Who doesn’t like an Arnold Schwarzenegger film? I don’t think that’s possible! He has gone from nothing, to being everything. Even now, he has a serious movie. When you think Arnold can only do muscle movies, then you think wrong. This man can act! So with that said, let’s take a look back at some of the films he has done. And let us know if you agree with us, and what your top 10 would be!
Keith / David – Maggie (2015)
Maggie is a 2015 post-apocalyptic drama film directed by Henry Hobson, written by John Scott III, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Abigail Breslin and Joely Richardson. Maggie is the second horror-themed film to star Arnold Schwarzenegger, the first being End of Days (1999).
The film was originally set to have its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, but Lionsgate bought the American distribution rights and pulled the film out of the festival’s roster. It instead premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival on April 23, 2015, as part of their lineup, followed by a limited theatrical release and simultaneous VOD release on May 8, 2015.
Keith – Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Conan the Barbarian is a 1982 American fantasy film co-written and directed by John Milius. It is based on stories by Robert E. Howard, a pulp fiction writer of the 1930s, about the adventures of the eponymous character in a fictional pre-historic world of dark magic and savagery. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones, and tells the story of a young barbarian (Schwarzenegger) who seeks vengeance for the death of his parents at the hands of Thulsa Doom (Jones), the leader of a snake cult. Buzz Feitshans and Raffaella De Laurentiis produced the film for her father Dino De Laurentiis. Basil Poledouris composed the music. Ideas for a Conan film were proposed as early as 1970. A concerted effort by executive producer Edward R. Pressman and associate producer Edward Summer to produce the film started in 1975. It took them two years to obtain the film rights, after which they recruited Schwarzenegger for the lead role and Oliver Stone to draft a script. Pressman lacked capital for the endeavor, and in 1979, after having his proposals for investments rejected by the major studios, he sold the project to Dino De Laurentiis. Milius was appointed as director and he rewrote Stone’s script. The final screenplay integrated scenes from Howard’s stories and from films such as Kwaidan and Seven Samurai. Filming took place in Spain over five months, in the regions around Madrid and Almería. The sets, designed by Ron Cobb, were based on Dark Age cultures and Frank Frazetta’s paintings of Conan. Milius eschewed optical effects, preferring to realize his ideas with mechanical constructs and optical illusions. Schwarzenegger performed most of his own stunts, and two types of swords, costing $10,000 each, were forged for his character. The editing process took over a year and several violent scenes were cut. Conan was a commercial success for its backers, grossing more than $100 million at box-offices around the world, although the revenue fell short of the level that would qualify the film as a blockbuster. Academics and critics interpreted the film as advancing the themes of fascism or individualism, and the fascist angle featured in most of the criticisms of the film. Critics also negatively reviewed Schwarzenegger’s acting and the film’s violent scenes. Despite the criticisms, Conan was popular with young males. The film earned Schwarzenegger worldwide recognition. Conan has been frequently released on home media, the sales of which had increased the film’s gross to more than $300 million by 2007. The film’s popularity led to the 1984 sequel Conan the Destroyer.
David – Jingle All The Way (1996)
Jingle All the Way is a 1996 American Christmas family comedy film directed by Brian Levant and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad, with Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson, Jake Lloyd, James Belushi and Robert Conrad. The plot focuses on two rival fathers, workaholic Howard Langston (Schwarzenegger) and stressed out postal worker Myron Larabee (Sinbad), both desperately trying to retrieve a Turbo-Man action figure for their respective sons on a last minute shopping spree on Christmas Eve.
Inspired by real-life Christmas toy sell-outs for products such as the Cabbage Patch Kids and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the film was written by Randy Kornfield. Producer Chris Columbus rewrote the script, adding in elements of satire about the commercialization of Christmas, and the project was picked up by 20th Century Fox. Delays on Fox’s reboot of Planet of the Apes allowed Schwarzenegger to come on board the film, while Columbus opted to cast Sinbad ahead of Joe Pesci as Myron. Jingle All the Way was set and filmed in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul at a variety of locations, including the Mall of America. After five weeks filming, production moved to California where scenes such as the end parade were shot. The film’s swift production meant merchandising was limited to a replica of the Turbo-Man action figure used in the film. Although some critics felt the film was good family entertainment, it was met with a broadly negative response. Much criticism was attached to the film’s script, its focus on the commercialism of Christmas, Levant’s direction and Schwarzenegger’s performance. Nevertheless, it proved a success at the box office, generating $129 million worldwide. In 2001, Fox was ordered to pay $19 million to Murray Hill Publishing for stealing the idea for the film; the verdict was overturned three years later.
