20 Best Sean Connery Movies, Ranked (original) (raw)
Published Jan 8, 2024, 1:00 PM EST
Jeremy has more than 2500 published articles on Collider to his name, and has been writing for the site since February 2022. He's an omnivore when it comes to his movie-watching diet, so will gladly watch and write about almost anything, from old Godzilla films to gangster flicks to samurai movies to classic musicals to the French New Wave to the MCU... well, maybe not the Disney+ shows.
His favorite directors include Martin Scorsese, Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa, Quentin Tarantino, Werner Herzog, John Woo, Bob Fosse, Fritz Lang, Guillermo del Toro, and Yoji Yamada. He's also very proud of the fact that he's seen every single Nicolas Cage movie released before 2022, even though doing so often felt like a tremendous waste of time. He's plagued by the question of whether or not The Room is genuinely terrible or some kind of accidental masterpiece, and has been for more than 12 years (and a similar number of viewings).
When he's not writing lists - and the occasional feature article - for Collider, he also likes to upload film reviews to his Letterboxd profile (username: Jeremy Urquhart) and Instagram account.
He has achieved his 2025 goal of reading all 13,467 novels written by Stephen King, and plans to spend the next year or two getting through the author's 82,756 short stories and 105,433 novellas.
Sean Connery is the sort of actor who’s so legendary he doesn’t exactly need an introduction, but for anyone who’s lived under a rock (or The Rock) for the past six decades, he was a leading man with a film career that spanned 40+ memorable years. He was most well-recognized for being the original 007 in the long-running James Bond series, appearing in the role seven times and going on to have a hugely successful career outside the series, too.
He'd largely retired from the world of film by the early 2000s, and passed away at the age of 90 in 2020, yet has left behind a remarkable filmography, many of the titles within still holding up to this day. Attempting to give an overview of his very best or most notable roles will likely lead to some omissions, so it’s ideal to think of the following as the best of the best; an assortment of his greatest movies, ranked below, starting with the good and ending with the classics.
20 'Finding Forrester' (2000)
Director: Gus Van Sant
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Standing as one of the final movies of Sean Connery’s long and accomplished career, Finding Forrester is a solidly made drama that’s effectively engaging and emotional. It tells the sort of story one’s likely seen before, but tells it well regardless, following two people from different walks of life – and of different generations – who nevertheless form an unlikely friendship and learn from each other.
Connery’s titular character is an aging writer, while the film’s other main character, Jamal (Rob Brown) is a young African-American student attending high school. Finding Forrester is sentimental, perhaps even too much so for some tastes, though it also manages to have charm and makes for an easy watch. Director Gus Van Sant is undeniably skilled at making such grounded character-focused dramas, as is demonstrated by other movies of his like Good Will Hunting and Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot.
Release Date
January 12, 2001
Runtime
136 Minutes
Director
Main Genre
19 'Zardoz' (1974)
Director: John Boorman
Sean Connery representing peak masculinity in Zardoz (1974)
Image via 20th Century Studios
Directed by John Boorman, the filmmaker behind perhaps the most divisive of all The Exorcist’s sequels, Zardoz is a science fiction film where calling it bizarre would be an understatement of borderline criminal proportions. It stars Connery as a murderous man in the distant future who comes across a strange community filled with seemingly immortal beings, and becomes something of a plaything for them.
Well, that’s technically what Zardoz is about, described as broadly as possible, but watching the movie and trying to take it all in makes for a considerably trippier experience than one might expect. With bold visuals and an overall eerie atmosphere throughout, it’s strange, bewildering, sometimes slow-moving, but just about always intriguing, and is worth mentioning here for the fact that it’s one of the most unusual and out-there movies Connery ever starred in.
18 'Highlander' (1986)
Director: Russell Mulcahy
Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery in Highlander II: The Quickening
Image by InterStar
A film that includes the famous line, “There can be only one,” yet then went ahead and had multiple sequels, perhaps it still rings true in spirit for Highlander, as it’s a case where the first installment is far and away considered the best. It’s a movie that blends epic action, adventure, and fantasy, all revolving around immortal warriors who battle each other over centuries, with such warriors being the only ones who can take the lives of others.
The long-running competition among such beings leads to that whole notion of there being only one… though Sean Connery’s character is willing to help out another, younger immortal warrior and become his mentor after he gets targeted by another fearsome warrior. Highlander is cheesy, sure, but in a genuinely fun way that should appeal to anyone who likes 1980s action, with Connery’s supporting role here also boosting the entertainment value of the film considerably.
Release Date
March 7, 1986
Runtime
116 minutes
Director
Russell Mulcahy
17 'The Offence' (1973)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Sean Connery in The Offence, directed by Sidney Lumet
Image via United Artists
Sidney Lumet made some great crime movies in his time, especially titles like Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon, and he also worked with Sean Connery at several different points. One of the movies they did together, The Offence, also happens to be a crime/drama film, and has a particularly intense story about a police detective who loses control during an interrogation, with his actions having dramatic consequences.
Connery thrived in action blockbusters, of course, but roles like his one in The Offence also demonstrate how great he could be when appearing in something a little more serious or gritty. It’s a tough and no-nonsense film with a dark story and a searing look at themes surrounding justice, the leeway police should or shouldn’t get, and the idea of presumption of innocence.
