I love Crimson Tide and want to see more movies that pit two great actors who are constantly at each others throats for the duration of the movie. Heat comes to mind, but the two actors are hardly ever in any close proximity in that movie. Any other recommendations like Crimson Tide?
share...of good movies revolving around the premise of two talented actors facing/squaring off. Whether they're engaging one another in a psychological duel, physical chase, verbal confrontations, or series of "one-upsmanship", a resolution can only be achieved once the adversary is overcome, or their rivalry leads to a tenuous bond of sorts.
The list can literally be endless, but I'm going to attempt to tighten the parameters and adhere to the centralized concept. Elude and capture, checkmate, cat-and-mouse, showdown, here we go (in chronological order):
The very good to great:
Joel McCrea vs. Leslie Banks in The Most Dangerous Game
Bela Lugosi vs. Boris Karloff in The Black Cat
Clark Gable vs. Charles Laughton in Mutiny on the Bounty
Fredric March vs. Charles Laughton in Les Mis�rables
Edward G. Robinson vs. Orson Welles in The Stranger
Humphrey Bogart vs. Edward G. Robinson in Key Largo
Robert Ryan vs. Van Heflin in Act of Violence
Farley Granger vs. Robert Walker in Strangers on a Train
Alec Guiness vs. Jack Hawkins in The Prisoner
Van Heflin vs. Glenn Ford in 3:10 to Yuma
Robert Mitchum vs. Curt Jurgens in The Enemy Below
Alec Guinness vs. John Mills in Tunes of Glory
Spencer Tracy vs. Fredric March in Inherit the Wind
Bette Davis vs. Joan Crawford in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
Gregory Peck vs. Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear
Richard Burton vs. Peter O'Toole in Becket
Darren McGavin vs. Mako in The Challenge
Dennis Weaver vs. Larry Cofton in Duel
Michael Caine vs. Laurence Olivier in Sleuth
Lee Marvin vs. Gene Hackman in Prime Cut
Lee Marvin vs. Ernest Borgnine in Emperor of the North
Walter Matthau vs. Robert Shaw in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Keith Carradine vs. Harvey Keitel in The Duellists
Ryan O�Neal vs. Bruce Dern in The Driver
Elliot Gould vs. Christopher Plummer in The Silent Partner
Malcolm McDowell vs. David Warner in Time After Time
Sylvester Stallone vs. Rutger Hauer in Nighthawks
Lee Marvin vs. Charles Bronson in Death Hunt
Cotter Smith vs. Robert Blake in Blood Feud
William Petersen vs. Willem Dafoe in To Live and Die in L.A.
Mickey Rourke vs. John Lone in Year of the Dragon
C. Thomas Howell vs. Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher
Keanu Reeves vs. Patrick Swayze in Point Break
Clint Eastwood vs. John Malkovich in In the Line of Fire
Harrison Ford vs. Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive
Sylvester Stallone vs. Wesley Snipes in Demolition Man
Sylvester Stallone vs. Antonio Banderas in Assassins
Meryl Streep vs. Kevin Bacon in The River Wild
Gard B. Eidsvold vs. Stellan Skarsg�rd in Zero Kelvin
Eric Roberts vs. Lance Henriksen in The Nature of the Beast
Denzel Washington vs. Gene Hackman in Crimson Tide
Al Pacino vs. Robert De Niro in Heat
John Travolta vs. Nicolas Cage in Face/Off
Samuel L. Jackson vs. Kevin Spacey in The Negotiator
Ching Wan Lau vs. Andy Lau in Running Out of Time
Jeff Bridges vs. Tim Robbins in Arlington Road
Jude Law vs. Ed Harris in Enemy at the Gates
Andy Lau vs. Tony Leung in Infernal Affairs
Colin Farrell vs. Kiefer Sutherland in Phone Booth
Liam Neeson vs. Pierce Brosnan in Seraphim Falls
Christian Bale vs. Hugh Jackman in The Prestige
Leonardo DiCaprio vs. Matt Damon in The Departed
Ryan Gosling vs. Anthony Hopkins in Fracture
Russell Crowe vs. Denzel Washington in American Gangster
Donnie Wahlberg vs. John Leguizamo in The Kill Point (it was a t.v. miniseries, but I'd still count it)
Philip Seymour Hoffman vs. Meryl Streep in Doubt
Michael Sheen vs. Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon
Liam Neeson vs. James Nesbitt in Five Minutes of Heaven
Tommy Lee Jones vs. Samuel L. Jackson in The Sunset Limited
Chris Hemsworth vs. Daniel Bruhl in Rush
The ok:
Charlton Heston vs. Jack Palance in Arrowhead
Andy Garcia vs. Richard Gere in Internal Affairs
Tommy Lee Jones vs. Benecio Del Toro in The Hunted
Possibly:
Patrick Stewart vs. Ian McKellan in X-Men
Not seen:
Christopher Plummer vs. Robert Shaw in Royal Hunt of the Sun
Robert De Niro vs. John Travolta in Killing Season
"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino
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Nicolas Cage vs John Malkovich - Con Air (same producers)\
Nicolas Cage vs John Travolta - Face Off
Jesse Ventura vs. Sven-Ole Thorsen in Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe.
Robert Ginty vs. Mario Van Peebles in Exterminator 2.
Christopher Lambert vs. Ice-T in Mean Guns.
Jennifer Aniston vs. Warwick Davis in The Leprechaun.
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Dustin Hoffman vs. Gene Hackman in Runaway Jury
shareA Few Good Men doesn't count. While the film is most famous for the exchange between Cruise and Nicholson (including the iconic one-liner), that is only the last 15 minutes of the film. And before that, Nicholson only appeared for about 8 minutes. Their rivalry is virtually nonexistent for the bulk of the film.
But I'll also add:
Ethan Hawke vs. Denzel Washington in Training Day
Jamie Foxx vs. Tom Cruise in Collateral
Christian Bale vs. Russell Crowe in the remake of 3:10 to Yuma
Joel Edgerton vs. Tom Hardy in Warrior
How do you like that piece of satire?