Every Richard Linklater Movie, Ranked

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This list first appeared on November 1, 2017, and has since been updated to include Richard Linklater’s more recent films, including his two upcoming movies scheduled for 2025: Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon.

Richard Linklater’s filmmaking journey began in 1988 when he taught himself filmmaking with an 8mm camera and a $3,000 budget, inspired by the idea that experience is the best teacher. Based in Austin, Texas, he’s always maintained an outsider’s perspective, fueled by a constant curiosity and a desire to explore. His early film, Slacker, proved that great movies could be made anywhere, and he’s since moved fluidly between small independent projects and large studio films. Despite this range, his work is united by several key themes: philosophical exploration, as seen in Slacker and Waking Life; nostalgic and personal storytelling in films like Dazed and Confused and Everybody Wants Some!!; innovative uses of time, particularly in the Before trilogy and Boyhood; and a consistent focus on dialogue and the inner lives of his characters.

Even when Richard Linklater’s films don’t fully succeed, they’re still interesting to watch. While Bad News Bears is perhaps his weakest – it feels unnecessary compared to his other work – all of his films offer something worthwhile. Others, like SubUrbia, capture a specific mood and setting, while films like The Newton Boys and Me and Orson Welles explore fascinating periods in time. He also has a knack for quirky, heartfelt stories, as seen in Where’d You Go, Bernadette, and can deliver purely enjoyable movies like his latest, Hit Man. Across his 25 films – 24 features and one documentary – there’s always something to appreciate, and his best work is marked by both intelligence and genuine emotion. And so, let’s begin…

25.
Bad News Bears (2005)

When the new Bad News Bears came out, it was presented as a fresh take on the 1976 film, rather than a complete redo. However, it turned out to be a remake that wasn’t needed. Director Linklater didn’t bring anything new to the story; he simply recreated the original, putting Billy Bob Thornton in a role similar to Jack Black’s in School of Rock and hitting all the familiar notes of an underdog sports movie. Despite Linklater’s own experience playing baseball – a topic he explored more successfully in films like Inning by Inning and Everybody Wants Some!! – he seemed surprisingly detached from this project.

24.
Tape (2001)

Made with limited funding as part of a project supporting low-budget digital films, Tape feels like a product of its time – a moment when filmmakers were eager to embrace new technology before it was fully developed. (Similar to Steven Soderbergh’s Full Frontal.) The grainy, low-quality video, combined with the simple, theatrical setting, gives the film an unfinished feel, much like the rough, independent rock recordings of the mid-90s. However, the story still feels relevant today. It centers on two former friends (Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard) with very different lives who confront a past event: a possible sexual assault where one may have harmed the other’s ex-girlfriend. As the story unfolds, the truth becomes increasingly unclear, with each person offering a different perspective – a technique reminiscent of the film Rashomon.

23.
SubUrbia (1996)

You know, I really love Linklater’s work, and while Everybody Wants Some!! felt like a true follow-up to Dazed and Confused years later, SubUrbia always struck me as something a little different. It feels like what happens to those kids who don’t escape their hometown. The thing is, Linklater didn’t actually write this one – Eric Bogosian did – and that really shows. Bogosian’s kind of cynical, critical voice just doesn’t quite mesh with Linklater’s more laid-back, realistic style. Honestly, the characters – Pony, Sooze, Buff, Bee Bee – feel a bit… borrowed, like rejects from an early draft of West Side Story. They’re all these types – the rocker, the vet, the artist, the partier – and Bogosian just throws them together in a pretty blunt way. But you gotta give it to Linklater, he really knows how to direct. The indie-rock soundtrack is fantastic – Sonic Youth is all over it, which is perfect – and he nails that feeling of endless, depressing strip malls. That sense of place, that feeling of sameness, almost becomes a character itself.

22.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019)

Despite having all the ingredients for success – a compelling story, a talented cast led by Cate Blanchett, and a source novel full of interesting characters – Linklater’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette feels surprisingly flat. The film explores the stifled creativity of a woman who has withdrawn from the world, and while Emma Nelson delivers a strong performance as her daughter, the movie lacks momentum for most of its runtime. It only truly finds its footing when the main character travels to Antarctica and begins to reconnect with her passion, but this happens very late in the story, leaving the film feeling ultimately unfulfilled.

