15 Best Sir Michael Caine Movies

'You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!' In a stylish tailored suit, Charlie Croker leads a gang through the streets of Turin in three souped-up Mini Coopers loaded with gold bars. The film oozes pure sixties cool, and Caine's nonchalant leadership turned it into a British cultural icon.

'Some men just want to watch the world burn.' As Bruce Wayne's (Christian Bale) loyal butler and surrogate father, Caine was the moral conscience of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. His monologue about Burma and his tears at the Wayne family grave in The Dark Knight Rises are among the most emotional moments in the genre.

'Every great magic trick consists of three parts...' As the seasoned illusion engineer Cutter, Caine explains the secrets of magic in his warm voice while helplessly watching the obsessive rivalry between two magicians (Bale and Jackman) destroy lives.

'Goodnight, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England!' As the ether-addicted doctor and orphanage director who cares for orphans and performs illegal but safe abortions, Caine created a character of immeasurable kindness. It earned him his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

His first Oscar win. In Woody Allen's melancholy comedy, Caine plays a financial adviser who falls hopelessly in love with his wife's sister (Barbara Hershey). His fumbling with poetry books and gnawing guilt show masterful command of human weakness.

Forget the gentleman. As an ice-cold London gangster who travels to gray Newcastle to avenge his brother's death, Caine created a ruthless antihero with a shotgun in hand. This raw British classic redefined the gangster genre.

'Do not go gentle into that good night...' As the brilliant physicist trying to guide humanity to a new galaxy, Caine carries the weight of a terrible secret. His final deathbed confession is heartbreaking.

Talking straight into the camera to the audience: as the unscrupulous womanizer Alfie, hopping from woman to woman in swinging London, Caine broke through internationally. Only when the consequences of his hedonism become visible do his jokes slowly start to crumble.

Together with his good friend Sean Connery, Caine shines in John Huston's ultimate adventure film based on Rudyard Kipling's story. As two brash British ex-soldiers crossing the mountains of Kafiristan to become kings of a remote tribe, the fun leaps off the screen.

On the sun-drenched French Riviera, Caine plays a refined master con man who relieves wealthy women of their jewelry with invented stories about royal freedom fighters. When vulgar American small-timer Freddy (Steve Martin) shows up on his turf, a hilarious duel of giants ensues.

As a disillusioned, alcoholic English literature professor who finds renewed joy in life by teaching an eager hairdresser (Julie Walters), Caine shows a fragile warmth and intellectual wistfulness that earned him a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.

In Alfonso Cuarón's harrowing dystopia, Jasper is a pot-smoking former political cartoonist hiding deep in the woods with his traumatized wife. Caine gives the role unforgettable warmth and dignity amid the total collapse of the world.

As commander of the Irish Guards, Caine leads the armored column along the narrow road toward Arnhem during Operation Market Garden. His calm under fire embodies classic British military composure.

In Christopher Nolan's dream-within-a-dream masterpiece, Caine plays the mentor and father-in-law of Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio). His fatherly advice ('Come back to reality, Dom') is the moral beacon that ultimately leads Cobb back to his children.

In Paolo Sorrentino's visually stunning film, Caine plays a retired orchestra conductor looking back on his life, friendships and lost loves at a Swiss spa resort. A majestic, melancholy late-career role from a grandmaster.