Actor's Performances ?

[Oliver P]

What actor's perfomances impressed you the most ?

 

 

Here are mine :

 

 

Klaus Kinski in "Aguirre, Der Zorn Gottes" ; Nosferatu : Phantom der Nacht" ; "Woyzeck"

http://static.open.salon.com/files/klaus_kinski_aguirre_der_zorn_gottes1233298144.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/d/db/Nosferatu_Kinski.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DnPwaEn8aGE/SklW44zdXMI/AAAAAAAAITA/LUQL-rKeznU/s400/woyzeck-klaus-kinski-holding-a-bloody-knife1.jpg

I'm sure that most of you never heard of Kinski and that's a shame cause he's one of the most unbelievable actors ever. He's my favorite actor, for me there is no actor better than Kinski in the history of movies. I wanted to mention one movie per actor at first but I couldn't choose between the three, those three performances are definitely the ones who impressed me the most, no one has ever had a better performance than those ones IMO. And I'm so fascinated by Kinski (just like Herzog was) that it was hard to mention only three, I could have mentioned Fitzcarraldo, Cobra Verde or The Great Silence, well and all his movies in fact since he was terrific in everyone of them. But anyway Aguirre, Nosferatu and Woyzeck are definitely his best roles I was speechless the first time I saw them. Aguirre is the first one of the three that I saw and I remember that I was literally speechless the first time I saw it, I already liked Kinski before but it's with this movie that I realized how fantastic he truly was. Kinski is amazing as a Spanish conquistador. Like Werner Herzog once said, he was a genius.

 

Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver"

http://calitreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/DeNiro-Gun-Taxi-Driver.jpg

De Niro is usually the big boss in his movies, in "Taxi Driver" he's someone who lost his minds in Vietman and is slowly becoming insane. Very unusual role for him and amazing performance. Raging Bull could be mentioned too, he was great in that one as well.

 

Johnny Depp in "Edward Scissorhands"

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/cm/goodhousekeeping/images/Edward-Scissorhands-fb.jpg

I used to hate Johnny Depp when I was younger. Now he's one of my favorite actors. And it's first thanks to "Edward Scissorhands". Before this movie I thought that he was famous only because he was popular with the ladies and that he was just a ****ty actor, well I changed my mind thanks to this movies in which he's an unfinished creature condemned to live alone. This movies showed me a side of Johnny Depp that I didn't know before. Could have mentioned Dead Man and Arizona Dream in which he's great as well.

 

John Goodman in "Barton Fink"

http://www.zuguide.com/image/John-Goodman-Barton-Fink.5.jpg

I've always liked John Goodman but I have to say that the first time I saw him in Barton Fink he literally amazed me in that movie. I realized how great an actor he was. This movie is a must see.

 

Sylvester Stallone in "Copland"

http://images.allocine.fr/medias/nmedia/18/67/67/24/18992445.jpg

Well alright Stallone ain't the best actor ever I am not gonna say the opposite. But I always liked him, he was very good in Rocky and Rambo. And I picked him in this movie cause even if it's not the same kind of role as Travis Bickle or Charlie Mundt, it was a very unusual role for him. He's usually the superhero, the big tough man who beats every bad guys up. It's a very different role for him, as this lousy alcoholic sheriffs that no one gives a dam about. And he did a pretty good job in it honestly, I really liked his performance, he's a better actor than most people think he is, that's why I picked him.

 

Bruce Willis in "Twelve Monkeys"

http://www.movieactors.com/freezeframes-77/12Monkeys10.jpeg

Bruce Willis is a fantastic actor. And I first realized that when I watched "Twelve Monkeys" for the first time. He's alright in all his movies if you wish but it's in this movie that he had for the first time the occasion to show us how good he was. And he sure did, amazing performance.

 

Marlon Brando in "Apocalypse Now"

http://www.zuguide.com/image/Marlon-Brando-Apocalypse-Now.1.jpg

Marlon Brando doesn't play much in "Apocalypse Now", he just appears at the end of the movie. But his performance is nonetheless beyond belief. Godfather and Julius Caesar come to mind as well, great performances.

