Manly Movies
by harlemsushi | created - 07 Jun 2011 | updated - 05 Sep 2014 | PublicThere's no formula to determine what makes a film manly. It either is or it isn't. But the unifying characteristic in all of them is the presence of at least one man, or in the alternative someone who becomes a man throughout the course of the film. If your next question is, "What is a man," then society and your parents failed you. But the fact that you've nevertheless made it to the right place is an impressive first step. Here is a compilation of over 150 examples of what a man is.
If after looking at the list you are confused then I suggest that you watch some of the films on the list. If after watching at least 20 of the films on the list you are still confused about the concept of what a man is then you might want to check the expiration on your man card because it might be in need of renewal. If you don't have a man card then the best advice I can give you is to find the nearest woman and tell her that you are not a man but you would like her to point you in the direction of the nearest man because you do not know what one is. After she points you in that man's direction, go up to him introduce yourself and tell him you need a mentor. His answer will tell you if he is a real man because only a real man would be willing to help.
Since this list isn't comprehensive, I'm more than willing to take nominations for additions to the list from other users. Just nominate the film and justify why it's manly.
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1. Road House (1989)
R | 114 min | Action, Thriller
A bouncer hired to clean up the baddest honkytonk in a Missouri town. Armed with a black belt in karate and a degree in philosophy, Patrick Swayze sets out to tame the Double Deuce for its owner.
Director: Rowdy Herrington | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara
Votes: 101,137 | Gross: $30.05M
Lets start at the top. Road House is the quintessential man movie; it has drunken brawls, monster trucks, cheesy macho dialogue, and more troublemakers, 40-year-old adolescents, felons, power drinkers and trustees of modern chemistry than you can shake a stick at. All of which have no qualms about settling disputes such as whether or not to let a young lady dance on a table by means of a knife fight. I'm not sure but I believe that if you don't see this film once a year your man card stands the possibility of getting revoked. So be warned.
2. Point Break (1991)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An F.B.I. Agent goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty
Votes: 202,478 | Gross: $43.22M
100% Pure Adrenaline! That's how Patrick Swayze was able to match the success of Road House. Patrick Swayze plays Bodhi a Zen-like surfing and all around extreme sports master who finances his care-free lifestyle through bank robberies. One of the more challenging things with this film is that Bodhi is refered to as a ghost and even upon multiple viewings its difficult to exactly determine what Bodhi's background is and where he came from. Bodhi lives life on his own terms and knows that if you want the ultimate, you've got to man up and be willing to pay the ultimate price.
3. Black Dog (1998)
PG-13 | 89 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A weapons loaded truck is shadowed by FBI and ATF. It explodes and kills the driver. Jack, just out of prison, is pressured into driving another truck from Atlanta to NJ. Things get rough when hijacking attempts are made.
Director: Kevin Hooks | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Randy Travis, Meat Loaf, Gabriel Casseus
Votes: 10,011 | Gross: $12.83M
Along with Road House and Next of Kin, these films make up Patrick Swayze's Redneck Trilogy. In this installmant we are treated to Patrick Swayze: the family man. He is an ex-con who paid his debt to society and is trying to do right by his family the way a real man should. But alas, he is blackmailed into transporting a truck full of illegal guns across several states and is pursued by the FBI, ATF, assorted criminals, and the mob. While cowards fight with weapons, real men only need a truck to take out the bad guys.
4. Father Hood (1993)
PG-13 | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Adventures of a deadbeat dad who kidnaps his kids from the bus. Based on the true life stories and experiences of Michael J. Hardy.
Director: Darrell Roodt | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Halle Berry, Sabrina Lloyd, Brian Bonsall
Votes: 3,427 | Gross: $3.42M
What's more manly than a guy that sees that his kids are being mistreated and mans up to be a father. Not even the law can get between a man and his family...screw kidnapping charges!
5. City of Joy (1992)
PG-13 | 132 min | Drama
An American doctor, a British nurse, and an illiterate Indian farmer unite to transform a Calcutta ghetto in this uplifting, inspirational movie starring Patrick Swayze and Pauline Collins.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Pauline Collins, Om Puri, Shabana Azmi
Votes: 5,629 | Gross: $14.68M
Texas doctor Max Lowe loses a patient in surgery and is in essence half the man he used to be. But even at that level he is still man enough to inspire an entire village in India against a crime boss and his sadistic son. All with a mullet that took the dedication of a gardner to cultivate.
6. Next of Kin (1989)
R | 108 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Truman, a Chicago cop, sets out to find the killer of his brother. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.
Director: John Irvin | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Liam Neeson, Adam Baldwin, Helen Hunt
Votes: 12,614 | Gross: $15.94M
The final part of Swayze's Redneck trilogy. Swayze plays Truman Gates whose brother is killed by a mobster and chooses to exact "Mountain Justice" on the murderer. You don't get more manly than trying to avenge a dead sibling against the mob.
7. Dirty Dancing (I) (1987)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle.
Director: Emile Ardolino | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
Votes: 256,593 | Gross: $0.62M
Say what you will about the film, Swayze playes Johnny Castle who along with a manly name is a guy who found employment doing what he loves. You gotta respect a guy who can make a living doing what he loves. In the end, after being falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit, Johnny Castle mans up and stands up for his underage girlfriend who was seated in a corner. I know what you're saying..."underage girlfriend? A real man wouldn't sleep with a woman below the age of consent." Well he would if he had Hungry Eyes.
8. Tiger Warsaw (1988)
R | 93 min | Drama
Chuck brought sorrow to his family when he shot his father who is now a semi-invalid. After 15 years of self destruction, he returns home to seek forgiveness.
Director: Amin Q. Chaudhri | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Piper Laurie, Lee Richardson, Mary McDonnell
Votes: 1,066 | Gross: $0.42M
After the success of Dirty Dancing, Patrick Swayze could have made any movie he wanted and literally written his own ticket. So its interesting to note that he made this little forgotten gem about a man who comes back home after having done a bad thing to seek forgiveness from his family. Real men take responsibility for their actions.
9. Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
R | 130 min | Drama, War
Hard-nosed, hard-living Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Marsha Mason, Everett McGill, Moses Gunn
Votes: 48,232 | Gross: $42.72M
This film starts out with Clint Eastwood's character in jail for urinating on a police car and just gets better from there. He plays a grizzled marine who is a Congressional Medal of Honor recipent that is being forced out of the military. But before he goes, he wants to do right by his country one last time and whip a rag tag group of marines into shape. And of course, you can't spell marine without the letters M-A-N.
10. Gran Torino (2008)
R | 116 min | Drama
After a Hmong teenager tries to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino, a disgruntled, prejudiced Korean War veteran seeks to redeem both the boy and himself.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley, Ahney Her
Votes: 815,314 | Gross: $148.10M
This film could have been the sequel to Heartbreak Ridge and is just as good. It features a grizzled war veteran standing up to gang members and teaching his teenaged neighbor who lacks a positive male role model the value of hard work and how to walk and talk like a man.