21.
Fast Food Nation (2006)

Adapting Eric Schlosser’s critical and unsettling exposé of the fast-food industry into a fictional movie seemed risky, and the film often shows why: compelling facts don’t always make for good conversation. At times, the movie feels like a documentary mixed with an opinion piece, but many of the individual stories are impactful. Director Linklater effectively connects fast food to a society that values conformity and where our diets define us. The film implies that, like cattle passively accepting confinement, we often limit ourselves unnecessarily.

20.
Me and Orson Welles (2008)

Christian McKay delivers a captivating performance as a young Orson Welles in Me and Orson Welles. The film shows the 22-year-old Welles brimming with energy as he pushes his theater group to stage a bold production of Julius Caesar in 1937, before he became famous for Citizen Kane. However, the story told from the perspective of Zac Efron’s character is less compelling. Efron plays Lucius, a relatively unknown actor, and while he brings a recognizable face to the film, his quiet nature pales in comparison to McKay’s vibrant portrayal of Welles. Still, director Richard Linklater accurately captures the atmosphere of the time, much like he did in The Newton Boys, and the film truly comes alive when it focuses on the creative process itself.

19.
The Newton Boys (1998)

Richard Linklater’s attempt at a big-budget film wasn’t a success, falling somewhere between his usual low-key style and the energetic feel audiences expected from a mainstream movie. However, The Newton Boys has a certain charm because it doesn’t try to be a typical or revisionist Western. Instead, it portrays a group of bank-robbing brothers with a lighthearted and playful tone – they actually avoid using guns whenever possible, only resorting to them because bank accounts are insured. With Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Skeet Ulrich, and Vincent D’Onofrio as the brothers, the film follows their daring nighttime heists, complete with safe-cracking using nitroglycerin. But Linklater also enjoys showcasing the details of the period and letting the brothers simply have fun and goof off when they’re not robbing banks.

18.
Last Flag Flying (2017)

Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying, which feels like a follow-up to the film The Last Detail, is surprisingly straightforward and occasionally sentimental. It centers on three Vietnam War veterans – played by Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Laurence Fishburne – who reconnect after one of them loses his son in the Iraq War. However, the film grows more complex and emotionally resonant as it progresses, revealing uncomfortable truths that challenge the official account of what happened. In a time of heightened political debate around military service and national symbols, Last Flag Flying offers a powerful reflection on patriotism and how sacrifice is understood both by the nation and those who serve. By drawing parallels between the Vietnam and Iraq wars, Linklater highlights the universal realities of war and the often-devastating deceptions that accompany it.

17.
Inning by Inning: Portrait of a Coach (2008)

Linklater’s sole documentary feature follows Augie Garrido, the most successful baseball coach in college history, during his final twenty years at the University of Texas, where he amassed 1,975 wins. Unlike the typical demanding coach, Garrido focuses on the details of the game and often shares thoughtful reflections on both winning and losing – he’s so contemplative, he could easily fit into one of Linklater’s films like Slacker or Waking Life. This ESPN-produced film, Inning by Inning, isn’t a standard sports documentary; instead, it’s a considered exploration of sports and life, acknowledging that failure is unavoidable. Garrido points out that even the greatest players fail more often than they succeed – what truly matters is how you respond to those setbacks.

16.
It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books (1988)

Made for just $3,000 on Super 8 film, Richard Linklater’s debut movie is a rejection of the traditional film school approach. It suggests that the best way to learn filmmaking is by doing it – by skipping class and gaining practical experience. The film follows Linklater himself as a solitary traveler drifting through Austin and hitchhiking to places like Missoula and San Francisco. It’s a personal journey exploring his own sense of wonder, unease, and questioning of life. While some of its stylistic choices, like the lack of dialogue and long, still shots, weren’t repeated in his later work, this film is the foundation of his career – a bold statement from a young and ambitious filmmaker.

15.
A Scanner Darkly (2006)

As a sci-fi fan, I’ve always felt Philip K. Dick’s work is notoriously hard to bring to the screen – so much of the dread and fear happens inside the characters’ heads. But Linklater really nails it with A Scanner Darkly. He uses a refined version of the animation style he perfected in Waking Life to show us the unraveling mind of an undercover cop, Keanu Reeves, who’s battling the same drug he’s investigating. It came out around the same time as Fast Food Nation, and both films tackle the dangers of big corporations, but Linklater’s animation – especially those unsettling “scramble suits” and drug-induced hallucinations – makes the message far more impactful and visually arresting.

