What's the single best performance you've ever seen in a movie?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

To my tastes its Toshirô Mifune in Yojimbo or Gary Farmer in Dead Man - but thats just me. Its such a hard question. I could say Nils Poppe in Det Sjunde inseglet (the Seventh Seal) or Angela Landsbury in the Manchurian Candidate, or Ed Harris in The Hours, or on and on and on.....

I'll stick with Yojimbo - the face scratching and constant frowning stick in my mind to this day. Not to mention the sword-play.

[GCP]

1. Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday

In Tombstone.

[NamVetsWeeLass]

4. Kilmer gave a great Doc Holiday.... eom

[Buck Turgidson]

8. I'm your huckleberry!

http://www.moviewavs.com/cgi-bin/mp3s.cgi?Tombstone=huckleberry.mp3

[Twillig]

73. "What the hell you doin this for, anyway?"

“Wyatt Earp is my friend.”
Johnson: “Hell, I got lots of friends.”
Doc: “I don't.”

http://www.wavsite.com/sounds/47664/tomb32.wav

[bastille90]

76. George C. Scott as Patton

:) I thought he was awesome.

[Dem Agog]

2. Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham

In American Beauty

[Demit]

40. I was gonna say him! Loved that movie.

[Nosmo King]

3. Marlon Brando as

Stanley Kowoski in "A Streetcar Named Desire"

[Newkophile]

5. Tom Hanks in "Cast Away"

He was on the screen alone for much of the time, no actors to "bounce off of", except a soccor ball named "Wilson". He was great.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

34. Volleyball

[BOSSHOG]

6. Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke and

Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men - "Did you order the Code Red?"

[KarenS]

7. Jamie Fox became "Ray"

we just saw this movie and I so did not want it to end!!!

[DelawareValleyDem]

9. I like

the toothless guy who played a typical Bush supporter in Deliverance

[Benhurst]

10. Ronald Reagan in King's Way. "Where's the rest of me?"

the Gipper moaned. We never did find out.

[FizzFuzz]

11. Daniel Day Lewis in "My Left Foot"

Judy Dench in "Iris"
Glenn Close in "Lion in Winter"
Charlize Theron in "Monster" (as Aileen Wuornos. Phew what a performance!! Amazing. She truly became a whole other human being. Reminded me of someone I knew. NO not a serial killer, but a very emotionally damaged woman, who was a whole person. Charlize in that role reminded me of that person.)

ooh, Dead Man, that's one of my favorites.

Tombstone too.

[Crankie Avalon]

12. Chris Elliot in "Cabin Boy"...

..."Here you are, Chubby...go buy yourself a spritzer!" GENIUS!!!

[SlavesandBulldozers]

13. Daniel Day Lewis

Bill the Butcher

[Politicub]

91. I used to refer to him as

Daniel Day Do Me

[BigMcLargehuge]

14. I gotta go with Mifune too in Yojimbo, Sanjuro, and Drunken Angel

His costar in Drunken Angel, Takashi Shimura was fantastic too.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

18. And of course in Seven Samurai - I love the part when he's following

them to the village - sheer gold

[BigMcLargehuge]

26. Takashi Shimura is my favorite in The Seven Samurai

though I like Mifune's enthusiasm, AND his dichotomy, he's the crazy samurai who is defending the farmers that he HATES... yet the kids LOVE because he's so crazy.

They really mellowed his character in The Magnificent Seven although Bronson did well enough as Bernardo.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

37. Definately Shimura's best performance - and he gave so damn many

Did you ever see Hidden fortress?

[BigMcLargehuge]

39. indeed :)

He was also Dr. Yamane in Gojira (his role reduced to about three minutes in the Americanized Godzilla King of the Monsters).

[Hand]

62. Second best, IMHO...

Shimura's performance as Watanabe in "Ikiru" was beyond sublime... truly a masterwork.

:toast:

[Tyrone Slothrop]

52. Mifune - High and Low

I've always considered High and Low to be Mifune's best work.

Probably in my Top 10 movies of all time.

[Hand]

119. Roger that!

I was just thinking of High and Low recently--Kurosawa does Ed McBain! How could you go wrong?

And welcome to DU, TS! (Great screen name, BTW! We're all sort of part of the preterite these days.)

