You would’ve seen something Lawrence Kasdan was involved with, even if you might not recognize his name straight away. This is because he’s credited with co-writing a handful of Star Wars movies (a little space opera series you might’ve heard of), and was similarly involved with the first Indiana Jones movie. He’s also been relatively active as a filmmaker, having been the director of 11 movies to date.
The following wants to touch upon both the stuff he’s written and directed, especially because trying to fill a top 10 with just his 11 movies (not all being great) proved difficult. Time is short, and maybe someone writing this didn’t want to spend up to 10 unpaid hours slogging through some mediocre stuff. Could you forgive, uh, such a hypothetical person? Also, Kasdan has written/co-written some bangers, so they deserve shout-outs, too.
10
‘Wyatt Earp’ (1994)
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Not bad enough to be considered an epic stinker, but also not good enough to be a genuinely great epic, Wyatt Earp occupies something of a not-too-exciting middle ground. It has many of the same characters and even story beats as 1993’s Tombstone, and that’s the Wyatt Earp movie of the 1990s that’s most worth watching. It helps that it’s shorter and punchier, too.
It has many of the same characters and even story beats as 1993’s Tombstone, and that’s the Wyatt Earp movie of the 1990s that’s most worth watching.
But with this Wyatt Earp epic, there are some impressive things to be found within the immense (maybe too immense) runtime, especially because Gene Hackman shows up, and that’s basically always a good thing. Kevin Costner is dependable in the kind of role he seemed born to play, and Dennis Quaid, though not quite on Val Kilmer’s level, still makes for a pretty good Doc Holliday.
Wyatt Earp
- Release Date
-
June 24, 1994
- Director
-
Lawrence Kasdan
9
‘I Love You to Death’ (1990)
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
As mentioned before, Lawrence Kasdan wrote his fair share of movies, having more writing credits than directing ones, but with I Love You to Death, he was credited as the director, but not the writer. Instead, this crime comedy was written by John Kostmayer, and had a premise that involves a wife lashing out at her husband in some rather alarming ways when she realizes he’s been cheating on her for an extended period of time.
Some hitmen end up getting involved, things naturally go wrong, and the tone is kept pretty light throughout, even if the subject matter is kind of dark at times. I Love You to Death is not a great film, and it does naturally feel a tad dated, but there are certainly moments here that can be appreciated; it’s not a total mess, by any means.
I Love You to Death
- Release Date
-
April 6, 1990
- Runtime
-
94 minutes
- Director
-
Lawrence Kasdan
- Producers
-
Charles Okun, Jeffrey Lurie, John Kostmayer, John P. Marsh, Lauren Weissman, Lynn Isenberg, Michael Grillo, Patrick Wells
8
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (2015)
Written by Michael Arndt, Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams
Some might argue Star Wars kind of fell off with The Last Jedi, but there are better arguments to be made that the ship truly sank with the release of The Rise of Skywalker. But, either way, both followed on from The Force Awakens, which was a film people seemed pretty happy about in 2015. It brought the series back in a big way, following on from the end of Episode VI, and worked as a crowd-pleaser sort of thing.
Not everyone in the crowd was pleased with the future films, and some have soured a little on The Force Awakens in hindsight. But it was nice, in 2015, to have most people come together and be united about a series that’s sometimes scary to talk about nowadays. And if Kasdan, as one of the credited writers, played a role in that, then that makes the film worth mentioning here.
7
‘French Kiss’ (1995)
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
This one might be a little more obscure, and perhaps a bit simple, but it works well enough as a romantic comedy. The film is French Kiss, and it stars Meg Ryan, who was always very closely associated with such a genre. Plus, Kevin Kline is here, and he was in so many movies Lawrence Kasdan directed, including the aforementioned I Love You to Death.
Here, Ryan plays a woman who is going through a rough series of romantic setbacks, and, while traveling, finds herself accidentally becoming the target of a criminal because she smuggled something without knowing about it, and he wants it. French Kiss makes good use of the French setting (no surprise in it being set there, with the title and all), and it’s kind of fun in a dopey, very 90s, unabashedly rom-commy sort of way.
French Kiss
- Release Date
-
May 5, 1995
- Runtime
-
111 minutes
6
‘Silverado’ (1985)
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Almost a decade before Wyatt Earp, Lawrence Kasdan directed Kevin Costner in another Western, and a slightly better one: Silverado. This one has a solid amount of action for a Western movie, and has a pretty straightforward plot that sees a group of rebellious heroes banding together, building a bond, and then fighting back against corrupt forces in a small town filled with people who need their help.
