For years Stephen Lang was one of those actors where you recognized the face, remembered the face, but didn’t have the name to connect to the face. Then, in 2009, Avatar gave his career a major resurgence. And, because his Col. Miles Quaritch has been a recurring presence in the franchise (but whether he will be in the future, only time will tell), it’s a career resurgence, even peak, that’s proved to be a gift that keeps on giving. But are Lang’s best movies solely within the post-Avatar period of his career, or were there gems before that? As it turns out, a little column A and a little column B.
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From a classic Western to an intense gangster film, here are the most important and highest quality movies in Stephen Lang’s career. Expect Avatar, but don’t assume it will automatically be in the top spot.
7) Gettysburg
You think Avatar: Fire and Ash is long? Gettsyburg was released in theaters at 254 minutes, making it the longest film to ever be released theatrically by a major film studio (New Line Cinema) in the United States. Even Gone with the Wind is about 15 minutes shorter.
Lang plays Major General George Pickett, one of Robert E. Lee’s (Martin Sheen) most trusted men. He leads the division that fuels the film’s third act conflict. The movie can be a bit too much for its own good, but it’s a far more palatable experience than the subsequent prequel, Gods and Generals, which also starred Lang but wasn’t nearly as well structured.
6) Public Enemies
Johnny Depp’s career may have been on the rocks for the past few years, but in 2009 things couldn’t be any better. And, just as the previous Donnie Brasco and the subsequent Black Mass proved, he was seldom better than he was in a gangster film.
In this John Dillinger biopic, Lang portrays FBI Agent Charles Winstead, the second in command to Christian Bale’s Melvin Purvis. It’s not the meatiest role in the world, but the actor does a great job of showing his character’s conviction that one of the most dangerous people walking the streets needs to go down.
Stream Public Enemies on Starz.
5) Sisu: Road to Revenge
If Avatar did anything for Lang’s career, it was undoubtedly making him one of the most sought-after villain actors out there. And that tendency continues to this day.
For instance, as Yeagor Draganov in Sisu: Road to Revenge, an excellent sequel to one of the best man-on-a-mission movies in a long while. This is still Jorma Tommila’s show, but Lang does a great job of playing his evil counterpart.
4) The Avatar Franchise
Quality wise, the Avatar films should rank below Sisu and Public Enemies. But they were very important to the film industry, advancing special effects capabilities considerably. And, of course, they gave Lang arguably more exposure than all of his previous films combined.
And the fame the role of Col. Miles Quaritch has brought Lang is well-deserved. He isn’t given much to chew on in the first film but just look at his interactions with Spider in the sequels to see just how much range Lang has. He’s great as a villain, but he can also sell tenderness just as well as intimidation.
Stream Avatar on Disney+.
3) Don’t Breathe
Don’t Breathe is like The People Under the Stairs if all of the outlandishness and most of the commentary was removed. And the result is one seriously intense affair as well as the best thing to come from Lang’s bolstered post-Avatar fame.
There’s an argument to be made that the actor’s work in Fede Álvarez’s chiller is the best of his career. He plays a contemptable individual but, for much of the runtime, that’s not what he’s selling. He’s selling a man who is visually impaired and just fighting back against those who have trespassed onto the only property he has. We feel for him…until we don’t.
Stream Don’t Breathe on Hulu.
2) Manhunter
First off, Lang is not in much of Manhunter. However, within his limited screentime there is the best scene of his entire career.
Basically, if you’ve seen Red Dragon, Lang plays the Philip Seymour Hoffman role, arrogant tabloid journalist Feddy Lounds. Unfortunately for Lounds, his ambition costs him his life when he’s kidnapped by serial killer Francis Dolarhyde who repeatedly asks him, “Do you see?” as he shows off the horrendous things he’s done to his victims.
Stream Manhunter for free on Kanopy.
1) Tombstone
Tombstone is another instance of Lang getting a relatively small roll amongst an ensemble cast but stealing his scenes. And just like in Manhunter, his role is critical to the continued movement of the plot.
Lang’s Ike Clanton continuously bumps up against Wyatt Earp and his pals, always threatening them but never following through. He’s the one that Earp sends back to gang leader “Curly Bill” Brocius, saying that the cowboys’ time is coming to an end. Tombstone is an iconic classic, and the best movie Lang has ever been in. It is the definitive rewatchable Western.
Stream Tombstone on fuboTV.
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