Actor Harrison Ford has enjoyed a successful career that has lasted more than 40 years, and his resume contains well over 30 acting credits. However, things weren’t always so easy for Ford; in an interview with Conan O’Brien, Ford stated that his career did not get off to a glamorous start, he shared with O’Brien that his first contract with Columbia Pictures only brought in $150 a week, and he said, “back then in those days was still only $150 a week. It was ridiculous.”  Fortunately, Ford’s career has more than taken off since his early days and although he was never able to win some of acting’s biggest awards, the 72-year-old actor has starred in some of the most successful films of all-time.  Some of Ford’s most memorable characters have carved out a place in pop culture history and will continue to live on for generations to come.  Here are the top five Harrison Ford movies.

5. Witness

The 1985 film Witness, stars Harrison Ford in the role of John Book, a detective from Philadelphia who must protect a young Amish boy after he witnesses a murder. The movie received generally positive reviews from critics with the legendary Roger Ebert saying, “first of all, an electrifying and poignant love story. Then it is a movie about the choices we make in life and the choices that other people make for us. Only then is it a thriller—one that Alfred Hitchcock would have been proud to make….We have lately been getting so many pallid, bloodless little movies—mostly recycled teenage exploitation films made by ambitious young stylists without a thought in their heads—that Witness arrives like a fresh new day. It is a movie about adults, whose lives have dignity and whose choices matter to them. And it is also one hell of a thriller.” Witness also earned several award, including two Academy Awards.  However, even with all of the film’s positive feedback, it received criticism from members of the Amish community who gained an unreasonable amount of tourists due to the film’s popularity.

4. The Fugitive

The 1993 action film, The Fugitive, follows Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford) who is falsely accused of his wife’s murder.  During the film, Kimble attempts to track down his wife’s real killer in order to clear his name. For his role in the film. Harrison Ford was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Pictire- Drama.  Although Ford did not win the award his performance in the film was praised by critics.  The Washington Post’s Desson Howe, stated that “Ford makes the perfect rider for a project like this, with his hangdog-handsome everyman presence. He’s one of us — but one of us at his personal best. It’s great fun to ride along with him.”  The film spawned a sequel, U.S. Marshalls, in 1998; however, Harrison did not appear in the second film

3. Blade Runner

Released in 1982, Blade Runner attempted to give viewers a glimpse of the future by taking place in 2019.  Set in Los Angeles, California, the movie exists in a world where robots and humans coexist.   Ford starred as Agent Deckead, a dedictive who had the job of tracking down  and capture these human like robots. Upon its release, Blade Runner received mixed reviews and many critics felt that the movie’s special effects distracted from its story line.  However, the movie has since become popular and has been deemed a cult classic.  Blade Runner has inspired many films, songs, and video games.

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark

Part of the Indiana Jones franchise, Raiders of the Lost Ark, was the highest grossing film of 1981, and later became one of the highest grossing films of all-time. Harrison played in the lead role of Indiana Jones, a professor whose belief in the supernatural is tested when he finds the lost ark.  The film earned four Academy Awards in 1984 and received positive feedback from fans and critics. The New York Times called Raiders of the Lost Ark, “one of the most deliriously funny, ingenious and stylish American adventure movies ever made.”  The movie has since been considered one of the most “thrilling” films, and Entertainment Weekly has named Indiana Jones one of the beset action heroes of all-time.

1. Star Wars

Almost 40 years after its release in 1977, Star Wars remains one of the most successful films ever released. The story of a galactic civil war has resonated with fans for generations and the Star Wars franchise continues to attract large audiences and recruit new fans.  In the 1997 film, Ford portrayed Han Solo, a character who has since gone on to be named the 14th Greatest Film Hero. Star Wars’ creator, George Lucas, described as “a loner who realizes the importance of being part of a group and helping for the common good.” During his review of the film, famed critic Roger Ebert described the game as an “out-of-body experience” and went on to say, “What makes the Star War experience unique, though, is that it happens on such an innocent and often funny level. It’s usually violence that draws me so deeply into a movie — violence ranging from the psychological torment of a Bergman character to the mindless crunch of a shark’s jaws. Maybe movies that scare us find the most direct route to our imaginations. But there’s hardly any violence at all in Star Wars (and even then it’s presented as essentially bloodless swashbuckling). Instead, there’s entertainment so direct and simple that all of the complications of the modern movie seem to vaporize.”

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