Best Acting Performances in Film History (in progress) - Movies & TV

SquishypuffDave

Gender: Male
Age: 33

Some favourites:

David Thewlis in Naked
Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina
Charlize Theron in Monster
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive

AfterHours

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

badseed wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

Andy Griffith - A Face in the Crowd - Elia Kazan (1957)

Love this addition. As someone whose household regularly played The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock on TV during my childhood, I always thought of Griffith like most TV icons of the time period; not quite talented enough to make it as a major movie star. Not to say that I didn't like/respect him, but by the time WB released their Controversial Classics box set in 2005, Griffith's influence on my life had subsided. The fact that he starred in a "controversial" film was strange so I couldn't resist watching it first and man, it blew me away. What a damn fine performance. I'm still not sure if Griffith would have excelled as a movie star because I feel he likely still had many limitations, but this film hid them and was a perfect showcase of what he was capable of doing well.

Thanks, definitely agree. It's an astonishing portrayal. Not sure if there is a greater performance that walks such an expressive and thin line between the enthusiasm and charisma of success and the darkness/betrayal/thirst and addiction to power that can (not necessarily does) come from this.
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AfterHours

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

hereforashortime wrote:

Thoughts on the following performances?
George C Scott in Patton
Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove
Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Diane Keaton in Annie Hall

They would definitely make my own list of Best Performances.

All exceptional. Been a really long time since Ive seen Patton so Im not sure where Id rank Scott's legendary portrayal. Ive thought about adding Sellers mercurial, character-jumping performance(s) in Strangelove but am undecided. I am not sure if I would consider Fletcher's and Keaton's performances quite substantial enough (more difficult when youre not the lead, and less screen time) but both are probably flawless for what they are and not out of the question in the future.
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AfterHours

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

SquishypuffDave wrote:

Some favourites:

David Thewlis in Naked
Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina
Charlize Theron in Monster
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive

Right on, thank you.

No opinion on Hoffman's Capote as I havent seen it yet (though have heard great things about the performance). Oscar Isaac is an interesting selection that I hadnt considered, but Ill think about it more when I see Ex Machina again. Thewlis is an almost guaranteed "yes" -- think he was on an earlier version of this list (not BEA) and I forgot to transfer. I will add him to the "undecided" section until I revisit. Theron's Monster should be added there as well until I revisit (also an uncomfortably great performance in Devil's Advocate, echoing Adjani in Possession and Von Trier's female "crucifixions", that I should consider strongly)... Watts is superb in Mulholland Dr (and probably just as great/better? in 21 Grams), but will have to revisit.
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AfterHours

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

I added 4 of the recent recommendations.

Doesn't mean some/all of the others won't be added too -- just that I'm not as sure about them at this time.
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AfterHours

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

Updated for now (still very much "in progress") ... Recent updates in bold (for newest inclusions) and bold + italics for those that were upgraded/downgraded from previous ranking
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AfterHours

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

Revised the "criteria" section above the list so as to better clarify my selections.
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bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

These are just some that I always thought were just as great as all the more famous ones. Although I pretty much agree with everybody on all the classic ones that people have named here. Most of them anyway.

Maggie Smith... The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
Dirk Bogarde... A Death in Venice; and also The Servant
Imelda Staunton....Vera Drake
Max von Sydow.... The Passion of Anna
Burgess Meredith.... Day of the Locust
Geraldine Page.... Summer and Smoke, Day of the Locust
Ian McKellen... Richard lll
Sissy Spacek....3 Women
Robert Shaw..... The Caretaker, also The Birthday Party
Marlon Brando.... Reflections in a Golden Eye

AfterHours

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

bobbyb5 wrote:

These are just some that I always thought were just as great as all the more famous ones. Although I pretty much agree with everybody on all the classic ones that people have named here. Most of them anyway.

Maggie Smith... The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
Dirk Bogarde... A Death in Venice; and also The Servant
Imelda Staunton....Vera Drake
Max von Sydow.... The Passion of Anna
Burgess Meredith.... Day of the Locust
Geraldine Page.... Summer and Smoke, Day of the Locust
Ian McKellen... Richard lll
Sissy Spacek....3 Women
Robert Shaw..... The Caretaker, also The Birthday Party
Marlon Brando.... Reflections in a Golden Eye

Again, very interesting list. Thank you, I will give these further consideration.
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bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

badseed wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

badseed wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

Recommendations welcome. MY CRITERIA: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15503
(Note: My criteria is the same -- just applied to acting)

Best Acting Performances in Film History (in progress)

Isabelle Adjani - Possession - Andrzej Zulawski (1981)
Laura Dern - Inland Empire - David Lynch (2006)
Orson Welles - Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941)
James Stewart - Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Renee Falconetti - The Passion of Joan of Arc - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1928)
Denis Lavant - Holy Motors - Leos Carax (2012)
Gloria Swanson - Sunset Boulevard - Billy Wilder (1950)
Bette Davis - Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte - Robert Aldrich (1965)
Bette Davis - What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? - Robert Aldrich (1962)
Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront - Elia Kazan (1954)
Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas - Mike Figgis (1995)
Marlon Brando - Last Tango in Paris - Bernardo Bertolucci (1972)
Robert DeNiro - Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese (1980)
Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves - Lars Von Trier (1996)
Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator - Charlie Chaplin (1940)
James Stewart - It's a Wonderful Life - Frank Capra (1946)
Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence - John Cassavetes (1974)
Bibi Andersson - Persona - Ingmar Bergman (1966)
Anthony Perkins - Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman (2008)
Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver - Martin Scorsese (1976)
Klaus Kinski - Aguirre, the Wrath of God - Werner Herzog (1972)
Lee Marvin - Point Blank - John Boorman (1967)
Mia Farrow - Rosemary's Baby - Roman Polanski (1968)
Warren Oates - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - Sam Peckinpah (1974)
Gene Hackman - The Conversation - Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
Alexander Kaidanovsky - Stalker - Andrei Tarkovsky (1979)
Erland Josephson - The Sacrifice - Andrei Tarkovsky (1986)
Catherine Deneuve - Belle de Jour - Luis Bunuel (1967)
Catherine Deneuve - Repulsion - Roman Polanski (1965)

Interesting. Don't know where to start on recommendations as there's some obvious stuff missing (IE Peter O'Toole or Daniel Day-Lewis among others) that you likely left out on purpose for your own reasons. But everything here is definitely ace. Love seeing how highly you rate the Adjani and Watson performances in particular as they generally don't get enough love.

Just from a horror buff's perspective, since you've got a few here, I think at least Boris Karloff (Bride of Frankenstein) and Joe Spinell (Maniac) deserve mentioning.

Thanks, I am definitely still updating these so there are bound to be key omissions, especially early on. Day Lewis may be the greatest actor of this generation so I'm sure Ill add one or more of his. I am undecided on O'Toole's Lawrence of Arabia performance. No doubt it is excellent but Ill need to revisit the film to see whether I feel it is among the very best. I've long felt the film, while good, was a bit overrated -- but I also havent seen it in 10+ years so maybe my mind will change?

I'll admit that while it is one of the most technically brilliant epics ever made, Lawrence can be a bit of a bore if not in the right mood. But O'Toole is perfect in every way. He was also so good in many other films, but it's Lawrence that makes him an no brainer to make anyone's top ten British actors list.

I like Peter O'Toole in the Stunt Man and The Ruling Class even better than Lawrence of Arabia.