Top 8 Performances of the 1990s!!

I don't think Jack was good because of the insults and the sidewalk cracks and all of that.

The best parts are with him dealing with that dog and his gay neighbor, and of course with Helen. His character wasn't an emotional kind of person and for the first time he was trying to express something... I thought Jack portrayed that very well.

If you think these kinds of rolls are easy take Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump. He didn't get that Oscar for being stupid. He got it for the parts like when his mother dies, when Jenny dies, and when he meets his son.

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How are you able to tell what parts of Forrest Gump made such an impression on the Academy--that he got the Oscar?

An Oscar-awarded role shouldn't be defined to 15 minutes of an actor's 2 hours on a screen. I don't think he deserved that Oscar. 15 minutes of "death" scenes to the full-bodied performances of Nigel Hawthorne in THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE and MORGAN FREEMAN from SHAWHANK?

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If tom Hanks ever deserved an Oscar, it was for BIG. He really did seem like a 12 year old. I didnt think much of FOrest Gump though. Man, even I can sit on a bench & say stuff like Stupid is as stupid does. Whats so hard about that? Tom Hanks has gotten by, basiclly playin himself. and hes such a nice guy, he keeps gettin nominated. Man I cant believe he has more Oscars than Anthony Hopkins & then the great ones like Peter Otoole & Sean penn & Morgan freeman havent got any.

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Hopkins has no drive. If you read some of the interviews he's subjected himself to, you'll probably read that he doesn't particularly enjoy acting, he's just making a living. On the other hand, I think Hanks really gets into things.

Am I the only one who thinks Hanks studies for his roles a lot? He follows Apollo 13 with "From the Earth to the Moon," a mini-series. Now, he's following Saving Private Ryan with "Band of Brothers." I get the impression that he gets into his roles in some instances, and as a result, wants to create extensions of them somehow.

And c'mon, PLite: I doubt any of us know anyone who could play Forrest Gump as well as Hanks did.

Wart: I don't think aspen meant that he was getting it only for that, but if you play a role well, and you're particularly moving in certain parts, people will take notice of those parts...and, in a close race, they could make the difference.

I liked Hanks in that role, but there were too many other great performances that year for him to get the oscar. How about Sam Jackson & John Travolta in Pulp Fiction and John Turturro in Quiz Show and Morgan Freeman in Shawshank.

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I agree with you Steve that there were some fine performances in 94, but sadly all the actors you mention apart from Travolta were considered to have supporting roles rather than leading roles. Although maybe Hanks didn't deserve the oscar in some peoples minds, he has been a cosistently high achiever, retaining an element of old Hollywood which is refreshing in this day in age.

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What do you mean H has no drive TWT? If he didnt have any drive how could he have done TITUS or Nixon? Those are very challenging roles & he worked with relly difficult directors. Plus I dont know anyone right now who has taht kind of range. Ill start thinkin of Hanks as a great actor when he starts doin something completely diffrent. So far, BIG is the only movie hes ever done that has ever made an impression on me.

You guys think the oscar ceromonies pull nominations out of their asses?

I don't really consider for those awards who won, who actually won. I consider all those who were nominated winners. Hanks was nominated so many times, because obviously he was superb in almost every role he's been in. Sure some performances weren't as 'superb' as others, but that's because not all characters are the same. For the characters he did play in his nominated roles I thought he was excellent.

I'll second that, Guy!

Hanks has done a lot of original stuff. Forrest Gump and Cast Away came to mind...and he did something resembling acting in Toy Story, which is original as most movies get. Hanks is incredibly versatile...like De Niro, he can handle both drama and comedy without batting an eye.

And yeah, Hopkins doesn't have much drive. He's not all that passionate about what he does. Doesn't mean he's not a great actor (he is), but I don't think he's as devoted to his craft as Hanks is.

Male Performance
1. Jeff Bridges in Fearless (1993 - Peter Weir)
2. Tim Robbins in Jacob's Ladder (1990 - Adrian Lyne)
3. Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven (1992 - Eastwood)
4. Ray Liotta in GoodFellas (1990 - Scorsese)
5. William H. Macy in Fargo (1996 - Joel & Ethan Coen)
6. Robert DeNiro in Cape Fear (1991 - Scorsese)
7. Alan Rickman in Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990 - Anthony Minghella)
8. Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992 - James Foley)
9. Bill Murray in Rushmore (1998 - Wes Anderson)
10. Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant (1992 - Abel Ferrara)

