70 Richard Dreyfuss Movies & TV Shows, Ranked Best to Worst

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is adapted from the popular 1974 novel by Peter Benchley. When a killer shark attacks a vacationer at the Amity Island, police chief Martin Brody wants to close down the beaches but Mayor Vaughn is against it. However, with the shark continuing its killing spree, Brody teams up with a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter to hunt down the beast.

Stand by Me is a coming-of-age movie centering on the lives of four friends, Gordon ‘Gordie’ Lachance, Christopher ‘Chris’ Chambers, Theodore ‘Teddy’ Duchamp, and Vernon ‘Vern’ Tessio. On their quest to find a dead body, the four boys battle personal demons and a gang led by John ‘Ace’ Merill, only to return home permanently changed by their experience. 

Electric lineman Roy Neary and single mother Jillian Guiler are among several people who have sighted UFOs and are obsessed with finding a unique mountain they have visions about. Meanwhile, government researchers led by scientist Claude Lacombe discover lost WWII-era Flight 19 squadron and are preparing for a close encounter of the third kind: contact with the aliens.

A group of recent high school graduates spend the last evening of 1962 summer vacation cruising along their small Californian town, before their grown-up lives begin. As a mysterious DJ’s rock-n-roll tunes set the background, and a series of crazy encounters get the fun rolling, four friends contemplate their relationships, their futures, and come to the decisions that may change their lives. 

Passionate musician and composer Glenn Holland’s only dream in life is to compose one spectacular symphony. But he takes up teaching music at a local Oregon high school to pay bills. Initially his inability to get through to his students disheartens him, but as he and his students achieve successes over the years, he realizes that his life’s goal has changed. 

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two minor characters from the famous play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, are traveling on horseback, as the events of the play unfold around them. They pay a visit to their old friend Hamlet, after which they engage in a philosophical debate about free will versus predestination. At the same time, they are unaware of their scripted lives and unable to deviate as well.  

Former C.I.A. Agent Frank Moses lives a quiet life alone with only his conversation with Sarah Ross, a Pension Department employee, to look forward to. When, out of the blue, he is attacked by heavily-armed, masked assailants, he teams up with his old associates to figure out why he is a target and why his file at the CIA headquarter is tagged as RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous)

A successful psychotherapist Dr Marvin has the misfortune of taking on a new patient named Bob suffering from several phobias. When the former goes on a vacation, the latter tracks him down in his family’s country house to seek his help. Though Marvin tries to get him to leave, everyone loves Bob and Marvin himself starts to lose his sanity. 

The US President Andrew Shepherd is running for re-elections and has a high approval rating. As the widower with a young daughter meets environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade, both are drawn towards each other. But this gives a chance to his opponent, Senator Bob Rumson, to question the popular president’s character. With plummeting approval rating, Shepherd has a hard decision to make.

Suzanne is an actress who is a recovering drug addict. Her production company says that she has to stay with her mother, if she wants to continue working. However, the problem is that her mother, who is a former actress, still treats her like a child. In addition, she is manipulative and self-absorbed.  

Looney is a nosy cab driver who records the private conversations of his passengers using a hidden microphone. After getting a tip on a race horse, he places a bet and wins a significant amount. However, things get complicated as he is unable to stop gambling.

Stakeout is an action comedy film which revolves around two detectives who are assigned to keep an eye on a convict’s ex-girlfriend after he escapes from prison, as the police believe he will eventually return to her. However, things get extremely complicated when one of the detectives start falling for her.

Ernest and Bill are two rival salesmen who sell aluminum siding. They both are willing to go to extreme heights to close a sale. Meanwhile, both men are going through their own personal troubles as well. While Bill’s older partner is hospitalized due to a serious heart condition, Ernest is struggling with his gambling problem, which has even lead to problems with the IRS. Things get even more complicated between them, because of their mututal love for a woman named Nora.

Night Falls on Manhattan is a crime drama film which tells the story of Sean Casey, Manhattan district attorney who is investigating a police corruption case. He needs to make a choice between morality and loyalty upon discovering that his father and his brother might be involved.  

Claudia Draper is a call girl who has been charged with the murder of a client. Her mother and her stepfather wants to have her declared insane, so that she can avoid being sent to jail. However, Claudia rejects this approach, since she doesn’t want to be put in a mental institution. Eventually the attorney hired by her parents is attacked by Claudia, and therefore a public defender named Aaron Levinsky takes on her case instead, and he tries to prove that she is not insane.

Leaves of Grass is a black comedy drama film which tells the story of Bill, a professor, who is lured back to Oklahoma, his hometown, after Brady, his twin brother who is a cannabis seller, gets into a feud with a drug lord, and plans to take him down.    