:hi:

[no_hypocrisy]

15. Henry Fonda as Tom Joad in "Grapes of Wrath".

[billkurtmeyer]

16. Andy Griffith in "A Face in the Crowd" - an overlooked gem!

Politically before its time, if you haven't seen this film do so!

[Mike Nelson]

17. GRETA GARBO "Camille" / MARLON BRANDO "Streetcar Named Desire"

GRETA GARBO "Camille"
MARLON BRANDO "Streetcar Named Desire"

Today, the MOVIES act, not the ACTORS.

[Mike Nelson]

21. After READING the thread...

I see someone else picked "Streetcar."

Also, I picked two... There are a lot more... but, all OLD movies. New movies are a gimmicks, effects. My favoite film is SUNRISE (1927).

[barb162]

87. great picks, I was also thinking of the guy who played "A Man for All

Seasons" wonderful English actor and I can't think of his name.

[barb162]

101. Paul Scofield is his name

[Sticky]

19. Sally Field

..... in Sybil.

I was blown away by her performance.

[Coyote_Bandit]

20. Paul Neuman in "The Verdict"

[BOSSHOG]

23. He was awesome

Loved the end when the Jury foreman asked the judge if they could award a larger damage.

[One_Life_To_Give]

22. John Holmes in

oh you mean that kind of performance. Nevermind

[chiburb]

24. Jimmy Cagney in "White Heat" n/t

[VOX]

85. "How ya doin' Parker? Stuffy, eh? I'll give it a little air!"

Then, four rounds from a .45 into the trunk of a car. All the while Cody Jarrett (Cagney) is nonchalantly chewing on a chicken leg.

Outstanding performance by Cagney. :toast:

[chiburb]

95. .

[pberq]

25. Marlon Brando as Fletcher in Mutiny on the Bounty

[underpants]

27. Robert Downey Jr. as "Chaplain" or Gregory Peck as "Atticus Finch"

I mention Peck just because he played the character almost exactly as I had imagined him when I read the book.

[tigereye]

53. I agree about Downey

I also think Holly Hunter in The Piano.
And William Hurt in Kiss of the Spiderwoman. (I think that is what it was called.)

[Guaranteed]

133. Oh hell yeah his Chaplain was BRILLIANT. nt

[Feathered Fish]

28. Robert de Niro

as Jake La Motta in Raging bull or as Johnny Boy in Mean Streets. Either one I'd say.

[kodi]

105. tops, by far! and 2nd > is james dean east of eden, 3rd. brando waterfront

4th pacino in godfather II.

women. tops is jessica lange in rob roy, it is the only character whose performance ever made me cry. the scene in which she demands her kinsman promise he not tell her husband she had been raped, i burst into tears from the intensity of emotion in that scene. even now i have the chiils from lange's performance in that film.

rosland russell in the front page.

meryl streep in the deer hunter

so many posted are also fantastic, i chose mine because i still remember what they did to me when i first saw the films, and i have watched them again and again like sipping the finest wine.

[Kire]

114. or as Rodrigo Mendoza

in The Mission

[kodi]

126. one of the most beautiful films ever.

great movie too.

[corporatemedia]

29. that nice young lady in SHOWGIRLS - what talent !

[DemWitch]

30. Sally Field in Steel Magnolias...

The graveyard scene to this day, after seeing the movie I don't know how many times still rips my heart out...

Second runner up is Michael Weiss in Jeffrey... At the end when they are at dinner, and Jeffrey agrees to see him... and Jeffrey says, you'll never get sick... "done"... and you will never die... The look on Weiss' face... I don't think it was acting... that look was something from someone who had been there before...

[bluetrain]

31. Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under The Influence

[Magrittes Pipe]

32. John Cazale in "The Godfather, part II"

He broke my heart.

[Ctrl_Alt_Del]

71. Another great Godfather II performance...

Talia Shire, who otherwise couldn't act her way out of a paper bag. That's how great that script was... it lifted everyone involved to another level.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

135. cazale was agreat actor

pity he left us so young. he would have been ranked right up there with deniro and pacino if he'd live

[Rambis]

33. Meryl Streep: Sophie's Choice

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084707/

[lil-petunia]

35. Behind the Green Door, while sitting on the trapeze

[mitchum]

128. But Marilyn used a stunt...uh...uh...y'know...in those scenes :)

[YellowRubberDuckie]

36. Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch....