11. Unforgiven (1992)
R | 130 min | Drama, Western
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris
Votes: 436,392 | Gross: $101.16M
The Man With No Name' Becomes A Man With A Real Story. Clint Eastwood plays William Munny who leaves his life as a gunslinger behind him when he meets the right woman and starts a family. And after she dies he stays a good father and raises his kids as a farmer. But despite the fact he's on the straight and narrow, you should never provoke a good man trying to do the right thing...even if its under the color of law.
12. Dirty Harry (1971)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath.
Directors: Don Siegel, Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Andrew Robinson, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni
Votes: 168,404 | Gross: $35.90M
Ahh...the good old days. The 70's. When men were men and cops like Harry Callahan could do their jobs and stop criminals without worrying about things like the Miranda warning or the 4th Amendment to stop them. And why would he? Standards like probable cause aren't meant for real men. All real men need is their gut to tell them what they need to know. And the last I checked a real man's gut feeling is admissable in court.
13. Magnum Force (1973)
R | 124 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan pursues a conspiracy of vigilante cops, who are not above going beyond the law to kill San Francisco's undesirables.
Director: Ted Post | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitchell Ryan, David Soul
Votes: 66,693 | Gross: $4.56M
If there's one thing a man hates more than a crook its a crooked cop. Harry Callahan's gut is telling him something about his fellow cops and when a man's gut starts talking everyone better pull up a chair and listen.
14. The Enforcer (1976)
R | 96 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan reluctantly teams up with rookie Inspector Kate Moore to foil a terrorist organization made up of disgruntled Vietnam veterans.
Director: James Fargo | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Tyne Daly, Harry Guardino, Bradford Dillman
Votes: 49,199 | Gross: $46.20M
Actually there is one thing a man hates more than a crooked cop and that's a terrorist organization. Harry Callahan's gut is talking again; so Patty Hearst you and your cohorts should be afraid...very afraid. Real men don't take kindly to terrorists.
15. Sudden Impact (1983)
R | 117 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When a woman exacts deadly revenge on the aggressors who raped her and her sister ten years earlier, Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to the case.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, Bradford Dillman
Votes: 48,687 | Gross: $67.64M
Harry Callahan is a man's man. After taking on a serial killer, crooked cops, and terrorists he goes out to avenge a rape victim. Damn to the law...there's a man dishing out justice and his name is Harry Callahan. So go ahead...make his day.
16. The Dead Pool (1988)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan must stop a sick secret contest to murder various San Francisco celebrities, with himself being one of the targets.
Director: Buddy Van Horn | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Liam Neeson, Patricia Clarkson, Evan C. Kim
Votes: 49,002 | Gross: $37.90M
A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do and Harry Callahan's gut told him that the 90's would make him into an anally PC girly-man so this ended up being the last time Harry Callahan walked the beat and kept the streets of San Francisco safe. Elliot Stabler and Oliva Benson do you think you could go to San Francisco in the 70's and walk the beat with a real man?
17. Coogan's Bluff (1968)
R | 94 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Arizona Deputy Sheriff Coogan is sent to New York City to escort an escaped fugitive back for trial.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Susan Clark, Tisha Sterling
Votes: 18,925
Usually the small town guy in the big city stories are not manly. Those stories exist simply to reinforce the stereotypes of urbanites by feeding into their superiority complexes. But those stories did not factor Arizona Sheriff's Deputy Walt Coogan into the equation. Coogan is in the Rotten Apple to extradite a drug dealer who jumped bail back to Phoenix to stand trial. But when he runs into ineffective limousine liberals, pervasive hippie drug culture, and an apathetic NYPD; Coogan decides that he's going to put the city on notice and give New York 24 hours to get out of town. Putting an entire city on notice, now that's manly.
18. In the Line of Fire (1993)
R | 128 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan couldn't save Kennedy, but he's determined not to let a clever assassin take out this president.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott
Votes: 113,807 | Gross: $102.31M
A real man learns from his mistakes. And although this man failed to prevent the assasination of JFK; he'll be damned if a presidential assassination goes down again on his watch. How could this be any manlier? This was the last film Eastwood starred in that he did not direct. Now that's manning up!
19. Hud (1963)
Passed | 112 min | Drama, Western
Honest, hard-working Texas rancher Homer Bannon has a conflict with his unscrupulous, selfish, arrogant, egotistical son Hud, who sank into alcoholism after accidentally killing his brother in a car crash.
Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal, Brandon De Wilde
Votes: 23,951 | Gross: $10.00M
There are men, and then there are men. In this film Paul Newman puts on a tour de force performance as an ambitious, brash, callous, drinking, brawling, joyriding, and sleeping with women (married or otherwise) man. He's an alpha dog that is neither hero nor anti-hero, neither villain or anti-villain simply a man that for better or worse stands on his own two feet. Hud is so manly that every man card is stamped with his face.
20. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
GP | 127 min | Crime, Drama
A laid-back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison, but refuses to conform.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D. Cannon
Votes: 188,626 | Gross: $16.22M
Only real men can make nothing a cool hand and then get named after it. If you can pull that off then you're on the fast track to being a real man.
21. The Hustler (1961)
Not Rated | 134 min | Drama, Sport
An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.
Director: Robert Rossen | Stars: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott
Votes: 86,825 | Gross: $8.28M
Fast Eddie vs Minnesota Fats...was ever a more manly match-up made? No movie deserves George Thorogood's 'Bad to the Bone' on the soundtrack more than this.
22. The Color of Money (1986)
R | 119 min | Drama, Sport
Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver
Votes: 93,320 | Gross: $52.29M
Fast Eddie is back trying to make a flashy but unfocused boy into a pool hustling man and regain some of his former glory. So put down that lite beer and order up a shot of J.T.S. Brown whiskey because a man like Fast Eddie still has a few tricks up his sleeve.
23. Cocktail (1988)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A talented New York City bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, Elisabeth Shue, Lisa Banes
Votes: 91,927 | Gross: $78.22M
Good movie about a man who serves his country and works hard to make enough money to open his own business. Nothing unmanly about that.
24. The Last Samurai (2003)
R | 154 min | Action, Drama
Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, William Atherton
Votes: 471,478 | Gross: $111.11M
When you're a real man you can blatantly just copy the plot of another movie (like Dances with Wolves), transpose it to a different locale, and have no one make the connection. What can I say, being a man has its privileges.
25. Over the Top (1987)
PG | 93 min | Action, Drama, Sport
Tough trucker Lincoln Hawk is determined to win back his son and triumph at the world arm wrestling championships.
