Favourite Acting Performances

CassiusClaymore

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I was gonna post in the Di Caprio therad as it seems to be going off tangent but what do you consider the finest performances that you've ever seen in a movie and why?

For me, two stand out.

Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood

A lot is said of Day Lewis and his approach to acting but when the results are this good I don't see how anyone can argue wih it. I don't think I've ever seen an actor become the character so completely. Not a film that I'd rate in my Top 10 but certainly a performance I'd rank up there with anything.

The range of emotions in the scene below is incredible. He goes from boredom to anger to self pity to piss taking in the space of about 60 seconds (1:20 onwards)


Jack Lemmon - GlenGarry Glen Ross

A performance so good that it had it's own Simpsons character based on it. For me this performance is made all the better as the showier roles went to Pacino, Baldwin and Harris but Lemmon is the films anchor. Yes, he manages to be a c*nt at times (in a film about c*nts) but in such a shouty ensemble piece it's his character that you can't help but feel incredible empathy for. The scene at the end (at the start of the clip below) when he's begging Spacey not to stich him up for the sake of his hospitalized daughter is heartbreaking. He also has a great scene with Pacino where they improvise a conversation so that they can avoid confronting a reluctant customer. Aaah, there's so much good about this entire movie that it's hard to single any one thing out.

 
Couldn't find it on You Tube. Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive when she has the audition.
 
Eric Bana in 'Chopper.' Temuera Morrison in 'Once Were Warriors.'
 
DeNiros performance in Taxi Driver is my absolute favourite. Such a conflicted character, who you cant help but root for despite the fact he's clearly a dangerous nutjob.
 
R_Nick said:
I know it gets mentioned so often with him having died but that performance really was incredible.
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Yeah, im trying not to sound Australian fanboy about it. Those two scenes are the two which defined the character for me, when you watch it you think im watching the joker, not im watching heath ledger.
 
Christofaux said:
Yeah, im trying not to sound Australian fanboy about it. Those two scenes are the two which defined the character for me, when you watch it you think im watching the joker, not im watching heath ledger.
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Yep, the eccentricities make it. The missus was a big fan of his and I watched a documentary about him with her, talking about the late part of his life, he was so heavily into that role it was just unbelievable.
 
Dustin Hoffman:

Rainman
Marathon Man
Papillon.

Tom Hanks:

Castaway

There are several fantastic performances.
 
De Niro - Raging Bull / Taxi Driver

Brando - Godfather

Pacino - Dog Day Afternoon

Nicholson - One flew over the Cuckoos nest

Cagney - White Heat
 
Pachino - Godfather 2
Juliette Binoche - Three Colours Blue

I love Daniel Day Lewis as an actor but hate him as a ham and he has been hamming it up for quite some time. I hated Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood and his acting was pure bacon in both.
 
Wibble said:
Pachino - Godfather 2
Juliette Binoche - Three Colours Blue

I love Daniel Day Lewis as an actor but hate him as a ham and he has been hamming it up for quite some time. I hated Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood and his acting was pure bacon in both.
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From the guy that brought us "Fight Club is massively overrated with a stupid plot".

We'll have to agree to disagree on that.

Not keen on Gangs of New York myself, that was certainly more panto villainy for the sake of it but TWBB is nothing of the sort IMO.
 
Favourite? Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.

Nope, it's not the best or even top 100 really, but yeah it's my favourite.
 
CassiusClaymore said:
From the guy that brought us "Fight Club is massively overrated with a stupid plot".

We'll have to agree to disagree on that.

Not keen on Gangs of New York myself, that was certainly more panto villainy for the sake of it but TWBB is nothing of the sort IMO.
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Fight Club has a massively silly plot

The two main characters are allegedly the same mentally ill person. Please :rolleyes:

And the hokum right at the end about them expecting Tyler back would be laughable if it weren't so fecking irritatingly stupid.

Right up there with Face/Off in terms of silliness.

TWBB was a prime example of massive overacting from the Jack Nicholson school of ham acting. Both can be brillaint but often aren't these days.
 
BAMSOLA said:
The plot of Fight Club is not meant to be taken seriously as Fight club is partly a black comedy.
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Indeed. Not even partly, I would say it is completely a dark comedy.

It's like saying American Psycho is stupid because Bateman
is imagining the whole thing.
 
Nothing wrong with the Jack Nicholson school of overacting really, it's a great school, probably one of the most prestigious, even more so than Strasberg's Actors Studio.
 
McDormand - Fargo.
Mitchum - Night of the Hunter
Emil Jannings - The Last Laugh
Peter Lorre - Stranger on the Third floor
Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood

 
Christopher Waltz as Landa in Inglorious Basterds.
Harvey Keitel as Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs
 
Great shout on Jack Lemmon in GGR, loved his performance.

Bill Murray - Lost in Translation, as a Murray fan I think this was his highest point, Kingpin he was superb for the 15 or so minutes he was in it despite the actual film being average.

Robert De Niro - Taxi Driver, perfect.

Al Pacino - Most movies before and up to Godfather 2 then he got too shouty too often, perhaps Serpico is my favorite from him.

Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man/Sideways, superb in both.
 
Wibble said:
Fight Club has a massively silly plot

The two main characters are allegedly the same mentally ill person. Please :rolleyes:

And the hokum right at the end about them expecting Tyler back would be laughable if it weren't so fecking irritatingly stupid.

Right up there with Face/Off in terms of silliness.

TWBB was a prime example of massive overacting from the Jack Nicholson school of ham acting. Both can be brillaint but often aren't these days.
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You're lucky you spoilered that or I'd have been on yo' ass like a pair of fruit of the loom.

Face Off is brill though...I want to take his face.....off!
 
Christofaux said:
Yeah, im trying not to sound Australian fanboy about it. Those two scenes are the two which defined the character for me, when you watch it you think im watching the joker, not im watching heath ledger.
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It really isn't any fanboism. I live in India and for me that performance is the stuff of legends. Just look at the mans face, the way he talks, the mannerisms. It's surreal. Everytime I watch the movie I'm just waaaaaiting for the scenes involving him to come. Imagine a movie with him as the Joker as the lead role. feck that would have been awesome.

Apart from Ledger, for me so many Al Pacino performances stand out. Best actor I've ever seen IMO.
 
Tim Roth in Rob Roy.

Until the advent of Michael Ballack there had never been a bigger cnut anywhere than Roth in this role. He's a great actor.
 
amolbhatia100 said:
for me so many Al Pacino performances stand out. Best actor I've ever seen IMO.
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agreed. I always avoid mentioning him in threads like these though as it sort of goes without saying that pretty much everything he does is fantastic, its not fair on the others!
 
Favourite acting performances off the top of my head:

Martin sheen - Apocalypse Now
Liam Nesson - Schindler's List
Ralph Fiennes - Schindler's List
Benicio Del Toro - Traffic
Benicio Del Toro - Che part 1
Erika Christensen(who I previously though was Julia Stiles) - Traffic
Vincent Cassel - Mesrine parts 1&2
 
Ben Kingsley as Don Logan from Sexy Beast


what a character, totally bonkers but at no point does it become unbelievable
 
Joe Pesci in Goodfellas? The funny guy scene is one of the best ever
 
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