The other day I presented my list for the top performances by actresses and got a few reactions. I am sure, I will receive more from my actors list, as some classic characters will not make it. I will start by saying there will be no Andy Dufresne or Citizen Kane. There will be no Corleone's or Indiana Jones. There will be no Pacino. No Brando. No Deniro. No Welles, Grant or Stewart. This list was actually smaller to start than the list for the actresses, despite having many more quality roles to choose from.
The hardest part was getting the numbers down. How can one leave off Brando when he's been so amazing in On the Waterfront or as Stanley in Streetcar Named Desire? How can 12 Angry Men be the second greatest film of all time on my list, but not one of the actors in it makes the list? Before I sat down to type this, I realized I had left someone off. Someone who will probably make the top five. I made the list late at night and I am not sure if there are others. This performances inclusion means that Humphrey Bogart's role in The African Queen will not make the list. Getting the list down to ten was torturous. How do you leave off Robert Shaw as Quint in Jaws? Or Bob Hoskins in Felicia's Journey. Ben Kingsley becoming Ghandi or Yul Brynner as the King of Siam. It became so difficult when I got down to 11, I couldn't leave someone off. So we start, with a tie.
10A. Philip Seymour Hoffman - Truman Capote, Capote. Any time an actor can portray an historical character and nail every mannerism, it is an amazing feat. In Capote, Hoffman not only portrays the man perfectly, but does so in a wonderful story. There is not doubt that Hoffman's study of the man was so meticulous, that he became the man.
10B. Philip Baker Hall - Sydney, Hard Eight (aka Sydney). Hard Eight is one of those perfect little movies. The cast is perfect. The story is perfect. No scene is filler and the acting is incredible. Most people know Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. Reilly and Samuel Jackson, but few know Philip Baker Hall. After seeing this film, I not only knew who he was, but was mesmerized. The story of a professional gambler with a past, who takes in a young man, he seems destined to meet. The movie rolls by quickly and towards the end there is a scene. A scene which on first view blew me away. It's between Hall and Jackson and it is so powerful and important, but subtle in it's delivery, that you almost miss it. I later found out this scene was shot in one take and when the two men entered the room, they had never met before. After finding this out, the scene went from great to astounding. Which is just what this movie is.
9. Ryan Gosling - Danny Balint, The Believer. Not too many people have seen this movie, but everyone I know has seen American History X. While AHX is an incredible movie and leaves and impression, it is nothing compared to this movie. Where AHX fails in the end, this succeeds. The story is about a neo-nazi who tells his story to a writer for the NY Times. He promises to kill himself if the writer exposes him for what he really is. He tells about his affiliation with the KKK and his anti-semetic views. The big secret, which he struggles to hide, is that he is Jewish. Made before Gosling became a household name, this is his best performance to date.
8. Daniel Day Lewis - Daniel Plainview, There Will Be Blood. I could be wrong, but I can not remember a movie in which the main character had more lines. The movie, while painfully slow at times is remarkable in that Lewis seems to be on screen for every single scene and delivers so many monologues, it becomes dizzying. Of all the movies in this acting list, it's probably the weakest, but it doesn't detract from Lewis' performance.
7. Richard Burton - Thomas Becket, Becket. Burton has been in so many amazing roles, its hard to choose just one. He has played Kings like no other, but this film, his friend and adversary is King Henry II, played by the nearly as good Peter O'Toole. The film is an emotional look at two friends who have gone in different directions and the toll it has taken on them and has severed their union. Burton and O'Toole always give us the impression that this battle of wills is real and that is the mark of fine acting.
6. Peter O'Toole - Henry II, The Lion in Winter. O'Toole could easily be on this list twice for playing the same person. He was brilliant in Becket, but shines even brighter in one of my ten favorite movies of all time. O'Toole is paired against Katherine Hepburn in this brilliant film about a king being forced to decide who will inherit his throne. His dilemma is more about relinquishing his own power than a story of family, but it works both ways perfectly. Truly one of the greatest acted movies of all time, if not the greatest.
5. Anthony Hopkins - Hannibal Lechter, Silence of the Lambs. As good as I thought Jodie Foster was, Hopkins steals the show. He may only be on screen a number of minutes, but he makes them count like none other. His version of Lechter (Brian Cox played the role in Manhunter), is so calmly evil, that you forget about his reputation. Unfortunately for the character, the next two movies were pretty bad and the character loses his luster. This can not however, take away from this role.
