56 Oliver Stone Movies, Ranked Best to Worst

A remake of the 1932 film of the same name, Scarface narrates the story of an exiled Cuban criminal, Tony Montana, who joins Miami drug lord Frank Lopez and desire to have it all – the empire as well as latter’s trophy wife. He rises to become powerful drug lord himself. However, enemies and his own paranoia eventually lead to his downfall

Chris Taylor joins the Vietnam War as a volunteer soldier and quickly faces the horrors of war. Meanwhile tensions erupt within the Platoon when some of its members kill villagers in a raid. Sergeant Barnes is willing to do anything for victory while Sergeant Elias is more idealistic. Taylor is now caught between the war with the enemy and the one within the platoon.

An American college student receives a four year prison term for trying to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. In the jail, he has to endure inhuman torture; but refuses to join an escape attempt because he believes that four years will pass swiftly. But as he nears the end of the term, he learns that his prison term has been extended to thirty years. 

Based on the assassination of the former U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, JFK centres around a New Orleans lawyer, Jim Garrison, who sets about investigating the mystery behind the assassination while battling opposition from the government. Widely acclaimed as well as heavily criticized, this political drama stars Kevin Costner as Garrison and delves deeper into the assassination of the former president.

Journalist Richard Boyle and his friend Dr Rock go to El Salvador, during a civil war, to get the perfect war story. However, things get complicated when Boyle finds himself in the middle of a political dispute.

A chilling crime drama, Natural Born Killers, sees a young serial-killer couple, Mickey and Mallory Knox, travel through three states, murdering 52 people to become television sensations thanks to overzealous reporting by journalist, Wayne Gale. Starring Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis as the Knoxes, and Robert Downey Jr. as Gale, this movie highlights the sensationalization of mass murderers in mainstream media.

Young and ambitious Wall Street stockbroker Bud Fox idolizes successful but greedy corporate raider Gordon Gekko and trades inside information to get under his wing. Just as Fox begins to earn huge amounts of money by participating in shady deals, Gekko targets the employees' retirement fund of the airlines where Fox's father worked for 24 years.

Snake cult ruler and sorcerer Thulsa Doom destroys a tribe and then orphaned Conan is sold as a slave during childhood. Later, Conan becomes a fearless warrior and after his release, he commences on a mission to avenge his parents’ death. Accompanied by beautiful Valeria and archer Subotai, he rescues King Osric’s daughter, Princess Yasimina, and confronts the evil Thulsa Doom. 

The Joy Luck Club is a drama film which revolves around four Chinese women, who along with their mothers, try to find answers regarding their complex relationships. The film then takes us to the past, and reveals the hidden pasts of the women and how their lives were shaped by clashes of Chinese and American cultures.

Edward Snowden, an employee and sub-contractor of National Security Agency, becomes disillusioned after discovering that the government is amassing virtual data even from ordinary citizens. Feeling accountable and outraged, he quits and putting his safety at risk, exposes this highly classified information about NSA’s illegal mass surveillance to the press, which makes him one of the most wanted men in the world.

Based on the real-life case of ‘Hustler Magazine v. Falwell’, the movie finds Hustler magazine’s publisher, Harry Flynt, being dragged to the court by anti-pornography activists. After Flynt and his lawyer are shot by a zealot resulting in Flynt becoming paralyzed, he continues to fight for his rights becoming an unlikely icon for free-speech. 

Talk Radio is a drama film which tells the story of Barry Champlain, a rude radio show host, who likes to push buttons. The show has managed to earn popularity due to its controversy, and soon it seems that the show is going national. However, at the same time, Barry is receiving a significant amount of hate mail. His life takes a turn when he meets a deranged caller, who might just be his match.

The second film in Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy is based on Ron Kovic’s 1976 autobiography. Ron, a patriotic marine sergeant joins the Vietnam War. During his second tour, he is hit by a bullet and is paralysed from the waist down. He struggles with his life, now bound to a wheel chair, both emotionally and physically but eventually becomes one of the most prominent voices of anti-war movement.

Although it is a biographical film about the popular rock band The Doors, it emphasizes especially on the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison.  Its follows the band’s story from its inception in 1965, when Morrison was a student at UCLA, to his untimely death in 1971, in course of which it chronicles the band’s rise in popularity, his drug experimentation and abuse and ultimate fall. 

After Sunny falls into a coma after having a diabetic shock at a Christmas party, her husband Claus is charged with attempted murder. This is due to the fact that their relationship had become strained over time. Claus turns to law professor Alan Dershowitz for help.

After Joshua’s wife and son are killed, he wants nothing more than to avenge the killers. Eventually, he joins the French Foreign Legion and becomes a ruthless mercenary. However, when he is confronted with the atrocities of the war, he is able to find his own humanity again, and he decides to help a pregnant woman reach to safety.