 

Christopher Walken in "The Dead Zone"

http://www.secteur7.net/site/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/the-dead-zone-1983-christopher-walken-pic-3.jpg

Christopher Walken is one of my favorite actors ever, and in "The Dead Zone" he shows us how great an actor he could have become if he didn't have so many problems. He's this kind of actors who's perfect in all his roles, born to act, but this one is definitely his best.

 

Jack Nicholson in "The Shinning"

http://blogues.cyberpresse.ca/lagace/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/jack-nicholson-the-shining.jpg

Jack Nicholson in "The Sinning", everyone who saw that movie can't forget about his amazing performance. Kubrick was a real savage with his actors he tormented them to get them to give all they got. He wasn't like that with Jack, because Jack didn't need that to give his best, and that's what he did in that movie. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nests and Chinatown are amazing performances as well.

 

Malcom McDowell in "A Clockwork Orange"

http://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/malcolm-mcdowell-clockwork-orange-350x233.jpg

Malcom McDowell didn't do too many movies, too many famous movies at least but his performance in "A Clockwork Orange" is worth a thousands of other ones.

 

Martin Landau in "Ed Wood"

http://thestuffyougottawatch.com/picse-h/landaubl.jpg

I've always liked this actor he was great in TV shows like Impossible Mission or Columbo and in "North by Northwest" and in "Ed Wood" he definitely had the role of his career. He was unbelievable as Bela Lugosi (a great horror film actor in the 20's-50's, he was the first "Dracula" for example), it seems like it was really Lugosi in that movie.

 

Jean Réno in "Léon" ("The Professional" in America)

http://img.listal.com/image/335237/400full.jpg

Jean Réno is a very talented actor as he proved it in this masterpiece, his interpretation of this lonely hit man is beyond belief.

 

Jon Voight in "Runaway Train" :

http://images.allocine.fr/r_760_x/medias/nmedia/18/62/91/08/18944179.jpg

Jon is not a very well known actor I mean he didn't made a lot of movie as the star of the film I mean, except this one and the great "Midnight Cowboy". But he still is a terrific actor, everyone who watched this movie knows it now. Amazing performance. And the movie is great, it's a must see, I advise everyone who never saw it to watch it as soon as they can.

 

Dustin Hoffman in "Tootsie" :

http://s.excessif.com/mmdia/i/22/7/tootsie-2-3626227iumhn.jpg?v=1

Well Dustin is an amazing actor and he's had many great roles (Little Big Man, Kramer Vs Kramer, Hero, etc..) but I think that Tootsie is his best one, not many actors could have played that one, that's for sure.

 

Tim Roth in "Little Odessa" :

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rC2ydFTFpe4/TBpvKxTlKTI/AAAAAAAAAOE/yeH0_iakCq0/s1600/Little+Odessa+-+5.jpg

Tim is one of my favorite actors. Really dark movie, very disturbing, but definitely a must see IMO.

 

Toshiro Mifune in "Throne of Blood" :

http://amherstcinema.org/UserFiles/ThroneBlood.jpg

Great actor, and for me this movie is Kurosawa's best one.

 

Chow Yun Fat in "The Killer" :

http://i35.tinypic.com/35b6sew.jpg

I ain't a big fan of John Woo, this movie is the only one of him that I loved. Truly amazing and definitely Fat's best performance.

 

Anthony Hopkins in "Silence of the Lambs" :

http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsH/8188-17344.gif

No need to comment, very impressive performance, no doubt.

 

Kevin Costner in "Dances with Wolves" :

http://www.variety.com/graphics/photos/reviewd/rdances_with_wolves.jpg

Best movie he ever made IMO. I advise everyone to watch the 4 hours director's cut, it's even better. Pure masterpiece. I also liked his performance in A Perfect World (quite unusual role for him) and No Way Out.

 

Mickey Rourke in "Rumble Fish" :

http://i43.tinypic.com/adkmrr.jpg

I saw that one not so long ago, definitely a must see. I'd even say that it's my second favorite Coppola (after Apocalypse Now is my favorite) and Rourke is really unbelievable as The Motorcycle Boy.

 

Joe Pesci in "Raging Bull" :

http://www.movieactors.com/photos-misc/raging303.jpeg

Hasn't made a lot of movies but he's terrific in each one of them, especially in Raging Bull so and of course Goodfellas.

