What are your favorite examples of great film acting?

[Rupe Whiteman]

Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter

Charles Laughton for The Big Clock

Alain Delon for The Last Samurai

Bruno Ganz for The American Friend and Wings of Desire

Jack Lemon for Glengarry Glen Ross

Paul Giamatti for American Splendor

Joe Pesci for Raging Bull

Alec Guiness for The Man in The White Coat

Klauss maria Brandaeur for Mephisto

Lee Ermey for Full Metal Jacket

Morgan Freeman for Shawshank Redemption, Se7en and Unforgiven

Lawrence Olivier for The Marathon Man

Orson Welles for Touch of Evil

Brando for The Last Tango in Paris and Apocalypse Now

Peter Sellers in Dr.Strangelove

Nicole Kidman for Eyes Wide Shut

Valerie Perrine for Lenny

Jessica Lange for Postman Always Rings Twice

 

 

... The list goes on an on... There are too many to list...

[Michael Ryan]

Hello All,

 

I have to agree with Andrew Koch. Watch Jimmy Stewart in Alfred Hitchcock's VERTIGO. That's all you need to know about film acting.

 

I was glad to see the cast of NETWORK made some lists. I was an extra in that film and to see Peter Finch perform made my hair stand on its end it was that good. Also have some Super-8 footage (home movies) from that shoot, but...ah...don't tell MGM about that.

 

 

Mike

[Tim O'Connor]

Wow! What a collection of thoughts. I wish I had time to write the essay that I feel all these

comments

and great lists deserve.

 

So, since I have to be brief, I've found enough here to think about for days. I agree with a lot

of these examples wholeheartedly and some I'm going to see as soon as possible (for the first

time.) There aren't any names on these lists with which I would disagree.

 

I remember reading a discussion somewhere about realism and naturalism as different styles

(although I think that it was about something other than acting.)

 

I can't recall the examples in that article but I can think of some that seem to agree with the

understanding that I have retained of it.

 

For example, in an "American Cinematographer" article a long time ago, a D.P. talked about

putting much higher wattage than usual sealed beams in a car because although it wasn't

necessarily realistic, the effect of the blasting light closely resembled what he felt is the feeling

a person gets looking straight into headlights.

 

Acting in front of a camera certainly allows actors to be more realistic than on stage, where the

demands of communicating to the back row impose conditions on their performances. However,

some actors like to be so realistic that I can't understand what they're saying sometimes, even on

lines that involve key plot points. Now my hearing is okay and I'm talking about actors who were

recorded with equipment that may have cost more than some cameras that I've used.

 

I am really grateful for the subtitle feature on many DVDs. I use it mostly to find out what was just

said in my native language.

 

I think that are many types of great acting and that these types can be measured in different ways.

If it's a biography for example, did the actor pull off an incredible resemblance to the person or,

going in the other direction, did the actor perhaps look and sound differently than the real person

but somehow evoke some essence of the figure's personality that may tell a far more powerful,

truthful story than a physical recreation/impersonation that is exactly right but fails to get the

feel of the person? (I guess both would be ideal but that's not the point.)

 

I watched "The Lords Of Flatbush" two nights ago after posting about it a couple of weeks ago. I

hadn't seen it in years and I watched a VHS copy that was taped off television through a wacko

hookup at a t.v. station and thus had a weird horizontal video sync line running through it. In

other words, an absolutely horrible dub of a movie that was low budget to begin with and had

actors ten years older than the high schoolers they were portraying and you know...it was great!

 

Maybe it's not to everybody's taste, but despite the miscasting, there are performances in that

movie that I can see again as easily as hearing a favorite song on the radio.

[David Mullen ASC]

One of my favorite performances is Derek Jacoby as the narrator/chorus in "Henry V" and he's not even playing a character in the traditional sense -- his performance is more like a great violin solo in a symphony more than a realistic evocation of a character. Orson Welles' little cameo in "The Third Man" is a little like that too, even though that was a character, but a larger-than-life one.

 

When talking about some of our favorite performances, it is a bit like listening to a great musician playing a great score -- there is a visceral pleasure in the viewing/listening experience.

[Tim O'Connor]

One of my favorite performances is Derek Jacoby as the narrator/chorus in "Henry V" and he's not even playing a character in the traditional sense -- his performance is more like a great violin solo in a symphony more than a realistic evocation of a character. Orson Welles' little cameo in "The Third Man" is a little like that too, even though that was a character, but a larger-than-life one.

