Finest acting performances?

[Younger Brother]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 4:46pm

What are some of your favorite acting performances? A few of mine include

Toni Collette in The Sixth Sense: So delicate. Subtle. Absolutely fantastic. That'll be the day I watch the movie and don't say out loud to myself through my sobbing "damn, she's something else" in the scene in the car.

Mo'Nique in Precious: I'm not usually a fan of Mo'Nique as a comedian so I was surprised I'd adore her as an actress. Seriously terrifying. A well deserved Oscar

Leonardo di Caprio in Gilbert Grape: need I say more?

Vera Farmiga in The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas: How she did not receive even an Oscar nod is beyond me. I know the obvious most powerful scene is the final one but there were so many times she truly amazed me. So many subtle moments

Jessica Chastain in The Help: Cannot put my finger on it, but there was something about her performance that blew me away. She made me laugh and cry.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 4:55pm

When I answer this question, I tend to point to specific scenes.

Emma Thompson in the bedroom scene in Love Actually

Imelda Stauton when the police arrive in Vera Drake

Judy Garland the dressing room monologue in A Star Is Born

[Younger Brother]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 5:08pm

Wait..how could I forget to add Kimberly Elise in For Colored Girls?

[Younger Brother]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 5:08pm

Wait..how could I forget to add Kimberly Elise in For Colored Girls?

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 5:11pm

I can immediately come up with three right away - 1. Hillary Swank in Boys Don't Cry. Most notably, the scene in the police precinct when she's being questioned about her rape by those two thugs. That was probably the best acting I've ever seen.

2. Ellen Burstyn in Requiem For a Dream. The entire film but especially the end.

3. F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 5:24pm

Kim Hunter in STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. It's deeply felt, carnal and grounds the entire movie.

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 5:41pm

I tend to look at entire performances, not just scenes. That's too isolating for me. It's like saying I loved "blah-blah-singer" because of the way they held one certain note just right.

Not for me.

Off the top of my head, some of my favorite (or "greatest") screen performances:

Elizabeth Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird
Bert Lancaster in Elmer Gantry
Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy
Giulietta Messina in Nights of Cabiria
F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus
Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood
Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd.
Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind
Bette Davis in All About Eve
Geraldine Page in A Trip to Bountiful
Annette Bening in American Beauty
Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins
Mae Robson in Lady For a Day

I'm sure there are many more, but those came to mind!

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 6:37pm

Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire
Bette Davis in All About Eve
Jennifer Connelly in Requiem for a Dream
Sydney Lassick in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 6:52pm

John Lithgow in TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE and THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI.

Jane Fonda in KLUTE

Albert Finney and Diane Keaton in SHOOT THE MOON.

Julie Harris and company in THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING.

Lili Taylor in I SHOT ANDY WARHOL.

Lillian Gish in THE WIND and BROKEN BLOSSOMS.

Oliver Reed in THE DEVILS.

Richard Harris and Rachel Roberts in THIS SPORTING LIFE.

Updated On: 12/20/13 at 06:52 PM

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 6:52pm

You had to post this on both boards?

[Younger Brother]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 7:18pm

^ Well this ones for cinema, the other's for theatre :)

[strummergirl]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 7:21pm

Favorite(s)? Hmm..........

Bette Davis and George Sanders in All About Eve

DeNiro/Bernhard/Lewis in The King of Comedy

Alain Delon in Le Samourai

Paul Newman in Slap Shot

Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha

Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney in Two for the Road

Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes in In Bruges

Joaquin Phoenix in Two Lovers

John Cazale and Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men

Corinne Marchand in Cleo from 5 to 7

Isabelle Huppert in The Piano Teacher

Mark Wahlberg and Jason Schwartzman in I Heart Huckabees

Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg in Melancholia

Eddie Bracken and Betty Grable in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve

[morosco]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 9:57pm

Geraldine Page in A Trip to Bountiful

I agree Besty! One of the most astonishing performances I've ever seen on film.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 11:09pm

