WhenJonathan Demmepassed away on June 29, 2025, after a battle with esophageal cancer and heart disease, the world lost a true original. Demme, like many other directors of his generation, started out working withRoger Cormanon a number of low-budget exploitation movies. But even those early movies were infused with Demme’s characteristic energy, enthusiasm and keenly observedhumanity. They would be traits that defined his career, even as he moved through more modestly budgeted movies to commercial juggernauts and critical darlings. It’s hard to equate him to another filmmaker (American or otherwise), even now.
Demme was a restless tour-de-force – always creating, inventing, pushing himself further into uncomfortable territory or unexplored genres. His fearlessness was only matched by his creativity. And he hada lotof creativity.
But before we get started, a couple of notes.
Firstly, I am not including Demme’s considerable documentary output. This is not to diminish their power or importance, but has more to availability and a lack of time.Stop Making Senseis arguably the greatest, most artistically accomplished concert film of all time, one that continues to delight and inspire even to this day. And the filmmaker’s gorgeous, black-and-white Netflix filmJustin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kidsis not only brilliant, but also stands tall as Demme’s final film. He made an entire trilogy ofNeil Youngfilms, chronicledJimmy Carterand made a movie about his cousin that was admitted into Cannes. (I am also including his filmed version ofSwimming to Cambodiain this category, since it is based on a nonfiction monologue.)
Also, it’s worth noting how difficult it is to find some of these movies, despite Demme being a certifiable American auteur. In putting this piece together, I had to grab Blu-ray discs from a number of specialty labels, including Kino Lorber Classics and Criterion, with one of his most important films,Melvin and Howard, only available in an out-of-print Blu-ray from the now-defunct Twilight Time. (I got it – on sale! – just before they went under.) Few are available on streaming platforms and many of them aren’t even available to purchase digitally. It’s insane and outrageous. Who will step up and restore the near-mythical director’s cut ofSwing Shift? #ReleaseTheDemmeCut anyone?
17. The Truth About Charlie (2002)
Here’s the thing: moment by moment,The Truth About Charlieis just as enjoyable as anything else that Demme has done – it’s full of zippy camerawork that combines the stately austerity of something likeThe Silence of the Lambswith the looser, more handheld mode ofRachel Getting Married. AndThandie Newton, as the latest Demme’s latest frazzled, impossibly gorgeous heroine is an absolute delight. But just as much of it doesn’t work – the story (an adaptation ofCharade) is a jumble,Mark Wahlbergis an unconvincing leading man, and Demme’s pointed references to avant-garde cinema, whether it’s the appearance ofCharles AznavourfromFrancois Truffaut’sShoot the Piano Player(singing a song from the movie) or a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo fromAgnes Vardaas a flea market business owner, feel unnecessary and ostentatious – a rare instance of intellectual grandstanding. (Also there’s an incredibly cringe-worthySilence of the Lambsreference during the end credits.) But the biggest, most crippling problem withThe Truth About Charlie, is that it’s a movie set in Europe, ensconced in velvety European culture, made by a filmmaker singularly obsessed with Americana. It just doesn’t work. As far as the canon goes, it is notable for being the first film sinceFighting Madthat Demme had a hand in writing and being one of the few movies Demme shot (in a combination of 35 mm and prototypical digital techniques) in glorious anamorphic widescreen. It’s gorgeous but empty and was a rare critical and commercial misfire for the director.
16. Swing Shift (1984)
Swing Shiftis the only film of Demme’s to be taken away from him by the studio and the film’s A-list starGoldie Hawn. Hawn reportedly thoughtChristine Lahtiwas stealing the movie (Lahti still secured a deserved Oscar nomination) but Hawn told Vanity Fair that executives were nervous about the movie and forced her and her producing partner to try and cobble together a serviceable cut. New pages of the screenplay (written byRobert Towne) were ordered and lengthy reshoots commenced, although it’s unclear how involved Demme actually was. (He said later that the reshoots were scheduled for the same week he was supposed to filmStop Making Sense.) A1990 Sight + Sound article detailedDemme’s original cut, described as “one of the best movies made by an American in the 80s” and a workprint circulated for years after. (I couldn’t find it – and trust me, I looked.)Swing Shift, as it stands, is perfectly charming and sweet, with Hawn playing a woman who joins the workforce when her husband (Ed Harris) leaves to fight in World War II. Demme’s first big studio movie (although he all but had his name removed), you can tell that his various undoubtedly spent more time in the margins, giving the story color and texture; the version that released is straight down the middle. You can tell what is his (big, swooping camera moves, improvisational-style conversations between characters, the momentHolly Hunterbreaks down while being told her husband has died, a magnificently staged suspense seequence) and what isn’t (nearly everything else) and you can tell, had it been properly finished, it might have been one of his best.
