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| THE SILVER SURFER |
The producer, on the other hand, is a money-man, a ball-breaker, a ruthless corporate shark; parodied mercilessly by the likes of the Coens in Barton Fink and Tarantino in True Romance. Not exactly in keeping with the romanticised dream factory image of Hollywood.
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| JERRY! JERRY! JERRY! |
Many are consistently successful: Brian Grazer, Scot Rudin, Kathleen Kennedy; back in the day you had Cecil B. de Milde and occasional director Howard Hughes . But only two in the modern age have been so strongly associated with their body of work and have left such an indelible mark on the public consciousness: Joel Silver and Jerry Bruckheimer (alongside Don Simpson until his death in 1996). These two are brands, often more well-known than the directors of their flicks. Both started out in the early ‘80s, both gave star-making roles to raw talent (Richard Gere, Eddie Murphy, Tom Cruise...), both have veered towards the lowbrow and big budget.
So here I pit the two box office battlers head-to-head, splitting their careers thus far into eras – with the goal, of course, of establishing who is truly the cigar-chomping, deal-making, beard-growing best.
1. Early ‘80s
Joel Silver:
48 Hrs. (1982), Streets of Fire (1984), Brewster's Millions (1985), Weird Science (1985), Commando (1985)
Jerry Bruckheimer/Don Simpson:
Defiance (1980), American Gigolo (1980), Violent Streets (1981), Young Doctors in Love (1982), Flashdance (1983), Thief of Hearts (1984), Beverly Hills Cop (1984)  |
| 48 HRS. |
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| AMERICAN GIGOLO |
Many parallels to be found in the early careers of both our contenders. Two iconic Eddie Murphy roles, a taste of ‘80s cheese, turns that cemeneted the star power of both Richard Gere and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s extremely close, but under closer examination a clear winner emerges: Beverly Hills Cop may beat 48 Hrs., but American Gigolo is a pretty poor movie, Flashdance has not dated well at all and the rest of Bruckheimer’s output is forgettable. By contrast, Silver’s titles are all solid fun – and include the legendary Commando.
Result: Silver wins
2. Late ‘80s
Joel Silver:
Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), Lethal Weapon (1987), Predator (1987), Action Jackson (1988), Die Hard, (1988), Road House (1989), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
Jerry Bruckheimer/Don Simpson:
Top Gun (1986), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
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| LETHAL WEAPON |
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| TOP GUN |
Not hard to see the winner here. The masterpiece that is Top Gun gives JB & DS a lot of credit, but with only a lacklustre franchise sequel to complement it, there’s no way the duo can compete with a rosta that reads like a who’s who of ‘80s action classics, with never better iconic turns from Willis, Swayze, Gibson, Arnie and – yes! – two from Apollo Creed himself, Carl Weathers.
Result: Silver wins
3. Early ‘90s
Joel Silver:
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990), Predator 2 (1990), Hudson Hawk (1991), Ricochet (1991), The Last Boy Scout (1991), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), Demolition Man (1993), Richie Rich (1994), Fair Game (1995), Assassins (1995)
Jerry Bruckheimer/Don Simpson:
Days of Thunder (1990), Dangerous Minds (1995), Crimson Tide (1995), Bad Boys (1995)
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| THE LAST BOY SCOUT |
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| BAD BOYS |
A truly mixed offering from Mr Silver. Predator 2, The Last Boy Scout and Demolition Man are beloved by any right-minded film fan, and Assassins has its fans; but risible star vehicles for Bruce Willis, Denzil Washington and William ‘Billy’ Baldwin, not to mention non-actors – and didn’t they just show it – Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay and Cindy Crawford are not easily forgiven. And the second Lethal Weapon sequel and Richie Rich are both, for different reasons, totally cynical exercises. Bruckheimer and Simpson have a similar quality split (their first two offerings are poor, the latter two are ace), but through the virtue of having less output they commit less crimes against cinema.