Agree with so many that have been posted so I'll avoid repeats (though I do have to say Bette Davis in ALL ABOUT EVE is in my top 5 probably):
Meryl Streep in SOPHIE'S CHOICE (yes, I know it's a cliche at this point, but it's so good)
Joaquin Phoenix in THE MASTER
Liza Minnelli in CABARET
Natalie Portman in BLACK SWAN
Kevin Spacey in AMERICAN BEAUTY (and completely agree with Besty re Annette Bening)

[east side story]

Posted: 12/20/13 at 11:25pm

Elizabeth Taylor -- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Vivien Leigh -- Streetcar
Vivien Leigh -- Gone with the Wind
Sean Penn -- Milk
Natalie Portman -- Black Swan
Hilary Swank -- Boys Don't Cry
Jodie Foster -- Silence of the Lambs
Cate Blanchett -- Blue Jasmine
Marion Cotillard -- La Vie En Rose
Angela Lansbury -- The Manchurian Candidate



Updated On: 12/21/13 at 11:25 PM

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 12/21/13 at 12:00am

So many great performances but these are representative

leading ladies

Maggie Smith The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Anna Magnani The Rose Tattoo
Norma Aleandro The Official Story
Cate Blanchett Elizabeth
Glenda Jackson A Touch of Class
Angela Bassett What's Love Got to Do With It?
Judy Garland A Star is Born
Diane Keaton Marvin's Room
Diane Keaton Baby Boom
Meryl Streep A Cry in the Dark
Barbara Stanwyck The Lady Eve
Ingrid Bergman Gaslight
Emmanuelle Riva Hiroshima mon amour
Audrey Hepburn Roman Holiday
Sissy Spacek Coal Miner's Daughter
Julie Christie Afterglow
Glenn Close Dangerous Liaisons
Emma Thompson Remains of the Day and Howard's End
Kathleen Turner Serial Mom
Angelica Huston The Grifters

leading men

Donald Sutherland Ordinary People
Jean Louis Trintignant Amour
Haley Joel Osment The Sixth Sense
Peter O'Toole The Lion in Winter
Charlie Chaplin Modern Times
Roberto Benigni Life is Beautiful
Leslie Howard Pygmalion
Don Cheadle Hotel Rwanda
Jimmy Stewart Anatomy of a Murder
Daniel Day-Lewis My Left Foot
Alastair Sim A Christmas Carol
Tom Courtenay The Dresser
Max von Sydow The Emigrants/The New Land
Ewan MacGregor Beginners
Klaus Maria Brandauer Mephisto
Dustin Hoffman Little Big Man


supporting women

Barbara Hershey Portrait of a Lady
Dianne Wiest Hannah and her Sisters
Dianne Wiest Bullets over Broadway
Toni Collette The Sixth Sense
Marcia Gay Harden Pollock
Agnes Moorehead The Magnificent Ambersons
Mary Boland The Women
Marianne Jean Baptiste Secrets and Lies
Thelma Ritter All About Eve
Lynn Redgrave gods and Monsters
Maureen Stapleton Plaza Suite
Renee Taylor Last of the Red Hot Lovers
Diane Kruger Inglorious Basterds
Emma Thompson Love Actually
Emily Watson Gosford Park
Angelica Huston Prizzi's Honor
Angela Lansbury The Manchurian Candidate and Death on the Nile

supporting men

Edward Norton Primal Fear
John Gielgud Arthur
Christoph Waltz Inglorious Basterds
Morgan Freeman Million Dollar Baby and The Shawshank Redemption
Max von Sydow Snow Falling on Cedars and The Exorcist
Edmund Gwynn Pride and Prejudice
Lionel Barrymore It's A Wonderful Life
Dean Stockwell Long Day's Journey into Night and Married to the Mob
Ciaran Hinds Persuasion
Peter Ustinov Spartacus and Luther
Dennis Quaid Far from Heaven
Maurice Evans Rosemary's Baby














Updated On: 7/20/14 at 12:00 AM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/21/13 at 12:06am

How could I forget the perfect pairing of Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid in FAR FROM HEAVEN?
Also, I forgot to add Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench in NOTES ON A SCANDAL. All these four performances are incredibly haunting.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 12/21/13 at 8:12am

Just a few off the top of my head.

