the story of those events, following the story of one family torn apart by the war. Adrien Brody plays here a small but memorable role as an American photojournalist who agrees to accompany the main character.
Harrison Lloyd is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who goes to the disintegrating Yugoslavia and goes missing. His wife Sarah decides to go there and look for her husband, presumed dead under the rubble of a collapsed house. Along the way, she meets American journalists who agree to help the woman.
The film was shot in the Czech Republic.
Bread and Roses
- Rating IMDB – 7.0
- Genre: Drama
- UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland production / 2000
- Worldwide gross: $533 479
- Directed by Ken Loach
- Cast: Pilar Padilla, Adrien Brody, Elpidia Carrillo, Jack McGee, Monica Rivas, Frankie Devila, Lillian Hurst, Mayron Pace, Maria Orellana, Melody Garrett
The acute social drama “Bread and Roses” raises burning questions about immigrant workers, often unfairly and cruelly used in developed countries as cheap labor.
The story centers on two Mexican sisters, Rosa and Maya, who work as cleaners in a large, wealthy office building. The girls save literally everything, sending home the pennies they earn. But one day Maya meets union activist Sam, played by Adrien Brody. Sam urges the girls to fight for their rights by demanding decent wages.
The film was awarded the Palme d’Or.
Summer of Sam
- Rating IMDB – 6.7
- Genre: Thriller, drama, melodrama, crime
- USA production / 1999
- Budget: $22 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $19 288 130
- Directed by Spike Lee
- Cast: John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Rispoli, Saverio Guerra, Brian Tarantina, Al Palagonia, Ken Garito, Bebe Newwirth
The true-life thriller about serial killer David Berkowitz tells the story of his crimes, their investigation and the capture of the maniac through the lens of the lives of two pals from the Bronx, Richie (Adrien Brody) and Vinnie (John Leguizamo).
Vinnie is a local barber whose marriage is bursting at the seams because of his many casual liaisons. Richie has been away from his hometown for a while, and when he returns, he shocks everyone with his British accent, spiked clothes, and punk music. Meanwhile, a maniac is on the loose, killing couples, and panicked fear is building up in the town.
During the filming of the fight scene Adrien Brody’s nose was accidentally broken.
Liberty Heights
- Rating IMDB – 7.0
- Genre: Drama, melodrama, comedy, music
- USA production / 1999
- Worldwide gross: $3 736 868
- Directed by Barry Levinson
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Ben Foster, Orlando Jones, Bebe Newwirth, Joe Mantegna, Rebecca Johnson, David Crumholtz, Richard Klein, Vincent Guastaferro, Justin Chambers
In this film, which explores the racial and social problems of ’50s America through the story of a Jewish family, Adrien Brody played Van, the eldest son in the Kurtzman family living in Baltimore.
Van attends a city university and one night at a party falls in love with a girl over whom he gets into a fight-the local boys are convinced that a Jew can’t claim local women. Meanwhile, Ben, a younger Kurtzman, begins a friendship with a black girl, Sylvia, the daughter of a rich doctor, who forbids her to date a white…
The film’s script is based on the memories of its director, Barry Levinson.
Oxygen
- Rating IMDB – 6.0
- Genre: Thriller, drama, crime
- US production / 1999
- Worldwide gross: $3 088
- Directed by Richard Shepard
- Cast: Maura Tierney, Adrien Brody, James Nafton, Lila Robins, Terry Kinney, Paul Calderon, Dylan Baker, Olek Krupa, Frankie Faison, Slavko Stimac
A grim thriller with good suspense, a kidnapping movie starring Adrien Brody as a criminal calling himself “Harry Goodyear”. He captures and buries alive the wife of a powerful businessman, demanding a million dollar ransom.
Police detective Madeline Foster tries to catch the kidnapper and find the woman faster than the buried victim runs out of oxygen. It soon becomes clear that the businessman’s unfortunate wife is only part of Houdini’s insidious revenge plan, and he has a far more elaborate scheme and one huge secret.
The private collection-exhibition “Houdini’s House” in Budapest has props from this film as well.