Result: Bruckheimer wins
4. Late ‘90s
Joel Silver:
Executive Decision (1996), Fathers' Day (1997), Conspiracy Theory (1997), Double Tap (1997), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), Made Men (1999), The Matrix (1999), House on Haunted Hill (1999)
Jerry Bruckheimer:
The Rock (1996), Con Air (1997), Armageddon (1998), Enemy of the State (1998)
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| THE MATRIX |
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| CON AIR |
Going alone after the demise of his producing pal, Jerry Bruckheimer has his strongest half-decade so far. In just three years, he overseas four hugely enjoyable examples of kinetic ‘90s cinema: two gloriously brainless actioners, an overblown disaster epic and, in Enemy of the State, the unlikely combination of spiritual successor to Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (paranoid Gene Hackman and all), Generation X casting call and the most Tony Scott film imaginable. Our boy Joel, on the other hand, keeps churning them out like a trooper, but yields very little of genuine quality from his crop, with only late entry The Matrix preventing his century from ending in total ignominy.
Result: Bruckheimer wins
5. Early ‘00s
Joel Silver:
Exit Wounds (2001), Swordfish (2001), Thir13en Ghosts (2001), Ghost Ship (2002), Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003), Gothika (2003)
Jerry Bruckheimer:
Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), Coyote Ugly (2000), Remember the Titans (2000), Pearl Harbor (2001), Black Hawk Down (2001), Bad Company (2002), Kangaroo Jack (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Veronica Guerin (2003), Bad Boys II (2003), King Arthur (2004), National Treasure (2004)
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| SWORDFISH |
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| BLACK HAWK DOWN |
By now, Jerry is banging them out at a similar rate to Joel, and has become the much more well-known of the two. Deservedly? On this new-millennial evidence, you’d have to say so. Whilst I defy you to find a single half-decent movie in all of Silver’s output (Swordfish is alright, but really only has two things to recommend about it; I'm referring the opening flo-mo explosion and the presence of Don Cheadle, in case you thought I was making a reference to Halle Berry’s tits), Bruckheimer manages to deliver a Black Hawk Down, Pirates of the Caribbean or Bad Boys II for every Coyote Ugly, Pearl Harbor or Kangaroo Jack.
Result: Bruckheimer wins
6. Late ‘00s
Joel Silver:
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), V for Vendetta (2006), The Reaping (2007), The Invasion (2007), The Brave One (2007), Fred Claus (2007), Speed Racer (2008), RocknRolla (2008), Orphan (2009), Whiteout (2009), Ninja Assassin (2009), Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Jerry Bruckheimer:
Déjà vu (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
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| KISS KISS BANG BANG |
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| DEJA VU |
On first sight, Silver’s credits for this period are a pretty ropey bunch, but are, in fact, neatly bookended by two fun Robert Downey Jr. romps and Guy Richie’s return to form RocknRolla nestles neatly in the middle. Over in camp Bruckheimer, Pirates parts two and three offer up stiff competition to Silver’s own Matrix sequels’ bid to be the worst continuation of a trilogy in cinematic history, National Treasure was a movie that left no one screaming out for more, Déjà vu writes its own seen-it-all-before quip and, I ask you, Confessions of a freakin’ Shopaholic?! For shame.
7. Result: Silver wins
Early ‘10s
Joel Silver:
The Book of Eli (2010), The Losers (2010), Unknown (2011), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), The Factory (2011)
Jerry Bruckheimer:
G-Force (2009), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
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| THE LOSERS |
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| PRINCE OF PERSIA |
Woah momma. Ol’ Jerry is really losing the plot now. The fourth entry to the Pirates saga was greeted by a tidal wave of apathy, and it’s a sad day when the man once responsible for greenlighting The Rock and Con Air is presiding over kiddie movies and another entry into the canon of disappointing video game adaptations. Joel, meanwhile, produces a mixed bunch, but it’s a hard heart that that doesn’t warm to his incarnation of literature’s greatest detective, and both The Book of Eli and The Losers provide the viewer with a good time.
Result: Silver wins
Final score: Silver 4 – 3 Bruckheimer
So there you have it! Joel Silver has overseen a better body of work over his 30-odd years in the business than Jerry Bruckheimer. And since his producer peer seems to be retreating more and more into the realm of TV, he could very well hold the advantage for years to come. Only time will tell…
nice comparisons and i agree with all your choices
ReplyDeleteThanks - I felt it was a comparison that had never been done before and needed to be explored!
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