I would second Takashi Shimura’s performance in Ikiru.
Bruno Ganz – Downfall
Steve Buscemi – Paris, Je T’aime
Audrey Tautou in Amelie (nothing too stellar but just pure fun.)
Ellen Burnstyn was great in Requiem for a Dream
Falconetti in Passion of Joan of Arc is the first one I think of when this type of thing comes up.
And of course DeNiro and Daniel-Day are gods.
Vanessa Redgrave in ISADORA
Just finished watching Army of Shadows and Lino Ventura deserves to be in the list.
Marlon Brando- Last Tango in Paris
Daniel Day Lewis- The Ballad of Jack and Rose, There Will Be Blood, Gangs of New York
Jack Nicholson- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Shining
Jude Law- Closer
Peter Sellers and George C. Scott- Dr. Strangelove
Emile Hirsch- Into the Wild
Johnny Depp- Dead Man
And I hate to say it but, surprisingly enough, Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky.
Alec Baldwin-Glengarry, GlenRoss, and those other guys in the cast, too.
Yeah Shaun, Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon were great too….missed my list by an inch.
RUS & KH: Don’t you think Marlon was a bit drunk at the time? I think he was kind of rambling, if you listen to it again. But he was great (except for he ‘butter’ scene), in any case. Certainly a better performance all around than his caricature in Apocalypse Now.
Leslie Cheung in Days of Being Wild.
Anything Nic Cage.
The young Catherine Deneuve in REPULSION (not to dismiss her Severine Serizy in BELLE DU JOUR).
The young Sandrine Bonnaire in A NOS AMOURS.
Beth Heke in Lee Tamahori’s ONCE WERE WARRIORS … her performance a tour de force in realism, unforgettable.
Julie Christie, as Altman’s Mrs. Miller, and then as Fiona in AWAY FROM HER (Whenever she was on the screen one was entirely engaged. And when she was absent time seemed to slow, the film going into a kind of stall. She wasn’t acting Fiona’s disease in any textbook fashion — she took us to places beyond the disease, transcending the disease.)
Paul Newman’s Eddie Felson in THE HUSTLER. I believe this was his best work, but then everyone is good is this tight little film, a movie filled with actors acting.
Recently, Cillian Murphy as Patrick, aka Kitten, in Jordan’s BREAKFAST ON PLUTO. Not one of Jordan’s best films (those might be THE CRYING GAME and THE BUTCHER BOY), but Murphy’s performance here was inspired.
But as always, there are hundreds more …
And can’t overlook:
Jean-Louis Trintignant’s Marcello in THE CONFORMIST. I can’t imagine another actor pulling off this difficult role.
Gene Hackman’s Harry Caul in THE CONVERSATION. Hackman has done so much good work throughout his long career, but he was very special in this. A great movie that is also a one-man show.
Wow.