It’s not quite a great movie or anything, but Silverado was one of the better Westerns of the 1980s, perhaps partly due to it not being a fantastic decade for the genre. It’s fun in bursts and definitely delivers in a very straightforward way, all the while featuring an admittedly immense cast that, besides Costner, also includes Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Danny Glover, Rosanna Arquette, John Cleese, Linda Hunt, and Jeff Goldblum.
Silverado
- Release Date
-
July 10, 1985
- Runtime
-
133 Minutes
- Director
-
Lawrence Kasdan
- Writers
-
Lawrence Kasdan
5
‘The Big Chill’ (1983)
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
At first glance, The Big Chill might not sound like the sort of thing that would be very funny, given things kick off with a group of friends gathering in the wake of someone they knew taking their own life. Death is on their mind, but so is some other stuff, and they spend basically the whole movie hanging out (or chilling) while talking about all those things.
It’s a drama that’s also something of a comedy, even if it probably feels like it leans into the former genre more than the latter. The Big Chill is also very much dated, but since it was attempting to capture the thoughts, concerns, and wishes of a generation who were in their 30s – or otherwise not far off middle age – at the time, it mostly works, and some of the clunkier moments can be partially forgiven or hand-waved as a result.
The Big Chill
- Release Date
-
September 30, 1983
- Runtime
-
105 Minutes
- Director
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Lawrence Kasdan
- Writers
-
Lawrence Kasdan, Barbara Benedek
4
‘Return of the Jedi’ (1983)
Written by Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas
The second Star Wars movie Lawrence Kasdan had a writing credit for, and also the second-best, Return of the Jedi might be the weakest of the Original Trilogy, but it’s still pretty great for the most part. Maybe “for the most part” should be emphasized, seeing as there are highs and lows here quality-wise. Some parts of the film are iffy, but then other sequences are some of the best in the entire decades-long series.
What matters most, perhaps, is that Return of the Jedi satisfies as a well-earned ending for the original three movies. Also, everything to do with Luke and Darth Vader is excellent here, and the way it brings the story of the latter to a close (after he was the focus of the Prequel Trilogy and a large part of the Original Trilogy) is undeniably powerful stuff.
3
‘Body Heat’ (1981)
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
It’s funny how the two best films Lawrence Kasdan directed both came out within a couple of years of each other and have titles that reference temperature in some way. You had The Big Chill in 1983, and then Body Heat in 1981. Ironically, The Big Chill is warmer, and feels more like a cinematic hug, while Body Heat has cold characters being quite ruthless at times, since they’re in a neo-noir movie and all.
But the heat in Body Heat also refers to how steamy the film is, working as a movie about sex and dangerous desire without necessarily being romantic. Oh, and all the scheming and planning for murder takes place during a heat wave, so… yeah, that’s got to factor into the whole title thing. There are bodies and heat to be found here, in this film; the title sure doesn’t lie.
Body Heat
- Release Date
-
August 28, 1981
- Runtime
-
113 Minutes
- Director
-
Lawrence Kasdan
- Writers
-
Lawrence Kasdan
2
‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981)
Written by Lawrence Kasdan, Philip Kaufman, George Lucas
Raiders of the Lost Ark is Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s beyond a classic at this point, introducing the world to Indiana Jones and giving Harrison Ford one of his most iconic roles. It was also the first big action movie Steven Spielberg directed, and he sure did direct the hell out of it, with some all-time great action scenes being featured here.
But also, Raiders of the Lost Ark has one hell of a screenplay, with memorable characters, quotable dialogue, well-placed exposition, and a certain speediness to the way things happen which ensures there’s very rarely a dull moment. Lawrence Kasdan was one of a few writers credited here, but having any sort of credit on a movie this well-loved and timelessly entertaining is a pretty big deal.
1
‘The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980)
Written by Lawrence Kasdan, Leigh Brackett, George Lucas
In a similar way to Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back is a movie that hardly needs an introduction at this point, and can genuinely be counted as one of the greatest films ever made. It’s also easily an all-timer as far as sequels go, building expertly upon Star Wars (1977) by expanding the world, adding new characters/locations, and having already existing characters go to darker places emotionally.
It gets darker, but not oppressively so, and there’s still enough hope by the film’s end to suggest the heroes can bounce back in Return of the Jedi. The Empire Strikes Back is a perfect middle chapter to that initial trilogy, and suggested that Star Wars could still work without George Lucas being the sole writer and director (he didn’t direct this one, instead writing the story and serving as an executive producer).
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