Top 5 Greatest Acting Performances

[hennessy]

I'll start
feel free to put your own

1) My Left Foot (1989) - Daniel Day-Lewis
2) Raging Bull (1980) - Robert De Niro
3) Rain Man (1988) - Dustin Hoffman
4) A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) - Marlon Brando
5) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - Jack Nicholson

[Locke.]

1) Al Pacino - Scent Of a Woman
2) Robert De Niro - Raging Bull
3) Christopher Walken - The Deer Hunter
4) Christian Bale - American Psycho
5) Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

Edit:

Joe Pesci in Goodfellas is between Walken and Bale actually.

[hennessy]

lol
I love Pesci but prefer him in Casino

[Shaun]

I don't know about rating them, but some that come to mind are Emma Thompson in Love Actually, Tom Hanks in the Green Mile, Thandie Newton in Crash, Jack Nicholson in The Shining...

[Fom]

Originally posted by David
1) Al Pacino - Scent Of a Woman
2) Robert De Niro - Raging Bull
3) Christopher Walken - The Deer Hunter
4) Christian Bale - American Psycho
5) Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

Edit:

Joe Pesci in Goodfellas is between Walken and Bale actually.

Al Pacino in Merchant of Venice is amazing. Very brave role to take on and he did it so well.

[Alf]

actress's

grace kelly - rear window
kathy bates - misery
elizabeth taylor - who's afraid of virginia woolfe
bette davis - all about eve
kathrine hepburn - long day's journey into night

actors
there's just too many so i'm gonna do ten

marlon brando - on the waterfront
john hurt - midnight express
buster keaton - the general
daniel day lewis - there will be blood
laurence olivier - richard iii
john travolta - pulp fiction
al pacino - godfather
humphrey bogart - big sleep
robert de nero - taxi driver
alec guinnes - bridge on the river kwai

[hennessy]

Originally posted by wannashag
actress's

grace kelly - rear window
kathy bates - misery
elizabeth taylor - who's afraid of virginia woolfe
bette davis - all about eve
kathrine hepburn - long day's journey into night

actors
there's just to many so i'm gonna do ten

marlon brando - on the waterfront
john hurt - midnight express
buster keaton - the general
daniel day lewis - there will be blood
laurence olivier - richard iii
john travolta - pulp fiction
al pacino - godfather
humphrey bogart - big sleep
robert de nero - taxi driver
alec guinnes - bridge on the river kwai

some great choices there
i was going to go with some you said
for actress I'd throw in Kathy Burke in "Nil By Mouth"

[Alf]

a couple i forgot to mention

anthony hopkins - silence of the lambs
ben kingsley - sexy beast

[Fom]

It always amazes me how people remember actors' names... I study acting and I know like 2. Haha.

[Marc]

Errrrmmm... Marion Cotillard - Edith Piaf La Vie En Rose.. actually ****ing amazing

[Deirdre]

Angelina Jolie-Changeling
Angelina Jolie-Girl, Interupted
Sean Penn-Milk (Amazing)
Colin Farrell-Phone Booth

Just some very good ones that come to mind.

[setanta]

I've been puzzling over this one for awhile, because with such an array of dazzling performances to chose from, it seems careless, no downright sinful to choose one awe inspiring moment in cinema over another. It must be kinda like what Meryl Streeps character felt like in that pivotal scene in Sophie's Choice. Well, ok that's a bit overdramatic but you know what I mean.

Anyway, I've gone for maybe lesser known performances because I think De Niro and co have already been given enough exposure on this thread and, as much as I concur with every selection already made, I'd like to give praise to a few possibly less well known displays of acting genius.

Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves
Robert Mitchum- Night of the Hunter
Anthony Hopkins - Shadowlands/Remains of the Day
Jeff Bridges - Fearless
Gloria Swanson - Sunset Blvd.

Loads more but you said 5. So many more I want to mention!

[setanta]

Have to do more cuz it's bugging me!

Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Gregory Peck - To Kill a Mockingbird
Sean Penn - Dead Man Walking
Maria Falconetti - The Passion of Joan of Arc
Christopher Reeve - Superman the Movie Will anyone ever be able to match his performance?


Ok, I'm stopping..... eh..... no stopping.