An American Werewolf In London
Although he has moved mostly into boob tube directing in the past 25 years , director John Landis blazed a track from 1978 to 1988 that bring forth no fewer than six picture show regard classics today ( Animal House , The Blues Brothers , An American Werewolf in London , Trading Places , andComing to America ) . You could also includeSpies Like Us , Twilight Zone : The Movie , and evenMichael Jackson ’s Thrillermusic video . That is an eleven - yr run unmatched by almost any other director .
Of naturally , Landis has not been without his fair share of flops . Oscar , starringSylvester Stallone , holds a 12 % military rating on Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer . And 1994’sBeverly Hills Cop III(just 10 % on the Tomatometer ) was a complete misfire , which is surprising yield the achiever of the first two BHC celluloid and the track record of Landis - Eddie Murphy collaborations ( Trading PlacesandComing to America ) . But bury those washout . Let ’s remember the undecomposed time . Here are John Landis ’ 10 unspoiled Movies According to Rotten Tomatoes . ( observe : For simpleness purposes , we are not counting television set movies , docudrama , anthology collaborations , or music telecasting piece of work . )
Innocent Blood(1992): 39%
Landis directed this mash - up of vampire and mobster picture show to small critical success in 1992 . The motion picture featured a Fench lamia named Marie ( Anne Parillaud ) who feast only on the stemma of criminals . After round and nearly killing mob boss “ Sal the Shark ” Macelli ( Robert Loggia ) , Marie is wedge to flee , leaving Sal to become a lamia himself .
Sal then goes on to twist his own men into vampire in an attempt to gain revenge on Marie and the hole-and-corner cop engage him , Jospeh Genarro ( Anthony LaPaglia ) . The repugnance - clowning was a commercial-grade floating-point operation upon release , garner a mere $ 4.9 million against a budget of $ 20 million .
Blues Brothers 2000(1998): 46%
hold home 18 years after the original , the movie begins with Elwood Blues ( Dan Aykroyd , recapitulate his original role ) being released from jail after an 18 - year Erolia minutilla for the crimes committed in the original picture . Elwood , whose brother Jake passed away while he was in prison , learns from “ The Penguin , ” Sister Mary Stigmata , that the orphanage is once again in need of money , this time for a kid ’s hospital .
Elwood then must once again reunify the stria to earn enough money for the child ’s infirmary , all the while avoiding various pratfalls along the mode . Co - starring John Goodman , the moving picture once again boast melodic number , car Salmon Portland Chase , and multiple musician cameo . Unlike the original , though , the sequel was not closely as well - received and is generally ignore by film fans .
Three Amigos(1986): 46%
write by Steve Martin , Saturday Night Livehead honcho Lorne Michaels , and singer / songwriter Randy Newman ( his only screenwriting credit),Three Amigosis generally regarded as a comedy classic , with multiple memorable quotes and some tricky tunes throughout .
star Martin , Chevy Chase , and Martin Short , with cameos by Joe Mantegna , Jon Lovitz , and Phil Hartman , Three Amigostells the story of three silent film actors , recently fired from their studio contract bridge , who are hired by a small Mexican settlement to reprise their heroic roles in guild to stand off real - life bandits , unbeknown to the actors themselves . improbably rewatchable and timelessly odd .
Schlock(1973): 67%
Eight geezerhood before he directed the horror - funniness classicAn American Werewolf in London , Landis directed this court to the fiend motion-picture show of the 1950s . The moving-picture show tell the news report of Schlock , an apeman - like creature who falls in dearest with a unreasoning teenaged girl and exhibit some unusual power .
The motion picture was Landis ’ directorial debut and although it has gone on to accomplish craze status , Landis is not a fan of the movie . It may not be a cinematic chef-d’oeuvre , but it did cross off the start of Landis collaboration with effect guru Rick Baker , who would go on to bring the creatures inAn American Werewolf in Londonto life .
Coming To America(1988): 67%
Landis ’s second collaborationism with Eddie Murphy , after 1983 ’s successful role - turnaround comedyTrading Places , is arguably the high water system mark for both . Co - starring Arsenio Hall , get along to Americastars Murphy as Prince Akeem , a penis of the purple family of Zamunda , a fictitious African nation , who is set to enter an staged marriage on his 21st birthday . dysphoric with this traditional arrangement , Akeem set up off for America to find straight beloved .
The film is carry with memorable scenes and quotable lines and is full of cameos . With a long - awaited subsequence due out in 2020 ( not conduct by Landis , by the way ) , it should also be noted that it is a quasi - sequel toTrading Places .
Kentucky Fried Movie(1977): 81%
Landis ’s second movie was a comedy anthology constitute of various , unconnected sketch . Written by David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams ( who would go on to bully succeeder withAirplane!AndThe Naked Gunseries ) based off sketches developed at their improv troupe , Kentucky Fried Theater , the movie was a serial of sketches spoofing popular movie genres and television commercials .
Independently financed , Kentucky Fried Moviewould ultimately gross over ten times its production budget of $ 650,000 and conduce to Landis landing the directorial fishgig forAnimal House .
The Blues Brothers(1980): 84%
The first pic to be adapted from aSaturday Night Livesketch , The Blues Brothersis a wild musical comedy romp in and around the metropolis of Chicago . Starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues , the brother decide to reunite their striation in an effort to raise the $ 5,000 needed to save their childhood orphanage from gag law .
The movie is chock full of cameo from musicians such as James Brown and Aretha Franklin and features some of the most memorable musical operation and car chases ever captured on film .
Trading Places(1983): 87%
star two of Landis ’ frequent collaborators , Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy , Trading Placesis a story of two whole opposite individual , a wealthy New York commodities factor name Louis Winthorpe III ( Aykroyd ) and a roofless street hustler named Billy Ray Valentine ( Murphy ) .
The two have their lives riff upside down , Valentine for the safe and Winthorpe for the worse , as a issue of a petty one dollar sign wager between super - wealthy brothers Randolph and Mortimer Duke . carbon monoxide - star Jamie Lee Curtis as good - hearted harlot Ophelia and Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche as the Duke crony , the R - rated comedy was a huge box - office winner follow its December 1982 release .
An American Werewolf In London(1981): 87%
Perhaps best think of for its unbelievable werewolf transformation setting ( which advance effects creative person Rick Baker the first - ever Academy Award for Best Make - Up ) , this repugnance - comedy ( more repugnance than drollery , by the way ) spent 12 age in development before its 1981 release . Landis wrote the screenplay in 1969 but was unable to get it finance until after his successes withAnimal HouseandThe Blues Brothers .
Werewolftells the fib of David Kessler ( David Naughton ) and Jack Goodman ( Griffin Dunne ) , a pair of American backpackers in England who are set on by a wolfman on the English moors . Jack is killed , but David survives , only to hold on the curse of the behemoth that attack him . The film is considered by many to be the greatest werewolf movie of all meter .
National Lampoon’s Animal House(1978): 90%
In only his third photographic film , Landis scored a massive achiever with the college fraternity screwball clowning . Animal Housegrossed over $ 141 million , making it one of the highest - gross films of the 1970s . lie with most magnificently for John Belushi ’s scene - stealing role as John “ Bluto ” Blutarsky , it also featured Kevin Bacon in his feature film debut .
Co - compose by Harold Ramis ( Ghostbusters),Animal Housereceived a mixed critical reception upon its press release . As testify by its 90 % Tomatometer grudge , it has since gone on to be hailed as an American comedy classic , exhort countless imitators over the years .
NEXT : John Landis plan Amazing American Werewolf In London subsequence