Keith – Twins (1988)
Twins is a 1988 comedy film, produced and directed by Ivan Reitman about unlikely twins (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito) who were separated at birth. The core of the film is the relationship between DeVito’s streetwise character and Schwarzenegger’s intellectual persona. The films characters are based on Stacey Cosby and Zara Hughes. The original music score was composed by Georges Delerue and Randy Edelman (Edelman would score three more films for the director, whereas this was Delerue’s only work for him). It grossed $11 million on its opening weekend, and went on to gross $216 million worldwide. Schwarzenegger and DeVito rather than taking their usual salary for the film, both agreed with the studio to take 20% of the film’s box office, which resulted in them receiving the biggest paychecks of their movie careers.
David – Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Conan the Barbarian is a 1982 American fantasy film co-written and directed by John Milius. It is based on stories by Robert E. Howard, a pulp fiction writer of the 1930s, about the adventures of the eponymous character in a fictional pre-historic world of dark magic and savagery. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones, and tells the story of a young barbarian (Schwarzenegger) who seeks vengeance for the death of his parents at the hands of Thulsa Doom (Jones), the leader of a snake cult. Buzz Feitshans and Raffaella De Laurentiis produced the film for her father Dino De Laurentiis. Basil Poledouris composed the music.
Ideas for a Conan film were proposed as early as 1970. A concerted effort by executive producer Edward R. Pressman and associate producer Edward Summer to produce the film started in 1975. It took them two years to obtain the film rights, after which they recruited Schwarzenegger for the lead role and Oliver Stone to draft a script. Pressman lacked capital for the endeavor, and in 1979, after having his proposals for investments rejected by the major studios, he sold the project to Dino De Laurentiis. Milius was appointed as director and he rewrote Stone’s script. The final screenplay integrated scenes from Howard’s stories and from films such as Kwaidan and Seven Samurai.
Filming took place in Spain over five months, in the regions around Madrid and Almería. The sets, designed by Ron Cobb, were based on Dark Age cultures and Frank Frazetta’s paintings of Conan. Milius eschewed optical effects, preferring to realize his ideas with mechanical constructs and optical illusions. Schwarzenegger performed most of his own stunts, and two types of swords, costing $10,000 each, were forged for his character. The editing process took over a year and several violent scenes were cut. Conan was a commercial success for its backers, grossing more than $100 million at box-offices around the world, although the revenue fell short of the level that would qualify the film as a blockbuster. Academics and critics interpreted the film as advancing the themes of fascism or individualism, and the fascist angle featured in most of the criticisms of the film. Critics also negatively reviewed Schwarzenegger’s acting and the film’s violent scenes. Despite the criticisms, Conan was popular with young males. The film earned Schwarzenegger worldwide recognition. Conan has been frequently released on home media, the sales of which had increased the film’s gross to more than $300 million by 2007. The film’s popularity led to the 1984 sequel Conan the Destroyer.
Keith – The Running Man (1987)
The Running Man is a 1987 American science fiction action film loosely based on the 1982 novel, “The Running Man”, written by Stephen King and published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, and Richard Dawson (in his final film). Director Andrew Davis was fired one week into filming and replaced by Glaser. Schwarzenegger has stated this was a “terrible decision” as Glaser “shot the movie like it was a television show, losing all the deeper themes.” Schwarzenegger believes this hurt the movie. Paula Abdul is credited with the choreography of the Running Man dance troupe.
David – True Lies (1994)
True Lies is a 1994 American action comedy film written and directed by James Cameron, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Art Malik, Tia Carrere, Bill Paxton, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov and Charlton Heston. It is a loose remake of the 1991 French comedy film La Totale!. True Lies was the first Lightstorm Entertainment project to be distributed under Cameron’s multi-million dollar production deal with 20th Century Fox, as well as the first major production for the visual effects company Digital Domain, which was co-founded by Cameron. Upon its release, True Lies was the most expensive film ever made as well as the first film to have over a $100 million production budget, and went on to commercial and critical success. For her performance, Curtis won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and the Saturn Award for Best Actress, while Cameron won the Saturn Award for Best Director. The film ultimately grossed $378 million worldwide at the box-office and was also nominated at the Academy Awards and BAFTAs in the Best Visual Effect category, and also for seven Saturn Awards.