Angela Bettis in May

Bette Davis in Jezebel

Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie

Ruth Gordon in Rosemary's Baby

Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady

[madbrian]

Posted: 12/21/13 at 8:15am

Judy Parfitt in Dolores Claiborne

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/21/13 at 8:17am

This is a difficult, possibly impossible, question to answer. I'd have to spend days and weeks thinking and really self-limit -- like, make a list of five performances, no more -- to approach anything I'd feel comfortable calling an accuracy of my opinion.

That said -- bestie, I've always said that Gregory Peck in "To Kill a Mockingbird" is the most perfect screen performance I've ever seen.

[dreaming]

Posted: 12/21/13 at 10:10am

Favorite Male Performances:

James Stewart in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Shenandoah"
-In my book, Stewart can do no wrong-he was a very 'real' and 'accessible' actor-he was everyone's brother, father, husband, son-you immediately were drawn to him (he is my all time favorite film actor). He had the ability to make himself the essential Everyman.

Gloria Swanson, "Sunset Boulevard"-Probably the best performance by an actress to not win the Academy Award. She was heartbreaking, beautiful, fragile...the list goes on. (I'd have been fine with a tie with Bette Davis. I personally would have voted for Swanson.)

Glenn Close in "Dangerous Liaisons"-Another Oscar worthy performance-Her Marquise is vicious, conniving, and ends up tangled in her own web. (An interesting facet of her character is that she loves Valmont-which makes her all the more complex.)

Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth"-She IS Elizabeth-and should have taken the Academy Award for her incredible embodiment of the queen.

Lynne Redgrave in "Gods and Monsters"-She won a ton of pre-Oscars and everyone thought it was her turn. (Not so, apparently-she should have won in my book.) Also-her performance in "Georgy Girl" is pretty special, too.

Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson in "Chinatown"-I love the film and these two performances are amazing.

Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, "The Miracle Worker"-Love the film and the performances are stunning.

And one other that hasn't been mentioned (but it's a lesser known film): Liam Neeson in "Michael Collins"-he was nominated for the Academy Award (I wish he'd won)-He effortlessly became Collins in this film, which tells the story of Ireland gaining some modicum of its independence.

Updated On: 12/21/13 at 10:10 AM

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 12/21/13 at 11:58am

the ones i can think of off the top of my head

Amy Adams in Junebug... i thought to myself... who the hell is this woman?! she is fantastic!

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road... i always thought those two were good actors but when I saw this movie I was just blown away by their performances and have been bigger fans of them since...

[wickedfan]

Posted: 12/21/13 at 1:01pm

So many wonderful performances already listed here. I agree with just about every single one. I'd like to add a few more, some that might seem unconventional but really stayed with me either in their hilarity or quiet despair:

Men
Kevin Kline in A Fished Called Wanda and Soapdish
Hank Azaria in The Birdcage
James Stewart in Rear Window
Tom Hanks in Big
Roy Scheider in All That Jazz
John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Jack Nicholson in As Good as It Gets
Mark Wahlberg in the Departed
Jack Lemmon in The Apartment
and Ulrich Muhe in The Lives of Others

Women:
Holly Hunter in Broadcast News and The Piano
Anna Paquin in The Piano
Audrey Hepburn in Charade
Susan Sarandon in Igby Goes Down
Teri Garr in Tootsie
Isabelle Carre in Romantics Anonymous (Everyone, do yourself a favor and see this PHENOMENAL film)
Barbara Stanwyck in Ball of Fire
and Dianne Wiest in Parenthood, The Birdcage, Hannah and Her Sisters, Radio Days, Bullets Over Broadway, Rabbit Hole and pretty much every goddamn thing she's ever done.

Updated On: 12/21/13 at 01:01 PM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/21/13 at 1:07pm

Jack Nicholson in "Five Easy Pieces." Extraordinary.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/21/13 at 8:49pm

"I tend to look at entire performances, not just scenes. That's too isolating for me. It's like saying I loved "blah-blah-singer" because of the way they held one certain note just right."

While I see your point, film acting is not entirely in control of the actor. The director or producer has the final say about which scenes will go into a movie and which take of each scene will go in. Haven't you ever seen a movie where you think the actor is doing a fine job, but you see a scene where you just wonder "What was that all about?"