Best Ensemble Acting Performances in Film History - Movies & TV

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

Note: Just getting this started before working on it a bit more. Recommendations welcome.

For my criteria, go here: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15503

The selections are based on my criteria, applied to acting, then (for this list) expanded to reflect my ranking of the performances collectively -- both consistency from performance to performance and taken as a qualitative whole, altogether, as a collective. By "ensemble" I only mean that the film must have at least two or more significant performances to qualify.

In short, when evaluating a performance, I tend to most strongly consider the following:

(a) How creative/singular is the character (its psychology, traits, expressions, actions, personality characteristics), and how creative/singular is the actor's portrayal? How much does it stand out for its time? All time? Is it so extraordinary as to be inimitable?
(b) How expressively amazing is the performance? To what degree does the performance express the state(s) of mind and/or emotion(s) (whether subtle or obvious, introverted or extroverted) of the character? How much conviction or immersion is being expressed? How compelling, powerful, moving and/or affecting (etc) is the performance?

The higher the ranking, the greater degree its collaboration will tend to be of those factors.

These tend to hold much more weight than the detailed accuracy or precise realism of the performance alone.

Best Ensemble Acting Performances in Film History

Persona - Ingmar Bergman (1966)
The Passion of Joan of Arc - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1928)
Rashomon - Akira Kurosawa (1950)
Grand Illusion - Jean Renoir (1937)
The Godfather - Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
Cries and Whispers - Ingmar Bergman (1973)
Nashville - Robert Altman (1975)
Underground - Emir Kusturica (1995)
8 1/2 - Federico Fellini (1963)
Apocalypse Now - Francis Ford Coppola (1979) [Original Theatrical Release, 153 minutes]
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Milos Forman (1975)
Rosemary's Baby - Roman Polanski (1968)
Badlands - Terrence Malick (1973)
A Streetcar Named Desire - Elia Kazan (1951)
Breaking the Waves - Lars Von Trier (1996)
Network - Sidney Lumet (1976)
Woman in the Dunes - Hiroshi Teshigahara (1964)
Hiroshima, Mon Amour - Alain Resnais (1959)
Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese (1980)
Taxi Driver - Martin Scorsese (1976)
Greed - Erich von Stroheim (1924) [Studio Cut, 140 minutes]
Brazil - Terry Gilliam (1985) [The Final Cut, 142 minutes]
Last Year at Marienbad - Alain Resnais (1961)
La Dolce Vita - Federico Fellini (1960)

DEFINITELY - UNDECIDED ON RANKING:
Once Upon a Time in the West - Sergio Leone (1968)
Chinatown - Roman Polanski (1974)

POSSIBLY/UNDER CONSIDERATION:
Ikiru - Akira Kurosawa (1952)
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? - Robert Aldrich (1962)
Dr. Strangelove - Stanley Kubrick (1964)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - Sam Peckinpah (1974)
The Deer Hunter - Michael Cimino (1978)
Possession - Andrzej Zulawski (1981) [Original Cut, 123 minutes]
Goodfellas - Martin Scorsese (1990)
Naked - Mike Leigh (1993)
Satantango - Bela Tarr (1994)
Fargo - Joel Coen (1996)
The Color of Paradise - Mahid Majidi (1998)
The Big Lebowski - Joel & Ethan Coen (1998)
21 Grams - Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu (2003)
Inland Empire - David Lynch (2006)
Love Exposure - Sion Sono (2008)

TO REVISIT/RE-CONSIDER:
The Great Escape
The Dirty Dozen
Fast Times at Ridgemont High / Various Teen Comedies
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Last edited by AfterHours on 09/25/2018 05:47; edited 18 times in total

badseed

Gender: Male
Age: 35
Location: FL

Short Cuts. Best film of the 90s and my personal favorite Robert Altman film. Hell of an ensemble.

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

badseed wrote:

Short Cuts. Best film of the 90s and my personal favorite Robert Altman film. Hell of an ensemble.

Thank you, certainly a gap in my viewing history. A film Ive intended to see for years but somehow havent done so yet. Ill see if I can get around to it soon.
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CA Dreamin

Gender: Male
Location: LA

badseed wrote:

Short Cuts. Hell of an ensemble.

