Sometimes, the people behind the camera are just as recognizable as the people in front of it.
It’s fairly obvious when a movie has an all-star cast, given actors are the most prominently featured individuals involved in filmmaking. They’re there in front of the camera, after all, and so a movie with tons of recognizable faces will clearly be one with an all-star cast. But great films need more than just great actors to work, and if all-star casts can be a thing, so too can all-star crews.
Such a term isn’t used nearly as often, but can well apply to movies where numerous famous people in non-actor roles came together for a single film, and (usually) produced something great in the process. The following movies all stand as examples of films that had talented people working behind the scenes, and had at least several well-recognized names working on aspects of film production that included things like directing, writing, composing, editing, and doing the cinematography.
10 ‘Scarface’ (1983)
Director: Brian De Palma
Sure, it’s admittedly hard to talk about Scarface without mentioning Al Pacino, given it’s one of his best-known roles, and he plays a major role in making the film one of the most memorable of its decade. The epic rise-and-fall story of an ambitious small-time criminal turned drug lord also soars thanks to its director, Brian De Palma, whose style and tendency to indulge in excesses suits the story at hand.
But De Palma’s not the only big-name non-actor who was involved with Scarface, given the film was written by Oliver Stone, the writer/director who’d make a name for himself later in the 1980s, thanks to helming movies like Platoon and Wall Street. Also, Scarface wouldn’t be nearly as great (or as distinctly ‘80s in feel) without the score by Giorgio Moroder, a beyond-influential composer/music producer who helped shape and define genres like disco and synth-pop.
Scarface
- Release Date
- December 9, 1983
- Director
- Brian De Palma
- Cast
- Al Pacino , Steven Bauer , Michelle Pfeiffer , Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio , Robert Loggia , Miriam Colon
- Runtime
- 170 minutes
9 ‘Vertigo’ (1958)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Vertigo is held up as an all-time great thriller nowadays, as well as one of Alfred Hitchcock’s very best efforts as a director, but it wasn’t quite as well-loved upon release. A good many films by Hitchcock could be seen as ahead of their time, but Vertigo went the extra mile in some regards, with its tragic story about desire and obsession still feeling dark and uncomfortable when watched today, well over 60 years on from its release.
Given Alfred Hitchcock had made dozens of movies before 1958 (some in the U.K., and some in Hollywood), he was able to attract both stars and talented crew members alike. Composer Bernard Herrmann and title designer Saul Bass (both prominent names in their respective fields) both worked on Vertigo, as well as other Hitchcock films like Psycho and North by Northwest, but Vertigo might well have an ace up its sleeve that makes its crew even more star-studded: Edith Head. She was a costume designer who’s arguably the most successful in film history, at least going by Oscar wins, given she won eight throughout her career; a career that included credits for hundreds of movies.
Vertigo
- Release Date
- May 28, 1958
- Director
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Cast
- James Stewart , Kim Novak , Barbara Bel Geddes , Tom Helmore , Henry Jones , Raymond Bailey
- Runtime
- 128 mins
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8 ‘Suburbicon’ (2017)
Director: George Clooney
Just as movies with all-star casts can be lackluster, so too can movies with all-star crews prove disappointing: case in point, Suburbicon. For the record, this 2017 thriller/dark comedy also has a pretty impressive cast that includes Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, and Oscar Isaac. The crew similarly has some big names in it, including George Clooneyas director, the Coen Brothers as co-writers, Alexandre Desplat as composer, and Robert Elswit as cinematographer.
Lots of talent came together to make something that’s passable at best, but also kind of disappointing, all things considered. Suburbicon is watchable in parts, but never really coalesces into something great. Clooney – as a director – is unable to match the energy of a good Coen Brothers script… though admittedly, the script itself isn’t one of the Coens’ best efforts (and they were ultimately two of four writers credited with working on said screenplay).
Suburbicon
- Director
- George Clooney
- Cast
- Matt Damon , Josh Brolin , Julianne Moore
7 ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ (2023)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese has had noteworthy individuals working on his films since early in his directorial career, but his productions have only become more prestigious as the decades have gone on (and while his runtimes seem to increase, too). It’s hard to pick out a single Scorsese film as having the most star-studded of crews, but an honorable mention should go to The Last Temptation of Christ, which has Paul Schrader as screenwriter, Peter Gabriel as composer, and Thelma Schoonmaker as editor.
To focus on the last of those, Schoonmaker is one of the best editors in cinema history, and a key Scorsese collaborator since 1980’s Raging Bull. She also did the editing for Killers of the Flower Moon, which might have the most big-name behind-the-scenes individuals of any Scorsese film, with Rodrigo Prieto doing the cinematography, Eric Roth co-writing the script with Scorsese, and the late Robbie Robertson (of The Band fame) composing the film’s excellent score.
Killers of the Flower Moon
- Release Date
- October 20, 2023
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio , Robert De Niro , Lily Gladstone , Jesse Plemons , John Lithgow , Brendan Fraser , Tantoo Cardinal , Cara Jade Myers
- Runtime
- 206 minutes
6 ‘No Country for Old Men’ (2007)
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
If No Country for Old Men isn’t the best Coen Brothers movie, then it’s certainly a contender, and would probably qualify as their darkest and most intense. It follows a ruthless assassin stopping at nothing to obtain a large sum of cash from the site of a drug deal gone wrong, and the man who instantly becomes a target the minute he takes said cash from said site.
Beyond the Coens, No Country for Old Men also featured big names like Roger Deakins (the cinematographer) and Carter Burwell (as composer of the film’s admittedly limited music) as part of its crew, not to mention the fact the film was based on a novel by legendary author Cormac McCarthy. Thankfully, the end product was something that felt like numerous talented people worked on it, and No Country for Old Men continues to hold up spectacularly well.
