Top 5 Wes Anderson Films

By Austin Johnson

Real quick, before we get started, I just wanna say something... These Top 5’s are a combination of what I like and what I think is the best product. It’s a gut feeling kind of experiment, ya know? I think there are so many different answers you can have for each director, because it’s all subjective, and that’s what makes it fun. I always want people to feel challenged to make their own Top 5, using their own criteria. Anyways, I feel like Wes Anderson’s films are all my friends. I was raised in Texas, so I have always felt a connection to the Texas born writer/director who has done both for all 9 of his films. His first film, Bottle Rocket, is co- written by Owen Wilson, who he attended school with at the University of Texas in Austin. His second film, Rushmore, is loosely based on the private school he attended in Houston while growing up. He has since emerged into a well-rounded storyteller, with a unique style and ease about his filmmaking. You can expect a lot of consistency in actors, slow motion shots, symmetrical sets, bright colors, cigarette smoking, and killer soundtracks when you watch a Wes Anderson film unfold. Anderson has been nominated by the Academy seven times for his efforts, and has only broken the 100 million dollar mark at the box office one time with The Grand Budapest Hotel. He is truly a fan favorite that has always come up just shy of being regarded as highly as the greats of the filmmaking craft. I believe Wes has something up his sleeve that will change that in the future.

5.) The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

"Keep your hands off my lobby boy!"

This is Anderson’s greatest hit, if you will. It racked up 4 Oscar wins on 9 nominations, and like I mentioned earlier, it’s his greatest financial achievement. The cast is packed with an abundance of actors we all love, but it truly is the M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) show. I find the humor to be highly rewatchable as we are checked into this hotel the whole way through. Wes proves that repetition is valuable as this is a precise and well put together film, the one that will most likely go down as his most successful piece of work ever.

4.) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

“Anybody interested in grabbing a couple
of burgers and hittin' the cemetery?”

Narrated by Alec Baldwin, The Royal Tenenbaums depicts family and deception in a hilariously dark way. Film fans were forced to pay attention to this early Anderson project as it contained a well-respected cast consisting of Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Danny Glover, Gwyneth Paltrow, and then Anderson go-to actors, Bill Murray, Luke Wilson, and co-writer, Owen Wilson. Love is a reoccurring theme in all of Anderson’s films, and the love story within this one is my favorite so far. Richie (Luke Wilson) and Margot (Paltrow) are an unforgettable pair, with Chas (Stiller) rounding out the Tenenbaum siblings. If someone asks me what Anderson film to watch first, I usually recommend this one. It’s got very familiar faces, and it’s not too hard to keep up with. If you don’t like it, then Wes’s shit just probably isn’t for you.

3.) Rushmore (1998)

“I don't give a shit about the barracudas,
fuck it! I'm building it anyway.”

Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) is a student and personal hero of mine at Rushmore, a private school, known to be inspired by the school that Wes went to as a teenager. He dominates all extracurricular activities, including some very ambitious plays. I went to a couple small private schools like Rushmore, but there was no Max Fischer, man. Damn it, I wish there would have been though. At these private schools, the elementary building isn’t far from the middle and high school buildings. Max meets Miss Cross (Olivia Williams), an elementary teacher, Miss Cross meets Herman Blume (Bill Murray), a wealthy industrialist, and the love triangle ensues. During this chaos, we have the privilege of seeing Bill Murray jump into a pool while smoking a cigarette, holding a glass of liquor, and rocking a pair of Budweiser swim trunks. That should be plenty for anyone to be interested in Anderson’s 2nd film.

2.) The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

“I wonder if the three of us would've been friends
in real life. Not as brothers, but as people.”

Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody), and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) are my favorite trio of brothers to ever show up in a film. I have brothers that I’m very close to, and the inevitability of seeing each other less and less as life goes on is something that will always be shown in films. Wes portrayed those realizations in great fashion with The Darjeeling Limited. Family is seen as the most important thing to so many people, even if you don’t see them that often. In Darjeeling, the 3 brothers reunite after not seeing each other for a year to endure a drug filled trip on a train through India. The trip is one for them to bond on, but they are all tested in some monumental ways, challenging their ability to work together as a family.

1.) Bottle Rocket (1996)

“They’ll never catch me... Because I’m fucking innocent.”

Wes Anderson’s first film, Bottle Rocket comes in at number one. This is one of the few films in existence that I can throw on at any given moment, and it’s going to bring me pure joy. The soundtrack is one that started a great trend for many to follow. The characters are wacky and completely wrapped up in their own world, just like us Anderson fans like it. Dignan (Owen Wilson) is 100% my favorite character to appear in any of his films, with Anthony (Luke Wilson) and Bob (Robert Musgrave) supporting him perfectly. James Caan added another fucking classic Wes character as he crushed the role of Mr. Henry. This is where we are introduced to some Wes trademarks, like a conversation starting in one frame, and then continuing exactly where it was in the next frame. The charm in knowing that this is Anderson’s first project makes it so much fun to watch now. You can clearly see that he had prodigious ways in making films, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for the legendary auteur.