Best performance by an actress

I’m not gonna get in another fight about Possession

I wouldn’t mind if I never hear another word about it.

don’t start…

oh! linda fiorentino in the last seduction

@Willow

Re: Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves

Yes!! One of my favorite movies and favorite performances of all time!

@Richard

It’s really in her eyes for me.

I’m not going to argue about that.

Shirley Booth — YES! Brilliant choice! Thank you, BIJOU, for remembering and mentioning.

Hmm …

Ronnee Blakely in Nashville

Jane Darwell in The Grapes of Wrath

Eileen Heckart in The Bad Seed

Kim Stanley in Seance on a Wet Afternoon

Julie Christie in McCabe & Mrs. Miller

Gloria Grahame in The Big Heat

There are tons more, but I’m taking Bijou’s cue and mentioning a few that should never be forgotten.

hanna schygulla for the marriage of maria braun

And what about Charlotte Gainsbourg, in Antichrist?

Katrin Cartlidge, Naked.
Piper Laurie, The Hustler.
Barbara Stanwyck, The Lady Eve.
Anamaria Marinca, 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days.
Jean Hagen, Singin’ in the Rain.
Miranda Richardson, Damage.
Olivia Colman, Tyrannosaur.

Sharon Stone in Basic instinct, who doesn’t agree with me should cross the street.

Romy Schneider in L’important c’est d’aimer
Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot
Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday
Marie Dressler in Min and Bill
Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday
Emma Thompson in Howard’s End
Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns
Charlize Theron in Young Adult (TOO SOON! I know, but I think it’s a genius performance)
Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek in Carrie

…and of course, the greatest sound and silent performances:
Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire
Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc

and hideko takamine for naruse’s yearning and floating clouds

Juliette Binoche in Certified Copy

Also gotta mention Gong Li in Raise the Red Lantern

Tattiana Samoilova THE CRANES ARE FLYING
Madeline Kahn PAPER MOON
Shirley MacLaine THE APARTMENT (also quietly brilliant in THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY)
Bette Davis NOW VOYAGER and IN THIS OUR LIFE (if you haven’t seen the latter, you haven’t seen Bette Davis)
Emily Watson BREAKING THE WAVES
Maggie Smith THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE
Barbara Stanwyck DOUBLE INDEMNITY
Claudette Colbert SINCE YOU WENT AWAY
Teresa Wright SHADOW OF A DOUBT
Elizabeth Taylor WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF
Audrey Hepburn ROMAN HOLIDAY
Ruth Gordon ROSEMARY’S BABY
Cloris Leachman THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
Julie Christie DARLING
Angelica Huston PRIZZI’S HONOR
Ava Gardner NIGHT OF THE IGUANA
Faye Dunaway NETWORK
Kate Hudson ALMOST FAMOUS
Carice van Houten BLACK BOOK
Kelly Lynch DRUGSTORE COWBOY
Laura Dern RAMBLING ROSE

Janet McTeer – Tumbleweeds
Michelle Williams – Wendy and Lucy
Ellen Burstyn – The Exorcist
Ellen Burstyn – Resurrection
Juliet Binoche – Cache
Isabelle Huppert – The Piano Teacher
Setsuko Hara – Late Spring
Geraldine Page – The Trip To Bountiful
Zoe Kazan – The Exploding Girl
Abbie Cornish – Somersault
Erin Fisher – Quiet City

Oops, sorry, definitely forgot one that everybody ought to take note of at least once:

Fernanda Montenegro – Central Station (Central do Brasil)

My favorites:

1. Anamaria Marinca in 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
2. Maria Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc
3. Liv Ullman in Scenes From A Marriage
4. Irene Jacob in Three Colors: Red
5. Frances McDormand in Fargo
6. Grazyna Szapolowska in A Short Film About Love
7. Juliette Binoche in Cache
8. Faye Dunaway in Network
9. Joan Crawford Mildred Pierce
10. Bette Davis in All About Eve
11. Ingrid Bergman in Notorious (yes, I’ve seen Autumn Sonata, but I hold this one closer to heart)
12. Kim Novak in Vertigo
13. Rooney Mara in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (as much as I love Fight Club and Zodiac, I think this performance is the best thing Fincher has produced)
14. Harriet Andersson in Through A Glass Darkly
15. Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

@ULI³CAIN
Zoe Saldana in “Burning Palms” was amazing. 25 minutes of pure joy, watching her!