Director: Menahem Golan | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Robert Loggia, Susan Blakely, Rick Zumwalt
Votes: 59,434 | Gross: $16.06M
Stallone plays what may be his most manly character ever...a man by the name of Lincoln Hawk. Hawk is a struggling trucker who competes on the World Arm Wrestling circuit for extra cash. If that isn't manly enough, he's trying to reconnect with his estranged son after the death of his wife and teach him how to be a man. Life on the World Arm Wrestling circuit against opponents like Bob 'Bull' Hurley...what more could you ask for?
26. Tango & Cash (1989)
R | 104 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Framed by their ruthless arch-nemesis, a pair of mismatched LAPD officers must put their differences aside to get even with the brutal crime baron who sent them to rot in a maximum-security prison.
Directors: Andrey Konchalovskiy, Albert Magnoli | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Teri Hatcher, Jack Palance
Votes: 113,652 | Gross: $63.41M
While Harry Callahan was keeping the streets of San Francisco safe, these two super cops were doing their part in LA County. Men like these work things out that way, you take care of your city and I'll take care of mine. Throw in Teri Hatcher as an exotic dancer and you've got a manly movie worthy of this list.
27. Cobra (1986)
R | 87 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A tough-on-crime street cop must protect the only surviving witness to a strange murderous cult with far-reaching plans.
Director: George P. Cosmatos | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Brigitte Nielsen, Reni Santoni, Andrew Robinson
Votes: 79,659 | Gross: $49.04M
If you can't get this film on DVD, just looking at the poster for 5 seconds will satisfy your daily value of manliness. Be warned: Watching the movie and owning the DVD can cause you to OD on manliness so consult with your physician before watching.
28. First Blood (1982)
R | 93 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
Director: Ted Kotcheff | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehy, Richard Crenna, Bill McKinney
Votes: 275,749 | Gross: $47.21M
A man who served his country honorably and received the Congressional Medal of Honor is considered a vagrant by a small town sheriff on top of the disrespect he received from anti-war hippies when he came back home. But when he escapes and a manhunt begins the small town sheriff's department realizes that they weren't set up to deal with a real man.
29. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
R | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Rambo returns to the jungles of Vietnam on a mission to infiltrate an enemy base-camp and rescue the American POWs still held captive there.
Director: George P. Cosmatos | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier, Steven Berkoff
Votes: 182,614 | Gross: $150.42M
Vietnam Veteran John Rambo travels back to Vietnam to rescue American men still being held as POW's. Doing right by your fellow soldiers is what being a man is all about.
30. Rambo III (1988)
R | 102 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Rambo mounts a one-man mission to rescue his friend Colonel Trautman from the clutches of the formidable invading Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
Director: Peter MacDonald | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Marc de Jonge, Kurtwood Smith
Votes: 140,255 | Gross: $53.72M
Rambo in Afghanistan vs the Soviets. Too bad he didn't have orders to take out Osama, he could have saved Seal Team 6 a trip. When you've got Rambo, you got the right man for the job.
31. Rambo (2008)
R | 92 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
In Thailand, John Rambo joins a group of mercenaries to venture into war-torn Burma, and rescue a group of Christian aid workers who were kidnapped by the ruthless local infantry unit.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden, Graham McTavish
Votes: 244,651 | Gross: $42.75M
The entire Burmese Army vs One Real Man. You tell me who you think has the advantage.
32. Rocky (1976)
PG | 120 min | Drama, Sport
A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 628,804 | Gross: $117.24M
When a real man gets a shot at the American Dream he takes it and doesn't apologize afterwards. Just give a good man a chance and he'll always surprise you (just sometimes it may not always be for the best.)
33. Rocky II (1979)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Sport
Rocky struggles in family life after his bout with Apollo Creed, while the embarrassed champ insistently goads him to accept a challenge for a rematch.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 231,376
You see man cards aren't given out at birth. They have to be earned. Rocky and Apollo have put in their applications, all they have to do is lace up those gloves and prove something to themselves over the course of 15 rounds.
34. Rocky III (1982)
PG | 99 min | Drama, Sport
Rocky faces the ultimate challenge from a powerful new contender, and must turn to a former rival to help regain his throne as the undisputed fighting champion.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 211,332 | Gross: $125.05M
Rocky may be the world heavyweight champion, but even he is not above getting his man card inspected just to keep him on his toes. And when we send an inspector, we make sure its one of our top guys like Clubber Lang.
35. Rocky IV (1985)
PG | 91 min | Drama, Sport
Rocky Balboa proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 226,551 | Gross: $127.87M
Patriotism is one of the most manly attributes there is. And here, not only do we have one fighter representing his nation, but two. Rocky...it's time for man card inspections again and this time Comrade Ivan Drago wants to make sure your papers are in order.
36. Rocky V (1990)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Sport
Reluctantly retired from fighting, Rocky takes charge of Mickey's gym and agrees to train a young protégé who's hungry for success.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Sage Stallone
Votes: 150,686 | Gross: $40.95M
You can fight champions and world class contenders all you want, but this time around man card inspections are going to be conducted by Tommy Gunn Philly street fight style. First we settle things like grown men on a concrete floor and then we go to Geno's and Pat's across the street and argue which cheesesteak is better.
37. Rocky Balboa (2006)
PG | 102 min | Action, Drama, Sport
Thirty years after the ring of the first bell, Rocky Balboa comes out of retirement and dons his gloves for his final fight against the reigning heavyweight champ Mason 'The Line' Dixon.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Tarver, Milo Ventimiglia, Burt Young
Votes: 231,563 | Gross: $70.27M
See sometimes man card inspections are not about how hard a man hits...its about how hard he can get hit. And this time around it's Rocky that's doing the man card inspection.
38. McQ (1974)
PG | 111 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Seattle cop is caught up in a corrupt police force that he is trying to make right. McQ is a cop with a mission.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: John Wayne, Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, Colleen Dewhurst
Votes: 5,947 | Gross: $0.24M
While Dirty Harry was keeping the streets of San Francisco safe, Lon McQ was doing his thing in Seattle. Throw in political corruption, a 1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, and the first appearance of a Mac-10 onsceen and you've got a cop movie made even more manly by The Duke.
39. Brannigan (1975)
PG | 111 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Chicago Police Lieutenant Jim Brannigan is sent to the U.K. to escort organized crime boss Ben Larkin back to the U.S., but Larkin's hitmen prepare an ambush for Brannigan.
Director: Douglas Hickox | Stars: John Wayne, Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, Mel Ferrer
Votes: 6,407
See Lon McQ was a manly cop. So manly that Chicago police decided they need a clone of him to deal with the crime in their city, name the clone Brannigan, and sent him over to jolly old England to teach the Bobbys how to do their thing and let it swing.