OK, all of the above (thank you for remembering all the NASHVILLE folk!), and I will add:
both Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk in A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (perfection)
Henry Gibson in NASHVILLE
Kim Stanley in SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON
Chunibala Devi in PATHER PANCHALI
Gunnar Bjornstrand in WINTER LIGHT
Albert Finney in UNDER THE VOLCANO
Eileen Heckart in THE BAD SEED
Burgess Meridith in ROCKY
Geraldine Page in INTERIORS
Harriet Andersson in THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY
Jean Hagan in SINGIN IN THE RAIN
Mieko Harada in RAN
Bruce Davison in LONGTIME COMPANION
Paul Scofield in KING LEAR
Thelma Ritter in PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET
Lee Marvin in POINT BLANK
Alan Arkin in THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER
Giancarlo Giannini in SEVEN BEAUTIES
Maurice Ronet in LE FEU FOLLET
Finlay Currie in GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Jack Lemmon in THE CHINA SYNDROME
Julie Christie in AWAY FROM HER
Judy Davis in HUSBANDS AND WIVES
Victor Sjordstrom in WILD STRAWBERRIES
Innokenti Smoktunovsky in HAMLET
Paul Muni in THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA
Philip Baker Hall in HARD EIGHT
Sandrine Bonnair in VAGABOND
Buster Keaton in anything
Marlon Brando – On the Waterfront
Peter Sellers – Dr. Strangelove
Gena Rowlands – A Woman Under the Influence
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
Harry Dean Stanton – Paris, Texas
Robert Deniro – Raging Bull
Toshiro Mifune – Seven Samurai
Renée Falconetti – The Passion of Joan of Arc
Brock Peters – To Kill a Mocking Bird
Ana Torrent – Spirit of the Beehive
Pete Lorre – M
Laurence Olivier – Hamlet and Henry V
Anthony Quinn and Giulietta Masina – La Strada
Tatsuya Nakadai – Ran
Henry Fonda – Grapes of Wrath
Louise Brooks – Pandora’s Box
Samuel L. Jackson – Pulp Fiction
Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann – Persona
Machiko Kyo – Ugetsu
Sean Penn and Tim Robbins – Mystic River
Claude Rains – The Invisible Man
Kyoko Kagawa – Sansho the Bailiff
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
Kenneth Branagh – Henry V
Christopher Walken – The Deer Hunter
Michael Caine – Children of Men
Michel Simon – Boudu Saved from Drowning
Peter Greene – Clean, Shaven
Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
Was sorry to see this thread trail off, as actors are so much fun to talk about. Hoping to get it going again, I was thinking about two actors who I’ve only seen once and never again, but both of whom made a deep impression.
Lou Castel as Alessandro in FISTS IN THE POCKET, an amazing character, brilliantly played.
And Michel Blanc’s fine performance (he may have one of the most compelling heads in all of film, and we get to see it up close and often), in MONSIEUR HIRE. But what a sad, sad story. In the end, hanging from the rooftop gutter just like James Stewart in VERTIGO, Hire does not make a magical escape.
Everyone in Closer
Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda
Everyone in Closer
Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda
I’m going to recognize some of the kids. Child actors are often overlooked, so
Martin Stephens-“The Innocents” and “Village Of The Damned”
Natalie Portman-“Leon”
Jodie Foster-“Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”, “Taxi Driver”
Alfred Lutter-“Alice Doesn’t Liver Here Anymore”
Tatum O’Neal-“The Bad News Bears”
Haley Joel Osment-“The Sixth Sense”
Corey Haim-“Lucas”
Linda Blair-“The Exorcist” (what was she, twelve years old? oh,my!)
I’m sure that I missed a bunch (I won’t mention “E.T.”, lotta E.T. hate round here.
Right now, i can name a few. Maybe three: Marlon Brando in all his roles. All of them. Peter Lorre in “M”: a true madman with a weird power in his eyes; and David Thewlis in “Naked”, a character that people think that was first seen in Dr. House lead role.
Foster was superb in TAXI DRIVER, given her tender age.
It is always hard to know if children are truly acting, or just presenting their childness. Certainly Foster was already a full speed actor.
Two stand-outs for me, little Ana Torrent in SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE, who surely redefines forever the meaning of child-actress. And Tania Palaiologou in LANDSCAPES IN THE MIST. Both kids are great in this one, but young Palaiologou carries some very heavy weight, and carries it very well.
I haven’t seen either of these films yet. “Spirit Of The Beehive” is already on my list. I’ll be sure to add “Landscapes In The Mist”.