 

When talking about some of our favorite performances, it is a bit like listening to a great musician playing a great score -- there is a visceral pleasure in the viewing/listening experience.

 

Yeah! For me, I'd say that sometimes it's even a great performer more than a great

musician.

 

In some cases, some of my favorite songs are my favorites because they've got so much heart,

even though they're sung by raspy vocalists who aren't the world's greatest guitar players.

[Dan Goulder]

Naomi Watts in Persons Unknown

James Caan in Thief

Edward Norton in American History X

Joe Pesci in Goodfellas

Marlon Brando in The Godfather

Al Pacino in Scarface

Thora Birch in Ghost World

Tom Waits in Coffee and Cigarettes

Sharon Stone in Broken Flowers

Paul Newman in Color of Money

Philip Stone in The Shining

Helen Mirren in The Queen

[Anatole Sloan]

Realism and truth are two entirely different things; a truthful actor is somebody who is engulfed by their part, believes that they are that person during that period, and acts as that person would in all their actions, even the smallest ones. Realism is what is realistic in the current day; how people generally do things in normal life. However, one can be a truthful actor without having portrayed a normal life, therefore, not such a realistic life.

 

As Stanislavski said, aim for truth in peformance.

 

It is a lot harder to think of particularly good performances in film in comparison to theatre for this particular reason; the major principles of acting when one becomes a master at it is truth in your acting, to believe in the character, to think like the character. This, however, requires time to build into, with most actors; the stop and start system of filmmaking makes it very hard for the actor to create his own character without breaking out of it, as well as the set movements for the ease of editing, as one can't live in a character while limiting themselves to certain moves, but rather, they would express themselves through this character.

 

Returning to the original subject...can not think of a really great example. Will get back when I do...

 

Anatole Sloan

[Angeliki Makraki]

What about films that are out there now.

 

I can think of right away :

( because I've seen them recently)

 

Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others

Natalie Portman and Javier Bardem in Goya's Ghosts

 

A lot of people mentioned Anthony Hopkins.

I liked him as a young actor in Elephant Man.

And he does get better as he matures...

As far as seventies movies go Gene Hackman played very well in French Connection.

He was also as good as Muhe in the Conversation.

[David Sweetman]

I've got to second what was said previously about The Deer Hunter. Once I talked to a homeless vet on the streets of San Francisco - and I saw exactly the same reaction as when Walken gets choked up in the hospital. It was crazy when I saw the scene, because it was like I had lived it before I saw it on-screen.

[Rod Otaviano]

Whenever I watch an Ingmar Bergman movie, I see first-rate acting. Some unforgettable performances: Harriet Andersson in "Through a Glass Darkly" and "Cries and Whispers", Liv Ullmann in "Autumn Sonata" and "Saraband", Ingrid Thulin in "The Silence", Erland Josephson in "Saraband", and "Scenes from a Marriage", among others.

 

Some other great performances IMO:

 

-Erland Josephson in "The Sacrifice"

-Peter O'Toole in "Lawrence of Arabia"

-Ellen Burstyn in "Requiem for a Dream"

-Alec Guinness in "The Scapegoat" (he plays two characters brilliantly)

-Humphrey Bogart in "The Maltese Falcon"

-Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump"

-Daniel Day Lewis in "My Left Foot" and "In the Name of the Father"

 

-Emmanuelle Beart and Jerzy Radziwilowicz in "The Story of Marie and Julien" (one of the things I like about Jacques Rivette (as well as many other directors) is his use of silences and slow cutting ... it helps you focus more on the actors, their facial expressions, how they interact with elements of the narrative, etc ... and I think Emmanuelle Beart and Jerzy Radziwilowicz did a great job here ... you have enough time to watch their reactions, and their facial expressions tell so much that sometimes you don't even need words ... I know it's a matter of personal taste, but I love when an actor speaks with his/her eyes ... Jack Nicholson is another actor who, in my opinion, does that very well)

[Keneu Luca]

Truth and realism are two different things.

But truth can cause realism.

 

Fire and gasoline are two different things.

But gasoline can cause fire.

 

I've been thinking of actors/peformances to add to this growing list...