40. True Grit (1969)
G | 128 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in Indian Territory.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Jeremy Slate
Votes: 51,456 | Gross: $31.13M
Remake? There are some things that are sacred...a man's tools, grilling, monster trucks, marlin fishing, threesomes (unless one of the other two participants isn't a woman), and John Wayne films. The Coen Brothers waited at least 30 after John Wayne's death before attempting this because they were worried the Duke would come back from the dead to do a man card inspection.
41. Rooster Cogburn (1975)
PG | 108 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Marshal Rooster Cogburn unwillingly teams up with Eula Goodnight to track down her father's murderers.
Director: Stuart Millar | Stars: John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Zerbe, Richard Jordan
Votes: 13,139 | Gross: $8.02M
Remakes are not manly but sequels are! And real men don't care about what critics think, they listen to their gut. And John Wayne's gut told him that Rooster Cogburn + whiskey + a stolen shipment of nitroglycerine = All you need to know.
42. Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973)
PG | 103 min | Drama, Western
A tough Marshal has a difficult task when his two sons join a gang and rob a bank.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen | Stars: John Wayne, George Kennedy, Gary Grimes, Neville Brand
Votes: 7,233
Criminals are not real men. And if you are a lawbreaker J.D. Cahill is the last man you want to see and probably the last you ever will. He is a tough-as-nails U.S. Marshall who is completely dedicated to his job. Unfortunately this means his two teenage sons are without a positive male role model and in Cahill's absence his sons have fallen in with a gang of bank robbers who plan to rob the town bank. But when the robbery turns into a bloodbath and the Cahill boys develop a conscience you can bet that either vertically or horizontally positioned, J.D. is going to bring the bank robbers to justice and make sure his kids face up to their crimes.
43. Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
Approved | 100 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Haunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline.
Director: Allan Dwan | Stars: John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara, Forrest Tucker
Votes: 11,415
Operation Detachment...better known as the Battle of Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima was a volcanic rock and Japanese soldiers were heavily fortified, with a vast network of bunkers, hidden artillery, and underground tunnels. But we had one thing they didn't expect...John Wayne leading our troops into battle. It's difficult to get more manly than this, but they actually pull it off. Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes and John Bradley, three of the actual soldiers who raised the second flag on Mount Suribachi during the actual battle appear in the film to do it again. So sing along: From the Halls of Montezuma, To the shores of Tripoli; We fight our country's battles In the air, on land, and sea; First to fight for right and freedom And to keep our honor clean: We are proud to claim the title Of United States Marine.
44. The Longest Day (1962)
G | 178 min | Action, Drama, History
The events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.
Directors: Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Gerd Oswald, Bernhard Wicki, Darryl F. Zanuck | Stars: John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Richard Burton, Henry Fonda
Votes: 59,088 | Gross: $39.10M
Talk about separating the men from the boys. D-Day is depicted by an ensemble cast of some of the manliest actors playing out the day that changed history. Every man has to watch this movie at least once in their lives or have the DVD in their collections. Hey I don't make the man rules, I just follow them.
45. Big Jake (1971)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Western
In 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson and holds him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.
Directors: George Sherman, John Wayne | Stars: John Wayne, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Wayne
Votes: 14,423 | Gross: $16.35M
Back in the days of the old west Big Jake used to be the man. Now he's an aging rancher trying to eek out a living from the land. A ruthless gang of outlaws figures Big Jake is an easy mark and kidnaps Big Jake's grandson demanding gold for his return. They didn't realize that Big Jake is still the man and instead of gold he's going to give them lead.
46. Chisum (1970)
G | 111 min | Biography, Drama, Western
Cattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County land war.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen | Stars: John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George, Ben Johnson
Votes: 10,922 | Gross: $13.08M
Back when our Presidents were real men who watched manly movies because it was part of their job description, Former President Richard Nixon saw this film and commented on it during a press conference on August 3, 1970. He said:
"Over the last weekend I saw a movie-I don't see too many movies but I try to see them on weekends when I am at the Western White House...and the movie that I selected, or, as a matter of fact, my daughter Tricia selected it, was "Chisum" with John Wayne. It was a western. And as I looked at that movie, I said, "Well, it was a very good western, John Wayne is a very fine actor and it was: a fine supporting cast. But it was just basically another western, far better than average movies, better than average westerns. I wondered why it is that the western survives year after year after year. A good western will outdraw some of the other subjects. Perhaps one of the reasons...and this may be a square observation-is that the good guys come out ahead in the westerns; the bad guys lose.
In the end, as this movie particularly pointed out, even in the old West, the time before New Mexico was a State, there was a time when there was no law. But the law eventually came, and the law was important from the standpoint of not only prosecuting the guilty, but also seeing that those who were guilty had a proper trial." Nothing more manly than a Nixon endorsement!
47. Bullitt (1968)
M/PG | 114 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A nonconformist San Francisco cop is determined to find the underworld kingpin who killed the witness under his protection.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Vaughn, Don Gordon
Votes: 75,875 | Gross: $42.30M
In addition to having a manly name, Frank Bullitt keeps the streets of San Francisco safe in a dark "Highland Green" 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 CID Fastback and has Jacqueline Bisset worshipping the ground he walks on. Now that's manly.
48. Junior Bonner (1972)
PG | 100 min | Drama, Western
Ace Bonner returns to Arizona several years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a wild young man. Against the typical rodeo championship, family drama erupts.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Ben Johnson
Votes: 6,835 | Gross: $0.15M
Junior Bonner is a rodeo pro on the wrong side of 40 & headed to his home town for the annual 4th of July Rodeo Championship. All he wants is to stay on a bucking Brahma for eight seconds and live the rodeo life. When modern capitalism arrives on the western frontier real men rise to the occassion.
49. Nevada Smith (1966)
Not Rated | 128 min | Drama, Western
A half-American Indian and half-white teenager evolves into a hardened killer as he tracks down his parents' murderers.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: Steve McQueen, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy
Votes: 9,114 | Gross: $14.17M
Old West revenge film where a man despite not being skilled with a gun OR able to read or write makes it his life's mission to kill the outlaws that murdered his family. Avenging your family is manly.
50. The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
TV-14 | 102 min | Drama
An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.
Directors: Norman Jewison, Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret, Edward G. Robinson, Karl Malden
Votes: 18,252 | Gross: $15.26M
Two depression-era poker players Eric "The Kid" Stoner & Lancey "The Man" Howard get together to find out once and for all who the best poker player in the world is. Five-card stud with a cockfight thrown in for good measure. Are you man enough to get dealt in?
51. The War Lover (1962)
Approved | 105 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In 1943, while stationed in Britain, arrogant Captain Buzz Rickson is in command of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, but his recklessness is endangering everyone around him.
Director: Philip Leacock | Stars: Steve McQueen, Robert Wagner, Shirley Anne Field, Gary Cockrell
Votes: 2,120
Steve McQueen may be known as the 'King of Cool' but he's also the king of manly names. And this film is no different. He plays Captain Buzz Rickson, a B-17 pilot during World War II who deftly walks the line between being totally professional and completely insubordinate. He's the sort of guy you want to punch in the face but at the same time can't help but respect. So drop your c@cks and grab your socks...there's a war on!
