Essential Robert Duvall Movies to Own on Home Video

I was really bummed to hear about Robert Duvall passing away on February 15, 2026. The guy was a legend, and at 95, he had an incredible career. He left behind so many amazing films, and thankfully, a ton of them are still easy to find. Below, I’ve listed ten of my favorites that you can grab on DVD, Blu-ray, or stream if you prefer. I’ve even included links so you can check them out!

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Robert Duvall’s film debut was a memorable one. Screenwriter Horton Foote suggested him for the role of Boo Radley in the movie adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and Duvall, who was primarily a stage actor at the time, got the part. The film became a classic of the early 1960s, and Foote and Duvall later collaborated again on Tender Mercies.

The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974)

Francis Ford Coppola and Robert Duvall first collaborated on the 1969 film, The Rain People. When Coppola began casting The Godfather, he immediately thought of Duvall for the part of Tom Hagen, the Corleone family’s lawyer. Duvall was one of three actors from The Godfather – along with James Caan and Al Pacino – nominated for Best Supporting Actor, though they all lost to Joel Grey in Cabaret. Despite that, The Godfather is considered one of the best films ever made, and Duvall returned to play Tom Hagen in The Godfather Part II, making their collaboration a success.

Network (1976)

Following his work on The Godfather Part II, Robert Duvall delivered another memorable supporting performance in the 1970s classic, Network. He played Frank Hackett, a vice president at UBS who collaborates with Faye Dunaway’s character to capitalize on the unexpected fame of a news anchor (Peter Finch) after a dramatic on-air breakdown and suicide threat. As he often did in his films from this era, Duvall wasn’t the lead, nor did he steal the show with flashy acting. Instead, he brought a raw, realistic quality to Network through his strong, subtle performance.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

One of the most unforgettable moments in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now comes from Robert Duvall’s performance as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore. He delivers a speech that’s become instantly iconic, and honestly, pretty chilling. Kilgore talks about the smell of napalm – he actually loves it – and recounts an instance where a hill was bombed relentlessly for twelve hours. He describes the gasoline scent permeating everything, and for him, that smell wasn’t just destruction, it was victory. It’s a disturbing, yet mesmerizing scene that really sticks with you long after the credits roll.

Tender Mercies (1983)

I always loved this film – it’s the one where Robert Duvall finally got his Oscar! It’s a beautifully written story by Horton Foote about a down-on-his-luck country singer who slowly turns things around thanks to a really kind woman and her son. Apparently, making it wasn’t easy – I heard Duvall and the director, Bruce Beresford, clashed a lot over how the character should be and the overall feel of the movie. But like so many of Duvall’s performances, it’s just incredibly subtle and moving.

The Natural (1984)

This baseball movie is best known for its dramatic ending, starring Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs – a scene that differs significantly from the original book. Robert Duvall plays a well-known sportswriter who first encounters the promising young Roy Hobbs and later recognizes him when Roy joins the New York Knights. If you hear the title The Natural without immediately thinking of the music from that iconic home run, you have incredible willpower!

The Paper (1994)

Though less famous than Ron Howard’s other ’90s films like Backdraft, Apollo 13, and Ransom, The Paper could be his best work from that decade. It’s a dynamic movie that offers a glimpse into the fast-paced world of a big-city newspaper. Michael Keaton plays a stressed-out editor at a New York tabloid, and his dedication to a single story puts both his job and marriage at risk. Robert Duvall plays the newspaper’s top editor, and as usual, he delivers a fantastic performance as part of a strong cast that also features Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei, and the late Catherine O’Hara.

The Apostle (1997)

Robert Duvall directed four films during his career, and his most well-known was the 1997 film The Apostle. He not only directed it but also wrote the screenplay and played the lead role of Sonny Dewey, a preacher who commits a serious crime and tries to start over as ‘The Apostle E.F.’ with a new church. Duvall had wanted to make this film for a long time, and when he couldn’t find a studio to fund it, he financed it himself. The risk paid off, as the film became a critical and independent success, earning Duvall an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

We Own the Night (2007)

Robert Duvall delivers another fantastic performance here, and he’s really the heart of James Gray’s We Own the Night. He plays the NYPD deputy chief, and essentially the father figure to the two main characters – Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg. The setup is great: Wahlberg is the straight-laced cop, while Phoenix runs a club in Brooklyn and has connections to some dangerous people. When drug dealers start targeting the family, Phoenix’s character makes a deal to become an informant, and things quickly spiral into a whole lot of violence. It’s a tense and gripping ride, largely thanks to Duvall’s grounded performance.

The 10 Worst Netflix Movies of the Last 10 Years (2016-2025)

10. Heart of Stone (2023)

The movie Heart of Stone starts with a promising idea: a new computer expert joining a team of spies is secretly a seasoned agent like James Bond. To really make this work, though, you need an actor who seems unassuming and can unexpectedly pull off action heroics – similar to how Bob Odenkirk was used in Nobody. Unfortunately, the filmmakers cast Gal Gadot, and about 40 minutes in, the movie abandons this clever premise. It then becomes a typical, CGI-heavy blockbuster about artificial intelligence, covering similar ground to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning but without Tom Cruise’s exciting performance or any interesting discussion about special effects. The AI in Heart of Stone, called ‘The Heart’, is portrayed as simply good, and the action sequences are mostly uninspired computer-generated imagery.

