Top 7 Christian Bale Movies

by Helen Earnshaw | 30 January 2014

Christian Bale in Out of the Furnace

Christian Bale is one of the greatest actors of his generation, and is back on the big screen this week in Out of the Furnace.

Over the years, he has given some remarkable performances, and to celebrate the release of the new film we look back at some of them.

- The Machinist - 2005

Christian Bale is an actor who is not afraid to go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to preparing for a role... that is exactly what he did for The Machinist.

Bale lost a whopping sixty-two pounds to take on the role Trevor Reznik, a man who is suffering from severe insomnia.

Director Brad Anderson has delivered a very dark psychological thriller, which is elevated by Bale's central performance.

His commitment to the role really is staggering, the bathroom scene where you really see what Bale has done to his body with stay with you a long time.

The Machinist is a movie that will hold your attention from start to finish as it explores themes of psychological torment and paranoia.

This is by no means a joyful picture, but it is a movie that you have to see if you are a Bale fan.

- Batman Begins - 2005

Bale went from working on The Machinist to preparing to play Batman; he had to put on 100lbs in six months and rebuild the muscle that he has lost.

The movie hit the big screen in the summer of 2005 and saw Bale team up with director Christopher Nolan for the first time.

Batman Begins is easily one of the best re-boots of all time, as Nolan delivers a movie that is was edgy and dark; a tone that he would carry through the entire trilogy.

Despite all that, Batman Begins is a story that is incredibly human and is rooted in reality.

Bale brings a real presence and menace to Batman, and he really does own the role in a way than none of the other Batman actors did.

- The Prestige - 2006

Away from the Batman franchise, Bale reunited with Nolan for magic movie The Prestige.

The movie follows the rivalry between two magicians, which becomes more exacerbated by their attempt to perform the ultimate illusion.

As we have come to expect with Nolan's movies, The Prestige is packed with twists and turns, but did you work out how the film was going to end?

From the opening scene this movie is incredibly engaging as these two magicians try to outdo one another - they want to be the best no matter what the cost.

Both Bale and Hugh Jackman are terrific as they both deliver characters that are driven by obsession. This is a very sophisticated film that has old-fashioned story telling at its heart.

- Rescue Dawn - 2007

Rescue Dawn was another movie where Bale pushed his body to the limit, as he took on the role of Dieter Dengler; a man shot down and captured during the Vietnam War.

The movie follows Dengler as he hatches a plan to escape the POW camp... the only problem with his plan is the camp is in the heart of the Laos jungle.

Once again, Bale dropped an incredible amount of weight to depict the effect of being a prisoner of war - Dengler and the rest of the prisoners were on little food and suffer physical and psychological torture from the guards.

Rescue Dawn is a hard-hitting and brutal movie, and yet is a film about survival and the unbreakable human spirit.

There is something incredible raw and real about Bale's performance, and that makes it even more difficult to watch.

- 3:10 To Yuma - 2007

3:10 To Yuma saw Bale tackle the Western as James Mangold directed the remake of 3:10 To Yuma.

Evans (Bale), a small-time rancher agrees to hold captured outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe) who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.

This movie is driven forward by the relationship between Bale and Russell Crowe. These are two men that come from very different walks of life; the murderous Wade and the moral upstanding Evans, and the dual between the two men is kept up for the whole film.

And while Evans and Wade may be as different as chalk and cheese, they do come to respect one another. Bale & Crowe really do make a great heavyweight team - their scenes together are some of the best in the movie.

The movie went on to top the U.S. box office, and really is a great addition to the Western genre.

- The Dark Knight - 2008

The Dark Knight is widely regarded as one of the best comic books movies ever made, and it is certainly the best film in Bale & Nolan's batman trilogy.

It was back in 2008 when this movie hit the big screen, and it saw Batman take on his greatest foe... of course, I am talking about The Joker.

Nolan dissects the notion of good and evil and questions what makes a hero and villain in a very complex and dark movie that is aimed, perhaps for the very first time in this genre of movie, at adults going far beyond what we have come to expect of the comic book film.

This time around, we see Bruce Wayne as a more tortured soul than he was in the first film, as he continues to battle his own demons.

Seeing Bale and Heath Ledger share the screen is nothing short of magic, as good and evil go head to head in a titanic battle.

The Dark Knight is darker and more violent than the first film, and it really did set the bar for other movies in this genre.

- The Fighter - 2011

It is hard to believe that Bale's first Oscar nomination only came in 2011. However, for his supporting performance in The Fighter he was triumphant.

Directed by David O. Russell, The Fighter follows the early years of boxer Micky Ward and his brother as he tries to get his career back on track.

Bale takes on the role of Micky's half-brother Dicky Eklund, a former boxer who saw his career slip through his fingers as he fell into drugs. Once again, Bale lost a heap of weight to be able to portray this addiction.

As Dicky, Bale truly shines. This is a man who struggles with his own demons, and yet believes that his brother has what it takes to be a champion.

This is a performance that really elevated Bale above many of his peers, as he finally went on to claim his first Oscar.