Pete Sandich, a daredevil aerial forest-fire fighter, uses WWII-vintage plane to put out forest fires. His risk-taking worries fiancée Dorinda, who urges Pete to opt for the training job. On his last flight, he takes precarious dive and saves his friend Al, but loses own life. Pete then faces the challenge of helping Dorinda get over her grief and guiding Ted, who has fallen for her

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.  

A rich family living in Beverley Hills finds their lives upside down after a homeless man arrives and tries to drown himself in their swimming pool.

A resentful tour guide, Georgia feels that she has lost her spirit of exuberance and that her luck has hit rock bottom. But as she leads a disorganized group of tourists through Greece, she begins to see the world with a whole new dimension. As she opens her eyes to an exotic foreign land that happens to be her native place, she slowly recaptures her mojo. 

Two teen girls make a pact to lose their virginity before starting college. However, their lives take a turn, when they both fall for the same artist, and their friendship is tested for the first time.

Based on Paul Gallico's 1969 novel Poseidon Adventure, the film revolves around a luxury ocean liner called Poseidon on its way to New York. Swamped by a rogue wave, the ship capsizes in the North Atlantic Ocean, leaving its passengers to fight for their lives.  

Scientist Fred Miller, trying to prove the viability of his underwater design, convinces his family to live for 30 days in underwater home. As his wife, children and children’s rock band starts living 90 feet under, Miller’s rival goes to create obstacles. A music producer does everything possible to reach them for a TV program, but the music emitting from ocean raises alert. 

Zipper is a drama thriller film which tells the story of Sam Ellis, a successful prosecutor with a bright future. His life takes a turn when an intern at the office gets infatuated with him, and in order to get rid of his desires, he decides to visit a high class escort. The experience turns out to be far better than his expectations. Within some time, he gets addicted to the services of the escort agency, despite the fact that he is married and is running for Senate.      

Single mother Emily Price is raising her son, Tim, but hides where they live so that Tim can attend a better school. When Officer Joe, who is also an aspiring novelist and inventor comes for a residency check, he develops a bond with Emily and Tim. Joe now has to choose between Emily and his self-absorbed girlfriend Carrie. 

Billionaire Nicholas Wyatt blackmails and threatens his employee Adam Cassidy into becoming a corporate spy. The movie follows Adam's attempts to infiltrate the company run by Wyatt's former mentor. The drama-thriller is loosely based on a 2004 novel of the same name.

Luella Delano is a witness against the Mafia, who is being secretly held until the trial. However, she disappears after a violent attack, where several of her guards and her husband are killed. Soon, information is found that she is being held at a lakeside home. Due to their excellent surveillance record, two detectives named Chris and Bill are called upon, but they are joined by a pesky assistant district attorney.

An earthquake releases pre-historic vicious carnivorous piranhas into Lake Victoria. As students on spring break, reach the lake, thousands of partying students start falling victim to the piranhas. Vastly outnumbered, Sheriff Julie, her son Jake, and a few others unite to kill the piranhas. 

This comedy film revolves around a university professor who is assigned to find the last undiscovered tribe of New Guinea. Despite his failure to find the tribe, he refuses to admit it, and gives a lecture about the Shelmikedmu tribe, which is named after his children Shelly, Mike and Edmund. He also decides to dress up his family like the fictitious tribe to videotape them as ‘proof’ of his discovery.

Based on the story of Jack London, the film revolves around Buck, who is kidnapped from his home in California, and is taken to the Yukon, where he is mistreated. His life changes after a prospector discovers him and sympathizes with his situation.

Based on Ronald Dahl’s much loved eponymous children’s book, this musical fantasy film is centered on James, an orphaned British boy forced to live with his cruel aunts. One day he is given a bag full of magical crocodile tongues for saving a spider from his aunt and accidentally drops it near a peach tree to find an enormous peach growing on it. 

The Graduate, which won an Academy Award for Best director, revolves around the life of fresh college graduate Benjamin Braddock who is seduced into having an affair by Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father’s partner. He is persuaded by his family to go out with Elaine, Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, but things get complicated when Benjamin falls in love with Elaine.  

The Sentinel is a supernatural horror film which tells the story of Alison Parker, a model in New York City, who has a troubled past. She decides to change her life, which makes her leave her boyfriend, and relocate to a different apartment in a building where the only other resident is a blind priest. Unknown to Alison, the building houses a sinister evil, which is why the priest is present, to keep a check on it.

Based on a best-selling novel, this musical drama film revolves around three young women, Anne, Neely and Jennifer, who are in the show business. The film chronicles their lives starting from their rise to fame, to their downfall.