Never has there been a better movie with a better message. And raising kids to thnk for themselves and not to judge anyone based on what they looked like at a time like that, well, it's just amazing. If you haven't seen To Kill a Mockingbird, go get it. You'll never regret it.
Duckie

[Jean Louise Finch]

134. Second.

He captured the decency and somber humanity of Atticus better than I caught it in my own head.

I read an interview with Gregory Peck about making that movie, and he remembered this exchange with Harper Lee:
"Gregory, you've got a little pot belly just like my daddy."
"Harper," he replied, "that's great acting."

[erehwon2]

38. Mifune: Hell in the Pacific

Dead heat with Lee Marvin.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

42. Excellent choice

[BigMcLargehuge]

45. Lee Marvin in Emperor of the North (though he's good in just about

everything). I also love Lee in The Big Red One.

[erehwon2]

48. Dang tootin'

Kudos in EOTN to Ernest as well, pretty much the same sadistic bastard he played in From Here to Eternity, James Jones' name be praised.

[Richardo]

61. Emperor of the North - what a great flick...

Ernest Borgnine at his best, too.

[Twillig]

78. Was just looking at my dvd collection looking for candidates

I was mentally checking off movies. "No, no, no, no, um, Hackman in The Conversation, no, no, no, Hell in the Pacific, no,no. etc.,etc."

Great choice.

[GOPisEvil]

127. Excellent, excellent choice!

*applause*

[Phillycat]

41. Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects

[terrya]

43. Angela Lansbury in "The Manchurian Candidate"

Her performance is quite simply the best performance by an actor or an actress I've ever seen in a film. I saw this film when ir was revived in 1989 after an almost 30 year abscence.

Lansbury's performance is jaw dropping, She is in this film the very personification of evil...a portrait of amorality. Using her own son to gain the ultimate in power. Absolutely astonishing.

[yellowdogintexas]

129. especially considering she was younger than the actor

who portrayed her son.
That was one amazing performance

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

44. Another choice : Jack Nicholson - Easy Rider

[cruadin]

75. I think Jack Nicholson was even better

as McMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

92. And pretty damned good in Five Easy Pieces - but after that

he's always Jack

[pagerbear]

46. Roy Scheider in All That Jazz

[Richardo]

63. I'm a big ATJ fan...

...I play that Vivaldi piece occasionally when "It's showtime, folks". (Although I do not smoke in the shower.

[Atlas Mugged]

47. Hepburn in 'The Lion in Winter'

The jewel in her crown.

[CBGLuthier]

49. Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Boogie Nights

The look on his face when he "sees" Dirk. His I'm a fucking idiot speech. Pure magnificent acting.

[pagerbear]

64. Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Happiness

[CBGLuthier]

77. Oooh, good choice

Happiness is certainly not to everyone's taste but it too was one hell of a performance.

[pagerbear]

79. Who was the actor who played the

....skeevy pedophile shrink? That was quite a performance, too!

[Twillig]

84. Dylan Baker

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048414/

Funny thing is William H. Macy often gets credit for that performance on message boards. I've seen it half a dozen times. :)

[erehwon2]

50. Note how the "worst performance" thread thrives

and the "best performance" dives.
Such a sad, sad, sad, sad world.
Cheers anyway.

[XNASA]

51. Peter Sellers "Being There"

nt

[Jack Schitt]

54. David Arquette in "Ready to Rumble"

Haha! I'm only kidding.

I'd have to say Darrin McGavin as Mr. Parker in A Christmas Story. He played the perfect "angry father" and he was funny as hell.

Melinda Dillon was good as well.

[RossMcLochNess]

55. Dick Warlock as "The Shape"

The original "Halloween" baby! The guys incites fear without speaking a word.

[BigMcLargehuge]

56. it's the spraypainted Captain Kirk mask!

[tjwash]

57. Anthony Hopkins in "Silence of the Lambs"

That performance still creeps me out to this day.

[tjwash]

58. I gotta give a second place shout to Bruce Campbell in "Army of Darkness"

nt

[NaturalHigh]

66. Anthony Hopkins...

in any of the three Hannibal Lecter movies. I can't wait until next fall until the new Hannibal book, "Behind the Mask," comes out. From what I've read, a studio has already bought the movie rights.

