Barreling down the lane on VOD this weekend in the UK is Jesus Rolls, John Turturro's passion project spinoff of The Big Lebowski. Unfortunately, the film delivers more gutterballs than strikes, according to critics and general moviegoers alike. The film currently holds a 24% RT rating, 4.3 IMDb rating, and 45/100 Metascore.
But let's not focus on the negative. After all, Turturro is one of the finest character actors to grace the silver screen in the past 30 years. He's worked with such directorial greats as Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, the Coen Brothers, Woody Allen, Robert Redford, William Friedkin, and many more. For a better picture, here are John Turturro's 10 best movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes!
The Color Of Money (1986) 89%
The Color of Money marked the second collaboration between Turturro and all-world director Martin Scorsese. In the unofficial sequel to The Hustler, Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) teaches hot young pool-player Vincent (Tom Cruise) how to swindle the best of them.
Turturro plays Julian in the film, a fellow pool hustler who Eddie lays bets on prior to discovering the prodigious Vincent. Julian gets a chance to avenge Eddie by facing him in a climactic pool tournament but fails to win.
Barton Fink (1991) 90%
Joel and Ethan Coen gave Turturro a starring role of a lifetime as the titular playwright, Barton Fink, winner of the Palm d'Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. Turturro won Best Actor and Joel Coen won Best Director at the same awards ceremony.
Nominated for three Oscars, Barton Fink tracks the tortured mind of a playwright hired to pen screenplays in Hollywood. Desperate to inject his work with the soul missing from mainstream entertainment, Fink conjures quite a tale in "the life of a mind."
Gloria Bell (2019) 91%
Well-respected Chilean director Sebastian Lelio remade his own 2013 film, Gloria, as Gloria Bell in 2018. The English-language redo replaced Paulina Garcia with Julianne Moore in the title role, just one of many casting changes made.
Story-wise, the film takes an inspiring look at a free-spirited woman who rediscovers her lust for life while in her 50s. As Gloria begins spicing up her life at various dance clubs, she strikes up a bond with Arnold (Turturro), a sexy Latin lover who opens her mind in unimaginable ways.
To Live And Die In L.A. (1985) 91%
William Friedkin's breathless 80s crime flick marked just the fifth film Turturro ever appeared in and only the second in which he had a legit speaking role. Talk about right place, right time!
The criminal web of the story extends to Secret Service agent Richie Chance's (William Peterson) dogged effort to bring down a wanted counterfeiter, Ric Masters (Willem Dafoe). When his plan gets sloppy, Ric entrusts the delivery on his contraband to Carl Cody (Turturro), a lowly mule who runs afoul of the law.
Hannah And Her Sisters (1986) 91%
Turturro immediately followed To Live and Die in L.A. with Hannah and Her Sisters, Woody Allen's Oscar-winning exam of three wildly different New York siblings. Again, to be so lucky!
Turturro is billed as Writer in the film, a minor character who appears in one of the three sub-stories about a trio of sisters struggling through life in the Big Apple. The film went on to win three Oscars, including wins for Best Original Screenplay (Allen), Supporting Actor (Michael Caine), and Supporting Actress (Diane Wiest).
Miller's Crossing (1990) 91%
"Look in your heart. I'm praying to you. Look in your heart!" No one has ever begged, pleaded and cried for their life in the way Turturro does in Miller's Crossing, the Coen Brothers' stellar Irish period-gangster affair. No one!
When Tom Regan (Gabriel Byrne) is tasked with whacking Bernie Bernbaum (Turturro), he takes him into the woods to shoot him. When Bernie pleads so heartfully for his life, Tom lets him go, leading to a series of problems for the crime-lord.
Do The Right Thing (1989) 92%
Turturro has appeared in several Spike Lee joints throughout his career, but none top his very first role played for the Brooklyn-based indie auteur. As Pino in Do the Right Thing, Turturro sits at the heart of the racial debate in America.
Set during an unbearable summer heatwave in 1988 Brooklyn, the film follows Mookie (Lee), a pizzeria employee who works for Sal (Danny Aiello), a prejudiced Italian-American indoctrinating his two sons, Pino and Vito (Richard Edson). With tempers flaring into a nighttime riot, Mookie must decide what the right line of recourse is.
Raging Bull (1980) 94%
Can you believe Turturro landed his very first screen credit in Martin Scorsese's legendary Raging Bull? Insane!
Oh but it's true. Turturro is uncredited as Man Sitting at Webster Hall Table, which means his role is little more than a glorified cameo appearance. Still, to put Raging Bull on your resume as a first film credit tells you all you need to know about the quality of Turturro's acting skill. The film won two Oscars, including wins for Best Actor (De Niro) and Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker).
Quiz Show (1994) 96%
Robert Redford's fourth film as a director placed Turturro front and center as Herb Stemple, a real-life gameshow contestant who was caught rigging the TV program "Twenty-One" during the 1950s.
Based on a true story, the film centers on a young lawyer who uncovers a major scandal involving the popular quiz show. Charges are ultimately leveled on Charles Van Doren (Ralph Finnes) and Stemple (Turturro), two men working in cahoots with each other to rig the system and win tons of money.
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me (2013) 99%
Believe it or not, the most critically praised film of Turturro's career thus far, according to RT, is the documentary celebrating the life and career of stand-up comedienne, Elaine Stritch. Who knew?
Turturro joins other high profile celebs such as Billy Crystal, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Ellen DeGeneres, Tracy Morgan, and many others, all of whom pay tribute to the trailblazing career of Stritch. The film went on to win the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary at the 2013 Chicago International Film Festival.