Keith – Commando (1985)
Commando is a 1985 American action thriller film directed by Mark L. Lester, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rae Dawn Chong. The film was released in the United States on October 4, 1985. The film was shot in Los Angeles, California. The film was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Special Effects but lost to James Cameron’s Aliens. The film’s score was provided by James Horner. A critical success and commercial hit, Commando was the 7th highest grossing R rated movie of 1985 worldwide, and the 25th highest grossing overall.
David – Kindergarden Cop (1990)
Kindergarten Cop is a 1990 American comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger[1] as John Kimble, a tough police detective, who must go undercover and pose as a kindergarten teacher to catch drug dealer Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson), before he can get to his ex-wife and son. Along the way, he discovers his passion for teaching and considers changing his profession to become an educator. Pamela Reed plays his partner, Phoebe O’Hara, and Penelope Ann Miller plays Joyce, the teacher who becomes his love interest. The original music score was composed by Randy Edelman.
Keith – Kindergarden Cop (1990)
Kindergarten Cop is a 1990 American comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger[1] as John Kimble, a tough police detective, who must go undercover and pose as a kindergarten teacher to catch drug dealer Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson), before he can get to his ex-wife and son. Along the way, he discovers his passion for teaching and considers changing his profession to become an educator. Pamela Reed plays his partner, Phoebe O’Hara, and Penelope Ann Miller plays Joyce, the teacher who becomes his love interest. The original music score was composed by Randy Edelman.
David – Twins (1988)
Twins is a 1988 comedy film, produced and directed by Ivan Reitman about unlikely twins (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito) who were separated at birth. The core of the film is the relationship between DeVito’s streetwise character and Schwarzenegger’s intellectual persona. The films characters are based on Stacey Cosby and Zara Hughes. The original music score was composed by Georges Delerue and Randy Edelman (Edelman would score three more films for the director, whereas this was Delerue’s only work for him). It grossed $11 million on its opening weekend, and went on to gross $216 million worldwide. Schwarzenegger and DeVito rather than taking their usual salary for the film, both agreed with the studio to take 20% of the film’s box office, which resulted in them receiving the biggest paychecks of their movie careers.
Keith – Total Recal (1990)
Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, and Sharon Stone. The film is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”. It tells the story of a construction worker who is having troubling dreams about Mars and a mysterious woman there. It was written by Ronald Shusett, Dan O’Bannon, Jon Povill, and Gary Goldman, and won a Special Achievement Academy Award for its visual effects. The original score composed by Jerry Goldsmith won the BMI Film Music Award.
The film was one of the most expensive films made at the time of its release, although estimates of its exact production budget vary and it is not certain whether it ever actually held the record. Rambo III, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Die Hard 2: Die Harder are considered the most expensive films released within the production period and year of release of Total Recall.
David – Predator (1987)
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan and was distributed by 20th Century Fox. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the leader of an elite special forces team, who are on a mission to rescue hostages from guerrilla territory in Central America. Kevin Peter Hall co-stars as the titular antagonist, a technologically advanced form of extraterrestrial life secretly stalking and hunting the group. Predator was written by Jim and John Thomas in 1985, under the working title of “Hunter”. Filming began in April 1986 and creature effects were devised by Stan Winston.
The film’s budget was around $15 million. Released in the United States on June 12, 1987, it grossed $98,267,558. Initial critical reaction to Predator was negative, with criticism focusing on the thin plot. However, in subsequent years critics’ attitudes toward the film warmed, and it has appeared on a number of “best of” lists. Two sequels, Predator 2 (1990) and Predators (2010), as well as two crossover films with the Alien franchise, Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), have been produced. Another entry in the series, directed by Shane Black, is in the works at 20th Century Fox.
Keith – True Lies (1994)
True Lies is a 1994 American action comedy film written and directed by James Cameron, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Art Malik, Tia Carrere, Bill Paxton, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov and Charlton Heston. It is a loose remake of the 1991 French comedy film La Totale!.
True Lies was the first Lightstorm Entertainment project to be distributed under Cameron’s multi-million dollar production deal with 20th Century Fox, as well as the first major production for the visual effects company Digital Domain, which was co-founded by Cameron.
Upon its release, True Lies was the most expensive film ever made as well as the first film to have over a $100 million production budget, and went on to commercial and critical success. For her performance, Curtis won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and the Saturn Award for Best Actress, while Cameron won the Saturn Award for Best Director. The film ultimately grossed $378 million worldwide at the box-office and was also nominated at the Academy Awards and BAFTAs in the Best Visual Effect category, and also for seven Saturn Awards.