14.
Nouvelle Vague (2025)

There’s a clear connection between the ending of Linklater’s film Slacker – where a group of friends drive off to make movies – and this fun, energetic film about the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s first major film, Breathless. While Linklater isn’t as experimental as Godard – and Nouvelle Vague doesn’t fully hide its more traditional side – both directors are known for taking risks and trying new things with storytelling. It takes a little while for Nouvelle Vague to get going, but once the confident young Godard starts filming in Paris with Jean Seberg, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and the increasingly frustrated producer Georges de Beauregard, the movie captures the exciting, spontaneous spirit of the French New Wave.

13.
Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (2022)

Linklater’s film is a lovely and surprisingly deep look at growing up in the shadow of NASA. The animation style, similar to his previous films but smoother, lets the story drift into dreamlike sequences while remaining rooted in the reality of 1969. Jack Black narrates the memories of a man reflecting on his childhood in Houston, where, as a 10-year-old with average grades, he unexpectedly got the chance to potentially go to space because NASA needed a smaller test subject. The film beautifully recreates the era with humor and detail, while also offering a unique perspective on a pivotal moment in history – seen through the eyes of a young boy who couldn’t fully understand the larger changes happening around him.

12.
Blue Moon (2025)

Seventeen years after making Me and Orson Welles, director Linklater again collaborates with Robert Kaplow for Blue Moon, a biopic about the brilliant but troubled Broadway songwriter Lorenz Hart, who famously partnered with Richard Rodgers on songs like “My Funny Valentine” and “The Lady Is a Tramp.” Many consider Blue Moon superior to Me and Orson Welles, thanks to Kaplow’s sharp writing and a powerful performance by Ethan Hawke as Hart. The film largely takes place on the opening night of Oklahoma!, a hit musical Rodgers created with his new partner, Oscar Hammerstein II. From the beginning, we know Hart died young, at age 48, from complications related to alcoholism. The film also explores the pain he felt in his difficult relationship with Rodgers and his unrequited feelings for a young art student (Margaret Qualley). Despite the tragic circumstances of Hart’s life, Linklater portrays him with clear admiration, and that enthusiasm is contagious.

11.
Hit Man (2023)

Inspired by a true story from Texas Monthly—similar to his film Bernie—director Linklater has created a perfect pairing with Hit Man. The film is built around the strengths of its lead actor, Glen Powell (who also co-wrote the script), and expands on a uniquely entertaining Texas tale about how easily someone can change their identity. Powell plays a quiet philosophy professor who moonlights doing tech work for the New Orleans police. His job takes an unexpected turn when he begins posing as a hitman to catch people looking to hire one. As he excels in this undercover role and starts a relationship with a woman (Adria Arjona) who wants her husband gone, the film transforms into a stylish, surprising, and completely fictional neo-noir comedy, reminiscent of the classic Double Indemnity.

10.
Before Midnight (2013)

Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy could have easily recreated the charming, wandering conversations of Jesse and Céline in another beautiful European setting, like the Greek coast. However, Before Midnight finds Jesse and Céline years into their relationship, now a couple raising twin daughters. Their connection has moved from a brief, exciting encounter to a complex, lived-in reality. While arguments occasionally surfaced in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, Before Midnight centers on the constant challenges and disagreements within their marriage. The deep love is still there, but they’ve moved past being simply infatuated; now they have real issues to resolve.

9.
Waking Life (2001)

Ten years after his film Slacker, director Linklater revisited a similar style with Waking Life, presenting loosely connected philosophical conversations and fragmented scenes. However, this time he used new digital animation techniques to create a disorienting, dreamlike experience for the audience. He worked with animator Bob Sabiston to trace over live-action footage, resulting in a shimmering, unstable visual effect. While some of the lengthy discussions – covering topics like existentialism and film theory – might be difficult to follow otherwise, the hypnotic animation helps keep viewers engaged. This dreamlike setting allows for exploration of challenging ideas, even unsettling ones, like the potential for extreme viewpoints to gain widespread influence.

8.
Bernie (2011)

Inspired by a Texas Monthly article titled “Midnight in the Garden of East Texas,” the film Bernie tells a true crime story where the facts aren’t the puzzle – everyone knows that Bernhardt Tiede, a funeral home employee, shot and killed his wealthy, elderly companion, Marjorie Nugent. What’s fascinating is how the townspeople of Carthage, Texas, either refused to believe he was guilty, or felt the victim somehow deserved it. Director Linklater handles this strange situation with a playful and clever approach, using the townspeople as a sort of Greek chorus and letting Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine, who have great comedic chemistry, take center stage. But beneath the humor, the film offers a thought-provoking look at how people tend to believe what they want to believe, ignoring anything that challenges their views.