52. Hell Is for Heroes (1962)
Approved | 90 min | Drama, War
Small squad must hold off German attack.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Steve McQueen, Bobby Darin, Fess Parker, Harry Guardino
Votes: 7,461 | Gross: $2.42M
This one is so manly that I'll just lay the plot of this one out there: Steve McQueen and a squad of American soldiers hold off an entire German company for approximately 48 hours along the Siegfried Line until reinforcements reach them. I don't know what it is, but there's just something about seeing the US Army kick a$$ that makes me proud to be an American.
53. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Approved | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Seven gunfighters are hired by Mexican peasants to liberate their village from oppressive bandits.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach
Votes: 102,601 | Gross: $4.91M
Remakes aren't manly. That's a firmly established rule. But we're going to let this be the exception that reinforces the rule. Steve McQueen this time is part of a group of gunslingers that are hired to protect a Mexican town being terrorized by bandits. So what if some of them were doing it for the money; standing up to criminals is manly now, in the old west it was just a way of life.
54. Soldier in the Rain (1963)
Approved | 88 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The bond of friendship between a worldly-wise Army Master Sergeant and his naive worshiper.
Director: Ralph Nelson | Stars: Steve McQueen, Jackie Gleason, Tuesday Weld, Tony Bill
Votes: 1,962 | Gross: $2.09M
Master Sergeant Maxwell Slaughter & Sergeant Eustis Clay (played by Jackie Gleason & Steve McQueen respectively) are peacetime soldiers who form an unlikely friendship despite their personalities. It is a real treat to get to see two men of this caliber together on screen and the barroom brawl they get into against two rivals leads to a definitely manly conclusion.
55. Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Sport
Knockout performances by Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney and Julie Harris highlight this hard-hitting drama of corruption in the ring. Featuring Muhammad Ali.
Director: Ralph Nelson | Stars: Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, Julie Harris
Votes: 4,839
Luis 'Mountain' Rivera is a boxer that has dementia pugilistica and is looking for other career options. His manager (played by Jackie Gleason) is into a bookie for a lot of money that he doesn't have. Both have decisions to make that will affect their entire lives and moral consequences for their actions they have to deal with. This film opens with Muhammed Ali playing himself in a boxing match and closes with Haystacks Calhoun also playing himself in a wrestling match both against Luis 'Mountain' Rivera. Nobody said being a man is easy, but real men deal with the consequences of their actions.
56. Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
PG | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The Bandit is hired on to run a tractor-trailer full of beer over state lines, in hot pursuit by a pesky sheriff.
Director: Hal Needham | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Mike Henry
Votes: 56,952 | Gross: $126.74M
Truck drivers, CB slang, and 400 cases of contraband Coors beer being hauled from Texarkana, Texas to a rodeo in Georgia. That's 1800 miles in 28 hours...any takers? No need to put an ad in the paper, Bo "Bandit" Darville will do it...he's a real man. So much so that he's not only agreeing to do the job, he's taking side bets as to whether the can pull it off with money he doesn't have. Now that's manly.
57. The Longest Yard (1974)
R | 121 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A sadistic warden asks a former pro quarterback, now serving time in his prison, to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get pummeled by) the guards.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad
Votes: 21,437 | Gross: $7.13M
Why would anyone want a remake of trial and tribulations of quarterback Paul "Wrecking" Crewe when they have the perfect version right here? Not only is Paul so hardcore in this verison that he's willing to take police on a high speed chase through West Palm Beach in a car he stole from his 'The Price is Right' girlfriend (I mean one of Barker's Beauties from the show) but afterwards he'll wait around at a bar to get arrested and then assault the arresting officers. This Paul Crewe was a 70's man so he had manliness in spades.
58. White Lightning (1973)
PG | 101 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ex con teams up with federal agents to help them with breaking up a moonshine ring.
Director: Joseph Sargent | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Jennifer Billingsley, Ned Beatty, Bo Hopkins
Votes: 5,762
Gator McKlusky is serving time in an Arkansas prison for running moonshine when he learns his younger brother was murdered by a corrupt Sheriff. So what does Gator do? He agrees to go undercover for the Feds and try to expose the sheriff. Booze, broads, car chases, corruption, and revenge -- all the things that make a man's life worthwhile.
59. Stick (1985)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Released from prison, Stick meets up with a friend and joins him on a job delivering a bag. His friend gets killed in the setup. Stick gets away and is ready to forget all and see his daughter, but they won't forget.
Director: Burt Reynolds | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Candice Bergen, George Segal, Charles Durning
Votes: 2,310 | Gross: $8.49M
Ernest "Stick" Stickley is a former car thief who's just been released from prison. But before he can get on with his life he needs to confront a drug dealer and get the money owed to his murdered friend. Drug dealers may be tough in the world of rap videos; but inject a real man like Ernest "Stick" Stickley into the equation and they're quieter than a church on Tuesdays.
60. Sharky's Machine (1981)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Tom Sharky is demoted to vice after a bust goes terribly wrong. He and his team stumble across a mob murder tied to prostitution and government.
Director: Burt Reynolds | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Rachel Ward, Vittorio Gassman, Brian Keith
Votes: 6,728 | Gross: $35.61M
Some cops are good at opening cases, but Atlanta Sergeant Tom Sharkey specializes in finishing them. And the fact that Sharkey closes cases no matter who is involved is what constantly causes him to be demoted lower and lower in the APD. So when Sharkey ends up in the Vice Squad, and happens upon a high-class prostitution ring he informally gathers a team of downtrodden fellow investigators and sets out to find where the trail leads. How manly is Sharkey and how awesome is this film you ask? So manly and so awesome in fact that 30 years later Mark Wahlberg is hoping that no one has seen the original so that he can shamelessly make a remake.
61. Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
R | 102 min | Drama
While drag-racing through the American Southwest in a Chevrolet 150, a driver and his mechanic cross paths with an enigmatic hitchhiker and the tall-tale-spinning driver of a GTO.
Director: Monte Hellman | Stars: James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson
Votes: 13,430
Forget Easy Rider, that's a hippie film by a hippie director. Monte Hellerman made this one about two car freaks driving a highly-modified 1955 Chevy 150 two-door sedan east on Route 66 from California and going town to town, making money challenging local residents to races. But be warned this is a MANLY movie about drag racing. Things like plot or character development have no place here.
62. 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: 2,621
Monte Hellerman strikes again and this time it is with a movie about the "sport" of cockfighting that was banned in 48 states. Warren Oates plays a southern cockfighter who wants to be recognized as the best in the sport and swears not to speak again until he wins the coveted Cockfighter of the Year medal. You gotta respect a man who dedicates his entire life to being the best at something. And guys, those roosters aren't CGI.