David – Commando (1985)
Commando is a 1985 American action thriller film directed by Mark L. Lester, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rae Dawn Chong. The film was released in the United States on October 4, 1985. The film was shot in Los Angeles, California. The film was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Special Effects but lost to James Cameron’s Aliens. The film’s score was provided by James Horner. A critical success and commercial hit, Commando was the 7th highest grossing R rated movie of 1985 worldwide, and the 25th highest grossing overall.
Keith – Predator (1987)
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan and was distributed by 20th Century Fox. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the leader of an elite special forces team, who are on a mission to rescue hostages from guerrilla territory in Central America. Kevin Peter Hall co-stars as the titular antagonist, a technologically advanced form of extraterrestrial life secretly stalking and hunting the group. Predator was written by Jim and John Thomas in 1985, under the working title of Hunter. Filming began in April 1986 and creature effects were devised by Stan Winston.
The film’s budget was around $15 million. Released in the United States on June 12, 1987, it grossed $98,267,558. Initial critical reaction to Predator was negative, with criticism focusing on the thin plot. However, in subsequent years critics’ attitudes toward the film warmed, and it has appeared on a number of “best of” lists. Two sequels, Predator 2 (1990) and Predators (2010), as well as two crossover films with the Alien franchise, Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), have been produced. Another entry in the series, directed by Shane Black, is in the works at 20th Century Fox.
David – Total Recal (1990)
Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, and Sharon Stone. The film is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”. It tells the story of a construction worker who is having troubling dreams about Mars and a mysterious woman there. It was written by Ronald Shusett, Dan O’Bannon, Jon Povill, and Gary Goldman, and won a Special Achievement Academy Award for its visual effects. The original score composed by Jerry Goldsmith won the BMI Film Music Award.
The film was one of the most expensive films made at the time of its release, although estimates of its exact production budget vary and it is not certain whether it ever actually held the record. Rambo III, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Die Hard 2: Die Harder are considered the most expensive films released within the production period and year of release of Total Recall.
Keith – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (also referred to as simply Terminator 2 or T2) is a 1991 American science fiction action film co-written, produced and directed by James Cameron. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick and Edward Furlong. It is the sequel to the 1984 film The Terminator, and the second installment in the Terminator franchise. Terminator 2 follows Sarah Connor (Hamilton) and her ten-year-old son John (Furlong) as they are pursued by a new, more advanced Terminator, the liquid metal, shapeshifting T-1000 (Patrick), sent back in time to kill John Connor and prevent him from becoming the leader of the human resistance. A second, less advanced Terminator (Schwarzenegger) is also sent back in time to protect John. After a troubled pre-production characterized by legal disputes, Mario Kassar of Carolco Pictures emerged with the franchise’s property rights in early 1990. This paved the way for the completion of the screenplay by a Cameron-led production team, and the October 1990 start of a shortened 186-day filming schedule. The production of Terminator 2 required an unprecedented budget of more than $94 million, much of which was spent on filming and special effects. The film was released on July 3, 1991, in time for the U.S. Fourth of July weekend. The film’s visual effects saw breakthroughs in computer-generated imagery, including the first use of natural human motion for a computer-generated character and the first partially computer-generated main character. Terminator 2 was a critical and commercial success and influenced popular culture, especially the use of visual effects in films. It received many accolades, including four Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup, and Best Visual Effects. The highest-grossing film of 1991, Terminator 2 has since been ranked by several publications such as the American Film Institute as one of the greatest action films, science fiction films and sequels of all time.
David – The Terminator (1984)
The Terminator is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and the film’s producer Gale Anne Hurd, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. It was filmed in Los Angeles, produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures. Schwarzenegger plays the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from the year 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, played by Hamilton, whose son will one day become a savior against machines in a post-apocalyptic future. Biehn plays Kyle Reese, a soldier from the future sent back in time to protect Sarah. Though not expected to be either a commercial or critical success, The Terminator topped the American box office for two weeks and helped launch the film career of Cameron and consolidate that of Schwarzenegger. In 2008, The Terminator was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the American National Film Registry, being deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. The film was followed up with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, released in 1991.
And there you have it – our Top 10 Arnold list! What do you think? Would you place them in our order, or would you have a very different list? We want to hear from you! Comment below and, give us your list!
If you want to hear us recite our lists, with the reasons behind each one, check out Podcast Unlimited episode #78. To see our Honorable Mentions, check out our sister blog here.