Johnny Depp – 10 Best Movies

By Vlad Zakh · January 19, 2026

Pirates of the Caribbean made Johnny Depp a blockbuster fixture, but Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood show the strange, internal performances that made him interesting first, and Donnie Brasco and Sweeney Todd show two registers of the same instinct. Sleepy Hollow gives him a jittery Ichabod Crane, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a hallucinatory turn as Hunter S. Thompson’s alter ego, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape pairs him with a young Leonardo DiCaprio, and Public Enemies is a doomed take on Dillinger. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory rounds out the list.

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

TMDB ★ 7.2

Tim Burton at his most atmospheric: foggy, gothic and stylish.

Directed by Tim Burton · 1h 45m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Freeform, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A journalist and his attorney go on a drug-fuelled odyssey through the casinos of Las Vegas.

Directed by Terry Gilliam · 1h 58m · Rated R

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A young man caring for his disabled brother and obese mother in a small town finds his life changed by a visiting stranger.

Directed by Lasse Hallström · 1h 58m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Public Enemies (2009)

IMDb ★ 6.9 RT 68% Metacritic 70

John Dillinger's bank-robbing spree makes him a folk hero the FBI is determined to end.

Directed by Michael Mann · 2h 20m · Rated R

1 win & 14 nominations

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

IMDb ★ 6.7 RT 83% Metacritic 72

Tim Burton's stranger, darker take on the golden-ticket factory tour.

Directed by Tim Burton · 1h 55m · Rated PG

Nominated for 1 Oscar15 wins & 52 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel · 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

Donnie Brasco (1997)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 88% Metacritic 77

An undercover FBI agent's friendship with the mobster he is investigating becomes genuinely dangerous.

Directed by Mike Newell · 2h 07m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar2 wins & 16 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, YouTube TV, Sundance Now, BBC America, Netflix Standard with Ads, Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Ed Wood (1994)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 92% Metacritic 71

A hopelessly earnest B-movie director makes cult schlock with Bela Lugosi in his final years.

Directed by Tim Burton · 2h 07m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars27 wins & 33 nominations

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

IMDb ★ 7.3 RT 86% Metacritic 83

A wrongly imprisoned barber returns to London for a revenge plot involving a meat-pie shop.

Directed by Tim Burton · 1h 56m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar34 wins & 77 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 92% Metacritic 74

A gentle artificial man with blades for hands tries to find a place in ordinary suburbia.

Directed by Tim Burton · 1h 45m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 1 Oscar11 wins & 25 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Disney Plus, Hulu, fuboTV, YouTube TV, FXNow · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 79% Metacritic 63

A blacksmith teams up with an eccentric pirate to rescue a kidnapped governor's daughter.

Directed by Gore Verbinski · 2h 23m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 5 Oscars38 wins & 104 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Disney Plus · Rent or 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.

Johnny Depp – 10 Best Movies

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Public Enemies (2009)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Donnie Brasco (1997)

Ed Wood (1994)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

You might also like

8 Best Movies of 1993

8 Best Movies of 1994

8 Best Movies of 1990

250 Best Movies of All Time

6 Best Mafia Family Movies

50 Best Movies of the 2000s