Filmography for Winona Ryder, with links to related pages and sites.
1986 | Overlooked at time of release. Adolescent angst.
More at I.M.D.b.
1987 | Not financially successful, but contains quality performances. Plot deals with difficult family circumstances.
More at I.M.D.b.
1988 | In film making circles, Winona was already known as an intuitive actor, but it was her appearance in this 'after-life comedy' that brought her to a wide audience. Here she plays Lydia—a black clad, death obsessed teenager who finds more comfort among the ghosts who haunt the family home than with her status-junkie step-mom and workaholic dad.
More at I.M.D.b.
1988 | Deals with social tensions at the time of the Vietnam war. The film was not a success, but critics agreed that Winona was.
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1988 | Winona lists this among her favorite movie making experiences; Heathers combines cutting sarcasm, wry analogies and multiple layers of sub-text—eloquently describing 1980s America as experienced by teens.
More about Heathers.
More at I.M.D.b.
1989 | Engaging biopic of '50s rock-n-roller Jerry Lee Lewis and his child bride Myra (played by Winona). The way she went at this role strengthened her reputation as an inventive interpreter amenable to direction.
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1990 | By this time, the peg-board media had given up trying to explain Winona and settled for describing her as 'quirky'. Here, Winona gives a straight-forward interpretation of a teenager grappling with her status as a 'reject' while attempting to develop her own identity.
More about Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael.
More at I.M.D.b.
1990 | Blighted by one of the least representative promotion campaigns devised, it was to be several years before Mermaids acquired wide appreciation for what it is: a funny, original and bittersweet tour of the misguided past.
More about Mermaids.
More at I.M.D.b.
"Mermaids" official page at M.G.M.
1990 | Her second appearance in a Tim Burton film (after Beetlejuice). Despite being cast in a distinctly un-winonaish role—as a cheerleader(!)—Winona fits right into this tragi-comedy about people who don't fit in.
More at I.M.D.b.
Images: Edward Scissorhands.
1991 | A well thought of collection of short stories. Winona plays a cabbie aspiring to be a mechanic!
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1992 | A high budget exploitation of the classic novel by Bram Stoker.
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1993
| By now Winona was considered one of Hollywood's most headlineable
'babes' the mere mention of whom could pre-sell a warehouse of
gossipzines. Yet, at the same time, she was also seen as one the rarest
of actors—combining the silent film presence and visual appeal of
Lillian Gish with the intellectual plausibility of Bette Davis. Thus
far, Winona had played teenage misfits, a murderer, a budding vampire,
a fairy-tale heroine... And a cabbie. Sometimes she failed, but usually
she succeeded, and more than once she was described as having 'carried'
a film—not bad for someone who once described herself as a 'midget
freak.'
When Hollywood superman Martin Scorsese was casting for his film version of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence few were surprised that he called Winona.
More at I.M.D.b.
1993 | The film serves well as an advert for Isabel Allende's award winning and widely loved novel.
More about The House of Spirits.
More at I.M.D.b.
1994 | Snapshot comedy, framing the disillusionment of 'X-Geners' who found themselves newly graduated components of the world beyond t.v.
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1994 | The film was generally well regarded, but once again Winona's performance stood out. Possibly the most meaningful review she received was the number of eyebrows raised when she didn't get an Oscar.
More at I.M.D.b.
1995 | A collection of short stories (memories of youth) linked by the theme of a young woman's impending marriage. Rich material for three movies, brutally crammed into one. Winona's best scenes involve her character's pre-wedding doubts and her escapist infatuation with another man.
More at I.M.D.b.
1996 | Twenty-something misfit exploits teenager. Formula titillation.
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1996 | An all-star semi-documentary of classical theater.
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1996 | Ryder is 'back' with a vengeance in Nicholas Hytner's adaptation of Arthur Miller's delicious, multi layered play. Much has been said about what Arthur Miller meant with his tale of community and private politics set during America's witch hunting era... But, by any interpretation, this is a great story (and movie).
More at I.M.D.b.
1997 | Winona ridiculed herself for appearing in this—as a diminutive space hero—and yet, in some ways, this is her most interesting role—combining previous themes of self and exterior with reality and perception. The project was a personal milestone for Winona as she was able to work with one of her heros—Sigourney Weaver.
More at I.M.D.b.
1998 | She has a small role in this cinematic sketch book by Woody Allen.
More at I.M.D.b.
1999 | Based on Susanna Kaysen's memoir of her time in a psychiatric hospital. Winona had wanted to make a film version ever since reading the book, but several years were to pass before the project got moving, and it was then dogged by the social and commercial taboos dominant at that time. Ultimately, the film fails to impart the distress of a teenager who's losing it, let alone the causes that underly such 'inexplicable' crashes; scenes that did have a hint of truth were edited out. Never-the-less, the film succeeded in bringing the issues described in Kaysen's book to a wide audience.
More at I.M.D.b.
2000 | [Shot prior to Girl, Interrupted.] Winona has to save the world from the anti-christ. Winona fans may appreciate the scene where 'Maya' (Ryder) first meets 'Peter' (Ben Chapman).
More at I.M.D.b.
2000 | Fading playboy falls in love with dying young woman.
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2002 | Winona plays a scheming journalist in this comedy with Adam Sandler.
More at I.M.D.b.
"Mr. Deeds" official site at Sony Pictures.
2002 | Small role in this film about a movie producer who replaces a troublesome actor with a digital one.
More at I.M.D.b.
Also: s1m0ne.com
2004 | Small role in this adaptation of the book by 'J.T. Leroy.'
More at I.M.D.b.
2006 | Inspired by the Darwin Awards website, which posthumously awards those who get themselves killed in really dumb ways, thus proving that even somebody with the I.Q. of lettuce can still end up a winner.
More at I.M.D.b.
Also: movie.darwinawards.com
2006 | Adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel, using animation overlay to convey the visual style of a graphic novel. Story depicts an Orwellian America addled by drugs and paranoia.
More at I.M.D.b.
Also: "A Scanner Darkly" website.
2007 | Ten comedy shorts, each inspired by one of the Commandments.
More at I.M.D.b.
Also: thetenmovie.com
2007 | Who said spam never killed anyone? By Daniel Waters (Heathers).
More at I.M.D.b.
Winona narrated an acclaimed audio-book version of The Diary of Anne Frank.
For complete listings visit Winona Ryder at I.M.D.b.