63. The Apostle (1997)
PG-13 | 134 min | Drama
After his happy life spins out of control, a preacher from Texas changes his name, goes to Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio.
Director: Robert Duvall | Stars: Robert Duvall, Todd Allen, Paul Bagget, Lenore Banks
Votes: 14,905 | Gross: $20.73M
You gotta respect a man of God. Especially one who is willing to stand up for his church against those that would seek to destroy it. But you respect him even more when you realize that despite being a man of God, he's still huMAN.
64. A Family Thing (1996)
PG-13 | 109 min | Comedy, Drama
When an old woman dies, she leaves a note for her apparent son (Robert Duvall) which tells him that his biological mother died giving birth to him. She begs him to make peace with his half-brother (James Earl Jones) living in Chicago.
Director: Richard Pearce | Stars: Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones, Michael Beach, Irma P. Hall
Votes: 4,175 | Gross: $10.12M
Real men may not always like their family, but for better or worse they always claim them. Sticking up for your family is definitely manly.
65. Sling Blade (1996)
R | 135 min | Drama
Karl Childers, a simple man hospitalized since his childhood murder of his mother and her lover, is released to start a new life in a small town.
Director: Billy Bob Thornton | Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh, John Ritter
Votes: 98,842 | Gross: $24.48M
Karl Childers has had it rough his entire life. He was born mentally challenged, abused & ignored as a child, then institutionalized for a crime he committed as a result of that abuse. Now that he's been deemed fit to rejoin society he sees the same thing happening to a young boy he's befriended. Sling Blade just goes to show that real men make tough choices and you don't have to be a tough guy to stand up for an abused child.
66. Year of the Dragon (1985)
R | 134 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Mickey Rourke, John Lone, Ariane, Leonard Termo
Votes: 17,736 | Gross: $18.70M
Vietnam veteran Stanley White is the sheriff in New York's Chinatown and despite the fact that the Vietnam war is over he's still fighting. But this time instead of communists in Southeast Asia, it's gangsters in Chinatown. While taking on gangsters is definitely manly, Stanley bumps things up a notch by disrespecting the gangsters the Chinese in any way. Brains before brawn is generally a good idea, but in a pinch real men choose brawn. And for paper towels, real men choose Brawny.
67. Johnny Handsome (1989)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After being double crossed and thrown in jail, a deformed gangster gets a new face and rehabilitation, but his desire for revenge looms.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 11,014 | Gross: $7.24M
John Sedley has had it bad too. He was born a grotesquely facially disfigured man who's life of ridicule and resultant self-guilt inevitably led him to a life of crime. But John's not angy, and has accepted his world of pain. That is until a kind doctor gives him a chance at a normal life by fixing his face so he can adopt the macho name Johnny Handsome. Although his face is fixed, the universal scales of justice are still out of whack and Johnny Handsome has a few scores left to settle. Revenge flicks are definitely manly.
68. The Wrestler (2008)
R | 109 min | Drama, Sport
A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis
Votes: 320,059 | Gross: $26.24M
Outcomes in wrestling may be predetermined, but that doesn't make them any less manly. Neither does a guy who is trying to be a part of his daughter's life. Real men know it's never too late to be a good father. And there are strippers too!
69. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Approved | 150 min | Action, Adventure, War
During World War II, a rebellious U.S. Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes
Votes: 79,127 | Gross: $45.30M
Spring 1944 and Lee Marvin is preparing for D-Day. His top-secret pre-invasion mission: Take 12 soldiers convicted of felony offenses, either serving sentences of hard labor or condemned to death, and turn them into a unit capable of carrying out a specific task. Being a manly film, this is less a serious war movie and more an enjoyable ensemble romp through a training camp & execution of a mission where you get to take down Nazis.
70. Point Blank (1967)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the money that was stolen from him.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn, Carroll O'Connor
Votes: 23,257
I don't understand why anyone would want to remake this masterpiece. This was a movie made for Lee Marvin. And if you learn only one thing from the film let it be that if you shoot a man you better damn well make sure he's dead.
71. Monte Walsh (1970)
PG-13 | 106 min | Western
An aging cowboy realizes that the West he knew and loved will soon be no more--and that there will be no room for him, either.
Director: William A. Fraker | Stars: Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Palance, Mitchell Ryan
Votes: 3,037
Nobody gets to be a cowboy forever, and aging cowboy Monte Walsh is looking down the barrel at the end of the Wild West era. All he wants is the freedom of the open prairie but with barbed wire and railways eliminating the need for the cowboy, Monte is left with fewer and fewer options. But like a real man he changes with the times.
72. The Delta Force (1986)
R | 125 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
After a plane is hijacked by terrorists, The Delta Force is sent in to resolve the crisis.
Director: Menahem Golan | Stars: Chuck Norris, Lee Marvin, Martin Balsam, Joey Bishop
Votes: 21,936 | Gross: $17.77M
You knew that sooner or later a Chuck Norris was going to show up on this list, and here he shows up with Lee Marvin who in this film is especially angry and violent. And who wouldn't be when Lebanese terrorists hijack a plane demanding the the pilot take them to Beirut. But beware, this film is so manly it was once played at GITMO and it frightened Al Qaeda terrorists so badly that they surrendered to Chuck Norris just to be on the safe side.
73. Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990)
R | 111 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
When DEA agents are taken captive by a ruthless South American kingpin, the Delta Force is reunited to rescue them in this sequel to the 1986 film.
Director: Aaron Norris | Stars: Chuck Norris, John P. Ryan, Billy Drago, Richard Jaeckel
Votes: 8,129 | Gross: $6.70M
Chuck Norris returns as Colonel Scott McCoy and after the death of Lee Marvin to head of Delta Force Team. This time around it's all up to one man to take on a sadistic Colombian drug lord. Chuck Norris vs a Colombian Drug Cartel...while Colombia's main export may be drugs, Chuck Norris' main export is pain.
74. Missing in Action (1984)
R | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Colonel Braddock launches a mission deep into the jungles of Vietnam to find the POW camp that he escaped from and free the Americans still held captive there.
Director: Joseph Zito | Stars: Chuck Norris, M. Emmet Walsh, David Tress, Lenore Kasdorf
Votes: 16,551 | Gross: $22.81M
There has been huge controversy about U.S. POW's still being held in Vietnam to this day. So what does the President do? He sends Chuck Norris to Saigon to check things out. The Communists claim that there are no Americans being held in Vietnam...but if Chuck Norris wanted their opinion, he’d beat it out of them.
75. Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
R | 100 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Prequel to the first Missing In Action, set in the early 1980s it shows the capture of Colonel Braddock during the Vietnam war in the 1970s, and his captivity with other American POWs in a brutal prison camp, and his plans to escape.
