Sean Penn
Director, Actor
- Taps (1981)
- Dir. Harold Becker
Feat. Sean Penn, Timothy Hutton, George C. Scott…
- A surprise box–office smash about a group of cadets who take over their military college, which is on the brink of being closed down. Inspired…
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
- Dir. Amy Heckerling
Feat. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Penn, Judge Reinhold…
- This early–80s teen pic survives a lot better than most, finding surprisingly subtle shades of the adolescent experience amid some frank…
- Racing with the Moon (1984)
- Dir. Richard Benjamin
Feat. Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, Nicolas Cage…
- A well–observed and resonant drama, about the last few days of boyhood for a couple of inductees into the US Marines in 1942. The cast all…
- Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
- Dir. John Schlesinger
Feat. Sean Penn, Timothy Hutton
- A composed intellectual convinces his wayward friend to sell federal secrets to the Russians. Stunning political drama featuring a stand–out…
- At Close Range (1985)
- Dir. James Foley
Feat. Sean Penn, Christopher Walken
- Sean Penn plays a wayward youth who reunites with his gangland father (Christopher Walken) with violent consequences. Sordid yet solid drama.
- Shanghai Surprise (1986)
- Dir. Jim Goddard
Feat. Sean Penn, Madonna, Paul Freeman…
- Universally panned adventure flick stars Madonna as a missionary (!) on the hunt for medicinal opium (!) and then–husband Penn plays the…
- Colors (1988)
- Dir. Dennis Hopper
Feat. Sean Penn, Robert Duvall
- A grim portrait of law enforcement. Mismatched police partners are assigned to the rife gang–related problems in South–Central L.A.
- Judgement in Berlin (1988)
- Dir. Leo Penn
Feat. Martin Sheen, Sean Penn, Sam Wanamaker…
- Stolid courtroom drama about the trial of an man who hijacked an airplane in order to flee East Germany for the West, Martin Sheen plays the American…
- Casualties of War (1989)
- Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox, John Leguizamo…
- A squad of soldiers become caught in the moral dilemma of wartime Vietnam. Platoon leader Sean Penn goes beyond the call of duty while Michael J.…
- We're No Angels (1989)
- Dir. Neil Jordan
Feat. Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, Demi Moore…
- Robert De Niro and Sean Penn team up as a couple of escaped convicts who cross the border in clergical attire.
- State of Grace (1990)
- Dir. Phil Joanou
Feat. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris
- Penn returns to his Irish mob roots in New York's Hell's Kitchen to find tenuous–at–best relations with the neighbouring Mafia. Oldman…
- Indian Runner, The (1991)
- Dir. Sean Penn
Feat. David Morse, Viggo Mortensen, Dennis Hopper…
- Sean Penn's interesting directing debut is a sly throwback to '70s road movies, even using a Springsteen ditty as the basis for its plot.
- Carlito's Way (1993)
- Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Viggo Mortensen
- De Palma contains his usual showy excess and proves he can be a consummate storyteller with this captivating, multi–layered crime yarn.
Al…
- Crossing Guard, The (1995)
- Dir. Sean Penn
Feat. Jack Nicholson, David Morse, Anjelica Huston
- As writer/director, Sean Penn admirably mines similar ambiguous terrain of his acting turn in DEAD MAN WALKING. A compassionate interrogation of…
- Dead Man Walking (1996)
- Dir. Tim Robbins
Feat. Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon
- In a feat of rare ambition and integrity, actor Tim Robbins proves supremely adept behind the camera with this even–handed presentation of the…
- Hugo Pool (1996)
- Dir. Robert Downey Snr.
Feat. Alyssa Milano, Malcolm McDowell, Robert Downey Jnr.…
- Comedy of quirks with Alyssa Milano, here still battling TV child–stardom, playing a hapless pool–cleaner who maintains the backyard…
- Game, The (1997)
- Dir. David Fincher
Feat. Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger…
- Tycoon–loner–who–has–everything Michael Douglas receives a birthday present with a difference – an elaborate 'game'…
- U-Turn (1997)
- Dir. Oliver Stone
Feat. Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte…
- The Drifter, Sean Penn, swerves into a small desert town for a round of duelling tangos with Femme Jennifer Lopez and local Kingpin Nick Nolte, while…
- She's So Lovely (1997)
- Dir. Nick Cassavetes
Feat. Robin Wright, Sean Penn, John Travolta
- As a low–life couple whose romantic intensity borders on madness, married double–act Robin Wright and Sean Penn off–handedly…
- Thin Red Line, The (1998)
- Dir. Terrence Malick
Feat. Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, Elias Koteas…
- A studiously arthouse rendition of WWII, isolating a crucial battle of the Pacific campaign (Guadacanal) as a minutely observed microcosm of humanity…
- Hurlyburly (1998)
- Dir. Anthony Drazan
Feat. Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri…
- Demoralising 'character study' of four middle–aged film industry parasites who hang out and pontificate the meaning of their pathetic lives…
- Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
- Dir. Woody Allen
Feat. Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Uma Thurman…
- Possibly Woody Allen's most critically appreciated film since BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, this mock–u–drama concerns the life, loves and music…
- Up at the Villa (1999)
- Dir. Philip Haas
Feat. Sean Penn, Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne Bancroft
- Adrift in pre–fascist 1930s Italy, widowed Englishwoman Kirsten Scott Thomas lives on the generosity of her well–heeled peers before…
- Pledge, The (2000)
- Dir. Sean Penn
Feat. Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright, Helen Mirren…
- Sean Penn as director's pledge to the stuff of raw drama pays off with a thriller/parable centred round a powerhouse turn from Jack Nicholson.
As…
- Before Night Falls (2000)
- Dir. Julian Schnabel
Feat. Javier Bardem, Sean Penn, Johnny Depp
- The life and times of Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas (Javier Bardem) told as a florid visual collage – dream, memory and history merging on the…
- Weight of Water, The (2000)
- Dir. Kathryn Bigelow
Feat. Elizabeth Hurley, Catherine McCormack, Sean Penn…
- Time–twist thriller, that intercuts a gothic murder–mystery of the late 19th century with present–day marital intrigue.
Set on…
- I Am Sam (2002)
- Dir. Jesse Nelson
Feat. Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianne Wiest…
- High–calibre acting from Sean Penn, as a retarded man fighting to retain custody of his 8–year old daughter, distinguishes this intense…
- 11'09'01 (September 11) (2002)
- Dir. Ken Loach, Claude Lelouch, Sean Penn
Feat. Ernest Borgnine
- A consistently intriguing omnibus of 11 short films made by various top directors about the catastrophic events of September 11, 2001 in New York –…
- Mystic River (2003)
- Dir. Clint Eastwood
Feat. Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon…
- Dignified crime thriller shot in unfussy style by old pro Clint Eastwood, this is less thrilling than a reliable entertainment, with the emotional…
- 21 Grams (2003)
- Dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Feat. Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro…
- For his English–language debut, the celebrated Mexican director of AMORES PERROS weighs in with an unconventional, soul–baring drama that…