10 Greatest Albert Finney Movies Rated From Best To Worst

Quick Facts

Albert Finney was a vibrant and talented veteran English actor who made appearances in several films, television shows, and theatre productions. He is known to have attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he bagged a degree and became active in the movie industry from 1956 to 2012. The actor also received numerous awards and nominations, including BAFTA Awards, Emmy Awards, Golden Globe, amongst others. For his long stay in the film industry, one can’t help but admit that Albert Finney’s movies have often been listed among the best in the Hollywood film industry.

Unfortunately, Finney was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2011 and later died on the 7th of February 2019, in London, England, from a chest infection. However, his impact as an actor still lives on and in this article, we bring you the greatest movies of this iconic actor ranked from best to worst. Read on to know the best of Albert Finney’s movies during his career days.

10 Greatest Albert Finney Movies Ranked From Best To Worst

1. The Dresser (1983)

This is a British drama released on the 6th of December, 1983. The storyline follows the lives of a famous Shakespearean actor known as Sir portrayed by Albert Finney and his long-time serving dresser, Norman – who remained loyal and supportive till his master’s death. This drama is ranked as one of the best movies of veteran actor Albert Finney. It got a 100% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes site, as well as a huge acceptance worldwide from audiences, as well as lots of positive reviews from critics. At the box office, The Dresser recorded a turnover of about $5.6 million on a budget of £1.5 million which is about $1.9 million. It also received numerous award nominations, including the BAFTA, Academy Awards, and Golden Globe Awards. Albert Finney’s outstanding performance also earned him several nominations from these film associations.

2. Skyfall (2012)

This outstanding Albert Finney movie is a spy action film that was released in 2012 and it revolves around a series of events involving undercover agents. Skyfall was directed by Sam Mendes, produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli while Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan co-wrote the film. This action film was well received by audiences as it recorded an impressive rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. It also received lots of positive reviews from critics and grossed over $1 billion on a budget of $200 million. More so, Skyfall received several awards, including Academy Awards, British Academy Film Awards, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Grammy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, amongst others.

3. Traffic (2000)

Traffic is an American crime action drama that centers on the American government’s war on drugs and it is an adaptation of Simon Moore’s TV series, Traffik. The movie was directed by Steven Soderbergh and released on 6th December 2000. It received an impressive rating from audiences and got a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also praised by both viewers and film critics for the performance of the cast. At the box office, Traffic was a huge success, grossing a total of $207.5 million against a budget of $46 million. With such impressive ratings, it was not a surprise that this movie won several awards, including the Oscar Awards for Best Director, Best Film Editing, and others.

4. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

This British film tells the story of an alcoholic young man named Arthur – portrayed by Albert Finney. He was having a secret affair with a married woman, alongside nurturing a love interest for Doreen. His affairs played out to be quite fun initially but he is soon tangled in his own web. The drama was released in 1960 in the United Kingdom. It was directed by Karel Reisz, written by Alan Sillitoe and produced by Tony Richardson and Harry Saltzman. Upon its release, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning ranked amongst the greatest British movies of all time. It was rated 92% on the Tomatometer and recorded lots of positive reviews. This hereby gives Saturday Night, Sunday Morning a high rank among the best of Albert Finney’s movies.

5. The Playboys (1992)

This 1992 movie was directed by Gillies Mackinnon, produced by Williams P. Cartlidge, and written by Shane Connaughton and Kerry Crabbe. It was first released in the U.S. on the 22nd of April, 1992 and then in the U.K on the 29th of May, 1992. The Irish film depicts the struggles of an unmarried young woman who’s expecting a child and the transformation that follows after seeing her love interest. Albert Finney portrayed the character of an ageing bachelor named Sergeant Hegarty, who was initially arranged for an unwed young mother.

The Traffic was well accepted by audiences and it received lots of positive reviews even from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 92% and at the box office, it recorded a turnover of about $4.9 million.

Every successful actor or actress definitely has some movies that are far from being considered good. This is mainly based on some criteria outlined by critics which usually include low ratings, box office failure, poor and negative reviews and so on. Veteran actor Alber Finney has definitely starred in movies that fall under the various categories mentioned above. Here are some of Albert Finney’s movies that failed to impress audiences and critics.

6. Simpatico (1999)

This neo-noir film which ranks amongst Finney’s worst movies is based on Sam Shepherd’s play of the same name. Simpatico was directed by Mattew Warchus and it was first released on the 15th of September, 1999, in Toronto and later on January 28th, 2000, it was released worldwide. The storyline follows the lives of three friends whose dirty past came back to haunt their present lives. The movie was not well-accepted by audiences and got lots of negative reviews from both viewers and critics. It received a poor rating of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes and at the box office, it was a disaster, making a turnover of $929,626 against a budget of $10 million.

7. A Good Year (2006)

A Good Year was directed and produced by Ridley Scott, and it’s based on Peter Mayle’s novel of the same name. The American-British romantic comedy film features Albert Finney as Uncle Henry. The storyline of the movie follows Uncle Henry’s nephew, Max Skinner and his supposed illegitimate daughter, Christie Roberts laying claims on his property when he died. However, contrary to its name A Good Year wasn’t a good year for its cast and crew members in terms of general reception. Although it made a reasonable profit at the box office, grossing $42.1 million on its $35 million budget, its reviews from both viewers and critics were negative. It even recorded as low as 25% on the Tomatometer and won EDA Special Mention Award under the category of Hall of Shame.

8. Lookers (1981)

This is an American science-fiction action film that was directed and written by Michael Crichton and produced by Howard Jeffery. It was released in the United States in 1981 and depicts Albert Finney as a plastic surgeon for celebrities. When his patients started to die mysteriously, he has to do all he could to find out why. However, this movie recorded unimpressive reviews and on the Tomatometer, it only scored 28%. It was also a flop at the box office and far from being among the best of Albert Finney’s movies in his filmography.

9. The Run of the Country

The Run of the Country is an American movie that was released on the 22nd of September, 1995. It was adapted from Shane Connaughton’s novel of the same name. The English filmmaker Peter James Yates directed the movie, as well as co-produced it with Ruth Boswell. The Run of the Country tells the story of a struggling relationship between a policeman – played by Albert Finney and his recalcitrant son. Their relationship got worse after his son fell in love with a girl who was the wrong choice according to his dad’s perspectives. This movie is seen as one of Finney’s worst movies because it got a poor reception and this is evident on its poor rating on the Rotten Tomatoes site. It also had very unimpressive reviews from viewers and critics and at the box office, it was a flop.

10. Breakfast for Champions

Ranking high as one of the worst movies Albert Finney ever starred in is the American satirical comedy, Breakfast for Champions released on the 17th of September 1999. The movie’s director was Alan Rudolph while David Blocker and David Willis served as co-producers. The storyline of the movie follows the life of Kilgore Trout- played by Albert Finney who happens to be an unpopular writer travelling to give a speech at an Arts Festival held in Midland City. It also shows a sales personnel, Dwayne Hoover who has been having a serious identity crisis and in the quest to end his dilemma, decided to go to the Art Festival. However, this film which was intended to make audiences laugh failed to achieve its aim. Critics were also not impressed with the performance of the cast members and it ended up with a 26% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes site, as well as making only $180,000 against a massive budget of $12 million.

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