Director: Lance Hool | Stars: Chuck Norris, Soon-Tek Oh, Steven Williams, Bennett Ohta
Votes: 9,313 | Gross: $10.80M
If there was one thing Rambo was missing it was a prequel. And in this installment Chuck Norris' time in a POW camp is explored. The Vietnamese thought that the jungles of Southeast Asia would be the end of Chuck Norris, but they didn't realize that Chuck Norris wears a live rattlesnake as a condom.
76. Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988)
R | 103 min | Action, War
Braddock mounts a one-man assault to free his wife and son who are still being held in a Vietnam prison camp.
Director: Aaron Norris | Stars: Chuck Norris, Aki Aleong, Roland Harrah III, Miki Kim
Votes: 7,175 | Gross: $6.19M
Chuck Norris thought he had put his time in Vietnam behind him. But in the third installment of the manly Missing in Action series he discovers that his wife and son are still alive under Communist rule in Vietnam and is back on the first flight to Saigon. As it turns out the Vietnamese army is holding a grudge from his last visit and wants him dead. But this isn't going to be as easy as killing a man because Chuck Norris grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage.
77. Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)
PG | 107 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After helping the local police with some horse thieves, a Texas Ranger aims at a drug lord with arms trade as well. They're interested in the same woman and they're both into martial arts.
Director: Steve Carver | Stars: Chuck Norris, David Carradine, Barbara Carrera, Leon Isaac Kennedy
Votes: 13,974 | Gross: $12.23M
Chuck Norris is back as JJ McQuade. A Lone Wolf Renegade Texas Ranger who actually has a pet wolf and uses karate kicks and uzi's with equal lethality. After this film Chuck Norris filed a lawsuit against NBC, claiming that Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
78. Invasion U.S.A. (1985)
R | 107 min | Action, Thriller
A one-man army comes to the rescue when the United States are invaded by communists.
Director: Joseph Zito | Stars: Chuck Norris, Richard Lynch, Melissa Prophet, Alexander Zale
Votes: 11,027 | Gross: $17.54M
A group of Communists & Terrorists invade the United States from Cuba. This is the zenith of Chuck Norris' career and details are less important than rocket launchers because here quantity meets quality in a wonderful union of excess. The terrorists are going to find out that guns don’t kill people, Chuck Norris kills people.
79. Iron Eagle (1986)
PG-13 | 117 min | Action, Thriller, War
A young pilot plans a rescue mission when his father, an Air Force Colonel, is shot down over enemy territory and captured.
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Louis Gossett Jr., Jason Gedrick, David Suchet, Tim Thomerson
Votes: 16,010 | Gross: $24.16M
Ahh...the 80's. Back when they made movies where characters were proud to be American. Louis Gossett Jr stars as Col. Charles "Chappy" Sinclair an Air Force pilot who is trying save another pilot shot down by terrorists. See when it comes to Air Force films most people have only seen Top Gun and then call it a day. But real men know Iron Eagle is not only better than "Top Gun"; its actually "Top Gun" applied to real life.
80. Iron Eagle II (1988)
PG | 105 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A joint U.S.- Soviet strike force is assembled to wipe out a nuclear base in an outlaw nation that plans to take the world hostage.
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Louis Gossett Jr., Mark Humphrey, Stuart Margolin, Alan Scarfe
Votes: 5,462 | Gross: $10.50M
Col. Charles "Chappy" Sinclair is back and tasked with leading a mixed Soviet/U.S. strike force to perform a surgical strike on a massively defended nuclear missile site in the Middle East. But Col. Sinclair is only being nice taking the strike force with him because a man like "Chappy" can do it all by himself.
81. An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
R | 124 min | Drama, Romance
A young man must complete his work at a Navy Officer Candidate School to become an aviator, with the help of a tough Gunnery Sergeant and his new girlfriend.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith, Robert Loggia
Votes: 62,652 | Gross: $129.80M
Louis Gossett Jr. is tasked with teaching Richard Gere how to be a man. While Richard Gere may be unfamiliar with the finer points of manhood Louis Gossett Jr. is more than happy to teach him the hard way.
82. Diggstown (1992)
R | 98 min | Drama, Sport
Gabriel's released from prison. His con man friend makes a foolish bet with Diggstown's owner on who'd win the boxing matches - their man against ten Diggstown men.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: James Woods, Louis Gossett Jr., Bruce Dern, Oliver Platt
Votes: 8,083 | Gross: $4.84M
Louis Gossett Jr. returns and this time someone is questioning his manhood. He's been bet that he can't beat 10 Diggstown boxers in 24 hours. There's $1.5 million on the line but like a real man Louis Gossett Jr.'s only interest in the bragging rights.
83. The Principal (1987)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A teacher is assigned to be the principal of a violent, crime-ridden high school.
Director: Christopher Cain | Stars: Jim Belushi, Louis Gossett Jr., Rae Dawn Chong, Michael Wright
Votes: 11,810 | Gross: $19.73M
See when you're manly people take notice. Louis Gossett Jr. used to be a custodian but today he's head guard at a high school so ghetto that they take sides in the Arab-Isreali conflict. These kids want to deal drugs and otherwise cause chaos but Louis Gossett Jr. is going to make sure they learn some lessons whether they like it or not...the hard way.
84. K-9 (1989)
PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
To stop an elusive criminal, a maverick detective enlists the aid of a police dog who's an unusually intelligent smart alec.
Director: Rod Daniel | Stars: Jim Belushi, Mel Harris, Kevin Tighe, Ed O'Neill
Votes: 35,632 | Gross: $43.25M
A man & his dog fight crime...do you need any more plot? If you want to keep a kid out of trouble all you need to give him is a dog and a fishing rod and he'll grow up to be a fine man.
85. Red Heat (1988)
R | 104 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Belushi, Peter Boyle, Ed O'Ross
Votes: 76,105 | Gross: $34.99M
Arnold has had good movies, but very few have been manly. This is one of Arnold's forays into manliness where he plays a Moscow narc who's as cold as the tundra and travels to the United States to team up with a Chicago cop and take down a coke-dealing Russian mobster. Who'd have thought Russia had a coke problem? Arnold probably watched Dolph Lungren's performance in Rocky a thousand times before staring in this film and while normally I don't like endorsing fictional communists, this one is exceptionally manly and gets a pass.
86. Predator (1987)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
A team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall, Elpidia Carrillo
Votes: 455,238 | Gross: $59.74M
This movie just doesn't have one man, it has an entire squad of them. Arnold, Apollo Creed, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Billy Bear, and the Detective from Menace II Society. But this time all their man cards are going to get checked bu a special interstellar inspector who doesn't look kindly on expired man cards.
87. Bloodsport (1988)
R | 92 min | Action, Biography, Drama
"Bloodsport" follows Frank Dux, an American martial artist serving in the military, who decides to leave the army to compete in a martial arts tournament in Hong Kong where fights to the death can occur.