This biographical drama film revolves around the story of former US President Richard Nixon starting from his days as a young boy. This film portrays Nixon as a complex, admirable and a deeply flawed person, whose misuse of powers led to his career downfall.

This dark comedy crime thriller film tells the story of a teenage girl Ramona, who goes in search of her estranged grandmother. On the way, she is offered a ride by a charming man named Bob, but soon she realizes that Bob is a notorious and sadistic serial killer.   

Year of the Dragon is a crime drama film which revolves around Captain White, who makes it his mission to bring down the Chinese organized crime in New York City. He is soon forced to confront Tai, a ruthless crime lord.

Bobby is heading to Vegas to pay off his gambling debts before the Russian mafia kills him. However, he is forced to stop in a town in Arizona, when his car breaks down. He gets caught in various problems after he meets Grace, a local resident. 

During the Vietnam War, a Vietnamese woman’s life is shattered when her village is destroyed. After she is brutalized and raped, she tries to flee for the city. She manages to survive, and her life takes a turn when she meets a US Marine named Steve, who finds himself attracted to her, and asks her to marry him.

Veteran football coach, Tony D'Amato, who took the Miami Sharks to the top, is struggling now with an aging team and is at odds with new young team owner Christina Pagniacci. Following repeated team injuries, when third-string quarterback Willie Beamen steals the show with his offensive display, D'Amato is forced to reevaluate his professional and personal decisions.

Dave is a political comedy film, which revolves around the life of Dave Kovic, a man who bears an uncanny resemblance with the President of the United States, Bill Mitchell. When Mitchell suffers a stroke, Dave is hired by the Secret Service to impersonate the President on an ongoing basis. 

Best friends Chon and Ben are running a lucrative marijuana business and are both in an open relationship with Ophelia Sage. Their lives are violently interrupted by the arrival of Mexican cartel leader, Elena Sánchez, and her enforcer, Miguel ‘Lado’ Arroyo. The three form a plan with corrupt DEA agent, Dennis Cain, to escape Elena and Arroyo’s clutches. 

W. is a biopic based on the life of Former US President George W Bush. The film revolves around the early years of George Bush, as he struggles to make his mark in the world. Deemed incapable by his father, he attempts at running an oil company, and then a baseball team, before he joins politics.  

Evita is a biographical musical drama film, which revolves around the story of Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine President Juan Perón. The film portrays her life from rags to riches. It shows how she fought poverty and slowly climbed the ladder of success, as well as helped society through her charity work. 

After being released from prison for insider trading and securities fraud Gordon Gekko, is a successful writer with his book ‘Is Greed Good?’. He tries to reconnect with his daughter Winnie using her boyfriend Jacob Moore but ends up betraying them both and stealing Winnie’s money. 

While patrolling the area, Port Authority Police Officers, John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, witness a plane flying too low. Back in the police station, they learn about the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and immediately set out to help in evacuation. In the process, they themselves are trapped under the rubble, where they wait for hours before they are rescued by US Marines. 

With the aid of a policeman in New York City, an immigrant cop tries to stop drug trafficking and other crimes committed by Chinese Triads. However, when the Triads try to bribe the policeman, things get complicated.

Last Year in Viet Nam is a 1971 short film, which shows the life of a Vietnam veteran who tries to adjust to a life in New York, after fighting in the Vietnam War. He tries to deal with his memories of the war, while he is also uncertain what he wants to do in life.    

The Hand is a psychological horror film which tells the story of Jon, a cartoonist, who loses his hand in a fateful car accident. Strangely, the hand is not found at the scene of the accident. Things take a dark turn when the hand seems to develop a mind of its own, and it begins to follow Jon around. It also starts murdering anyone who angers him.

The movie follows Alexander the Great from his childhood and continues till his adventurous life comes to end with his death at the age of thirty two. When he becomes the King of Macedonia, he starts off an expedition to conquer the world – Persia, Egypt, Afghanistan and India. His relationships with his parents Philips and Olympias; friend Hephaistion and wife Roxana are also explored.

Blue Steel is a crime thriller drama film which tells the story of Megan Turner, who is a new recruit in the police force. However, she must engage in a cat-and-mouse game, with a psychopath who seems obsessed with her.

This dark comedy film revolves around the adventures of an overweight and politically incorrect Spanish detective named Jose Luis Torrente, who is hired to work as a bodyguard for an upcoming politician.  

Edmund Blackstone, a horror story writer, suffers from recurring nightmares where three bizarre figures come to terrorize him and his family. When he begins writing, the dream starts to become a reality, as the figures start appearing in his home.