Restaurant
- Rating IMDB – 6.0
- Genre: Drama
- USA production / 1998
- Worldwide gross: $75 232
- Directed by Eric Bross
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Elise Neal, David Moscoe, Simon Baker, Catherine Kellner, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, John Carroll Lynch, Jesse L. Martin, Sybil Darrow, Vonte Sweet
A wonderful social drama with romance and morality by independent director Eric Bross. A Hoboken restaurant employs young people with dreams of their own. Chris Calloway is a young waiter who dreams of putting on his own little play.
He strikes up a relationship with the restaurant’s new singer, the black beauty Janine. Interracial love outrages those around them, but the lovers are not about to go along with the outdated principles of the detractors, and the restaurant’s friendly staff will help them overcome their difficulties.
Independent Spirit nomination for young actor Brody.
The Undertaker’s Wedding
- Rating IMDB – 5.2
- Genre: Comedy, Crime
- USA, Canada production / 1997
- Directed by John Bradshaw
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Jeff Wincott, Kari Worer, Holly Ganier, Nicholas Pascoe, Burt Young, Darren Andrea, Paul Arnaud, Steve Bloom, Peter Marino
A funny black comedy starring a young Adrien Brody as the hereditary undertaker Mario Bellini. Mario’s business is booming – two mafias are constantly fighting to the death in his town, providing the undertaker and his mother with a prosperous existence.
Then one day a major mobster decides to fake his relative’s death with Mario’s help. The undertaker is required to have a lavish funeral and provide shelter for the “corpse.” The situation is aggravated by the fact that Mario suddenly starts an affair with the “widow” of a mafia relative.
The film premiered at the Montreal Film Festival in August 1997.
Bullet
- Rating IMDB – 6.4
- Genre: Action, Drama, Crime
- USA production / 1995
- Directed by Julien Temple
- Cast: Mickey Rourke, Tupac Shakur, Adrien Brody, Ted Levine, Donnie Wahlberg, Suzanne Shepherd, Jerry Grayson, Manny Perez, John Enos III
This dystopian film still steadily makes the lists of the best crime thrillers of the ’90s. Adrien Brody plays the younger brother of the main character, the talented street artist Ruby Stein. His alcoholic father blames all the family’s failures on his middle son, Butch, nicknamed “Bullet” (Mickey Rourke), who is being released from prison. The older one, Vietnam War veteran Lewis, is almost insane.
Butch is actually the central character in the story. He served eight years for a robbery he didn’t commit, but he had a lot to charge him with. Drugs and hooliganism have accompanied Butch since he was little, and now that he can start his life over, his criminal past catches up with “Bullet,” giving him no choice.
Nothing to Lose
- Rating IMDB – 5.6
- Genre: Drama
- US production / 1995
- Budget: $200 000
- Directed by Eric Bross
- Cast: Adrien Brody, Michael Gallagher, Sybil Darrow, Tony Gillan, James E. Moriarty, Lisa Roberts Gillan, Frank Vincent, Gale Scott, Greg Zittel, Jerry Moore
An urban male drama starring Adrien Brody. Ray DiGiovanni once witnessed his father’s arrest for gambling and swore it would never happen to him. However, the current reality of his hard-working job as a shoe salesman doesn’t give him much of a chance to develop. Meanwhile, Ray dreams of marrying his girlfriend Joanna and expanding his business.
And one day he decides to borrow ten thousand dollars from the mafia to play the big game. Confident of his victory, Ray is shocked to lose, and now he has no choice but to go on the run.
King of the Hill
- Rating IMDB – 7.3
- Genre: Drama, Story
- USA production / 1993
- Budget: $8 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $1 214 231
- Directed by Steven Soderbergh
- Cast: Jesse Bradford, Yerun Crabbe, Lisa Eickhorn, Karen Allen, Spalding Gray, Elizabeth McGovern, Cameron Boyd, Adrien Brody, Joe Cross, John McConnell
Soderbergh’s second film from his own script, which earned high ratings and many nominations for prestigious awards. Debutant Adrien Brody played here a minor role of a “tough” guy from the main character’s entourage, but his participation was noticed and highly appreciated by the critics.
And overall, it’s the dramatic story of 12-year-old Aaron Kurlander, abandoned by his parents in a run-down hotel somewhere in the Midwest during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The boy’s mother is a strange, mentally unstable person who ended up in the hospital with tuberculosis, and his father is a traveling salesman. Aaron struggles to survive on his own, enduring many hardships.
The film is based on the memoirs of writer A.E. Hotchner.