Some of my choices:

Sarah Michelle Gellar, “Veronika Decides To Die”
Naomi Watts, “Mulholland Drive”
Bjork, “Dancer In The Dark”
Kirsten Dunst, “All Good Things”
Amy Adams, “The Fighter”
Halle Berry, “Monster’s Ball”
Maria Bello, “Downloading Nancy”
Nicole Kidman, “Rabbit Hole”
Juliette Binoche, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”
Charlize Theron, “Monster”
Judi Dench, “Notes on a Scandal”
Holly Hunter, “The Piano” and “Thirteen”
Evan Rachel Wood, “The Wrestler”
Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”
…

1. Frances McDormand – Fargo
2. Marrion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose
3. Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom
4. Dianne Wiest – Hannah and Her Sisters
5. Gene Rowlands – Another Woman
6. Jodie Foster – The Silence of the Lambs
7. Dianne Keaton – Annie Hall
8. Juliette Binoche – Three Colors: Blue
9. Helena Bonham Carter – Fight Club
10. Cate Blanchett – The Aviator
11. Judy Davis – Barton Fink
12. Catherine Keener – Capote
13. Gwyneth Paltrow – The Talented Mr. Ripley
14. Annette Bening – American Beauty
15. Natalie Portman – Black Swan
16. Frances McDormand – The Man Who Wasn’t There
17. Viola Davis – The Help
18. Jessica Chastain – Take Shelter
19. Naomi Watts – Mulholland Drive
20. Julianne Moore – Boogie Nights

Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive. It probably helps that Mulholland Drive is (probably) my favorite movie, but I think she just goes through so much in this movie. It’s all stuff that’s been said before, but scenes like the audition, “things getting real” etc are just like whoa

also I’m glad someone mentioned Weaver in Aliens. It probably goes without saying that performances in “popcorn”-type movies get less praise/are taken less seriously, but she’s really incredible in that movie

Jane Fonda – KLUTE
Meryl Streep – SOPHIE’S CHOICE
Bette Davis – WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?
Glenn Close – THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP
Anouk Aimee – A MAN & A WOMAN
Faye Dunaway – CHINATOWN
Angela Lansbury – THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
Sissy Spacek – COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER

Isabelle Huppert-La Cérémonie
Cecilia Roth-All About My Mother
Sandrine Bonnaire-La Cérémonie
Ana Torrent- Cría Cuervos
Juliet Berto-Celine and Julie Go Boating
Dominique Labourier-Celine and Julie Go Boating
Irene Jacob-The Double Life of Veronique
Françoise Lebrun-The Mother and the Whore

Isabelle Huppert-La Cérémonie
Cecilia Roth-All About My Mother
Sandrine Bonnaire-La Cérémonie
Ana Torrent- Cría Cuervos
Juliet Berto-Celine and Julie Go Boating
Dominique Labourier-Celine and Julie Go Boating
Irene Jacob-The Double Life of Veronique
Françoise Lebrun-The Mother and the Whore

I wouldn’t say best ever, but I thought Keira Knightley was very good in A Dangerous Method.

Gloria Swanson – Sunset Blvd
Deborah Kerr -The Innocents
Gena Rowlands – Gloria
Naomi Watts -Mulholland Drive
Stephane Audran – Le Boucher
Shelley Duvall – 3 Women
Sissy Spacek – 3 Women
Pam Grier – Jackie Brown
Uma Thurman – Kill Bill
Catherine Deneuve – Repulsion

Jodie Foster > Taxi Driver
Meryl Streep > Kramer vs. Kramer
Shirley MacLaine > Terms of Endearment
Frances McDormand > Fargo
Uma Thurman > Pulp Fiction
Kim Basinger > L.A. Confidential
Jennifer Connelly > Requiem for a Dream
Cate Blanchett > The Aviator
Rinko Kikuchi > Babel
Penélope Cruz > Volver
Vera Farmiga > Up in the Air
Helen Hunt > As Good as It Gets
Hilary Swank > Boys Don’t Cry
Charlize Theron > Monster
Keira Knightley > Pride & Prejudice
Salma Hayek > Frida
Nicole Kidman > Moulin Rouge!

Jodie Foster > Taxi Driver
Meryl Streep > Kramer vs. Kramer
Shirley MacLaine > Terms of Endearment
Frances McDormand > Fargo
Uma Thurman > Pulp Fiction
Kim Basinger > L.A. Confidential
Jennifer Connelly > Requiem for a Dream
Cate Blanchett > The Aviator
Rinko Kikuchi > Babel
Penélope Cruz > Volver
Vera Farmiga > Up in the Air
Helen Hunt > As Good as It Gets
Hilary Swank > Boys Don’t Cry
Charlize Theron > Monster
Keira Knightley > Pride & Prejudice
Salma Hayek > Frida
Nicole Kidman > Moulin Rouge!

Isabelle Huppert-La Cérémonie i totally agree , I also agrre on all the others, but especialliy huppert: i started noticing this great actress right then

also Isabelle Adjani in Camille Claudel
Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for A Dream
laura dern inland empire
maggie cheng ashes of time
jodie foster the silence of the lambs
sissy spacek tje coalminer’s daughter
anna magnani l’amore
bette davis jezebel
gene tierney leave her to heaven
gena rowlands a woman under the influernce