Ever since making his screen debut in the Oscar winner for the Best Picture of 1975, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Christopher Lloyd has accrued more than 240 big and film and television credits. In 1978, Lloyd landed the role of Reverend Jim Ignatowski on the sitcom Taxi, appearing in 84 episodes during the series five-season run.
Once Taxi ended in 1983, Lloyd scored the role of a lifetime as Doctor Emmet Brown in Robert Zemeckis’s Back to the Futurefranchise in which he appeared in all three films. With a handful of new films in various stages of production, here are Christopher Lloyd’s 10 best movies, ranked according to their Rotten Tomatoes scores.
Mr. Mom (1983) – 82%
Written by John Hughes, Mr. Mom stars Michael Keaton as Jack Butler, an out-of-work auto engineer who gets a taste of domestic responsibility when agreeing to become a stay at home dad.
Lloyd plays Jack’s friend and coworker who also gets laid off during an economic recession in the early 1980s Detroit. With his wife Caroline (Teri Garr) earning the household money, Jack struggles to cook, clean, change diapers, and properly supervise his three unruly children.
Wit (2001) – 83%
Directed by Mike Nichols, Wit tells the dramatic account of English professor Vivian Bearing (Emma Thompson, who adapted the screenplay from the Margaret Edson play) in the weeks and months following her ovarian cancer diagnosis.
As Bearing grapples with her terminal illness, she reflects on her life and looks forward to what little future she has left to mend unresolved issues. Lloyd plays Dr. Harvey Kelekian, an unsentimental head surgeon who seeks positive results no matter what the cost.
Anastasia (1997) – 85%
As the voice of Rasputin in the 1997 animated film Anastasia, Lloyd joins the likes of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Hank Azaria, Kirsten Dunst, and more.
Oscar-nominated for Best Original Music and Song, the film follows Anastasia (Ryan), daughter of Russian Czar Nicholas II (Rick Jones). When the little girl is abducted by two Russian goons, they intend to return her home and collect her grandma’s reward. However, Rasputin will stop at nothing to serve revenge on the Russian Romanov family that the goons belong to.
The Onion Field (1979) – 85%
Based on the Joseph Wambaugh novel, The Onion Field concerns the murder of a Los Angeles police officer in Bakersfield, California. Inspired by true events, the movie explores the legal bureaucracy of jailing his perpetrators.
When Greg and Jimmy are pulled over for a busted tail-light, they freak out and kidnap the two officers who stopped them. They drive the cops out to the onion fields, where one of the officers is shot dead and the other escapes wounded. Lloyd plays the Jailhouse Lawyer in the film, which earned James Woods a Golden Globe nod for his performance.
Eight Men Out (1988) – 86%
John Sayles’ Eight Men Out tells the true story of the infamous 1919 baseball scandal in which the Chicago White Sox deliberately threw games during the World Series to make money.
Based on Eliot Asinof’s book, the film is a historical account of the Chicago White Sox 1919 season. With several players upset over the low wages provided by their cheap team owner, many of them accept bribes to deliberately lose the World Series. Lloyd plays Bill Burns, a play-by-play sportscaster who covers the entire scandal.
Duck Tales The Movie: Treasure Of The Lost Lamp (1990) – 88%
Riffing on the Indiana Jones tableau, Duck Tales The Movie follows Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby (all voiced by Russi Taylor) to the sands of Egypt to locate a mystical lamp.
Upon arrival, Scrooge McDuck allows his nephews to play with the lost treasure, unaware that a magical lamp is housed inside. When the nephews unwittingly unleash the genie’s spirit from the lamp, they become terrorized by the evil Merlock (Lloyd) and his underling, Dijon (Richard Libertini).
I Am Not A Serial Killer (2016) – 93%
The most recent release to join Lloyd’s ten best films, according to Rotten Tomatoes, belongs to the 2016 horror/thriller I Am Not A Serial Killer.
Directed by Billy O’Brien, the movie centers on John Wayne Cleaver (Max Records), a clinically sociopathic teenager who works in his mother’s funeral home in a small mid-western town. Upon spotting a drifter on Halloween he thinks may be related to a nearby serial killer, John is summoned to his next-door neighbor Bill Crowley’s (Lloyd) house. Once there, he discovers Crowley’s true identity.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) – 94%
Lloyd made his screen debut of any kind in Milos Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, named The Best Picture at the 1976 Academy Awards.
Adapted from the celebrated Ken Kesey novel, the story revolves around Randall McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), a rebellious spirit who pleads insanity as a means of avoiding jail time. When Randall is sent to a mental institution, he experiences a series of gross injustices perpetrated by the militant staff, led by Nurse Ratched ( Louise Fletcher). As he schemes to escape, Randall makes friends and teaches his fellow inmates (including Lloyd) the joys of life.
Back To The Future (1985) – 96%
As Doc Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Lloyd has cemented one of the most iconic comedic movie characters of all time. In addition to its 96% Fresh Rating, the movie boasts an 87/100 Metascore and currently ranks #36 on IMDB’s Top 250 with an 8.5/10 mark. While all three films are loved by both fans and critics, it’s the first one that scores the highest on Rotten Tomatoes.
The first movie traces Marty McFly’s (Michael J. Fox) wild journey back to 1955 in a tricked out DeLorean turned into a time machine by wacky scientist Doc Brown. Once he meets his parents in high-school, Marty must go to whatever lengths necessary to preserve his future and ensure survival.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) – 97%
Three years after playing Doc Brown, Lloyd reunited with director Robert Zemeckis for the three-time Oscar-winning film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The film won Academy Awards for Best Editing, Sound Effects, and Visual Effects.
When lovable toon Roger Rabbit framed for murder, he hires cynical toon-hating detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) to figure out who did it. Lloyd plays the evil villain Judge Doom, the same maniacal murderer who killed Valiant’s brother years prior.