Female Performance
1. Sigourney Weaver in Death and the Maiden (1994 - Polanski)
2. Nicole Kidman in To Die For (1995 - Gus Van Sant)
3. Mimi Rogers in The Rapture (1991 - Michael Tolkin)
4. Anjelica Huston in The Grifters (1990 - Stephen Frears)
5. Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut (1999 - Kubrick)
6. Ashley Judd in Normal Life (1996 - John McNaughton)
7. Frances McDormand in Fargo (1996 - Joel & Ethan Coen)
8. Stacy Edwards in In the Company of Men (1997 - Neil LaBute)
9. Julianne Moore in Safe (1995 - Todd Haynes)
10. Juliette Binoche in Blue (1992 - Krzysztof Kieslowski)


[Edited by Holden Pike on 09-06-2001]

And re-reading the entire thread I'll drag this point back up...
Probably no one mentioned it because it isn't true.

Joel & Ethan Coen based their Miller's Crossing (1990) - BTW one of my all-time favorite films and I still think their best yet - on another Dashiell Hammett novel: The Glass Key. The Glass Key was adapted into a terrific Noir in 1942, starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and Brian Donlevy. While the idea of the protagonist switching allegiances is similar in both Hammett works, if you ever read or see The Glass Key, the Miller's Crossing similarities will become crystal clear.

The Coen Bros. (who, in typical Coen fashion, have never really acknowledged the basis) of course made the material their own with their ear for dialogue, unique characterizations, and visual style. Plus plot-wise, the second halves of both stories are quite divergent. But the set-up and milieu are definitely traceable to The Glass Key (and not Red Harvest).
[Edited by Holden Pike on 09-06-2001]

If you read my comments I don't say that it is based on Yojimbo but that it pays hommage to it, Two different things, the nature of the Coens is that they may hommage to many different sources in their films.

OK, if you want to split hairs, how would you say Miller's Crossing pays hommage specifically to Yojimbo? Just curious.

I'd say that parts of the narrative structure bare strong similarities in the respect that Gabriel Byrnes actions are similar to that of toshiro Mifune's, playing both sides against each other for personal gain. I may not have the knowledge on the subject that you have, but it is reasonable (i'd say) to suggest that the Coens had Yojimbo pretty high up the list when they made Millers Crossing. While i can see skating over my comments that there isn't much academic thought, sometimes you just have to go with what you think.

Well, if you ever get a hold of The Glass Key (and you should, as it's a very good flick & decent Hammett novel), any general thoughts of Yojimbo will vanish in regards to Miller's Crossing.

I'll keep my eye out for it. Thanks for letting me off the hook, that shovel was begining to get heavy!

Kurosawa didn't take the idea's from anyone for Yojimbo. If you think the idea sounds familiar it's because Clint Eastwood uses Yojimbo as a basis for his film A Few Dollars More.

[b]Kurosawa didn't take the idea's from anyone for Yojimbo. If you think the idea sounds familiar it's because Clint Eastwood uses Yojimbo as a basis for his film For A Few Dollars More.

Well more properly, Italian director/filmmaker Sergio Leone used Yojimbo for A Fistful of Dollars (not the sequel, For A Few Dollars More) - Clint Eastwood was only the star of the film and did not write - and most certainly not direct - it. Eastwood took the gamble on an Italian Western shot in Spain because he instantly recognized the script as a re-working of Kurosawa's film, which he had been a huge fan of.

Eastwood was not a film star, only appearing in bit roles as a Universal contract player to that point in his career. But he was a TV star, as sidekick Rowdy Yates on the popular show "Rawhide". Leone originally envisioned Henry Fonda for the lead in A Fistful of Dollars, then approached people like Chuck Bronson and James Coburn (both of whom starred in another Kurosawa movie turned into a Western - The Magnificent Seven). But none of them were willing to take the risk and/or small pay for this odd enterprise (though he would later work with all three actors). Eastwood agreed, the movie became a surprise international hit, and Clint became a movie star.

While Kurosawa didn't base Yojimbo on any specific American Westerns, he was definitely a huge fan of the genre, and there are certainly Western touches in some of his Samurai pictures, including The Seven Samurai and Yojimbo.

Kurosawa actually sued Leone after seeing A Fistful of Dollars, since Yojimbo isn't credited as the source material. Leone, still relatively inexperienced in the film business (and not dreaming anyone outside of Europe would ever see the film), hadn't cleared the rights before filming. Kurosawa won the case and was awarded 15% of the world-wide grosses, plus his company got distribution rights in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. Leone understood and accepted Kurosawa's claim (which he called "entirely correct"), and the whole affair ended with all parites being satisfied.

[Edited by Holden Pike on 09-19-2001]