Are you a real man? THE LITMUS TEST (Top 20 real man movies)
by mickeyshamrock | created - 08 Jan 2011 | updated - 08 Jan 2011 | PublicSure, all men love DIE HARD, PREDATOR, COMMANDO, T2, THE ROAD WARRIOR, and ROBOCOP. But REAL MEN love the following movies. You consider yourself a real man? Well, let's check the list and let's see how you do...
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1. Cockfighter (1974)
R | 83 min | Drama
In the Deep South, a trainer of fighting cocks takes a vow of silence and gambles his loves and possessions in a bid to win a championship.
Director: Monte Hellman | Stars: Warren Oates, Richard B. Shull, Harry Dean Stanton, Ed Begley Jr.
Votes: 2,603
if you don't already love warren oates (or monte hellman) then you have no business reading this list. leave!
2. Thief (1981)
R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi
Votes: 38,604 | Gross: $11.49M
same goes for jimmy caan and (pre-1992) michael mann
3. Blue Collar (1978)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama
When three automotive factory workers who're struggling financially try to steal from their own labor union, they discover corruption, and reluctantly decide to use this information for blackmail.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto, Ed Begley Jr.
Votes: 10,567
if paul schrader makes a classic American film and no one goes to see it, is it still a classic? yes
4. 52 Pick-Up (1986)
R | 110 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A secret fling between a man and his mistress leads to blackmail and murder.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret, Vanity, John Glover
Votes: 6,980 | Gross: $5.19M
Frankenheimer directs the best film adaption of an Elmore Leonard book. real man overload
5. Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
GP | 108 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by the Crow tribe and proves to be a match for their warriors in single combat on the early frontier.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Robert Redford, Will Geer, Delle Bolton, Josh Albee
Votes: 34,873 | Gross: $47.74M
sydney pollack (hippie) and robert redford (hippie) make a movie about a civil war deserter and it's #5 on the real man litmus test?? absolutely. it could easily be #1 based on the theme song alone. this movie goes so far beyond real man status it's mind boggling
6. Flight of Black Angel (1991 TV Movie)
R | 102 min | Action, Thriller
A US Air Force pilot steals a nuclear bomb and sets off on what he believes is a divine mission against an American city.
Director: Jonathan Mostow | Stars: Peter Strauss, William O'Leary, James O'Sullivan, K Callan
Votes: 638
if you've stuck with me this far then you can trust me that this tv movie rules
7. Chopper (2000)
R | 94 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Chopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.
Director: Andrew Dominik | Stars: Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon, Vince Colosimo, Renée Brack
Votes: 41,341 | Gross: $0.23M
i've probably seen this movie (based on a true story) 200 times. i love it. it's an unmitigated real man-fest. what happened to Eric Bana? he's never really lived up to the real man potential he showed in this. PS - if you love CHOPPER you love BRONSON (fact)
8. Rolling Thunder (1977)
R | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A recently-returned Vietnam POW loses his family and his right hand during a violent home invasion, and seeks retribution against those responsible.
Director: John Flynn | Stars: William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes, James Best
Votes: 11,047
killer movie. has one of the best real man/bad ass/tough guy moments of all time
9. Fortress (1985)
TV-MA | 88 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After being kidnapped for ransom by four criminals, a schoolteacher and her students flee into a cave and build fortifications in anticipation of a decisive battle with their captors.
Director: Arch Nicholson | Stars: Sean Garlick, Rachel Ward, Elaine Cusick, Laurie Moran
Votes: 3,523
i saw this tv movie when it was originally released and i was so scared i cried. hey, i was 8. i've never cried since. true story.
10. Stone Cold (1991)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A tough Alabama cop is blackmailed by the FBI into going undercover in a violent Mississippi biker gang.
