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Next time you’re settling down with a good DVD, why not have a dads in the movies night? To help you choose we’ve chosen our top 10 film dads – from Atticus Finch to Vito Corleone – and come up with some cracking movies into the bargain.
1) Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) in to Kill a Mockingbird
Told through the eyes of six-year-old tomboy Scout, this is a powerful tale of racism in the Deep South. It’s also a brilliant portrayal of childhood terrors, with Scout and her brother Jem haunted by their shut-in neighbour Boo Radley.
Above all, it’s a loving portrait of Atticus – the kind of hero dad we all aspire to be. After his wife’s death he struggles to raise two kids alone, while doing battle with the racist townsfolk and defending a young black man falsely accused of rape. A superdad if ever there was one.
Buy To Kill a Mockingbird
2) Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) in Kramer vs Kramer
New York ad man Ted Kramer is so obsessed by his career that he leaves all the family stuff to wife Joanna (Meryl Streep). When she leaves him and their young son Billy, Ted must learn all the dad stuff – from scrambling eggs to bandaging knees – from scratch.
He eventually becomes a fantastic dad, but when Joanna wants Billy back Ted faces a bitter custody battle to hang on to his beloved son. A tender and touching portrayal of paternal love.
Buy Kramer vs Kramer
3) George Bailey (James Stewart) in It’s a Wonderful Life
George has spent his entire life helping the people of Bedford Falls, running a building and loan company that props up the whole town. He gives up his dreams of travelling to stop evil tycoon Mr Potter taking over the town. One Christmas Eve, facing financial disaster, George decides that his wife and kids would be better off with him dead.
When a kindly angel called Clarence shows George what Bedford Falls would be like if he’d never lived, George comes to see what a wonderful life he’s had – and we see what a wonderful husband and father he’s been.
Buy It's a Wonderful Life
4) Guido Orifice (Roberto Benigni) in Life is Beautiful
By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, this gem of a film is set in Italy during WWII. Guido is a Jewish poet and dreamer who wins the hand of schoolteacher Dora, his principessa. They and their five-year-old son Giosué live happily with Guido’s uncle Eliseo until the Germans cart the family off to a concentration camp.
To shield Giosué from the camp’s horrors Guido concocts an elaborate game, in which little Giosué must hide from the Nazis to earn 1000 points, win a tank and leave. Benigni gives a brilliant performance as the increasingly desperate dad, who ends up making the ultimate sacrifice to protect his son.
Buy Life is Beautiful
5) Marlin (Albert Brooks) in Finding Nemo
Widower Marlin is an overprotective clown fish, terrified of letting Nemo go off by himself after the rest of his family was wiped out by a predator. On Nemo’s first day of school he’s captured by a scuba diver and ends up in a tank in a dentist’s office in Sydney.
The timid Marlin must leave his home on the Great Barrier Reef and venture into the open sea, accompanied only by the ditzy Dory. Cleverly playing on every father’s internal conflict between keeping their kids safe and setting them free, it’s a must-see for every overprotective dad.
Buy Finding Nemo
6) Chris Gardner (Will Smith) in The Pursuit of Happyness
In this 80s-set drama, Chris Gardner is a struggling salesman who ploughs the family’s money into a doomed bone-scanning business. Sick of working double shifts to support him, his wife does a runner. Chris embarks on an unpaid internship as a stockbroker with young son Christopher in tow – if he makes it they’ll be set for life.
Their heartstring-tugging misfortunes include homelessness, poverty and even jail. But it’s Chris’s determination to fight for his dreams – and for his son’s future – that make him a standout dad.
Buy Pursuit of Happyness
7) Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) in The Sound of Music
Single dad and stiff-upper-lipped Captain von Trapp has his hands full – with five daughters and two sons. The kids have managed to run off every governess he’s hired, but grudgingly fall for former nun Maria (Julie Andrews).
As she charms the unruly brood, so does she charm the uptight captain, bringing him out of his shell and teaching him how to be the kind of dad his kids love, not fear. His battle to protect them from the Nazi regime helps cement his place in the movie dad hall of fame.
Buy The Sound of Music
8) Geppetto (Christian Rub) in Pinocchio
Disney’s classic animated feature is, at heart, the story of a father’s love for his son – even if he is a puppet. Kindhearted woodcarver Geppetto, desperate for a child, decides to build a marionette and a helpful fairy brings the puppet to life. Despite the best efforts of Geppetto, and Jiminy Cricket, his companion and conscience, Pinocchio gets into a whole heap of trouble.
He eventually comes good, saves his dad from the belly of a whale and earns the right to be a real boy. Like early Disney fare such as Snow White and Dumbo this is harrowing, but ultimately heartwarming stuff.
Buy Pinocchio
9) Ted Baker (Steve Martin) in Cheaper by the Dozen
Quite why Ted and wife Kate felt the need for 12 children isn’t clear, but 12 they have – leading a happy, all-American existence in small-town Illinois. But things begin to fall apart when Ted gets his dream job coaching his alma mater’s football team, and Kate bags a publishing deal.
Left to look after his increasingly unruly brood, Ted finds parenting a tad stressful – with predictably slapstick results. But, deep down, he’s a fab film dad because he sacrifices everything for his kids’ happiness. Aw.
Buy Cheaper by the Dozen
10) Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) in The Godfather
Not your average father, what with the organised crime, ruthless violence and all, but surely one of the great movie dads – in the greatest gangster film ever. The story begins as Don Vito Corleone hosts his daughter’s wedding, with his beloved son Michael just back from the war.
Although a monster to his enemies, Don Vito has an old-school Sicilian approach to family, giving everything for his kids. As Michael reluctantly gets dragged into the family business, Don Vito struggles in vain to keep his children safe – with Marlon Brando’s powerhouse performance a marvel to behold
Buy The Godfather
Author
Dan Roberts is a feature-writer and columnist with over ten years’ experience of working for The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent, Daily Express and Mail on Sunday, as well as numerous national magazines. His areas of expertise include health, wellbeing, relationships, psychology and parenting. Dan also writes two monthly columns, including Diary of a Single Dad, a humorous but affectionate account of raising his ten-year-old son, Ben. The best of Dan’s work can be found on his website at www.dan-roberts.net
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