7.
Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)

In Everybody Wants Some!!, Blake Jenner steps into a role similar to Jason London’s character in Dazed and Confused – a sporty guy who also enjoys intellectual pursuits. This film takes Linklater’s signature slice-of-life nostalgia from high school to the college baseball scene. Set over a weekend in 1980, it’s a comedy about the players letting loose before classes and practice begin. However, unlike raucous comedies like Animal House, Linklater delivers a film that feels like a fond memory, filled with quirky traditions, memorable characters, a great soundtrack, and his characteristic observant and understanding approach.

6.
School of Rock (2003)

Richard Linklater wasn’t initially eager to direct a mainstream studio film—producer Scott Rudin actually convinced him to take on this project—but School of Rock strikes a perfect balance between Linklater’s independent style and broad audience appeal. The film, and later Bernie, showcase Linklater’s ability to get the most out of Jack Black, who channels his energetic, somewhat chaotic persona into Dewey Finn, a substitute teacher who forms a band with his talented students. While the movie playfully mocks the excesses of rock music—Black’s character even teaches a lesson on “rock appreciation and theory”—it’s ultimately a fun and uplifting story about youthful freedom, teamwork, and catchy music.

5.
Before Sunrise (1995)

Before its surprising and delightful follow-ups, Before Sunrise was a charming romance about a brief, intense connection. American tourist Jesse and Frenchwoman Céline meet on a train and spend one magical night together in Vienna, falling in love with the carefree abandon of youth. The city itself feels alive as they explore it, and each location gains new meaning through their shared experience. The film feels natural and conversational, reminiscent of Eric Rohmer’s work, but it’s also deeply emotional and heartfelt.

4.
Slacker (1990)

Linklater’s early film was a game-changer for independent American cinema, fundamentally altering what kinds of stories could be told and how. The film begins with the director himself in a taxi, casually chatting with the driver about life’s possibilities and alternate paths. From there, Slacker unfolds as a series of loosely connected, often funny and thought-provoking scenes, all observed with Linklater’s curious eye. Long before Austin’s quirky culture became a slogan, this film perfectly captured the city’s authentic spirit, giving a voice to a diverse cast of characters – from conspiracy theorists and amateur philosophers to a surprisingly candid saleswoman.

3.
Boyhood (2014)

Richard Linklater often uses time in interesting ways in his films, sometimes focusing on a single night, as in Dazed and Confused and SubUrbia, and other times stretching stories out over years, like the relationship in the Before trilogy. Boyhood takes this even further, uniquely following the life of Mason Jr. (played by Ellar Coltrane) from age six to eighteen. We see him navigate childhood and adolescence, experiencing personal growth alongside cultural shifts. The film portrays his mother (Patricia Arquette) moving from relationship to relationship and the challenges of a father (Ethan Hawke) who isn’t always there. But beyond the story’s plot, Boyhood beautifully captures the everyday moments of growing up and the feeling of time passing, proving the saying “kids grow up fast” in a deeply moving way.

2.
Before Sunset (2004)

The first film, Before Sunrise, left viewers wondering if the couple would get together, and it felt risky to answer that question. Fortunately, Before Sunset is considered the strongest film in the series. It beautifully explores the regret Céline and Jesse feel about the lives they didn’t share, while still holding onto the hope that they might have a future together. The film reveals they didn’t reconnect after their initial meeting, and they’re now seeing each other again after almost a decade – Jesse is in Paris for a book tour. Over a short time before Jesse’s flight home, their conversation flows as naturally and honestly as before, but is now colored by the weight of their life choices. The ending, which is resolved in the next film, is a particularly perfect and memorable moment in director Richard Linklater’s work.

1.
Dazed and Confused (1993)

Inspired by Richard Linklater’s own high school experiences in 1976, Dazed and Confused captures a relatable time of change for teenagers – whether they’re just starting high school or looking ahead to their final year. While Linklater initially envisioned a nostalgic look at teenage traditions, the film became known as a classic stoner comedy, vividly recreating the music, style, and feeling of the era with a constant energy fueled by parties and youthful rebellion. Dazed and Confused is remarkably rewatchable, offering different experiences each time: it can serve as background atmosphere at a gathering, be enjoyed as a collection of memorable moments (like Matthew McConaughey’s breakout role), or be appreciated for its thoughtful and personal portrayal of growing up.

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2025-11-17 20:00