Speaking of Raging Bull, I especially like the "you **** my wife" scene, totally improvised by De Niro and Pesci, best Pesci scene for me and one of my favorite movie scenes ever.

 

 

 

Well that's all I can think of now, I'll maybe add some others later. Want to precise that there are a lot of French actors who had amazing performances but I did not mention them as no one heard of them here (except Jean Réno), so I don't see the point.

Edited November 1, 2010 by Oliver P

[platoon793]

Al Pacino

 

...And Justice for All

 

http://www.grouchoreviews.com/content/films/3005/1.jpg

 

Dog Day Afternoon

 

http://magiclanternfilm.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/pacino-dog-day.jpg

 

Daniel Day-Lewis

In the Name of the Father

 

http://blog.reelloop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/In-Name-of-the-Father_l.jpeg

 

My Left Foot

 

http://sundryandco.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/mlf.jpg

 

There Will Be Blood

 

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/071219/worstmovies/blood_l.jpg

 

Sean Penn

 

Dead Man Walking

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2434/3799598129_dbf84115f9.jpg

 

Mystic River

 

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/05/29/mysticriver_wideweb__430x258.jpg

 

Philip Seymour Hoffman

 

Capote

 

http://www.gmanreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Capote-Phillip-Seymour-Hoffman.jpg

 

Trond Fausa Aurvaag

 

The Bothersome Man

 

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/08/23/arts/24brother-600.jpg

 

Alain Delon

 

Le Samourai

 

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/146/430019421_b18f53b9f8.jpg?v=0

 

Peter Finch

 

Network

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kGr_uAOgQkc/SxQzxI6GP5I/AAAAAAAABs8/MI6ba2LmeUI/s1600/network_peter_finch_dvd.jpg

 

Catherine Deneuve

Repulsion

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3635/3305983935_b36c44043f.jpg

 

Robert Mitchum

 

The Night of the Hunter

 

http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_01_img0347.jpg

 

Benicio Del Toro

 

Che

 

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2008/11/28/che460.jpg

 

Dustin Hoffman

 

Midnight Cowboy

 

http://tikiloungetalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/midnight-cowboy-street-scen.jpg

 

The Graduate

 

http://www.openparenthesis.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/dustin_hoffman.jpg

 

Straw Dogs

 

/stills/7853/Film_182w_StrawDogs.jpg

 

Robert De Niro

 

Casino

 

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01127/robert_de_niro_1127432c.jpg

 

Raging Bull

 

http://l.yimg.com/eb/ymv/us/img/hv/photo/movie_pix/mgm/raging_bull/_group_photos/joe_pesci1.jpg

 

Taxi Driver

 

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2007/09/11/robertdeniro460.jpg

 

Casey Affleck

 

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

 

http://www.horrorphile.net/images/the-assassination-of-jesse-james-casey-affleck-and1.jpg

 

 

The Killer Inside Me

 

http://media.theiapolis.com/d3-hDW-i1CL-t4-wDW/casey-affleck-as-lou-ford-in-the-killer-inside.jpg

 

John Hurt

 

The Elephant Man

 

http://www.arnadal.no/film/images/elephant.jpg

 

Jack Nicholson

 

Five Easy Pieces

 

http://www.jasoncollin.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/10-oct/five-easy-pieces-screenshot-jack-nicholson-495x-2.png

 

Klaus Kinski

 

The Great Silence

 

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/wanderingmoon/movies/gskinski.jpg

Edited November 4, 2010 by platoon793

[htown11]

 

Dog Day Afternoon

 

http://magiclanternfilm.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/pacino-dog-day.jpg

 

 

Peter Finch

 

Network

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kGr_uAOgQkc/SxQzxI6GP5I/AAAAAAAABs8/MI6ba2LmeUI/s1600/network_peter_finch_dvd.jpg

 

Those two are probably my favorite of all time.

[reno]

http://www.reellifewisdom.com/files/images/the%20joker.jpg

[fish7718]

Obviously just about any DeNiro role, he always does a fantastic job, my favorite performance of any actor

 

http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Entertainment/images-3/the-godfather-marlon-brando.jpg