Jane Fonda’s favourite movies of all time
To become an iconic figure in the world of Hollywood, you have to set a new standard of genre filmmaking, like when Tom Cruise took the silver screen by storm with Top Gun in 1986, or entirely embody American patriotism as John Wayne did. But then there are also those like Jane Fonda, whose profiles are so well-adored and respected that they become bigger than just ‘Hollywood actors’.
An influential star of American cinema throughout the late 20th century, Fonda is a versatile performer who proved herself capable of selling the title role of the zany sci-fi movie Barbarella and also demonstrated that she was worthy of critical plaudits. Earning five Oscar nominations during her heyday from the early 1970s to the late 1980s, Fonda took home two Academy Awards in 1972 and 1979 for Klute and Coming Home, respectively.
During this time, Fonda managed to become one of the most hated people in America for her actions during the Vietnam War, being a vocal political activist and follower of counterculture. Yet, while her photo alongside a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun stirred plenty of controversy, Fonda still gained many followers for her work in protesting the actions of the unjust war.
Though she was blacklisted by Hollywood thanks to hatred from the American media, she did not allow this to hamper her political activism, continuing to speak up for the victims of the war. This was merely the beginning of such a countercultural identity, too, with the actor later being a vocal presence at protests against the Iraq War, as well as at pro-feminist and environmental marches.
‘I didn’t understand the women’s movement at first,” she later told Elle during a 2023 interview, “But as I got to know these activist women, I realised that we live in a system that denigrates women and puts men on a pedestal – and that was not totally unconnected to the Vietnam War. Patriarchy and war go together. I finally began to understand feminism on a deeper level”.
Known during the time as a staunch feminist, Fonda was asked at the height of her fame about her interest in creating an enlightening film about women’s liberation, with the actor revealing some of her favourite films from such a movement in the process. The first film she mentions is one of Martin Scorsese’s most overlooked gems, 1974’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
Exclaiming her love for the film about a recently widowed woman who is forced to make a new life of her own, Fonda exclaimed that it’s “about what’s real, you know, it really dealt with ‘What does a woman do when she’s out on her own and she’s looking for a job she’s got a kid? What does she do? How does she deal with that? What does a woman do who has a dream and she probably won’t be able to fulfil it?’”.
Elsewhere, Fonda also picks out the Italian film director and screenwriter Lina Wertmüller, namely her consecutive movies Swept Away and Seven Beauties, from 1974 and 1975, respectively. A subversive satirist, Wertmüller was one of the most fascinating and challenging filmmakers of the late 20th century, with Swept Away still being a crucial modern text, even inspiring Ruben Östlund’s own Palme d’Or winning comedy Triangle of Sadness.
“I loved Swept Away,” Fonda said of the movie, “It was difficult for women to watch, I think, but life is difficult. There are these people with privilege and people without privilege, and how do we deal with that, and how do we resolve those contradictions? That’s the fundamental question”.
This trio of movies well reflect the political and social organisations and movements that Fonda stood for, with the films of Wertmüller, in particular, being key to understanding the ardent soul of the actor behind the Hollywood sheen.
Jane Fonda’s favourite movies:
- Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (Martin Scorsese, 1974)
- Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmüller, 1975)
- Swept Away (Lina Wertmüller, 1974)