4. James Dean - Jett Rink, Giant. James Dean was in three major films and all three are incredible in their own ways. The term epic is overused today, but this film, made in 1956 was epic. Almost three and half hours long and absolute masterful acting by Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. The story about a man who comes into great wealth via the oil industry and his rise and fall. Without a doubt the precursor to the show Dallas, with Dean's character possessing the ever familiar initials J.R. I could have said East of Eden or Rebel Without a Cause and probably not heard an argument, but this one is better. I don't think a lot of young people really understand just how talented this young man was.
3. Max Von Sydow - Antonius Block, The Seventh Seal. I jumped on the Ingmar Bergman bandwagon late in life and I'm still catching up. His movies are beautiful, violent and mesmerizing all at once. Of all the one's I've seen, this captured my attention and I couldn't stop thinking about it. One of the few movies, I've watched twice in a row, it's impact was incredible. Never before has a movie had so many wonderful lines depicting a man's conflict with faith. The story of Block and his game of chess with Death, the movie takes you on the final days of a man who has battled in the name of God, but now questions it. "We make an idol of our fears, and call it God."
2. Gregory Peck - Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird. Atticus Finch was voted by AFI as the top cinematic hero of all time. It's hard to argue, because Peck's depiction was so perfect. His honest goodness and his desire to see a wronged man saved, regardless of the color of his skin, was a powerful message in 1962, but rings true today. The movie builds up to the brilliant court room scene, but the line of the movie for me, is after Finch gets home with his son after being called a "nigger lover," and he tells his son, "There are a lot of ugly things in this world. I wish I could keep them all away from you. That's never possible. So much of what was being said then, should be reiterated now. Every child should see this movie to understand acceptance.
1. George C. Scott - George Patton, Patton. The phrase tour-de-force is an understatement when it comes to this role. Scott plays Patton in a way, I'm sure Patton would have gotten up and cheered. That was if he would ever give anyone enough credit not named Patton. Much like Lewis in There Will Be Blood, Scott is almost always on screen. His ferocious style of commanding is seen as his fault and the movie shows how his stubbornness overrides his brilliance so often. The calm Omar Bradley, played by Karl Malden tries to calm him and guide him our of his own way. The film is one fine scene after another, but is best known for the opening monologue and the medical tent scenes, where we see that Patton does nothing, but live for war.
Now I'm sure others have different opinions on what a great performance is, but these are mine. I may have missed a few and would love to hear other opinions, but I'm going to stick with these. Comments are always appreciated.
The hardest part was getting the numbers down. How can one leave off Brando when he's been so amazing in On the Waterfront or as Stanley in Streetcar Named Desire? How can 12 Angry Men be the second greatest film of all time on my list, but not one of the actors in it makes the list? Before I sat down to type this, I realized I had left someone off. Someone who will probably make the top five. I made the list late at night and I am not sure if there are others. This performances inclusion means that Humphrey Bogart's role in The African Queen will not make the list. Getting the list down to ten was torturous. How do you leave off Robert Shaw as Quint in Jaws? Or Bob Hoskins in Felicia's Journey. Ben Kingsley becoming Ghandi or Yul Brynner as the King of Siam. It became so difficult when I got down to 11, I couldn't leave someone off. So we start, with a tie.
10A. Philip Seymour Hoffman - Truman Capote, Capote. Any time an actor can portray an historical character and nail every mannerism, it is an amazing feat. In Capote, Hoffman not only portrays the man perfectly, but does so in a wonderful story. There is not doubt that Hoffman's study of the man was so meticulous, that he became the man.
10B. Philip Baker Hall - Sydney, Hard Eight (aka Sydney). Hard Eight is one of those perfect little movies. The cast is perfect. The story is perfect. No scene is filler and the acting is incredible. Most people know Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. Reilly and Samuel Jackson, but few know Philip Baker Hall. After seeing this film, I not only knew who he was, but was mesmerized. The story of a professional gambler with a past, who takes in a young man, he seems destined to meet. The movie rolls by quickly and towards the end there is a scene. A scene which on first view blew me away. It's between Hall and Jackson and it is so powerful and important, but subtle in it's delivery, that you almost miss it. I later found out this scene was shot in one take and when the two men entered the room, they had never met before. After finding this out, the scene went from great to astounding. Which is just what this movie is.
9. Ryan Gosling - Danny Balint, The Believer. Not too many people have seen this movie, but everyone I know has seen American History X. While AHX is an incredible movie and leaves and impression, it is nothing compared to this movie. Where AHX fails in the end, this succeeds. The story is about a neo-nazi who tells his story to a writer for the NY Times. He promises to kill himself if the writer exposes him for what he really is. He tells about his affiliation with the KKK and his anti-semetic views. The big secret, which he struggles to hide, is that he is Jewish. Made before Gosling became a household name, this is his best performance to date.
