Celebrating Harrison Ford's best films

In the story of four teenagers at the cusp of adulthood, Harrison Ford played Bob Falfa in "American Graffiti" in 1973. He's a country boy in a Chevy who challenges protagonist John Milner to a car race that ends in a crash. It was Ford's cinematic debut and Lucas's first successful film. Four years later, the two embarked on a film that would change cinematic history forever.

In the original "Star Wars" trilogy, Ford played Han Solo, captain of the ultra-fast spaceship "Millennium Falcon." He makes his way through the galaxy as a smuggler until approached by Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker to assist them in the fight against the evil empire. Ford made movie history with George Lucas in the space saga, with Wookie Chewbacca at his side.

Now known as a leading man, Ford played a small role in Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece about the Vietnam War, 'Apocalypse Now' (1979). As Colonel Lucas, he sent a group of soldiers to hunt down and eliminate Colonel Kurtz, who has clearly lost the plot. "This mission does not exist. It will never have existed," he told them in the movie that brought the Vietnam War to the public.

After exploring outer space, Ford came back to earth in the "Indiana Jones" series. In his everyday life, Dr. Jones is an archaeology professor. But when he travels, he swaps tweed for a hat and leather vest as he makes his way through jungles and deserts in search of cultural treasures.

As special policeman Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" (1982), Ford fought his way through dystopia on the hunt for replicants - bio-engineered androids. As the title character, Ford is to eliminate the androids from the earth - which proves difficult after he falls in love with one. A box office flop, the film later became a cult classic. A follow-up is set to debut in October 2017.

On a trip to the city in "Witness" (1985), Amish boy Samuel bears witness to a policeman being killed by a colleague. Detective John Book takes the boy's report and then makes the decision to put him under his protection. Together, Ford hides with the boy and his mother in their Amish community, which has neither electricity nor telephones. The murderer, however, tracks them to the town.

In 'Mosquito Coast' (1986), family man Allie Fox (Ford) makes the decision to move away from modern life and take his wife and four children to the Honduran rain forest, where he tries to build his own utopia. Life in the wilderness is more difficult than expected - there are guerrillas, missionaries and people who don't have their best interests at heart. Fox begins to disconnect from his family.

In Roman Polanski's "Frantic" (1988), American Dr. Walker travels to Paris with this wife, who promptly disappears without a trace. Walker begins the search for her through the city, fighting his way through the bureaucracy, unhelpful police and shady districts - until he realizes he's now caught up in something much bigger. Using Ford, Polanski created great suspense in "Frantic."

Innocent of his wife's murder, Dr. Kimble is wrongly sentenced to death in "The Fugitive" (1993). So he escapes and attempts to uncover the real killer. On the run, he is hunted by Gerard, a cop played by Tommy Lee Jones - who won an Oscar for his performance. The cat and mouse thriller was highly praised by critics.

In "Air Force One" (1997), Kazakh terrorists take over the presidential plane with US President James Marshall (Ford) on board and demand freedom for some of their compatriots. The action film that takes place at 30,000 feet follows Ford in his attempts to wrest control of the plane back from the terrorists. German director Wolfgang Petersen garnered praise, as did Ford and co-star Gary Oldman.

Even though he played numerous other roles between 1981 and 2008, Harrison Ford returned to his role as the adventure-loving archaeologist Indiana Jones four times. All of the films were created by George Lucas, with Steven Spielberg as director - a well-oiled team.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015) brought the Star Wars series to the 21st century as it fast forwards to 30 years following the destruction of the Death Star by the rebels. Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo (Ford) formed a new resistance to evil. Of course, the original protagonists that were integrated in the new film were aged accordingly.