The Best of James Caan

                                                                 James Caan

                                                                 1940 - 2022

 It's hard to tell writers, especially in movies, that words are secondary. Behavior is important.

1)    The Rain People                       Francis Ford Coppola                    1969

2)    The Godfather                          Francis Ford Coppola                    1972

3)    El Dorado                                  Howard Hawks                              1967

4)    The Killer Elite                         Sam Peckinpah                              1975

5)    Thief                                           Michael Mann                               1981

6)    Brian's Song                              Buzz Kulik                                    1971

7)    Slither                                        Howard Zieff                                 1973

8)    Misery                                        Rob Reiner                                    1990

9)    Freebie and the Bean                Richard Rush                                1974

10)  The Gambler                             Karl Reisz                                      1974

Machismo was his calling card and that led him to be perpetually underrated. His only Oscar nomination was for The Godfather and he lost the trophy to, um, Joel Grey. Perhaps if he had slapped on an eyepatch or limped... Actually, he hobbles around quite a bit in The Killer Elite, but the action roles he was so suited for were not produced for acclaim. 

However, from El Dorado on, his injection of comic notes demonstrated his versatility. I also value his efforts in Red Line 7000, Games, Cinderella Liberty, Rollerball, Funny Lady, Gardens of Stone, For the Boys, Flesh and Bone, Bottle Rocket, The Way of the Gun, Dogville, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Yards and Elf.