 

Cindy Crawford in FAIR GAME

Jean Claude Van Damme in DOUBLE IMPACT

Peter North in everything he does - this guy's a real blast to watch

[Dan Salzmann]

There are so, so many but here are a few:

 

Klaus Kinski in "Aguirré Wrath of God"

Dirk Bogarde in "The Servant' and "Night Porter"

Jack Nicholson in "The Last Detail" and "The Shining"

Dustin Hoffman in "Midnight Cowboy"

Gene Hackman in "The Conversation"

Marlon Brando in "On the Waterfront", "The Fugitive Kind", etc.

Morgan Freeman in "Se7en"

Robert DeNiro in "The King of Comedy", "Mean Streets", "Once Upon a Time in America"

Al Pacino in "Scarface", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Serpico", etc.

Richard Burton in "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold"

Robert Mitchum in "Night of the Hunter", "Cape Fear"

Charles Laughton in "Witness for the Prosecution"

Peter Sellers in "Dr. Strangelove", "The Party"

Toshiro Mifune in "Rashomon", "Seven Samurai"

Marcello Mastroiani in "8 1/2"

Edward Woodward in "Breaker Morant"

[Kenny N Suleimanagich]

Peter O'Toole - Lawrence of Arabia

Alec Guinness - Lawrence of Arabia

Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront

Cary Grant - North by Northwest

Dustin Hoffman - The Graduate

Sessue Hayakawa - Bridge on the River Kwai

Humphrey Bogart - The Big Sleep

Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver

[Joe Taylor]

Stephen Lack, "Scanners"

C. Thomas Howell, "Tank" "The Hitcher"

Burt Rynolds, "Hooper"

[Alberto Fernandez]

I am surprised to not see Susan Sarandon or Sean Penn by "Dead Man Walking" on any list (maybe i missed one). I think they were amazing.

 

Morgan Freeman - Shawshank Redemption

 

Susan Sarandon - Dead Man Walking

 

Sean Penn - Dead Man Walking

 

Robert Musgrave and Owen Wilson - Bottlerocket ... for this scene:

 

 

.. except they cut it right at the best part.

 

Nicholas Cage - Leaving las Vegas .. for falling down and pretend he was a poisonous plant.

 

Al Pacino and (Sal) - Dogs Day Afternoon

 

... just to name a few.

[Christian Appelt]

Jackie Gleason

Paul Newman

George C. Scott in THE HUSTLER (1961)

 

Jack Lemmon in THE APARTMENT (1960)

 

Anton Walbrook (Adolph Wohlbrück) in THE RED SHOES (1948)

 

Hardy Krüger

James Stewart in FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX (1965)

 

Humphrey Bogart in KEY LARGO (1942)

 

 

I find it very hard to judge actors by new films since the 1980s because their performances get so chopped up by directors and editors who don't trust their script and players. To me it seems like many actors have adapted to that choppy-movie making and try to emote for their life in every frame.

"Dynamic" editing, "stylish" camera movements and the usual sticky-sweet Prozac known as modern film scores all diminish good film acting.

 

Yesterday I saw EXODUS on TV (1960, d. Otto Preminger, DP Sam Leavitt), and while Preminger's 70mm long take mise en scene is not always great art, I found myself pulled into the movie because of the actors' presence (Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson et al).

 

The best examples of film acting can be seen from many supporting players especially during films made inside the studio system. The worst film acting, as David Mamet noted, can be seen with actors playing great actors.

 

David Mamet: Seeing and Believing (The Guardian)

Edited October 18, 2007 by Christian Appelt

[Tom Lowe]

Hugh Jackman - The Fountain

Denzel - Training Day

Notle - The Thin Red Line

Naomi Watts - Mulholland Drive

Natalie Portman - Leon

Brando - On the Waterfront

[Leo Anthony Vale]

Sir Larry Olivier in 'Khartoum'.

One of his black face roles. He chews up the scenery & since it's a Cinerama/Ultra Panavision movie,

there's so much more scenery for him to chew up.

 

Ralph Richardson as Gladstone in the same film is a favorite.

 

Debra Kerr's take at the end of 'From Here to Eternity', when Donna Reed tells her on the ship about Prewitt.

 

While I don't particularly care for Mickey Rourke, he was born to play Henry in 'Barfly'.

[Jonathan Bowerbank]

There are so many listed in this thread and too many that I agree with to add anything more. But a fresh one would be Ben Foster in the new "3:10 to Yuma".

 

You instantly knew he was a dangerous man, and he's so intense throughout the film. The best portrayal of a villain in a while.