Director: Newt Arnold | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Norman Burton
Votes: 94,067 | Gross: $11.81M
Bad acting, bad accents, great action, and more slow motion kicks to the face than you can shake a stick at. Throw in Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds & Bolo Yeung who at 50 is still built like a sherman tank and you've got all the ingredients for a manly film.
88. Kickboxer (1989)
R | 97 min | Action, Sport, Thriller
Kurt Sloane must learn the ancient kick boxing art of Muay Thai in order to avenge his brother.
Directors: Mark DiSalle, David Worth | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Alexio, Dennis Chan, Michel Qissi
Votes: 60,912 | Gross: $14.70M
Van Damme movies are only as manly as their villain and in this film we are treated to a really bada$$ villain in Tong Po. Not only does Tong Po paralyze Van Damme's brother (who looks like a roided AC Slater) but tries to get revenge by doing a man card check. Its too bad he didn't realize that it was his man card that was expired.
89. Lionheart (1990)
R | 108 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An Ex-French Soldier begins participating in underground street fights in order to make money for his brother's family.
Director: Sheldon Lettich | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Harrison Page, Deborah Rennard, Lisa Pelikan
Votes: 39,827 | Gross: $24.08M
What could be more manly than taking care of your dead brother's family? Maybe adopting a manly nickname while you do it and having a black man yell your name for encouragement.
90. 48 Hrs. (1982)
R | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him in order to track down a killer.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae
Votes: 85,338 | Gross: $78.87M
Ganz & Billy Bear vs Reggie Hammond & Jack Cates...the ultimate tag-team match! 4 real men going at it each for their own reasons. This is the film that kicked off the 80's buddy cop genre.
91. Another 48 Hrs. (1990)
R | 95 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Jack Cates once again enlists the aid of ex-con Reggie Hammond - this time to take down The Iceman, a ruthless drug lord operating in the San Francisco bay area.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, Brion James, Kevin Tighe
Votes: 44,541 | Gross: $80.82M
Bikers barring unforseen exception are manly. In this sequel Reggie Hammond & Jack Cates are back and his time they're taking on a gang of 1%er outlaw bikers and the Iceman.
92. North Dallas Forty (1979)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A satire of American professional football in which a veteran pass-catcher's individuality and refusal to become part of the team family are bitterly resented by his disciplinarian coaches.
Director: Ted Kotcheff | Stars: Nick Nolte, Charles Durning, Mac Davis, Dayle Haddon
Votes: 5,996 | Gross: $26.08M
Remember when the game of football had passion and the NFL was full of men you cared about and tuned in to see? If you were too young remember football in the 70's then this one has it all for you. The one-liners in this film make it alone a must see.
93. Crimson Tide (1995)
R | 116 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
On a U.S. nuclear missile sub, a young First Officer stages a mutiny to prevent his trigger happy Captain from launching his missiles before confirming his orders to do so.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington, Matt Craven, George Dzundza
Votes: 123,406 | Gross: $91.40M
Rarely do you get to see two men eye-to-eye, absolutely certain of their actions and absolutely convinced that the other's course will lead to disaster. Both have the best interests of their country in mind and neither one will blink in the face of a nuclear holocaust. Having one real man in a film is rare, raving 2 in the same film is unheard of.
94. Bat*21 (1988)
R | 105 min | Drama, War
During the Vietnam War, Colonel Hambleton's aircraft is shot down over enemy territory and a frantic rescue operation ensues.
Director: Peter Markle | Stars: Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, Jerry Reed, David Marshall Grant
Votes: 9,591 | Gross: $3.97M
Awesome man movie that features Gene Hackman as an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who is shot down behind enemy lines during the last days of the Vietnam War. Danny Glover co-stars as a Cessna pilot, flying a Forward Air Control mission near where Hackman crashed. Glover becomes Hackman's only contact to the outside world as Hackman makes a heroic attempt to avoid the Vietnamese military that is looking for him.
95. Lethal Weapon (1987)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Two newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan
Votes: 276,494 | Gross: $65.21M
Does magic really exist? Well if you've seen Lethal Weapon you know that the answer to that question is yes. Two men both at different stages in their career gain a begrudging respect for each other as they take on a high-level drug cartel. If you haven't seen Lethal Weapon yet your man status is in doubt.
96. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Patsy Kensit
Votes: 188,941 | Gross: $147.25M
The best word to describe this sequel is Lethal. You see in the 80's we weren't scared to make movies about foreigners we didn't like. And back in the days of Apartheid, South Africa was on that list and Afrikaner thugs were easy to demonize. Throw in faster and more furious action, top notch banter (thanks to Joe Pesci), and a Subway tunafish sandwich and you've got one of the manliest sequels of all-time
97. Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
R | 118 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh pursue a former LAPD officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo
Votes: 178,591 | Gross: $144.73M
Still Lethal in this thrid entry but Rene Russo isn't hot enough of an actress to play the part she had. The film starts out with a bang (literally) and keeps it up from there. But it is the manly duo of Gibson and Glover that keep this series great.
98. Braveheart (1995)
R | 178 min | Biography, Drama, War
Scottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen
Votes: 1,091,898 | Gross: $75.60M
It is said that men decide the future of nations. William Wallace and King Edward I (Longshanks) are two such men dueling over Scotland's independence. Put away the history book on this one and sit back and watch how men used to settle things. Everyone eventually dies, but only real men really live.
99. RoboCop (1987)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox
Votes: 283,333 | Gross: $53.42M
Generally as a rule of thumb sci-fi isn't manly. Robocop is however the exception that reinforces the rule. And how can it not...the film is about a cyborg struggling to regain his manhood. That alone would make the film manly but more than that Robocop supports a cast of villains that are as unflinchingly sadistic as they are diverse. From street thugs to evil scientists to sociopathic businessmen; you almost have to admire their ruthlessness and zeal as bad guys. Red Forman from That 70's Show gives the performance of a lifetime as a manly villain and is as real as villian henchmen could probably get.
100. RoboCop 2 (1990)
R | 117 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
RoboCop returns to protect the citizens of old Detroit but faces a deadly challenge when a rogue OCP member secretly creates a new, evil RoboCop 2.
Director: Irvin Kershner | Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Belinda Bauer, Dan O'Herlihy
Votes: 93,226 | Gross: $45.68M
Movies like Total Recall, Terminator, or the Matrix are for teenage girls. Real men watch Robocop. If you don't believe me, ask a teenage girl which is better Terminator or Robocop and see what answer you get. In the sequel everything is turned up a notch. The gun fights are more hardcore, the plot is darker, the villains are even more ruthless, and the final fight between Robocop and the Evil-Cyborg Kane has to be seen as both characters wreck half the city in the process. Robocop may be a cop that's part machine, but he's all man.
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