No Country for Old Men
- Release Date
- November 8, 2007
- Director
- Ethan Coen , Joel Coen
- Cast
- Tommy Lee Jones , Javier Bardem , Josh Brolin , Woody Harrelson , Kelly Macdonald , Garret Dillahunt
- Runtime
- 122 Minutes
5 ‘The Untouchables’ (1987)
Director: Brian De Palma
Okay, one more film by Brian De Palma besides Scarface is worth mentioning: The Untouchables, another thrilling 1980s gangster movie by the director that had some hugely well-known names attached to it. Of course, like Scarface, the actors assembled here are pretty amazing, given Kevin Costner plays the lead role, Robert De Niro is a memorably hammy villain, and Sean Connery gives a career-best performance in a supporting role.
But The Untouchables also had a pretty amazing crew, as on top of De Palma directing, the film was also written by David Mamet, and had a score from legendary composer Ennio Morricone. The latter is, of course, best known for his work in the spaghetti Western genre, but he did much more than just that, with his score here being suitably sweeping, triumphant, and gloriously old-fashioned, perfectly fitting the rest of the film, which can also be described with similar adjectives.
The Untouchables
- Release Date
- June 3, 1987
- Director
- Brian De Palma
- Cast
- Kevin Costner , Sean Connery , Charles Martin Smith , Andy Garcia , Robert De Niro , Richard Bradford
- Runtime
- 119 minutes
4 ‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola put his all into the epic Vietnam War film that was Apocalypse Now, but even though it feels like his vision, the other people involved still deserve recognition. One of Coppola’s co-writers was John Milius, the film was shot by legendary Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, and editor/sound designer Walter Murch was involved with both the editing and the sound design for the film… two aspects of it that ended up getting Oscar nominations, ultimately getting a win for Best Sound.
Judging by the stories surrounding the production of Apocalypse Now, anyone who was involved and lived to tell the tale deserves commendations of the highest order, given the behind-the-scenes stuff was almost as harrowing as the film’s story. It ended up being a classic war film, and a probably timeless one, so it’s arguable that everyone’s efforts paid off.
Apocalypse Now
- Release Date
- August 15, 1979
- Director
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Cast
- Marlon Brando , Martin Sheen , Robert Duvall , Frederic Forrest , Sam Bottoms , Laurence Fishburne
- Runtime
- 153 minutes
- Main Genre
- Drama
3 ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962)
Director: David Lean
Epic movies don’t get much more classic or acclaimed than Lawrence of Arabia, which runs for nearly four hours but doesn’t feel like it wastes a second, all the while being a biopic, a large-scale war film, an adventure movie, and a psychological character study. The story of T.E. Lawrence’s experiences during World War I feels suitably grand, and much of Lawrence of Arabia still feels almost impossibly great, technically speaking.
Its technical proficiency was made possible by numerous masters of their craft coming together and perfectly combining their talents, with legendary director David Lean overseeing it all. Beyond Lean, other noteworthy names in Lawrence of Arabia’s crew included Robert Bolt as co-writer, Freddie Young as cinematographer, Anne V. Coates as editor, and Maurice Jarre as composer, all of whom racked up credits on impressively made movies other than Lawrence of Arabia, too.
Lawrence of Arabia
- Release Date
- December 11, 1962
- Director
- David Lean
- Cast
- Peter O’Toole , Alec Guinness , Anthony Quinn , Jack Hawkins , Omar Sharif , Jose Ferrer
- Runtime
- 227 minutes
- Main Genre
- Adventure
2 ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ (1968)
Director: Sergio Leone
Once Upon a Time in the West is a definitive revisionist Western; one that’s willing to show the Old West with a little more grit than most Westerns made before 1970, but also one that still features some clear-cut characters, including one unequivocal bad guy (Henry Fonda) and an undoubtedly good heroine (Claudia Cardinale). Its director, Sergio Leone, was one of the greatest directors of his time and perhaps of all time, with Once Upon a Time in the West being one of his best efforts.
It’s also the film of his that might have the most well-known individuals attached to its production, given that, like all Sergio Leone films (except one), the score was composed by Ennio Morricone. Also, the co-writers included two people who’d become well-regarded filmmakers a few years after Once Upon a Time in the West’s release: Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento. And, if that’s not enough, another future filmmaker was credited with doing stuntwork in the film: John Landis.
Once Upon a Time in the West
- Director
- Sergio Leone
- Cast
- Henry Fonda , Charles Bronson , Claudia Cardinale , Jason Robards , Gabriele Ferzetti
- Runtime
- 166 Minutes
- Main Genre
- Western
1 ‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Like Martin Scorsese, to some extent, Steven Spielberg is the kind of filmmaker who continually works with exceedingly successful individuals to bring his films to fruition, with the Best Picture-winning Schindler’s List exemplifying this particularly well. It’s a large-scale and moving biographical film, set during World War II and following the story of how Oskar Schindler saved numerous Jewish lives with his vast fortune during the Holocaust.
Frequent Spielberg collaborator John Williams did the score for Schindler’s List, with two other frequent collaborators of the filmmaker being involved in the film’s editing (Michael Kahn) and the cinematography (Janusz Kamiński). Add to that Steven Zaillian as writer (he’s also written screenplays for Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott) and Schindler’s Listemerges as a clear example of a film that had an all-star crew.
Schindler’s List
- Release Date
- December 15, 1993
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Cast
- Liam Neeson , Ralph Fiennes , Ben Kingsley , Caroline Goodall
- Runtime
- 195 minutes
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This article was originally published on collider.com