Best Movie Cast Lists

Now it's difficult to argue that a cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Caine, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy is pretty impressive.

Yes once again filmmaker Christopher Nolan has pulled out all of the stops to put together a great cast list as well as show off some of the best acting talent in the business.

So to celebrate the release of Inception, which looks se to be one of the best movies of the year: a Christopher Nolan picture is never to be missed, we take a look at some of the best cast lists ever assembled.

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight was the last time that we saw Nolan in the dirctor's chair back in 2008 and he brought together a whole host of names for the second instalment of the Batman franchise.

Reprising his role as the caped crusader was Christian Bale with Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman also back as Lucius Fox, Alfred Pennyworth and James Gordon.

But there were new faces the most notable that of Heath Ledger, who was the surprise choice as Batman's nemesis the Joker, and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent.

The film was a massive box office hit, despite being shrouded in tragedy after the death of Ledger as it went on to break through the $1 billion barrier and land Ledger a best Supporting Actor Oscar.

The Departed

The Departed was the film of 2006 that once again reunited Leonardo DiCaprio with director Martin Scorsese in a remake of Hong Kong crime thriller Infernal Affairs.

And Scorsese's cast of DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin and Vera Farmiga didn't let him down as he finally got his hands on a Best Director Oscar, oh they won Best Picture to good work!

Pulp Fiction

Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction brought together an impressive cast of John Travolta, Samuel L Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and Ving Rhames as the director really made his mark as one of Hollywood's most exciting directors.

The role of Vincent Vega revitalised John Travolta's stalling career as he went on to receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination while his partner in crime Samuel L Jackson almost blew his audition despite the role being written with him in mind.

Despite Miramax wanting either Meg Ryan or Holly Hunter for the role of Mia Wallace Tarantino wanted Uma Thurman, she would go on to star in Kill Bill. And Harvey Keitel's role was written especially for the actor while his Reservoir Dogs co-star Tim Roth was also brought on board.

The film went on to be a major critical and commercial success scooping the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a Best original Screenplay Oscar as well as landing a Best Picture.

Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs may have been the directorial debut for Quentin Tarantino but that didn't stop the film boasting an impressive cast list of Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Chris Penn, Michael Madsen, Lawrence Tierney.

The film broke all of the narrative conventions of this genre of film the film became a benchmark for nineties filmmaking and Tarantino's star soared. Keitel, Roth and Madsen all went on to work with Tarantino again.

The Magnificent Seven

Modelled on the Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai The Magnificent Seven remains one of the best Western movies ever made despite being released way back in 1960.

Director John Sturges' film tells the story of a group of hired gunmen protecting a Mexican village from bandits and brought together a spectacular cast including Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach, Robert Vaughn and James Coburn.

Lead man Yul Brynner had launched his career in 1956 with immediate success. By the time The Magnificent Seven was released he had already won a Best Actor Oscar for his 1956 role in The King and I.

Steve McQueen was still a relative newcomer to the acting industry having only made his breakthrough in 1959 in Never So Few, which was also directed by Sturges.

Up until 1960 Charles Bronson had worked predominately in television and had not yet made a name for himself as he would go on to do starring in The Great Escape, The Dirty Dozen and Once Upon a Time in the West.

Despite three sequels following: Return of the Seven, Guns of the Magnificent Seven and The Magnificent Seven Ride this was the only time that the original cast were all together.

Ocean's Eleven

The 1960's movie had an impressive cast of the Rat Pack which included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr but it was the 2001 picture that really featured Hollywood royalty.

Director Steven Soderbergh brought together George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac and Elliott Gould in what was to be the first picture in a very successful, if somewhat unexpected, franchise.

The film was both a box office and critical success and resulted in the cast reuniting for two more movies which would see the likes of Catherine Zeta Jones and Al Pacino also join the gang.

Other impressive movie line-ups include The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, LA Confidential, JFK, Love Actually, The Ususal Suspects and of course The Lord of the Rings.

Inception is released 16th July.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw