Today is Harrison Ford’s seventy eighth birthday, and it’s time to celebrate. In a time where American films were getting artsier and deviating away from the star system, Ford still dominated the screen as one of Hollywood’s most dominating presences. He accomplished this via the birth of film franchises, starring in acclaimed works, and just knowing when and where to be at the right moments. This is interesting, considering Ford had a late start to his career; he was thirty one when he had a very small appearance in American Graffiti, which is possibly one of the earliest notable roles he had. He was a self-made carpenter to support his family when better acting opportunities just didn’t come along. Well, he went from being unnoticed, to becoming one of contemporary cinema’s most powerful names. Still, if you don’t know enough about him (somehow), here are five films for newcomers to the works of Harrison Ford.

5. Witness
Believe it or not, Harrison Ford has only ever been nominated for an Academy Award once. Once. His work in the crime thriller Witness was recognized by the Academy back in 1985. It’s a solid film about a cop blending in to an Amish community to protect the lone witness of a murder, and Ford is his usual scene-stealing self. Just to see what garnered Ford his only brush with awards season success, putting Witness on is harmless. At the very least, you’ll get a popular drama that’s a general crowd pleaser.

4. The Fugitive
Now here’s a film I’m surprised Ford wasn’t nominated for. As a man framed for the murder of his wife and on the run, Ford turns in what may be one of his best performances to date in The Fugitive. This film is also one of Ford’s non-franchise or cult status affiliations to still be widely popular, likely because of the meandering game of cat-and-mouse. The Fugitive is a constant game of chess played by a marked man and a relentless deputy (Tommy Lee Jones) who cares not of the former’s innocence.

3. Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049
The best film Harrison Ford ever starred in was Ridley Scott’s neo noir masterpiece Blade Runner. As the titular replicant detective, Ford is stoic and menacing, which is perfect for bringing the old noir detective tropes into a dismal futuristic world. His neutral ways are almost frightening, and he’s all business (to the point of occasional insensitivity). Ford reprised his role in the superb sequel Blade Runner 2049, carrying on his mythos for a whole new generation; luckily, the sequel does not tarnish his original role or film one iota.

2. Star Wars
It’s impossible to discuss Harrison Ford without going into the franchises he’s a part of. The first one is Star Wars, where Ford plays iconic intergalactic gunslinger Han Solo. Ford’s no-nonsense approach to the character has rendered him one of cinema’s great lone wolves, and easily one of the most likeable faces of the series (even if he was frozen in carbonite, because he wanted to leave the series two films in initially). With the new sequel trilogy featuring Ford’s return as Han Solo, Ford’s take on the rebel is everlasting especially now, if it wasn’t already before (although not everyone is pleased with how the sequels handled Han Solo, let’s be honest).

1. Indiana Jones
The Indiana Jones franchise only gets a higher spot than Star Wars because it’s much more centred only around Harrison Ford’s character. In Star Wars, there is a team of classic characters and performances. In Indiana Jones, it’s almost all Ford. As Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr., Ford is a ruthless treasure hunter with the wits to boot. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a fantastic example of the mystique Ford could bring to a role; the remaining films of the original trilogy aren’t as well assembled, but are still heaps of fun. Maybe avoid Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; Indiana Jones didn’t deserve that curse. Either way, if you want to see Harrison Ford’s signature self, the Indiana Jones series (sans one film) is him in full glory.

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.

Harrison Ford: Five Films for Newcomers