Corman wanted to cash in on the backwoods revenge trend of the moment, with films likeWalking Tallmaking a bundle. He turned to Demme to execute this vision for some reason. And the result is an awkward mishmash that Demme both wrote and directed, by turns fascinating and frustrating.Peter Fondaplays a man who returns to his family farm with his young son, only to find a greedy land developer, in cahoots with local government, attempting to run them off their land. Demme is clearly is more interested in the private lives of the characters, considering how long he lingers for long, philosophical conversations between Fonda and his young lover as they young in bed, with precious little in the way of suspense or action. (It’s unclear how any exploitation audience would have responded, especially compared to some of those other similar films.) There are, however, some deft action moments, including a prolonged sequence depicting the murder of Fonda’s brother (played by Demme favoriteScott Glenn) and a climactic attack sequence which sees Fonda going up against a horde of badguys using a (wait for it) bow and arrow.Fighting Madis exclusively for Demme completists, especially since the only way you can watch it is on an expensive Shout Factory DVD double feature, but those that venture into the Arkansas back country, you’ll enjoy a singularly strange experience.
14. Rachel Getting Married (2008)
This was the movie that put Demme back on the map – a miniscule independent feature crafted lovingly after working, mostly unsuccessfully, in the mainstream big budget world.Rachel Getting Marriedopened as part of the Toronto Film Festival and earnedAnne Hathawayan Oscar nomination for her role as Kym, a recovering addict with mental health issues who gets let out of rehab to attend her sister’s wedding. And her performance really is something – she’s a ball of neuroses, alternately self-centered and deflecting – but the movie that surrounds it is pretty obnoxious. And, yes, part of that is intentional. You’re supposed to roll your eyes at all of the lute-playing, socially conscious affluent white people (the movie was filmed in Connecticut, not too far from where I was living at the time), but at the same time it’sa little much. WithRachel Getting Married, Demme abandoned the stylization that defined most of his narrative work, teaming up with cinematographerDeclan Quinn, who shot his Jimmy Carter documentary, for a rougher, more verité feel. (Characters inRachel Getting Marrieddefinitely donotlook at the camera.) The intent behind the film is admirable and the energy he captures is downright incredible. He boldly showcases a collection of highly unlikable characters going through some very serious stuff. ButRachel Getting Marriedjust doesn’t resonate like some of his other films still do.
13. Caged Heat (1974)
Demme had worked on a couple of other women-in-prison movies before he directed his own, for exploitation kingpin Roger Corman (who he had met years earlier while on a press tour for one of the other women-in-prison romps).Caged Heatis extremely trashy, and you may feel as Demme strains against the requirements of the genre while actively trying to subvert and transcend the tired tropes. He’s successful, mostly. There are a number of Demme hallmarks that any other director would have skipped over entirely – a lengthy tracking shot down a hallway, as it peers into the women’s cramped cells, a self-referential talent show put on by the inmates, and an unexpected sensitivity to the prisoners’ personal lives and the subject of lesbianism (played for pathos instead of laughs) and race. Of course, he gives into the clichés of the leery prison guards (including a sexually repressed female prison worker), constant catfights (including one through a prison shower) and a copious amount of nudity. Is it high art? No. But it’s a lot of fun. And way more thoughtful than you’d expect. It also solidified the working relationship between Demme and cinematographerTak Fujimoto, who would work on almost all of Demme’s narrative films and who shotCaged Heatright after helpingTerrence MalickonBadlands. Also, Demme would cast Corman frequently in his later films.
12. A Master Builder (2013)
Demme’s films have always been exemplified by a youthful exuberance, butA Master Builder, based on theHenrik Ibsenplay (and an adaptation by co-starAndre Gregory), is consumed with death.Wallace Shawn(who also wrote the screenplay) stars as an ailing architect near the end of his life, reckoning with his choices, his work, and his extreme horniness. Demme brings the play to life with typical verve, leaning into the play’s inherent oddness (Shawn, on the Criterion bonus features, explains that you have to “jump in”) and even watching it today some of the themes are enough to make you squirm a little (it was first performed in 1892). This is definitely late-era Demme, relying on handheld digital camerawork to create a kind of intimacy between the audience and the actors, in a way that would have been impossible in the theater. (Part of the movie is even filmed in widescreen, which Demme later admitted added a certain amount of production value to a movie shot in a single Greenwich Village apartment.) It’s unclear if Demme was dealing with his own mortality while making the film, but it certainly feels, looking back on it now, as bittersweet and slightly confessional. IfA Master Builderhad been Demme’s last film, it would have packed an even more devastating wallop.