16 'Robin and Marian' (1976)
Director: Richard Lester
Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn in 'Robert and Marian'
Image via Columbia Pictures
Emphasizing the romance angle of the legend of Robin Hood, as well as looking at the character at an older age than usual, Robin and Marian ends up being a rather charming depiction of some well-known characters. Sean Connery plays Robin Hood getting on in years, with his age making him feel as though time is running out for him to successfully woo the love of his life, Maid Marian (Audrey Hepburn).
It can be worth watching Robin and Marian just to see two acting legends like Connery and Hepburn share the screen together, with the supporting cast being pretty strong too, considering it includes the likes of Robert Shaw, Richard Harris, and Ian Holm. It’s certainly unique, and stands out among the countless other adaptations of the Robin Hood legend from cinema history.
15 'Murder on the Orient Express' (1974)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Image via Anglo-EMI Film Distributors
Another thrilling Agatha Christie film adaptation (arguably one of the best ever made, too), what stands out first and foremost when it comes to 1974’s Murder on the Orient Express is the amazing ensemble cast assembled. Albert Finney leads said cast as famed detective Hercule Poirot, with the rest of the cast filled out by the likes of Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Michael York, and Anthony Perkins, to name just a few.
A big cast means plenty of suspects, and as is usually the case for Poirot, he stumbles upon a murder mystery, with this one having occurred on a train car. It’s a movie that keeps the suspense pretty high throughout, and it also happens to be extremely entertaining, largely thanks to the fact that Murder on the Orient Express allows numerous great actors the chance to verbally spar with – and distrust – each other constantly.
14 'Dr. No' (1962)
Director: Terence Young
Sean Connery as James Bond in Dr. No.
Image via MGM
Beginning what would become an immensely long-running film series in style, Dr. No was the first time movie audiences ever got to see James Bond, and perhaps the first time many were introduced to Sean Connery as an actor. It’s not an instance where the first film was the very best in the series, but Dr. No is still very good for its time, an admirable start to the series, and one of the better (albeit not the greatest) 007 films Connery starred in.
The titular character is the villain Bond goes up against here, with his evil plan involving the destruction of the U.S. space program. Many staples of the series that would become beloved as the years went on got their start here in Dr. No, and Connery himself was instantly magnetic in the role he seemed born to play… though as both aforementioned and subsequent titles will show, he was so much more than just Bond.
Release Date
October 7, 1962
Runtime
110 minutes
Director
Terence Young
13 'Marnie' (1964)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1.5)
Marnie is a film that demonstrates how it wasn’t simply after James Bond that Sean Connery attempted to branch out and establish himself as more than simply that singular role. After all, this Alfred Hitchcock movie came out in 1964, which was around the time Connery was incredibly well-recognized for his role as 007, given that year saw the third overall James Bond movie get released.
This unsettling mystery/psychological thriller film isn’t one of Alfred Hitchcock’s very best, but his very best was truly excellent, ensuring Marnie is still quite good overall. Both Connery and Tippi Hedren are both very compelling as two people with a strange and uncomfortable connection, and Connery, in particular, showed himself here as capable of playing someone who’s a good deal less heroic and a whole lot creepier than Bond (though, yes, early James Bond can undoubtedly be a little creepy by modern standards, too).
12 'Time Bandits' (1981)
Director: Terry Gilliam
Sean Connery in Time Bandits (1981) directed by Terry Gilliam
Image via HandMade Films (Distributors) Ltd.
Imagination, offbeat humor, and creative fantasy worlds are what you’re usually in for whenever you sit down to watch a Terry Gilliam movie, and his 1981 film, Time Bandits, has all that in spades. It sees a young kid get swept up on a time-hopping adventure with six dwarfs, all of whom have worked out a way to get through time and obtain various valuables from different points in history.
This premise is well-utilized, leading to plenty of entertaining scenarios and the opportunity for numerous historical people and legendary figures to show up (even including Napoleon Bonaparte). Sean Connery is in the film briefly, too, playing King Agamemnon, a figure from Greek mythology who gets wrapped up in the overall adventuring at one point. It’s a fun and fast-paced fantasy movie that gets a good deal of mileage out of the fact that time travel factors heavily into the narrative.
Release Date
July 13, 1981
Runtime
116 minutes
Director
Terry Gilliam
11 'The Name of the Rose' (1986)
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Sean Connery and Christian Slater
Image via Columbia Pictures
Set during the 14th century, The Name of the Rose functions as both a surprisingly good movie with a historical setting and something that tells a compelling mystery story. It takes place at a conference where several monks have been murdered, leading Sean Connery’s William of Baskerville and his young novice, played by Christian Slater, to investigate before ultimately uncovering an alarming conspiracy.
The idea of a movie revolving around a murder investigation might not sound super exciting, but it’s the setting and the time period of The Name of the Rose that inevitably help keep what could otherwise feel ordinary feel intriguing instead. Sean Connery’s also great in the lead role, with this perhaps being the start of a second wind for his overall career, given two of his most iconic non-007 roles followed shortly after this film, in the final years of the 1980s.