'Last great performance you saw' thread

I don't know who this actress is, but she's the best drunk I've ever seen (from 68 seconds)

Then you have no business going around making lists

Kiddin' aside..... I love Jean Arthur.

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HEI guys.

It’s interesting how age can sometimes overshadow talent in casting decisions. Burton, at the time, was indeed older than the character of Jimmy Porter, which sparked debate. However, his ability to convey the emotional depth and complexity of the character often transcends age considerations.

Carlo Battisti (and his dog co-star) in Umberto D (1952)

DeSica and his unmatched ability to use non-actors (or first-timers) in prominent roles of his films have left us several unforgettable performances and today I want to highlight mr. Batisti (who was a linguistics professor in real life) as the precious mr. Ferrari. The dignified manner in which he carries himself, his bargainings over heartbreakingly small things he knows as his rights and yet, the delight in his eyes when the pregnant maid from his soon-to-be former home visits him in the hospital, and the whole of the last third of the film where he's slowly plotting an end to his miseries... won't ever leave my memory.

"What are you tired of?"
"A little of everything."

Nice idea for a thread and agree, Carlo was fantastic in that - De Sica really got the best out of his nonprofessional actors.


I wrote a short review for Cuckoo here - https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/2518485-cuckoo.html

And noted there that I came away impressed with Hunter Schafer. At the start I thought, "Oh, we're just going to get the usual sullen teenager bit", but she really runs the gamut of emotion, and not just the expected fear, but a full range of them, and she does a fantastic job of making you feel what her character's going through.

It's not the kind of genre that generates a lot of awards buzz for performers, but when someone is this good, they deserve to at least be considered. But, yeah, it's horror, it's a foreign co-production with some subtitles, she's not an acting superstar, so, probably not (but why not, Oscar, you should really think about it?)

The standout for me in a long long time is Brendan Fraser in The Whale, but right now I'm almost done with the silent Thief of Bagdad and I'd like to point out Douglas Fairbanks, a man who understands expression and charisma without sound.

Thanks Captain, do jump in whenever you encounter something worthy.
I've heard good things about this movie, and yeah horror performers don't usually receive their flowers... I wonder to what degree things start to change (if at all) though, if Demi Moore gets in this year?

Frank Sinatra in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

Not only is this a solid enough performamce but an example of memorable casting. Would it've been even better with Brando or Clift as it was intended? maybe, but it's so endearing to watch Swoonatra himself giving his all in an admirable project from mid-50s that shines light on the disaster that is heroin addiction.

Preminger, one of the more precise and clinical directors of his era, captures him and his on-screen partners (with Kim Novak being the stand-out among them) in long and uninterrupted takes, and lets us watch them hide things from and manipulate each other for petty reasons... I like how Sinatra's easy-going presence (remember his Oscar-winning role in From Here to Eternity?) here works in another level entirely; he downplays his flaws and urges as if he is convincing himself that he's still got "the monkey" in the bag... until he totally lets it loose near the end.

The film isn't exactly great (a character's succesfully-hidden "secret" is something I never bough; made somewhat worse by the fact that it's the key to the final scene)... but it's essential viewing through and because of Our Frank.

Lisbeth Movin in Day of Wrath



Also, wonderfully cast.

and Maya Deren also not too bad in Meshes of the Afternoon

Ingrid Bergman
Casablanca

Sean Penn and Robyn Wright were great in State of Grace.
Penn is obviously a complete ****wad, but the guy is a class actor.

The scene where he delivers the title line, Wright is mesmerised, for real.

Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence in Conclave (2024)

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"Population don't imitate art, population imitate bad television." W.A.
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." M.T.

I thought for sure this would be the year that Fiennes (one of the best that is around) finally will get that Oscar, but Adrian Brody threatens his chances of winning now...

One who definitely won't win though is Daniel Craig in Queer. It was really something to see 007 playing such a tender and sad mess of a man, dealing with addiction and rejection and only finding peace (somewhat) when it's very, very late... There's almost a self-loathing attitude in a Borroughs story (such as this and the more brilliant Naked Lunch) that I suspect doesn't seem too helpful for the awards circles in our time. Good that they recognized this work here enough for nominating it thus far...

John Magaro's performance in Past Lives deserves so much love, praise & a ton of awards.


It's very difficult to pull of a cluster of emotions together at the same time, & make it all seem real. His character was anxious, jealous, hurt, yet faithful & respectful & in love with his wife. & I think Magaro did a great job with that role, but hardly received any praise.

Lee Van Clift in For a Few Dollars More (1965)

He almost gives Eastwood a run for his money in the department that kids today call "the rizz", to my surprise... but there is a point very near the end at which a bond involving his character is revealed and through only a couple of close-ups (you know which ones) he conveys his sudden sadness to us, adding an emotional purpose to Colonel's quest that we've been watching...and Leone saved it for the last, similiar to what he'll do with Charles Bronson's character in Once Upon a Time in the West.

"Bravo."