Before Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we’re looking back at the ten most memorable Carrie Fisher movies!
Carrie Fisher is the daughter of Hollywood legends Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, and the mother of Scream Queens actress Billie Lourd. Usually that kind of lineage carries charges of nepotism, but Fisher has carved out her own legend over the past 42 years in show business.
The original Star Wars movie turned Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford into international superstars. Thirty eight years later, that fame has endured and Star Wars: The Force Awakens will mark the trio’s return to the Star Wars franchise for the first time since 1983’s Return of the Jedi.
While Ford had an unmatched string of box office success and Hamill made his mark as a voiceover actor, Fisher’s career has taken many twists and turns. Fisher’s prominence as an actress diminished in the early ‘90s, but she reinvented herself as a writer and she became one of the most sought after script doctors in Hollywood. Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be Fisher’s first major film role in several years. And it’s likely that she’ll be back for Star Wars: Episodes VIII and XI.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is heading to theaters on December 18. But before that film opens, ComingSoon.net has put together a retrospective of Fisher’s ten most memorable movies. Share your favorite Carrie Fisher films in the comment section below!
Carrie Fisher Movies Spotlight: Shampoo (1975)
Fisher’s first theatrical role came in Shampoo, a comedic drama starring Warren Beatty as George Roundy, a womanising Hollywood hairdresser with ambition. Fisher played Lorna Karpf, the daughter of George’s benefactor’s Lester (Jack Warden) and Felicia Karpf (Lee Grant).
Although Fisher’s role was small, it was pretty unforgettable as Lorna openly challenged George’s relationship with her mother and she ended up sleeping with him herself!
Carrie Fisher Movies Spotlight: Star Wars (1977)
Long before female action stars became commonplace, Fisher’s Princess Leia was blazing the trail in the original Star Wars. Fisher may have been the only actress with a meaty role in the film, but she made the most of it. Leia had some of the funniest lines in the movie, and once she’s out of her cell on the Death Star, she started taking over the action sequences as well.
And of course, Leia’s hair buns became instantly iconic. Fisher’s likeness was soon immortalized as Leia in the countless action figures, statues, and various collectibles that followed.
Carrie Fisher Movies Spotlight: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The Empire Strikes Back gave Fisher more dramatic material than the first Star Wars movie did. Leia’s uneasy romance with Han Solo was one of the highlights of the film. Their “I love you” and “I know” is still one of the all-time great scenes in the franchise. While Han’s uncertain fate and Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber battle with Darth Vader gave Empire its most powerful moments, Leia had a pivotal role in the film’s conclusion. Leia was too late to save Han, but she did manage to rescue Luke in his darkest hour.
In retrospect, it should have been obvious that Luke and Leia were siblings, even though George Lucas reportedly didn’t come up with that until the third movie. Luke reaches out through the Force, and Leia answered. If they hadn’t passionately kissed earlier in the movie, Lucas would have been a lot more convincing when he said that he planned it that way all along!
Carrie Fisher Movies Spotlight: The Blues Brothers (1980)
Fisher’s character in The Blues Brothers is never named, but she was the jilted bride-to-be of “Joliet” Jake Blues (John Belushi) and she left a trail of destruction as she attempted to murder Jake and his brother, Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) in revenge.
This led to one of the film’s funniest scenes in which Jake begged Fisher’s character for forgiveness and for his life… moments before literally dropping her and making his escape.
Carrie Fisher Movies Spotlight: Under the Rainbow (1981)
Be honest, how many of you remembered that Fisher starred in a comedy alongside Chevy Chase in the prime of his career? Under the Rainbow was set in the late ‘30s as 150 diminutive actors and actresses stay in a hotel while shooting The Wizard of Oz as the infamous Munchkins.
Under the Rainbow had a very “loose” relationship with the reality of its story, but it was savaged by critics and rarely seen after its theatrical release. For many years, it was also unreleased on home video, but it has subsequently shown up online. This film was by no means a success, but it was one of the few non-Star Wars movies co-headlined by Fisher.
Carrie Fisher Movies Spotlight: Return of the Jedi (1983)
The third Star Wars wrapped up the original trilogy with another Death Star and another confrontation between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. But the thing that everyone is still talking about is Princess Leia’s slave girl outfit that she wore while she was captured by Jabba the Hutt. While Fisher has occasionally voiced her disdain for the slave bikini, it made her a sex symbol and it remains popular to this day.
More recently, Disney has been rumored to have “retired” any and all Star Wars merchandise featuring Leia in the slave girl costume. Earlier this week, Fisher told The Wall Street Journal this: “I think that’s stupid… The father who flipped out about it, ‘What am I going to tell my kid about why she’s in that outfit?’ Tell them that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn’t like it. And then I took it off. Backstage.”
Carrie Fisher Movies Spotlight: Hannah and her Sisters (1986)
One of Fisher’s most prominent post-Star Wars roles came in Woody Allen’s Hannah and her Sisters. Fisher played April, a friend, business partner, and later rival to Holly (Dianne Wiest), one of the sisters of Hannah (Mia Farrow).
Although Fisher’s role is relatively small in the film, it showed off some of her comedic talents. Hannah and her Sisters is also widely regarded as Allen’s best movie.
Carrie Fisher Movies Spotlight: The ‘Burbs (1989)
After co-starring with Tom Hanks in The Man With One Red Shoe, Fisher reteamed with Hanks in The ‘Burbs as his onscreen wife, Carol Peterson. Hanks portrayed Ray, a suburbanite who came to believe that his new neighbors were killers. Carol was less than amused by Ray’s conviction, but he was ultimately proven to be right.
The ‘Burbs was fairly standard comedy, but it’s notably one of the last times that Fisher co-headlined a film.
Carrie Fisher Movies Spotlight: When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Fisher had a supporting role in one of the all-time great romantic comedies, When Harry Met Sally. She played Marie, one of Sally’s (Meg Ryan) best friends, and briefly a date for Harry (Billy Crystal) before falling for his friend, Jess (Bruno Kirby).
Marie and Jess’ relationship plays out in the background of When Harry Met Sally, but Ryan and Crystal’s characters had the spotlight. This film is just a footnote in Fisher’s career, but it’s a very successful footnote.
Carrie Fisher Movies Spotlight: Postcards from the Edge (1990)
In 1987, Fisher published her first novel, Postcards from the Edge, which fictionalized her relationship with her mother and her struggle to remain sober. Postcards from the Edge was a bestseller, and three years later, it was adapted as movie with Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, and Gene Hackman.
Fisher wrote the screenplay for Postcards from the Edge, but didn’t have a major acting role in the film. Fisher’s writing career subsequently took off, and she wrote three additional novels and became an accomplished script doctor for several years.
