Carrie (1976)
Brian De Palma’s 1976 King adaptation. Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta supporting. Prom telekinesis. The split screen.
John Travolta
This archive collects the films featuring John Travolta reviewed at Master of Worlds — 14 titles spanning “Basic (2003)”, “Broken Arrow (1996)”, “Carrie (1976)”, “Cash Out (2024)”, “Face/Off (1997)”, “Get Shorty (1995)”, “Gotti (2018)”, “Look Who’s Talking (1989)”, “Mad City (1997)”, “Michael (1996)”, “Phenomenon (1996)”, “Pulp Fiction (1994)”, “Swordfish (2001)”, and “The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974) and The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)”. Seen together they form a substantial cross-section of John Travolta’s screen work, and the reviews approach them as storytelling first. The questions are consistent — what the performance asks of the audience, how it serves the structure of the film, and what holds up on a second or third viewing. Watching one actor across this many roles makes the craft legible in a way a single film cannot: the recurring instincts, the range, the choices that separate a memorable performance from a forgettable one. The collection is curated rather than exhaustive, built from films reviewed in depth at Master of Worlds, and it grows as further titles are added.
Look Who’s Talking (1989)
1989 Amy Heckerling comedy with John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. Bruce Willis voices a sarcastic infant narrator.
Get Shorty (1995)
1995 Barry Sonnenfeld crime comedy adapting Elmore Leonard. Travolta as Miami loan shark who becomes a Hollywood producer.
Broken Arrow (1996)
1996 John Woo action with Travolta as rogue Air Force pilot who steals nuclear weapons. Christian Slater pursues.
Face/Off (1997)
1997 John Woo action with Travolta and Nicolas Cage swapping faces as cop and terrorist. Operatic ridiculousness.
Basic (2003)
2003 John McTiernan military thriller with Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. Rashomon-style investigation of a Panama training accident.
Gotti (2018)
2018 Kevin Connolly biopic with Travolta as Gambino crime family boss John Gotti. Notorious zero-percent Rotten Tomatoes score.
Cash Out (2024)
2024 Ives action with Travolta as a master thief in a botched bank heist. Direct-to-streaming late-career programmer.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Tarantino’s 1994 anthology crime film. Three interlocking stories. Palme d’Or. The film that made indie a commercial proposition. Still works.
Michael (1996)
Nora Ephron’s 1996 angel comedy with John Travolta. Gentle commercial work that uses spiritual material as premise rather than substantial engagement.