Flashback Five - The Best Bill Murray Movies You've Never Seen

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Bill Murray has had quite a journey. He's gone from Chevy Chase's SNL replacement to the leading snark-master (before blogs made snark hip) to a serious actor working with the best directors of our time. But while you may count yourself as a Murray fan, there are probably roles you've missed. Do you remember him as a greedy underworld emperor in a certain fantastical kids' flick? As a mafia boss-slash-aspiring comedian vying for Uma Thurman's affections? Read on.

1. City of Ember (2008)
Audiences virtually ignored this adaptation of the popular kids novel, and it was their loss: Murray gives a nuanced, sad, brilliant turn as the mayor of a city buried far below the Earth's surface. A scene towards the end finds Murray, locked in a room, all alone, falling asleep gorged on canned fruit, perfectly encapsulating everything good about his performance.

2. Broken Flowers (2005)
Murray's second collaboration with Jim Jarmusch finds the actor as an aging Don Juan looking to reunite with his long lost son. Murray's later career is categorized more by silence than the jabber mouth his early comedy showcased, and Broken Flowers showcases his late-in-life style at its pinnacle -- at least for now...

3. Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
Murray's first collaboration with Jarmusch was this gritty short film anthology. Murray, in probably his strangest role ever, stars in the title film, in which he has a conversation with GZA and RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan about the dangers of smoking and caffeine intake. Murray wittily discussing life and vices with two rappers is probably the closest America's moviegoing audience has gotten to truly knowing what the man himself is like.

4. The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
A parody of Hitchcockian "normal man in over their head" stories, but nothing like the Michael Douglas movie The Game, TMWK2L finds Murray thinking he's participating in an interactive theater performance as a hitman... When he's actually been mistaken by international spies as a notorious hitman. Murray's cluelessness in the movie harkens back to the "dumb man" sort he hasn't really played since Caddyshack and What About Bob. Also, it's easily the funniest Bill Murray performance most people have never seen.

5. Mad Dog and Glory (1993)
You wouldn't think, in a movie showcasing Bill Murray and Robert De Niro competing for Uma Thurman's affections, that Murray would be the dominant member of the trio. But as a mafia boss/aspiring stand-up comedian, Murray dominates the meek De Niro... And ends up losing Uma Thurman in the process. This marked the beginning of Murray's "funny mixed with sad" phase, and can also be read as a deconstruction of his (somewhat negative) feelings towards comedy.

Honorable Mentions:

1. Osmosis Jones (2001): As the literal vehicle for the animated white blood cells and medicine running through his body, Murray fleshes out the part of "sick guy" admirably, and makes us laugh through the pain.

2. Hamlet (2000): Poor, doomed Polonius. Murray is a the stand-out performance in a modern updating of the play starring Ethan Hawke as the titular Dane. Showy without showing off, Murray steals the show.

3. Cradle Will Rock (1999): You may have missed him in the over-packed ensemble cast of this movie, but Murray perfectly portrays ventriloquist Tommy Circkshaw in Tim Robbins period piece, once again with his now trademark mix of sadness and humor.

4. Wild Things (1998)
Murray plays a shyster lawyer working for (and against) the Wild Things of the title, and literally gets the last word in the movie. In a movie drenched in Florida sweat, Murray is the slimiest.

5. Little Shop of Horrors (1986): It's hard to steal a scene from Steve Martin, but Murray does so as the only patient able to frustrate Martin's pain-loving dentist. Not only that, but he once again manages to steal the show without singing a single note.

Rank your favorites among AMCtv.com's Top 20 Bill Murray Movies list now!

Filed under: Flashback Five, Themed Movie Lists

Comments

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You forgot the Razor's Edge...his first real 'serious' role, and one of my favorite obscure movie references.

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Oh, good call... Razor's Edge is excellent. We'll include that on "five more Bill Murray movies you haven't seen."

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Another anticipated film for this year is The Goods movie. The Goods movie is a film about a car dealership that's been hit hard by the recession, and the star of the film, Jeremy Piven, has to figure out how to make the Fourth of July sale a smashing success and make some fast cash. The film will also feature Will Ferrell. Ferrell has had a riotously successful film career thus far, although his most recent film, Land of the Lost, hasn't exactly been blowing up the box office. If the previous films in his catalog are any indicators, the producers of The Goods movie won't need debt consolidation from making the film.

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Broken Flowers was one of the most tedious movies I've ever seen and he only does a cameo in Coffee and Cigarettes.

The best Bill Murray forgotten film has got to be "The Razor's Edge" which starts off with Bill Murray as a frivilous playboy in the roaring teens and then he has huge wake-up call after working as an ambulance driver in WWI. He then spend years seeking enlightenment while working menial jobs, ultimately getting back in contact with his closest friends.

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@sosuapete: So are you saying a cameo doesn't count as a role? I'm not trying to start an argument here, I just think you can't discount a cameo as a "best role," it's often the highlight of a movie.

Think of Bronson Pinchot in Beverly Hills Cop, who showed up for just a few minutes, and became a superstar overnight.

Or, a weird one, in the monumentally unfunny Euro Trip, Matt Damon kills in a cameo role.

Anyway, you're totally right about Razor's Edge though, that'll be on the next Bill Murray list :)

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It really wasn't a good movie, but I liked Murray in "Quick Change", as the 'laughing on the inside' kind of clown.

I also really enjoyed Murray in the Hunter S. Thompson pic "Where the Buffalo Roam".

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@captplothole: Those are good ones, too... It's surprising that Murray has such a prolific body of work, yet people just don't know the majority of the movies he's been in.

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I was suprised to realizes that some movies have never been on Tv in Germany. Wonder why this is DS Downloads

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We're forgetting Murray's towering triumvirate of masterpieces: Garfield, Ghostbusters 2 and Larger Than Life.
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I loved Bill in Ghostbusters!
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My favourite film was Ghostbusters
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The show casting is inspiring.The Goods Movie was a hit back then when the actors are working full time with the best directors on showcast. Brilliant,performance that are way to go. Smashing success to the world of films,Bill Murray is famous of his splashing hit and his comedian character.Keep it up!

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My favourite film was Ghostbusters, Thanks for sharing it.

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Honestly - looking back at the Matrix and comparing it with modern day CGIs found in movies like 300 and the new Star Trek - I'm amazed how fast CGI has improved. The Matrix was great for it's time - but wow... how fast things have improved.

Then again - technology always improves fast. Even MMORPG Games are getting better incredibly fast.

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Ya know, I've seen most of these. Cradle Will Rock looks like it would be really good! (haven't seen that one) picture to painting

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I like Bill Murray and his work. In my view Coffee and Cigarettes is one of his best movies, I watched it five times. Thanks for sharing the list.

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These movies are really worth to watch! A lot of people really enjoyed watching them. drain smell

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The show casting is inspiring.The Goods Movie was a hit back then when the actors are working full time with the best directors on showcast. Brilliant,performance that are way to go. Smashing success to the world of films,Bill Murray is famous of his splashing hit and his comedian character.Keep it up!
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I like Bill Murray and his work. In my view Coffee and Cigarettes is one of his best movies, I watched it five times. Thanks for sharing the list.

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It really wasn't a good movie, but I liked Murray in "Quick Change", as the 'laughing on the inside' kind of clown. I also really enjoyed Murray in the Hunter S. Thompson pic "Where the Buffalo Roam".
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Little Shop of Horrors, my favorite.i ll twit this to my all friends to know more about this blog
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Coffee and Cigarettes was a great movie, it did really show Murrary in a unique light, I also like little shop of horrors alot too. Thanks for sharing.
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