8 Best Burt Lancaster Movies

By Vlad Zakh · January 10, 2026

Burt Lancaster combined real athleticism with dramatic ambition, using his own production company to push for riskier films than the studio system usually allowed. Atlantic City gives an ageing small-time gangster one last shot at glory, The Leopard watches a Sicilian prince’s aristocratic world fade as Italy unifies, Birdman of Alcatraz makes a lifer an expert on birds, and Judgment at Nuremberg has American judges trying German judges who enforced Nazi racial laws. Elmer Gantry, Sweet Smell of Success, From Here to Eternity and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral round out the list.

Atlantic City (1980)

TMDB ★ 7.4

An ageing small-time gangster gets one last shot at glory when a young woman's drug deal goes wrong.

Directed by Louis Malle · 1h 44m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: YouTube TV · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Leopard (1963)

TMDB ★ 8.0

Alain Delon appears as a Sicilian prince watches his aristocratic world quietly dissolve during Italian unification.

Directed by Luchino Visconti · 3h 06m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A convicted murderer serving a life sentence becomes a world-renowned expert on birds from inside his cell.

Directed by John Frankenheimer · 2h 27m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

IMDb ★ 8.3 RT 93% Metacritic 60

American judges preside over the trial of German judges complicit in Nazi war crimes.

Directed by Stanley Kramer · 3h 11m · Rated NR

Won 2 Oscars16 wins & 26 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent: Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Elmer Gantry (1960)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A charismatic, opportunistic con man ingratiates himself into a travelling evangelist's revival ministry.

Directed by Richard Brooks · 2h 26m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Sky Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

TMDB ★ 7.3

Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday form an uneasy alliance ahead of the legendary shootout.

Directed by John Sturges · 2h 03m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

TMDB ★ 8.0

A ruthless newspaper columnist and a desperate press agent scheme to destroy a young musician.

Directed by Alexander Mackendrick · 1h 37m

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, YouTube TV · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

From Here to Eternity (1953)

TMDB ★ 7.6

Soldiers stationed in Hawaii deal with love and rivalry in the tense months before Pearl Harbor.

Directed by Fred Zinnemann · 1h 58m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

8 Best Burt Lancaster Movies

Atlantic City (1980)

The Leopard (1963)

Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

Elmer Gantry (1960)

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

From Here to Eternity (1953)

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