# Great Two-Main-Character-driven movies (not love stories) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827 "2010-10-11T21:38:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/1 "2010-10-11T21:38:48Z")
Over the weekend, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing a pre-release viewing of _The King’s Speech_ with Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth. It was a really great movie and I predict that the two of them are going to be up against each other for a Best Actor Oscar®. And while there were some great supporting actors and characters (Helena Bonham-Carter as Colin Firth’s wife and Guy Pierce as his brother), the strength of the film was the developing relationship between the two main characters, Lionel Logue and King George VI. This got me thinking about other similar films in which the strength and greatness of the film lies in both the characters being portrayed and the actors portraying said characters. The ones that immediately come to mind: \* The Dresser\* - Albert Finney and Tom Courtney both chew up the scenery. _Sleuth_ - The original; Lawrence Olivier and Michael Caine. _The Man Who Would Be King_ - Michael Caine and Sean Connery. Love 'em both. _Thelma and Louise_ - Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon _My Dinner With Andre_ - Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory I had thought of Spartacus, but while both main characters (and actors) are extremely substantial, Kirk Douglas and Lawrence Olivier have very little screen time together and doesn’t quite fit the criteria I’m looking for where the actors rely on interaction with one another for their character development. What are some others? ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/2 "2010-10-11T23:19:56Z")
Two come quickly to mind. \*Hell In The Pacific \*(1969 starring Toshiro Mifune and Lee Marvin about an American and a Japanese soldier stranded on a Pacific island during World War II. They are the only characters in the movie. The second, whose title I forget, was a remake of \*Hell In The Pacific \* made about 25 years ago which transported the story to the far future and a world where an human and an alien enemy are stranded. And, of course, just about any movie based on **Robinson Crusoe**. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/3 "2010-10-11T23:24:50Z")
_A Boy and His Dog_ ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/4 "2010-10-11T23:28:00Z")
**’Night Mother** with Anne Bancroft and Sissy Spacek. A daughter discusses her suicide plans with her mother. **Badlands** Another Sissy Spacek, this time with Martin Sheen. Based on the Starkweather/Fugate story. **Becket** A tug of war over power by Peter O’Toole and Richard Burton. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/5 "2010-10-11T23:29:12Z")
**Toy Story** Maybe \*\*Fight Club \*\*if you liked it. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/6 "2010-10-11T23:37:36Z")
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure? More seriously, **Amadeus** ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/7 "2010-10-11T23:39:07Z")
**Dark Knight**? ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/8 "2010-10-11T23:43:22Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > \*\*Two come quickly to mind. > > \*Hell In The Pacific \*(1969 starring Toshiro Mifune and Lee Marvin about an American and a Japanese soldier stranded on a Pacific island during World War II. > They are the only characters in the movie. > > The second, whose title I forget, was a remake of _Hell In The Pacific \* made about 25 years ago which transported the story to the far future and a world where an human and an alien enemy are stranded. > snip_\*. Was that [_Enemy Mine_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089092/)? Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr. - pretty good flick. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/9 "2010-10-12T00:00:17Z")
**Robinson Crusoe on Mars** – pretty good early 1960s SF flick. a lot of people feel that **enemy Mine** is pretty reminiscent of it. **The African Queen** – I know the OP says “No love stories”, but TAQ certainly doesn’t start out that way, and it’s a two-person contest of wills until they start falling for each other. **Moon** – recent SF film in which the two “people” are, at first, the lead and his computer, then the lead and the newcomer. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/10 "2010-10-12T00:28:03Z")
Redford/Newman. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/11 "2010-10-12T01:00:04Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > > [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > > > \*\*Two come quickly to mind. > > > > \*Hell In The Pacific \*(1969 starring Toshiro Mifune and Lee Marvin about an American and a Japanese soldier stranded on a Pacific island during World War II. > > They are the only characters in the movie. > > > > The second, whose title I forget, was a remake of _Hell In The Pacific \* made about 25 years ago which transported the story to the far future and a world where an human and an alien enemy are stranded. > > snip_\*. > > Was that [_Enemy Mine_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089092/)? Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr. - pretty good flick. That’s the one. It was released in 1985. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/12 "2010-10-12T01:08:31Z")
Two-Lane Blacktop? a 1971 car movie starring Warren Oates and James Taylor. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/13 "2010-10-12T01:52:42Z")
[Death and the Maiden](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ls3WG8kNvw) [Dersu Uzala](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF5b11vIcZ0) [The Music Box](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4CM1RZgNwA) A Robert Blake 2-fer: _Of Mice and Men_ and _In Cold Blood_ [Midnight Cowboy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c412hqucHKw) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/14 "2010-10-12T01:54:45Z")
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/15 "2010-10-12T01:58:54Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Thread over. You win. And beat me by mere minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/16 "2010-10-12T02:05:33Z")
I was thinking of Heat and Point Break, but now that I think about it I’m not entirely sure those weren’t love stories. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/17 "2010-10-12T02:12:03Z")
**The Fugitive**. “I didn’t do it!” “I don’t care!” ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/18 "2010-10-12T02:13:06Z")
I’d say _The Seventh Seal_ and _Cross of Iron_ should count, even if they aren’t two-characters only. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/19 "2010-10-12T02:20:07Z")
Don’t forget Redford and Newman in _The Sting_, too. _All the President’s Men_ - Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein, trying to get to the bottom of the Watergate scandal. _Breaker Morant_ - Edward Woodward and Bryan Brown as friends and comrades during the Boer War, being court-martialed by a kangaroo court (there are other major characters, including another officer and their defense counsel, but it’s really focuses on those two). _In the Line of Fire_ - Clint Eastwood as a tough-as-nails but past-his-prime Secret Service agent, and John Malkovich as his sinister foe, an aspiring presidential assassin. Scarily good. _Trading Places_ - Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy team up to scam the billionaire brothers who used them. _Seven Days in May_ - Kirk Douglas is a youngish Marine officer who suspects that his boss, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (played by Burt Lancaster), may be planning a military coup. _Hot Fuzz_ - Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as buddy cops in a quiet little British town that won’t stay quiet for long. _Star Trek_ - Kirk and Spock. 'Nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827/20 "2010-10-12T02:33:33Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _All the President’s Men_ - Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein, trying to get to the bottom of the Watergate scandal. Hmmmm… that one doesn’t work as much for me. Yes, the arc of the film is charted by the two main characters. But I don’t see this as a _character_ film; they seem secondary to the story being told as their core characters didn’t change much. They start off idealistic and driven and remain as such. Same with _Seven Days in May_… I don’t think of it has a Lancaster/Douglas-character driven film (and it is one of my favorites). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-two-main-character-driven-movies-not-love-stories/556827.md?page=2)