Harrison Ford – Blade Runner
Jimmy Stewart – It’s A Wonderful Life
Denzel Washington – Mo’ Better Blues & Man On Fire
Maggie Cheung – In The Mood For Love
Robert De Niro – Raging Bull & Taxi Driver
Ray Liotta – Goodfellas
Sissy Spacek – Badlands
Richard Gere – Days Of Heaven
Gene Wilder – Young Frankenstein
Ian Mckellan – Lord of The Rings Trilogy
Bill Murray – Life Aquatic
Al Pacino – Heat & Scarface
Daniel Day Lewis – Gangs of New York & There Will Be Blood
Josh Brolin – No Country For Old Men
Clive Owen – Children of Men
Julianne Moore – Boogie Nights
Tom Crusie – Magnolia
Gene Hackman – French Connection
Alec Guiness – Bridge on The River Kwai
Toshiro Mifune – Seven Samauri
Samuel L. Jackson – Pulp Fiction
Hugh Jackman – The Fountain
Sissy Spacek – 3 Women & Badlands
Warren Beatty – McCabe & Mrs. MIiller
Faye Dunaway – Bonnie & Clyde
Ed Norton – American History X
Harvey Kietel – Bad Lieutenant
Chris Walken – True Romance
Brando – Street Car Named Desire
Patricia Arquette – True Romance
Chow Yun Fat – The Killer & Hardboiled
Jet Li – Hero
Mickey Rourke – Angel Heart
Pam Grier – Jackie Brown
So many listed here, I also liked Vince Vaughn in “Swingers”.
Soybean: Knowing a little of your tastes from what I’ve read, BEEHIVE will knock your socks off. Move it to the top.
Angelopoulos is another matter. Somewhat difficult in the beginning. What we used to call an acquired taste, needing time, patience, &tc. That said, MIST, because of these two wonderful kids, is probably the easiest way into him.
Thanks, MMOORE, yes BEEHIVE has been humming around my head since reading all of the lists on this site. Seems to always be near the top. I’ll be sure to see it soon.
So many, but a few that come to mind: Jack Nicholson in The Pledge. After years of playing variations of himself, Nicholson totally disappears into a role. It’s an intense, dark, brutal film and not easily recommended – and the final shot of Nicholson is simply devastating.
Michelle Pfeiffer in The Age of Innocence. I gained new respect for her after her part in this film.
One of my all-time favourites: Walter Huston in Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Bogie is damn fine, too.
One could go on and on….
Jack Nicholson – The Shining
Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler
John Huston – Chinatown
Kate Winslet – Titanic
Marcello Mastrioanni – Otto e Mezzo
Tatsuya Nakadai – Kagemusha
Diane Keaton – The Godfather
Toshiro Mifune: Throne Of Blood (the ending)
Jerry Orbach: Crimes & Misdemeanors (“…some of us can’t afford to be so … aloof …”)
Joe Morton: Brother From Another Planet (all of it)
Jack Lemmon: The Apartment (likewise)
Ellen Burstyn: Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (likewise, again)
Harvey Keitel: Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (that motel room scene, which apparently freaked out everyone on the set)
Alfre Woodard: Passion Fish (sinking her teeth into some of Sayles’ sharpest writing)
Matt Dillon: Drugstore Cowboy (all of it, the last 3rd in particular)
I second Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk in A Woman Under the Influence
Peter Falk – A Woman Under the Influence
Marlon Brando – Working over Vivien Leigh’s poor practiced permforance
Gerard Depardieu – Police
Renee Falconetti – Passion of Joan of Arc
Denzel Washington – Malcolm X
David Thewlis (and every other character) – Naked
Adam Lee
Malcom McDowell in If….
Marty Sheen in Badlands
Gary Oldman in anything he has ever done
Jeff Goldblum in The Fly
Peter Weller in Robocop and Naked Lunch
Jack Lemmon in Short Cuts
Everybody in Glengarry Glen Ross
Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate
Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
John Cusack in High Fidelity
Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood
Owen Wilson in Bottle Rocket
Nicole Kidman in Margot At The Wedding
and of course,
Rowdy Roddy Piper in They Live
“The steel mills were laying people off left and right. They finally went under. We gave the steel companies a break when they needed it. You know what they gave themselves? Raises.”