Kurt Russell – 10 Best Movies

By Vlad Zakh · December 15, 2025

Kurt Russell spent the 80s becoming John Carpenter’s go-to leading man and reinvented himself decades later as one of Quentin Tarantino’s favourite character actors. The Thing and Escape from New York are the Carpenter classics, The Hateful Eight traps eight strangers in a cabin during a blizzard, Death Proof turns a rigged car into a murder weapon, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 meets Star-Lord’s living-planet father, and Tango & Cash teams two framed cops. Big Trouble in Little China, Tombstone, Backdraft and Miracle round out the list.

Tango & Cash (1989)

IMDb ★ 6.4 RT 31% Metacritic 41

Two rival cops are framed together and have to team up to clear their names.

Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky · 1h 44m · Rated R

2 wins & 3 nominations

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

TMDB ★ 7.6

Star-Lord finally meets his father, a literal living planet with his own agenda.

Directed by James Gunn · 2h 17m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Hateful Eight (2015)

TMDB ★ 7.5

Eight strangers trapped together during a blizzard grow more suspicious of each other's hidden motives.

Directed by Quentin Tarantino · 3h 08m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Death Proof (2007)

TMDB ★ 6.6

A deranged stuntman uses his rigged car as a weapon to terrorise groups of young women.

Directed by Quentin Tarantino · 1h 53m · Rated R

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Miracle (2004)

TMDB ★ 7.6

The 1980 US Olympic hockey team's coach drills a group of college kids into gold medallists.

Directed by Gavin O'Connor · 2h 15m · Rated PG

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Backdraft (1991)

TMDB ★ 6.8

Two firefighter brothers investigate a string of suspicious arson fires while dealing with old rivalries.

Directed by Ron Howard · 2h 17m · Rated R

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Tombstone (1993)

TMDB ★ 7.8

Harry Carey Jr. features in this western where Wyatt Earp and his brothers clash with a violent gang of outlaws in the notorious town.

Directed by George P. Cosmatos · 2h 10m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus, BBC America · 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

Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

IMDb ★ 7.2 RT 65% Metacritic 53

A trucker is pulled into a sorcerer's underground war beneath San Francisco's Chinatown.

Directed by John Carpenter · 1h 40m · Rated PG-13

1 win & 1 nomination

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Escape from New York (1981)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A convicted criminal is sent into a walled-off, lawless Manhattan to rescue the kidnapped president.

Directed by John Carpenter · 1h 39m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Thing (1982)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 85% Metacritic 57

A shapeshifting alien picks off an Antarctic research team one paranoid reveal at a time.

Directed by John Carpenter · 1h 49m · Rated R

1 win & 5 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · 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.

Kurt Russell – 10 Best Movies

Tango & Cash (1989)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Death Proof (2007)

Miracle (2004)

Backdraft (1991)

Tombstone (1993)

Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Escape from New York (1981)

The Thing (1982)

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