[maveric]

116. And only 18 minutes worth too.

Thats all he needed.

[Wickerman]

59. Bill Murray - Groundhog's Day

maybe not best, but one of the most memorable - in my estimation.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

65. i preferred him in Lost in Translation

And Stripes, Caddy Shack and Scrooged

[Wickerman]

67. I think GHD defined his middle-aged grumpy guy persona

that he used so effectivley in LiT.

But his true masterpiece HAS to be considered:




:eyes:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

68. No - its

[Wickerman]

70. unwatchable

you win. :)

Larger than life is at least viewable.

[NoSheep]

60. Peter Sellers in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita.

[Ctrl_Alt_Del]

69. Peter Finch, "Network"

First one that comes to mind, so I'll go with it.

[Sabriel]

72. Bogart in The Caine Mutiny, or DeNiro in King of Comedy

Both were riveting.

[DrWeird]

74. Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz.

In Apocalypse Now.

Critics will often describe various performances as "electrifying" or "explosive." Or stuff like that. Brando was just plain hypnotic. I could take my eyes off the screen when he was on.

[auburngrad82]

80. Rod Steiger and Sydney Poitier in Heat of the Night

Watched it on dvd this weekend. What a great, ground-breaking movie. I can't decide which of these two great actors was better so I nominate them both.

[DrDan]

93. gotta go with Steiger

he WAS Police Chief Gillespie (or Gillepspie as as that wierd little guy in the jail cell called him)

[VOX]

81. Klaus Kinski in "Aguirre, the Wrath of God."

You cannot take your eyes off of him throughout. The role's got a bit of "Richard III" in it, but Kinski takes it to a much higher place.

Also, Robert Mitchum in "Night of the Hunter." Unforgetabbly menacing. In the film, kids are naturally repelled by him, whereas adults seem to get entranced.

On a sweeter side, Richard Farnsworth as Bill Miner in "The Gray Fox," a magnificent Canadian film that never quite got its due.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

82. A real obscure oldie: Renee Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc

This silent film from 1927 blew me away when I saw the restored version on Turner Classic Movies.

Imagine a silent film shot mostly in close-up with almost no action that keeps you riveted. Because Carl Dreyer the director believed in absolute historical authenticity, the actors wear no make up. This prevents the film from appearing dated, and except for the lack of sound, it looks as if it could have been filmed yesterday.

It concentrates on Joan's trial, a desperate battle of wits between an illiterate 19-year-old peasant woman and her prosecutors, a group of well-educated, middle-aged and elderly men. They try to trap her into confessing blasphemy or witchcraft, and she outwits them every time.

You know exactly what Joan is thinking at every moment, and you come to see that Dreyer believes that Joan was put on trial as much for being an uppity woman as for anything else.

Really a stunning performance from a French stage actress who never made another movie.

[mitchum]

124. I was torn between Falconetti's performance in that...

and Klaus Kinski in "Aguirre" Crazy old Klaus barely beat her out. And speaking of crazy...Antonin Artaud was also very good in "The Passion of Joan of Arc"

Falconetti did give a stunning performance.

[stlchic]

83. Tom Hanks in "Philadelphia"

and Denzel Washington in "Malcolm X" is up there too.

[pagerbear]

89. Philadelphia was such a @#$#$%$#% disappointment.

[bigwillq]

109. True dat

It was just a P.C. version so the "average" American could relate to it.

[Beaverhausen]

98. Denzel Washington in GLORY...no in TRAINING DAY...

Denzel anywhere, anytime.

[2Design]

103. the philadelphia story was powerful and hanks was good

[Misunderestimator]

86. Jim Caviezel as Jeebus!

Just kidding!! :bounce: :bounce:

[the Princess]

88. Charlize Theron

In "Monster"

she was fucking amazing.

[Misunderestimator]

106. I second that! Unbelievably amazing really...

:afraid:

[Politicub]

90. Elizabeth Shue - adverntures in babysitting

A masterpiece that takes my breath away each time I see it.

[edbermac]

94. Jim Varney in Ernest Goes To Jail; that was worth a dozen Oscars...

Know what I mean, Vern?

