LOS ANGELES – MAY 16: The movie “Top Gun”, directed by Tony Scott. Seen here, Val Kilmer as Lt. Tom … More
CBS via Getty ImagesIconic actor Val Kilmer died Tuesday, leaving behind a lasting body of work on film and stage.
Val Kilmer’s daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, broke the news to the New York Times about her father’s death from pneumonia at age 65. Kilmer had been battling health problems for more than a decade, including throat cancer. Sadly, the actor largely lost his ability to speak after his cancer treatments in 2014.
Kilmer’s screen career kicked off in 1984 with the lead role in directors Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker’s slapstick comedy Top Secret! In a matter of a couple of years, Kilmer went from Top Secret! to the top of Hollywood’s A-list opposite Tom Cruise in one of the top films in 1986, forever cementing his place in Hollywood history with dozens of more great works ahead of him.
Below is a list of 10 of Kilmer’s classic films and the streaming services that are carrying them. In addition, all of the films are available for purchase or rent on video on demand.
Top Gun (1986)/Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Technically this is a two-film entry but both Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick are classics in their own right. In Top Gun, Val Kilmer stars as Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, who is continually at odds with his fellow U.S. Naval Aviator Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) as both vie to become the Top Gun pilot at an elite flight school.
Both Cruise and Kilmer reprised their roles with the bookend film Top Gun: Maverick, in which Kilmer appears in a profoundly emotional reunion scene with Cruise. Top Gun: Maverick marked Kilmer’s last film appearance.
Top Gun is streaming on Paramount+ and Prime Video, while Top Gun: Maverick is streaming on Paramount+.
‘Willow’ (1988)
Val Kilmer stars as the mercenary Madmartigan opposite his then-real-life wife, Joanne Whalley as Sorsha, the daughter of the evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) in Willow.
Willow is an epic fantasy adventure directed by Ron Howard and co-written and produced by George Lucas. At the center of the film, of course, is Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), an aspiring sorcerer who rescues an infant child prophesized to bring Queen Bavmorda’s reign to an end.
Willow is streaming on Disney+.
‘The Doors’ (1991)
Val Kilmer channels the late legendary rock singer Jim Morrison in The Doors, a music biopic from director Oliver Stone. While the film refers to the name of the classic 1960s rock band, The Doors is largely a chronicle of Morrison’s life and career before his death at age 27 in July of 1971.
The Doors also stars Meg Ryan as Morrison’s longtime girlfriend Pamela Courson, as well as Kyle McLachlan, Frank Whaley and Kevin Dillon as Morrison’s Doors bandmates Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore, respectively.
The Doors is not available as part of any streaming service package but is available to purchase or rent on video on demand.
‘Tombstone’ (1993)
Val Kilmer stars as legendary gunslinger Doc Holliday opposite Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp in Tombstone.
An old-school Western set in Tombstone, Ariz., Tombstone finds Holliday and Earp alongside Earp’s brothers Virgil (Sam Elliott) and Morgan (Bill Paxton) as they off against a band of criminals including Curly Bill Brocius (Powers Boothe) and Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn). Tombstone’s massive ensemble cast also includes Charlton Heston, Dana Delaney, Michael Rooker, Thomas Haden Church, Stephen Lang and Jason Priestley.
Kilmer, however, steals the show as Doc by citing, among other things, his famous phrase, “I’m Your Huckleberry” — words that eventually became the title of the actor’s 2020 memoir.
Tombstone is streaming on Hulu, Fubo and FX Now.
‘Heat’ (1995)
Val Kilmer stars in the key supporting role of Chris Shiherlis, the right-hand man of prolific thief Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) in Heat, an epic crime thriller written and directed by Michael Mann.
As Heat chronicles the deadly cat-and-mouse game between Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and McCauley, it brings in an impressible cast of ensemble players, which in addition to Kilmer includes Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Natalie Portman, Danny Trejo, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Dennis Haysbert, William Fichtner and Ted Levine.
Heat is streaming on Hulu and Netflix.
‘Batman Forever’ (1995)
Following Michael Keaton’s two Batman films for director Tim Burton, the franchise took a new creative direction under filmmaker Joel Schumacher, who hired Val Kilmer to assume the dual role of Batman and Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever.
The film not only introduces Batman’s legendary sidekick, Robin (Chris O’Donnell), but it finds the dynamic duo taking on a new pair of villains: Harvey “Two-Face” Dent (Tommy Lee Jones) and Edward Nygma (Jim Carrey), aka The Riddler. Nicole Kidman also stars in the film as Bruce’s new love interest, the psychoanalyst Dr. Chase Meridian.
Batman Forever is streaming on Max.
‘The Saint’ (1997)
Val Kilmer stars as Simon Templar — a role that originated on television in the 1960s by future James Bond actor Roger Moore — in the big-screen adaptation of The Saint.
A thief who expertly disguises himself as various Catholic saints, Templar is hired by the Russian mob to steal a cold fusion energy plans from a top scientist, Emma Russell (Elisabeth Shue). Simon’s mission takes a detour, however, when he falls for Emma and discovers he’s being targeted by the people who hired him for the heist.
The Saint is streaming on Paramount+.
‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ (2005)
Val Kilmer plays a private detective, Perry van Shrike, aka Gay Perry, opposite Robert Downey Jr.’s Harry Lockhart in writer-director Shane Black’s dark crime comedy. When Lockhart is mistaken for an actor after stumbling into a movie audition while eluding authorities in New York, he is sent to Los Angeles to study under Perry to prepare for another audition.
While in Hollywood, Perry and Harry get caught up in a murder investigation, where a struggling actress, Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan), is trying to unravel the mystery behind her sister’s death.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is not available as part of any streaming service package but is available to purchase or rent on video on demand.
‘Val’ (2021)
A Prime Video original documentary, Val chronicles Val Kilmer’s life and career through footage pulled from hundreds of hours of the actor’s home movies and videocassette collection, as well as a new interview with the actor and artist. The film not only delves into Kilmer’s film and stage career, it takes a deep dive into his battle with throat cancer.
Val Kilmer’s son, Jack, who sounds remarkably like his father, narrates the film. In addition to Jack Kilmer, the film also features Val’s daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, their mother and the actor’s ex-wife Joanne Whalley.
Val is streaming on Prime Video.
Bonus Pick: ‘Real Genius’ (1985)
Before Val Kilmer soared in the action genre with Top Gun, he appeared in a pair of comedies — 1984’s Top Secret! and Real Genius in 1985. In the latter, Kilmer stars as Chris Knight, a teenage genius who conspires to ruin a professor’s plan to develop a highly powerful laser weapon to use for nefarious purposes.
Real Genius is not available as part of any streaming service package but is available to purchase or rent on video on demand.
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