9. Lift (2024)

At this point, people like to make easy jokes about how bad Netflix movies feel like they were extruded from some data port by a malfunctioning AI, but Kevin Hart’s downmarket Ocean’s 11 knockoff Lift really seemed like it was assembled from a checklist of things all Netflix blockbusters must possess, including…

A generic title of no more than three words.
Bland digital photography without style or panache.
Big-name stars who are not too big to take a low-effort, high-salary paycheck.
A plot that involves a bunch of international locations in countries where Netflix sells subscriptions.
At least one sequence where they clearly never went to said international location and shot the entire thing on an obvious green screen instead.

8. Trigger Warning (2024)

Okay, so I just watched Trigger Warning (the title is…a choice). It stars Jessica Alba as a super-skilled CIA agent who goes back home and stumbles into a conspiracy involving a mine and a really shady senator. Honestly, with Redbox gone, these kinds of low-budget thrillers are ending up on Netflix, usually recommended if you liked something like Rebel Ridge. And let me tell you, even if you enjoyed Rebel Ridge, steer clear of this one.

7. Red Notice (2021)

Up until its release, Red Notice was Netflix’s most costly movie, starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot in a hunt for a valuable artifact. Despite the stars’ charisma, the script failed to give them any memorable lines or meaningful character development. One scene, set during a bullfight, is particularly jarring – it’s visually unappealing and clearly fake. It doesn’t appear to have been filmed in a real bullring, and the actors don’t even seem to be sharing the same set during the sequence.

6. Your Place or Mine (2023)

This movie feels like the idea stopped as soon as Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher agreed to star. The plot is thin: Witherspoon’s character travels across the country for a one-week accounting class – something easily available closer to home or online. When her babysitter cancels, her unlikely best friend (Kutcher) flies out to watch her son, despite them having little in common. It’s odd, considering she has another friend with kids (Tig Notaro) who seems readily available to help. These small inconsistencies add up. Ultimately, though, a weak script and a complete lack of chemistry between Witherspoon and Kutcher sink the film. The scenes feel flat and unpolished, and it’s hard to root for the characters to end up together – they just don’t seem like a good fit!

5. The Electric State (2025)

There was a lot of talk about the $320 million Netflix reportedly spent on this science fiction film directed by the Russo brothers – and it likely was an excessive amount. Even if the budget had been half that, it still wouldn’t have been worth the money. The Electric State simply doesn’t look good; the characters and visuals are bland and uninspired. The film follows a young woman (Millie Bobby Brown) traveling across a desolate, robot-filled landscape to find her brother, aided by Chris Pratt who seems to be playing a familiar, world-weary action hero with an odd hairstyle. The film’s core story, based on a book I haven’t read, doesn’t make much sense, but it might have been forgivable if the movie was at least visually engaging. Unfortunately, it isn’t.

4.Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver

The first part of Zack Snyder’s sci-fi film, released in late 2023, was enjoyable because it focused on assembling a team and exploring strange worlds with unique creatures and technology. However, the second part, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, is almost entirely a long, drawn-out battle. Snyder’s excessive use of slow motion makes it feel slow and repetitive—I actually had to try watching it three times because it kept putting me to sleep. At least the film delivers on its promise of intense action and scarring visuals. I suspect the director’s cut, Rebel Moon – Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness, will be an improvement, but I’m not in any hurry to watch it.

3. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

I don’t have a background in real estate, city planning, or politics, but I’m really questioning this business idea. Someone wants to auction off an abandoned, isolated town – just a few buildings on one street – to wealthy young people who want to turn it into a trendy spot with a comic book store and a brunch restaurant. Honestly, who’s going to visit a ghost town in the middle of nowhere to do that? And, get this, the only current resident is Leatherface! Does he even like brunch? It’s basically the premise of the latest Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie.

Also, I know slasher films often show killers moving silently, but wouldn’t operating a chainsaw be… noisy? It seems like a loud, buzzing chainsaw would make sneaking up on someone a little harder.

2. Diana: The Musical

When the planned Broadway debut of the Princess Diana musical was canceled due to Covid, the creators filmed the show without an audience to preserve it. While Diana eventually opened on Broadway in late 2021, the recording first appeared on Netflix, seemingly as a way to promote the stage production.

Instead, it quickly became a surprisingly popular, though unintentionally funny, obsession. Some scenes in Diana: The Musical are even more bizarre than those in the notoriously strange Cats movie – at least Cats didn’t rhyme ‘thrilla’ and ‘Manila’ with ‘Diana’ and ‘Camilla’! Rather than treating Diana’s tragic life with seriousness, the musical takes a strangely cheerful approach. It’s hard to believe so many people approved a song where Prince Charles sings “Darling, I’m holding my son, so let me say ‘Jolly well done!’” Diana closed on Broadway after only 33 performances, but Diana: The Musical will remain available on Netflix forever.

1. Marmaduke (2022)

I’ve rarely seen an animated movie as visually unappealing as Marmaduke, and I hope I never do. It feels like something made purely to fulfill a contractual obligation or, frankly, to hide money. Surprisingly, despite the awful animation, the movie boasts a talented voice cast including J.K. Simmons, David Koechner, and Pete Davidson. It’s baffling – did they not see the script or the characters? What could have possibly convinced them to participate? Marmaduke is simply terrible. I wouldn’t even recommend it to those who used to torment me as a child – and their insults were actually more imaginative than this movie.

2026-02-17 00:59