Top 10 Best Jack Nicholson Movies

The ultimate Nicholson film. As rebel Randle McMurphy in a psychiatric hospital, he leads a quiet revolution against the system, embodied by Nurse Ratched. The film won five Oscars, including Best Actor. Nicholson is anarchic, moving and full of life. A triumph of acting and humanity.

Jack Nicholson at the peak of his devilish powers. As writer Jack Torrance, who slowly succumbs to isolation and the supernatural forces of a haunted hotel, he delivers a memorable and terrifying performance. 'Here's Johnny!' is pure horror iconography. Stanley Kubrick's oppressive direction and Nicholson's tormented gaze make a film that gets under your skin.

He only appears in the last third of the film, but Nicholson leaves an indelible impression as Colonel Jessup. His explosive final monologue opposite Tom Cruise is one of the most quoted scenes in film history. 'You can't handle the truth!' has become a cultural touchstone.

As private detective Jake Gittes, Nicholson gets caught in a dark web of murder, deceit and incest in Los Angeles. Roman Polanski's classic is one of the best neo-noirs ever made, and Nicholson carries it with a mix of irony and tragedy. The chilling finale lingers long: 'Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.'

Here Nicholson proves he can strike a tender chord. As the grumpy, obsessive writer Melvin Udall, he reluctantly connects with a waitress and a neighbor. The film is warm, funny and deeply moving, and Nicholson won his third Oscar for it.

In Martin Scorsese's intense crime thriller, Nicholson plays an Irish mob boss surrounded by lies, violence and paranoia. His role is loosely based on gangster Whitey Bulger, and he turns every scene into a toxic cocktail of power and menace. One of his last great roles, and he blazes one more time.

Long before superhero films were the norm, Nicholson turned the Joker into a flamboyant, dangerous showman. His combination of charm, madness and sadism was unmatched and set the tone for every Joker that followed. Tim Burton's dark Gotham shines extra bright thanks to Nicholson's manic presence.

Although Nicholson only appears halfway through, he steals the show as the idealistic but drunk lawyer who joins the motorcycle-riding hippies. His monologue about freedom and fear is legendary and marked his big Hollywood breakthrough. A cult classic that perfectly captures the spirit of the 60s.

An early masterclass in which Nicholson plays a classically trained pianist who has turned his back on his elite background. Slow, melancholic and steeped in loneliness, the film features the iconic diner scene that shows why Nicholson was already considered the actor of his generation.

In this sober but deeply human road movie, Nicholson plays a sailor who, with a colleague, must escort a young recruit to prison. What follows is a journey full of booze, swearing and tragic freedom. Nicholson is rough and charming at once, effortlessly revealing the pain beneath his bravado.