Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Director Wes Anderson crafts a first love story (with newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) so specific yet as universal as the blush of a first kiss. Back with Anderson are Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, who lead an All-Star supporting cast.

d: Wes Anderson | imdb.com | trailer | Were you followed?
Jiminy Cricket | Loaded question | The Most Important Decision ...

Get Low (2010)

Robert Duvall is pefectly grizzlied and Bill Murray perfectly glib in a depression-era story of a funeral party, but the performances aren’t quite enough. The movie meanders and never delivers on wild stories of a hermit, settling for a too-safe third act.

d: Aaron Schneider | imdb.com | trailer

Zombieland (2009)

The comedy is about all the fun parts of living in Zombieland — firearms, Escalades, vandalism, amusements parks and finding out Bill Murray isn’t dead yet. Woody Harrelson drives the Escalade and the movie, looking for his next kill and a Twinkie.

d: Ruben Fleischer | imdb.com | trailer | the rules | prospecting

Ed Wood (1994)

Director Tim Burton presents a love letter to Ed Wood — derided as the worst filmmaker of all time — Bela Lugosi and 1950s exploitation movies. Depp captures Wood’s sunny optimism, and Martin Landau portrays drug-addicted Lugosi and his waning career.

d: Tim Burton | imdb.com | trailer | Sidekick? | Johnny Depp

Mad Dog and Glory (1993)

Tailored with slicked-back hair, Bill Murray plays a mob boss with a wink — a satire of Robert De Niro (an everyday cop) right in front of him. Both play the straight man in this dark comedy and David Caruso is excellent as a cop before “NYPD Blue.”

d: John McNaughton | imdb.com | trailer | David Caruso

Groundhog Day (1993)

As a weather man living the same day over and over, Bill Murray deftly portrays the five stages of grief, balancing the comedy and existentialism in every scene — sometimes with a single look. It’s that look — the Murray look — that makes him so compelling.

d: Harold Ramis | imdb.com | trailer | I’m a god. | Ned Ryerson!
Critics’ Choice | Great Performances | “Comedy First”

Scrooged (1988)

Bill Murray plays the youngest (and meanest) network president in television history in an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and a dark satire of 1980s greed. David Johansen and Carol Kane steal scenes as two of the ghosts who visit Murray.

d: Richard Donner | imdb.com | trailer | Towel or VHS
Christmas past | Christmas present | Death | A Christmas miracle

Ghostbusters (1984)

Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis play parapsychologists who save New York City from ghosts and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in a winning comedy and special effects blockbuster. Murray perfects his comic persona as Dr. Peter Venkman.

d: Ivan Reitman | imdb.com | trailer | the whole movie | the song

Tootsie (1982)

Dustin Hoffman is brilliant as actor Michael Dorsey and actress Dorothy Michaels, and the cross-dressing never turns into a gimmick. A pro-feminist satire of acting, the film is also lots of fun, with supporting roles by Jessica Lange, Dabney Coleman and Bill Murray.

d: Sydney Pollack | imdb.com | trailer | No one will hire you.

Stripes (1981)

Bill Murray and straight man Harold Ramis join the Army in a Marx Brothers-style farce, outlasting Sgt. Hulka, seducing beautiful MPOs, surviving basic training and making a rescue mission to Czechoslovakia. One more thing: John Candy mud-wrestles strippers.

d: Ivan Reitman | imdb.com | trailer | Introductions | Graduation
Interview: Bill Murray | Interview: Ivan Reitman | deleted scene

Caddyshack (1980)

Four knockout comedic performances by Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight and Bill Murray carry a Marx brothers-style farce set at a snobby golf country club. Chase and Murray improvised most of their dialogue, including their only scene together — ever.

d: Harold Ramis | imdb.com | trailer | Chase vs. Murray
Be the ball. | Cinderella story | A little poem | Dinner at Bushwood

Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)

Bill Murray does a great Hunter S. Thompson, throwing away every line in a mumbled monotone. The film is funny but too safe in its sketch comedy-style humor. Peter Boyle plays Thompson’s attorney (Carl Lazlo, Esq.), and Neil Young provides the score.

d: Art Linson | imdb.com | trailer | Super Sunday | For writers ...

Meatballs (1979)

Bill Murray’s charming friendship with 12-year-old Chris Makepeace and his “It just doesn’t matter” speech highlight the comedic set pieces at Camp North Star, where the counselors fool around and there’s an Olympiad showdown with Camp Mohawk.

d: Ivan Reitman | imdb.com | trailer | It just doesn’t matter