[barb162]

96. madelyn kahn in blazing saddles

[CO Liberal]

97. Sean Penn in "Sam I Am"

I'm continually amazed by his talent.

[UpsideDownFlag]

99. Keanu Reeves in 'Point Break'

or is this the 'best performance' list?

[Bertha Venation]

100. Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man (many more inside)

That's just one of my many, many personal choices for "best." Really -- too many to choose from.

Holly Hunter in The Piano

Jodie Foster in The Accused

F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus

Pauline Collins in Shirley Valentine

Steve Martin in Roxanne

Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs

Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight

too many to remember, too many to name

[Guaranteed]

132. Hoffman's is definitely one of the best. nt

[2Design]

102. Norma Rae - Sally Field

[Leilani]

104. Anthony Hopkins in Remains of the Day!

[Bertha Venation]

142. An absolutely heartbreaking performance. eom

[Kire]

107. Vincent D'Onofrio in The Salton Sea

or Full Metal Jacket, or Steal this Movie

[Dukakis88]

108. OJ Simpson in "Naked Gun"

Okay, he sucked.

[Clinton Crusader]

110. Can't be just ONE....

-Al Pacino's transformation from the innocent out-of-the-family-business son to the ruthless Godfather.
-Marlon Brando in The Godfather, The Young Lions and Streetcar.
-Kevin Costner in JFK.
-Vivien Leigh in Gone With The Wind (she was British and her performance and accent were flawless)
-Kevin Spacey in just about everything he's been in

gotta think of more, cause there's a alot more...

[hippiechick]

111. Geoffrey Rush in Shine n/t

:hippie:

[Blue in a Red State]

112. Ben Kingsley in House of Sand and Fog

or in Sexy Beast.

[muriel_volestrangler]

113. Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia

An epic film, yet it's all about him.

[bobthedrummer]

115. Marlon Brando in "Streetcar Named Desire" comes to mind quickly

[Hand]

120. STELLLLLLAAAA! HEY STELLLAAA! nt

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

117. Jack Lemmon as Shelley Levine....

....GlenGarry Glen Ross

[jukes]

118. trivia

just in case some1 doesn't know: "Yojimbo" inspired
"the magnificent 7"; another kirasawa/mifune film inspired clint eastwood's "fistfull of dollars".


honorable mention shd go to gary oldman for his role as the black, parblind detroit pimp in "true romance"; not an easy shift for a white cockney. it was several years before i realized who he was.

[NashVegas]

121. Most Recent - Daniel Auteuil in "Widow of St. Pierre"

Very subtle and moving performance of a guy stuck between a rock and a hard place.

[mitchum]

122. Klaus Kinski in "Aguirre, The Wrath of God"

[Catchawave]

123. Meg Ryan - When a Man Loves a Woman

She's an amazing drunk :silly:

[acpepperoni]

125. DiCaprio in Gilbert Grape

[yellowdogintexas]

130. Dustin Hoffman in "Hook"..he should have had to pay

Speilberg to be in that movie. He was having way too much fun!

Seriously, I am also w/Hepburn in "Lion in Winter"

Newman in "Cool Hand Luke"
JoAnne Woodward in "3 Faces of Eve"
Steiger/Poitier in "Heat of the Night" (I have the motive which is money and the body which is DEAD!"

Al Pacino in all three Godfather movies

[Guaranteed]

131. Jim Carrey was an unbelievable Andy Kaufman.

Dustin Hoffman in Rainman, maybe.

[norml]

136. Katherine Hepburn in Long Day's Journey Into Night

Best junkie ever! Jason Robards Jr. is pretty good in this movie also.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

137. always liked sean penn in dead man walking

that scene where his family leaves him for the last time always tears me up

also, i'd go with charlie chaplin in city lights. no words, but so damn moving

[tandem5]

138. Joel Grey, "Cabaret"

no doubt.

[Chomskyite]

139. My picks, at least this week

Giuletta Masina in La Strada
Michael Caine in Hannah and Her Sissters

[Mike Niendorff]

140. Very, very, very tough call.

Not sure who's the absolute top, but two of the nominees would have to be :

Edward Norton, Primal Fear
Tim Robbins, Jacob's Ladder


MDN

[JSJ]

141. peter sellers in strangelove

[freestyle]

143. Denzel Washington as Malcolm X n/t