True that.

badseed wrote:

Short Cuts. Best film of the 90s

That's a bold claim.

badseed

Gender: Male
Age: 35
Location: FL

StreetSpirit wrote:

That's a bold claim.

I just didn't want to sound repetitive, I could have reversed and said favorite film of the 90s and Altman's best film but that may have been equally controversial.

Speaking of the 90s Happiness is my #2 favorite, and also a fantastic ensemble film although the acting varies from Oscar-worthy to SNL skit style throughout the film with various actors covering both ends so I'm not sure it belongs on this list.

As far as whole casts giving it their all goes, I don't think much can top One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Also, for being a film that primarily focuses on the leads, the entire supporting cast of Casablanca was outstanding.

Dozens of Woody Allen films have stellar casts as well.

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

badseed wrote:

StreetSpirit wrote:

That's a bold claim.

I just didn't want to sound repetitive, I could have reversed and said favorite film of the 90s and Altman's best film but that may have been equally controversial.

Speaking of the 90s Happiness is my #2 favorite, and also a fantastic ensemble film although the acting varies from Oscar-worthy to SNL skit style throughout the film with various actors covering both ends so I'm not sure it belongs on this list.

As far as whole casts giving it their all goes, I don't think much can top One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Also, for being a film that primarily focuses on the leads, the entire supporting cast of Casablanca was outstanding.

Dozens of Woody Allen films have stellar casts as well.

Both One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Casablanca will definitely be added, thank you. Casablanca is one of the pinnacles of acting before the method style came into more prominence. I agree that Woody Allen has multiple possibilities and may feature too depending on how strict I decide to make the cut off point for inclusion.
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AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

"Pre method" acting -- including silent era -- can be an art form in itself so I do not necessarily mean such performances are automatically less worthy.
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Last edited by AfterHours on 07/22/2018 19:30; edited 1 time in total

CA Dreamin

Gender: Male
Location: LA

badseed wrote:

Short Cuts. Best film of the 90s and my personal favorite Robert Altman film

StreetSpirit wrote:

That's a bold claim.

badseed wrote:

I just didn't want to sound repetitive, I could have reversed and said favorite film of the 90s and Altman's best film but that may have been equally controversial.

There's nothing controversial about using the word "favorite" unless it's something bad by consensus. Such as "Fallen Kingdom is my favorite Jurassic movie." = controversial. Altman's best film would be less controversial because it's one director's body of work instead of an entire decade's worth. I do like Short Cuts, though. Great ensemble. Basically a much better Nashville. Best Altman film? I'd rank it somewhere behind The Player and McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Best of the '90s? I'd probably put it the Top 100 in the 75-100 range (if we ever redo the '90s poll).

badseed

Gender: Male
Age: 35
Location: FL

I meant "best" would have been controversial. I thought Nashville was the consensus #1, although MASH might have been 15-20 years ago from what I recall. Didn't someone do a "Let's Rank" or something like that specifically for film directors a few years back? Perhaps that's a series we could revitalize as an easy intermission between our larger lists and Altman would be a good one to do. I really don't know what would win, but if I had to guess, I'd go with Short Cuts. Haha. But the top 5 or 6 would all be pretty close.

Regarding the 90s list I think Breaking the Waves was my #1. So it's not like I'm guaranteeing Short Cuts is gonna be my lifetime favorite of either the decade or director. But I've probably watched it more than any other movie over the last 3 or 4 years so it's there right now.

As for pre-method style and what should be considered along with Casablanca, it is difficult to think of many that can compete with post-Brando. Hitchcock's Lifeboat has gotta be up there.

Clint Eastwood is really underrated when it comes to getting great performances from a wide variety of actors. Mystic River is the most noteworthy mention.

You've got Bergman on there twice already but he could go on there another half dozen times at least.

Also Sidney Lumet. 12 Angry Men, Network, Murder on the Orient Express, Dog Day Afternoon, take your pick.

Basically what I'm getting at is I think certain directors have a way with actors that sets most of their ensembles apart from the rest.

jdenny2018

Gender: Male

I've always thought that Goodfellas was the best ensemble performance ever. Every part, from Robert De Niro to Catherine Scorsese is played magnificently. Plus, it has an all-time soundtrack to boot.

Goodfellas (Soundtrack) by Various Artists
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