In no determined order.
1). Albert Finney as Geoffrey Firmin in Under the Volcano (1984, Huston)
2). Al Pacino as Lt. Col. Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman (1992, Brest)
3). James Woods as Richard Boyle in Salvador (1985, Stone)
4). Matti Pellonpää as Nikander in Shadows in Paradise (1986, Kaurismaki)
5). ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano as Nishi in Hana-bi (1997, Kitano)
6). Clint Eastwood as William Munny in Unforgiven (1992, Eastwood)
7). Jack Nicholson as Jake Gittes in Chinatown (1972, Polanski)
8). Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth in Blue Velvet (1986, Lynch)
9). Harvey Keitel as the L.T. in Bad Lieutenant (1992, Ferrara)
10). Willem Dafoe as John LeTour in Light Sleeper (1992, Schrader)
1). Adrienne Shelly as Maria Coughlin in Trust (1990, Hartley)
2). Charlotte Rampling as Laura Fischer in The Verdict (1982, Lumet)
3). Maria Schneider as Jeanne in Last Tango in Paris (1972, Bertolucci)
4). Sloveig Dommartin as Marion in Wings of Desire (1988, Wenders)
5). Charlotte Gainsbourg as She in Antichrist (2009, von Trier)
6). Nastassja Kinski as Tess Durbeyfield in Tess (1979, Polanski)
7). Harriet Andersson as Karin in Through a Glass Darkly (1961, Bergman)
8). Isabelle Huppert as Erika in The Piano Teacher (2001, Haneke)
9). Brigette Helm as Maria/Maschinenmensch in Metropolis (1927, Lang)
10). Kyoko Kagawa as Anju in Sansho the Bailiff (1954, Mizoguchi)
These are some performances that have impressed me a lot. In no particular order:
1>Tishoro Mifune – Drunken Angel
2>George C. Scott – Dr. Strangelove
3>Ryo Ikebe – Pale Flower
4>Mickey Rourke – Barfly
5>Hideko Takamine – Yearning
6>Gena Rowlands – A Woman Under the Influence
7>Jack Lemmon – The Apartment
8>Robert De Niro – Mean Streets
9>Waheeda Rehman – Khamoshi
10>Kinuyo Tanaka – A Hen in the Wind
Nice choices! G.C.scott in Dr. Strangelove def. And Isabelle Huppert in The Piano Teacher I really should of considered and def. deserves major recognition. I’d prob. slip her in at 7 on my list.
My list
1. David Thewlis as Johnny- Naked
2. Daniel Dey Lewis as Daniel Plainview- There Will Be Blood
3. Choi Min-sik as Oldboy – Oldboy
4. Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannible Lector – The Silence of the Lambs
5. Klaus Kinski as Aguirre, the Wrath of God
6. Nicholas Cage as Ben – Leaving Las Vegas
7. Jan Malmsjo as Bishop Edvard Vergeus – Fanny and Alexander
8. Toshiro Mifune as Kikuchiyo – Seven Samurai
9. George C. Scott as General Buck Turginson- Dr. Strangelove
10. Cristoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa – Inglorious Basterds
1. Lesley Manville as Mary – Another Year
2. Naomi Watts as Betty – Mulholland Dr.
3. Ewa Frolling as Emilie Ekdahl – Fanny and Alexander
4. Sheryl Lee as Laura Palmer – Twin Peaks (Fire Walk with Me)
5. Jessica Lange as Tamora, Queen of the Goths – Titus
6. Emily Watson as Bess – Breaking the Waves
7. Natalie Portman as Matilda – Leon
8. Juliette Binoche and Julie Vignon – Bleu
9. Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf- The Hours
10. Evan Rachel Wood as Tracy Freeland – Thirteen
Yeah, i know some of these are classic and little overhyped sometimes. But DDL and Hopkins really are that good, that I can get past it. To be fair, Ledger in Dark Night prob. unbiasedly deserves to be on there as well. But I guess even I have my limits.
1. M. Emmet Walsh – Blood Simple
2. Jon Polito – Miller’s Crossing
3. Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
4. Jeff Bridges – True Grit
5. John Goodman – The Big Lebowski
6. Nicolas Cage – Raising Arizona
7. Michael Lerner – Barton Fink
8. Tony Shalhoub – The Man Who Wasn’t There
9. Frances McDormand – Fargo
10. Tom Hanks – The Ladykillers
go go Coen Bros!
Rohit
As this seems to be a season for making lists, let us have your top 10 favorite performances by actors(male/female). You can either make separate lists for male and female or just make a single one.