There should be certain categories of lifetime achievement awards when it comes to movies. If one existed for the most heartbreaking, most profound, and the most sensual actor, it would have to go to William Hurt. When it came to drama, he ruled the last two decades of 21st century Hollywood, taking on daring performances that other actors would shun as too controversial or too vulnerable, lest they besmirch their macho personas.
That's not to say that William Hurt went unrecognized in his time. The pile of Oscars, Golden Globes, and Tony Awards could form a golden horde that would make a dragon jealous. He even appeared in some Marvel movies as General Thaddeus Ross. Hurt's recent passing is a loss for the fans, but there's a bright new star in Hollywood heaven tonight.
8 Kiss Of The Spider Woman (1985)
One of history's most critically acclaimed movies, sweeping the Cannes Film Festival and making a nice dent in the Oscars, Hurt was backed up by other talented names that included Raul Julia and Sônia Braga in Kiss of the Spider Woman. It's obvious that this movie was adapted from a play because most of it takes place in the cramped interior of a prison cell, where two very different types of political prisoners are serving their time.
Molina, the character played by Hurt, tries to pass the time with a romantic story about a tragic and beautiful woman. The story that plays out isn't a happy one, but it's an accurate reflection of the oppressive regimes that were common in Latin America in the 1980s.
7 Children Of A Lesser God (1986)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Children Of A Lesser God was nominated for five Oscars and received both awards and critical acclaim when it debuted at the Toronto Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. It was also a box office smash, making ten times more than the original $10 million price tag.
Like so many of Hurt's best movies, this is a drama with a profound twist. It's not just about two colleagues falling in love, but the basic dynamics of human communication. Hurt plays James Leeds, a teacher at a school for the deaf, who pursues a relationship with Sarah Norman, a deaf character played by Marlee Matlin. Her refusal to vocalize is what eventually comes between them.
6 Body Heat (1981)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The 1980s had several entries into the neo-noir-erotic-thriller-romance-drama category, and one of the few quality productions that resulted from that trend was Body Heat. It was Kathleen Turner's breakthrough role and filmed only a year after William Hurt had first appeared in Altered States.
There's actually an intricate and compelling murder and forgery at the heart of this movie, even though the marketing relies so heavily on the sexual relationship between the main characters. The ending is also pleasantly unexpected and satisfying, as the winners and losers are never who the audience expects them to be.
5 Broadcast News (1987)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
It's intended to be a comedy, but it's equally a drama and foreshadows how local news eventually fell under the shadow of national conglomerates. It's funny in the sense that each character is a trope or archetype as if this is a sitcom, but the issues and resolution have too much complexity for a TV show.
Not just a metadrama about the news, the plot also tells the story of the intensely competitive nature of some types of work, which was a fairly new issue in the late 1980s that has now become the new normal. On top of being a commercial success and critical darling, it was nominated for seven Academy Awards and six Golden Globes.
4 One True Thing (1998)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The main character in One True Thing is Ellen Gulden, played by Renée Zellweger in one of her earlier roles. It's a simple plot on the surface about a young woman whose busy life is derailed when she's compelled to return home so she can take care of her mother, who's dying of cancer.
Ellen has a deep admiration for her father, an accomplished writer played by William Hurt, but doesn't think much of her mother, played by Meryl Streep. As the story evolves, so does Ellen's relationship with her parents and her understanding of them. The critical and audience response to the movie was muted but positive, not exactly reaching the same heights as Hurt's other movies but well-liked nonetheless.
3 Altered States (1980)
Talk about daring for the time, Altered States is a body-horror film based on sensory deprivation research while under the influence of psychoactive drugs like mescaline, ketamine, and LSD. It wasn't only William Hurt's breakthrough role but also features child actor Drew Barrymore as one of his daughters.
Critics have heralded the movie as a breakthrough in science fiction and fantasy along with thrillers or investigative dramas. The director, Ken Russell, was known for his pioneering work in film and was fortunate enough to have a very talented cast for this experimental production.
2 The Big Chill (1983)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The cast for The Big Chill is a veritable who's-who of 1980s drama and comedy actors. William Hurt is part of a cast that includes Jeff Goldblum, Kevin Kline, Meg Tilly, Tom Berenger, and Glenn Close. The soundtrack was just as popular as the movie, which won several awards along with the movie.
It's a tale as old as time, a bunch of 30-somethings who have known each other since college and are in various stages of failed relationships, nervous breakdowns, or substance abuse. The movie opens with a suicide, which is what inspires the name of the movie and sets many other events in motion.
1 The Accidental Tourist (1988)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Anne Tyler, William Hurt plays the main character Macon Leary, a successful travel writer whose marriage is falling apart following the death of his son. The story is about how circumstances compel him to drift from home to home, and relationship to relationship while trying to determine what he really wants from life.
Part of the film's conclusion includes an awkward trip to Paris, if such a thing is even possible, and all the loose ends get neatly tied up in a way that 1980s movies always do. It got some critical recognition at the Oscars too, being nominated for four, with Geena Davis taking one home.