11. Last Embrace (1979)
Commonly referred to as Demme’s “Hitchcockian thriller,”Last Embraceis actually much, much more. Roy Scheider plays a spy whose nerves are frayed after a terrorist murders his wife. Returning home to an agency that doesn’t acknowledge him (Christopher Walkenappears in a truly delicious cameo as the organization’s robotic leader) and a squatter subleasing his apartment (Janet Margolin), he is adrift. But a series of bizarre murders and his own agency attempting to rub him out brings him back into the fold. What starts out initially as a standard espionage romp (with shades ofBrian De Palma’sThe Fury, released a year earlier) quickly mutates into something stranger and more satisfying, incorporating elements of the post-Watergate paranoid thriller, psychosexual suspense film, and something stranger and more mystical. Scheider is great, supplying one of his terrific, overlooked post-Jawsperformances, and Demme sprinkles the supporting cast with incredible actors likeJohn Glover,Sam Leveneand one of his favorites,Charles Napier(as the brother of Scheider’s ex-wife and another agent). SometimesLast Embracegets lost in the wildly dissonant tones conjured from the screenplay’s myriad elements, but it’s always stylish and fun, ending with a climactic chase sequence through Niagara Falls that will leave you on the edge of your seat. A forgotten gem and one very much worth seeking out.
10. Crazy Mama (1975)
The best of Demme’s Corman period,Crazy Mamais an unfettered joy.Cloris Leachmanplays a woman who owns a hair salon in 1950s California with her tough-as-nails mother (Ann Sothern) and cherubic daughter (Linda Purl). When their landlord comes after them for back rent, the trio decided to hit the road and return to their ancestral home in Arkansas (site of a bloody shootout at the beginning of the movie). This leads to a wild, off-the-wall crime spree that sometimes feels like a technically efficientJohn Watersmovie, punctuated by moments of extreme violence and some truly side-splitting gags (including a great interlude in Las Vegas). There’s an energy toCrazy Mamathat is singularly Demme, a joyous unhinged quality that goes along with his fitful worship of classic Americana (the soundtrack is surprisingly full of top 40 hits, it’s unclear how Roger Corman afforded the licenses). What makes the entire enterprise even more impressive is that Demme wasn’t initially attached to direct. The movie is a spiritual successor of sorts to Corman’sBig Bad Mamaand was originally slated to be helmed by feminist filmmakerShirley Clarke. It was proof that Demme can make any project his own, something that predates many of his later “assignment” gigs that were just as entertaining as anything he originated.
9. The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Demme reteamed with hisPhiladelphiastarDenzel Washingtonfor this excellent, oddly overlooked remake ofJohn Frankenheimer’s 1962 Cold War classicThe Manchurian Candidate. Clearly, updating the movie for modern audiences excited Demme, as it placed it right in the middle of the fraught 2004 political landscape and filled the entire movie with talking heads, soundbites, and garish graphics. (Weirdly he doesn’t ever identify what political party the main characters belong to, but we can guess by an electoral map that it’s the Democrats.) In this version of the story, a group of soldiers are abducted during Operation Desert Storm and experimented upon; several of them become dysfunctional, operating on the margins of society, while one becomes the prime candidate for the Vice President position (Liev Schreiber). Washington plays Marco, a member of the unit who is determined to get answers. Meryl Streep has a ball in theAngela Lansbury, this time modeled afterHilary Clinton, and instead of Communists, the bad guys are the shadowy Manchurian Global, a sinister corporate nation-state. While razzed at the time for not being the stone cold classic of the original, Demme’sManchurian Candidateis a sleek and entertaining thrill machine, smart and stylish and deeply scary. And Washington, as a jittery, socially awkward shut-in, is vulnerable and nervous and deeply exposed, in arguably one of his greatest performances (before he had embraced the bulletproof tough guy routine). It’s a wild ride and one that Demme embellishes with all of his artistic flourishes (lots of actors looking directly into the camera) and intellectual obsessions.
8. Ricki and the Flash (2015)
We didRicky and the Flashwrong. This brilliant comedic drama, released in the dog days of summer 2015, reunites Demme with hisManchurian Candidatecostar Meryl Streep, only this time he’s armed with a pitch-perfectDiablo Codyscript that hits all the right notes while veering into some unexpected directions. Streep is Ricki, a Whole Foods employee by day and barroom singer at night (if you’ve watched to see Streep sing “Bad Romance” in a dingy bar, this is for you). She’s called back to her ex-husband’s home after her daughter (played by real-life daughterMamie Gummer) attempts suicide. All sorts of family dirty laundry is aired and new bonds are formed. And since this is a movie by Demme and Cody, both artists who are allergic to sentimentality and oversimplification, nothing comes off as too sweet or saccharine (although you still might cry at the end). This is one of Streep’s greatest, most overlooked performances, with Cody writing her as an ugly conservative (she keeps badmouthing Obama) who still wants to embrace her inner rebelliousness all while dressing, according to Gummer, “Like a hooker onNight Court.” Streep also gets to lead a dazzling supporting cast that includesRick Springfield,Kevin Kline,Audra McDonald,Sebastian StanandBen Platt. It’s unclear whyMamma Miaand its sequel were so widely embraced whileRicki and the Flashwas almost instantly forgotten about (critics were too harsh and it didn’t make much money). This would ultimately be Demme’s last dramatic feature and would pass away less than two years after it was released. At least he went out on a high note.