8. Daniel Day Lewis - Daniel Plainview, There Will Be Blood. I could be wrong, but I can not remember a movie in which the main character had more lines. The movie, while painfully slow at times is remarkable in that Lewis seems to be on screen for every single scene and delivers so many monologues, it becomes dizzying. Of all the movies in this acting list, it's probably the weakest, but it doesn't detract from Lewis' performance.
7. Richard Burton - Thomas Becket, Becket. Burton has been in so many amazing roles, its hard to choose just one. He has played Kings like no other, but this film, his friend and adversary is King Henry II, played by the nearly as good Peter O'Toole. The film is an emotional look at two friends who have gone in different directions and the toll it has taken on them and has severed their union. Burton and O'Toole always give us the impression that this battle of wills is real and that is the mark of fine acting.
6. Peter O'Toole - Henry II, The Lion in Winter. O'Toole could easily be on this list twice for playing the same person. He was brilliant in Becket, but shines even brighter in one of my ten favorite movies of all time. O'Toole is paired against Katherine Hepburn in this brilliant film about a king being forced to decide who will inherit his throne. His dilemma is more about relinquishing his own power than a story of family, but it works both ways perfectly. Truly one of the greatest acted movies of all time, if not the greatest.
5. Anthony Hopkins - Hannibal Lechter, Silence of the Lambs. As good as I thought Jodie Foster was, Hopkins steals the show. He may only be on screen a number of minutes, but he makes them count like none other. His version of Lechter (Brian Cox played the role in Manhunter), is so calmly evil, that you forget about his reputation. Unfortunately for the character, the next two movies were pretty bad and the character loses his luster. This can not however, take away from this role.
4. James Dean - Jett Rink, Giant. James Dean was in three major films and all three are incredible in their own ways. The term epic is overused today, but this film, made in 1956 was epic. Almost three and half hours long and absolute masterful acting by Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. The story about a man who comes into great wealth via the oil industry and his rise and fall. Without a doubt the precursor to the show Dallas, with Dean's character possessing the ever familiar initials J.R. I could have said East of Eden or Rebel Without a Cause and probably not heard an argument, but this one is better. I don't think a lot of young people really understand just how talented this young man was.
3. Max Von Sydow - Antonius Block, The Seventh Seal. I jumped on the Ingmar Bergman bandwagon late in life and I'm still catching up. His movies are beautiful, violent and mesmerizing all at once. Of all the one's I've seen, this captured my attention and I couldn't stop thinking about it. One of the few movies, I've watched twice in a row, it's impact was incredible. Never before has a movie had so many wonderful lines depicting a man's conflict with faith. The story of Block and his game of chess with Death, the movie takes you on the final days of a man who has battled in the name of God, but now questions it. "We make an idol of our fears, and call it God."
2. Gregory Peck - Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird. Atticus Finch was voted by AFI as the top cinematic hero of all time. It's hard to argue, because Peck's depiction was so perfect. His honest goodness and his desire to see a wronged man saved, regardless of the color of his skin, was a powerful message in 1962, but rings true today. The movie builds up to the brilliant court room scene, but the line of the movie for me, is after Finch gets home with his son after being called a "nigger lover," and he tells his son, "There are a lot of ugly things in this world. I wish I could keep them all away from you. That's never possible. So much of what was being said then, should be reiterated now. Every child should see this movie to understand acceptance.
1. George C. Scott - George Patton, Patton. The phrase tour-de-force is an understatement when it comes to this role. Scott plays Patton in a way, I'm sure Patton would have gotten up and cheered. That was if he would ever give anyone enough credit not named Patton. Much like Lewis in There Will Be Blood, Scott is almost always on screen. His ferocious style of commanding is seen as his fault and the movie shows how his stubbornness overrides his brilliance so often. The calm Omar Bradley, played by Karl Malden tries to calm him and guide him our of his own way. The film is one fine scene after another, but is best known for the opening monologue and the medical tent scenes, where we see that Patton does nothing, but live for war.
Now I'm sure others have different opinions on what a great performance is, but these are mine. I may have missed a few and would love to hear other opinions, but I'm going to stick with these. Comments are always appreciated.
A few of my favorite recent performances.
ReplyDeleteHopkins in Remains of the Day. Watch how he acts with subtle facial movements and hand gestures. My favorite performance ever.
Day Lewis in almost anything. I laugh to hear people say Depp is the best actor of his generation. Day Lewis is one of the greatest of all time IMO.
I love a psychotic performance and Kingsley in Sexy Beast is wonderful. His performance in House of Sand and Fog and stayed with me too.
Bruno Ganz in Downfall is fantastic. Ruined by all the youtube videos but its powerful.