Director: Craig R. Baxley | Stars: Brian Bosworth, Lance Henriksen, William Forsythe, Arabella Holzbog
Votes: 9,979 | Gross: $9.29M
3 easy tips to be a real man: drink beer, watch STONE COLD, hold the door for ladies. it's not that hard fellas
11. Attack (1956)
Approved | 107 min | Action, Drama, War
In 1944, an American Infantry company sets up an artillery observation post, but tensions between Captain Cooney and Lieutenant Costa run high.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Jack Palance, Lee Marvin, Eddie Albert, Robert Strauss
Votes: 5,815
my dad (a Marine) made me watch this movie when i was 6 years old. he also made me make my bed with hospital corners. i loved the movie then and i love it even more now. still hate hospital corners though
12. Dead Bang (1989)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A man kills a storekeeper and a cop. LASD homicide detective Jerry Beck gets the case. His murder suspect is connected to a heavily armed white supremacy group.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Don Johnson, Penelope Ann Miller, William Forsythe, Bob Balaban
Votes: 4,448 | Gross: $8.13M
Frankenheimer makes the list again (as he should) with a severely underrated, violent, action classic starring my main man detective james crockett
13. War Party (1988)
R | 97 min | Action, Drama
A group of re-enactors attempt to stage a hundred year anniversary battle between US Cavalry and Blackfeet Indians. Unfortunately racial hostilities and a real gun lead to some all too real... See full summary »
Director: Franc Roddam | Stars: Billy Wirth, Kevin Dillon, Tim Sampson, Jimmie Ray Weeks
Votes: 723 | Gross: $0.66M
i literally whip this movie out every time dudes are over at my house. it's so awesome everyone flips and says "thank you for showing that movie to me". you think i'm joking? i haven't joked a day in my life. fyi - you do not lose real man points if you haven't seen this movie because i know it's hard to find. however, you will lose huge real man points if you don't actively attempt to seek this movie out immediately after reading this. i'm watching you
14. The Brotherhood of Justice (1986 TV Movie)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Keanu Reeves, Kiefer Sutherland, and Billy Zane star as high-school students who start a vigilante group to combat crime in their neighborhood.
Director: Charles Braverman | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Kiefer Sutherland, Lori Loughlin, Joe Spano
Votes: 2,343
another tv movie? yup. and keanu's in it?? yuuup. so is kiefer sutherland, billy zane, and uber babe lori loughlin. based on a true story, this is one of the best "average dude(s) take justice into their own hands and then become the exact thing they were fighting against" movies
15. Out for Justice (1991)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama
With his partner executed in broad daylight by a psychotic mafia enforcer, a veteran Brooklyn officer vows revenge. But is the unstoppable detective prepared to face the truth and pay the price of blood?
Director: John Flynn | Stars: Steven Seagal, William Forsythe, Jerry Orbach, Jo Champa
Votes: 25,695 | Gross: $39.67M
remember what i was saying earlier about warren oates and james caan? same goes for steven seagal (and john flynn)
16. All the Right Moves (1983)
R | 91 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
An ambitious young football star is trapped in a dying mill town--unless his gridiron skills can win him a way out.
Director: Michael Chapman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Lea Thompson, Craig T. Nelson, Charles Cioffi
Votes: 20,342 | Gross: $17.23M
best football movie ever. hands down.
17. An Innocent Man (1989)
R | 113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A man is framed by two corrupt cops for drugs. After he gets out of prison, he comes after them.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Tom Selleck, F. Murray Abraham, Laila Robins, David Rasche
Votes: 7,619 | Gross: $20.05M
tom selleck in arguably (aka non-arguably) the best prison movie ever? yuuup
18. Hard Target (1993)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A woman hires a drifter as her guide through New Orleans in search of her missing father. In the process, they discover a deadly game of cat and mouse behind his disappearance.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lance Henriksen, Yancy Butler, Chuck Pfarrer
Votes: 56,050 | Gross: $32.59M
sure, every man has seen HARD BOILED and THE KILLER - but have you seen the 116 min director's cut of HARD TARGET? how about the 128 min, Arnold Vosloo gets shot 16 times, workprint version? no? well then, you're not a real man
19. Out of the Blue (1980)
R | 94 min | Drama
A young girl whose father is an ex-convict and whose mother is a junkie finds it difficult to conform and tries to find comfort in a quirky combination of Elvis and the punk scene.
Director: Dennis Hopper | Stars: Linda Manz, Dennis Hopper, Sharon Farrell, Don Gordon
Votes: 3,950
Dennis Hopper is one of my top 10 favorite actors/people of all time. i know a lot of people love him but everyone seems to have either not seen, or completely forgotten about, this movie that plays like a punk rock companion piece to EASY RIDER
20. The Last Detail (1973)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
Two Navy men are ordered to bring a young offender to prison, but decide to show him one last good time along the way.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, Otis Young, Clifton James
Votes: 27,826 | Gross: $3.19M
this movie is an incredible gut punch to even the toughest real man movie fan on the planet. this is the epitome of "they don't make 'em like this anymore" filmmaking
21. The Border (1982)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama
A corrupt border Agent decides to clean up his act when an impoverished woman's baby is put up for sale on the black market.
Director: Tony Richardson | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Valerie Perrine, Warren Oates
Votes: 7,061 | Gross: $6.12M
Wait, mickeyshamrock you said this was a top 20 list? yeah well i'm a real man! i do what i want! this movie rules. easily one of nicholson's best performances. more relevant now then when it was released
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