View Profile
View Forum Posts
Visit Homepage
Reply With QuoteThe entirety of Gene Hackman's performance in The Royal Tenembaums comes to mind, though I know you're not going to agree with me on that one.
I've been on a movie trip recently (lol, do I ever stop? I love cinema) and revisiting a lot of old favourites as well as discovering new classics that I'm sure I'm going to watch many times over. There's something so special about a movie that's so close to being perfect, it can encapsulate so many things - what's right about life, what's wrong about life, the life you live, the life you don't, the grand scope and awesome imagination of humanity, and the ugly truth and violent underbelly of human nature.
I find great emotional solace in a fiercely connected actor and the delivery of their dialogue, or even as most demonstrate in the clips that follow, their sheer physical presence. It's a magical thing and just rips me completely out of my seat and puts me in their world.
Add your favourite acting scenes, with a youtube clip if you can find it.
Ellen Burstyn's monologue about getting old from Requiem for a Dream
Guy Pearce's monologue on time from Memento
Before he started chewing scenery, Al Pacino's turns as Michael Corleone in The Godfather movies provide some of the best acting around - the end of the Godfather with Kate, the Fredo scene from II, and another which I can't find a clip for that I love, is the scene after Michael's had his jaw broken by the police chief and he's sitting in the seat calmly talking about who they have to kill to win.
Massive spoilers for There Will Be Blood in the ending scene, known in internet circles as I DrinkYour Milkshake with the utterly masterful Daniel Day Lewis.
Clive Owen's CAVEMAN scene in Closer, spoilers again.
And of course, no discussion of acting is complete without the undeniably brilliant telling of the U.S.S. Indianapolis by Quint (Robert Shaw) in Jaws.
Last edited by Scots Taffer; 7th Mar 2008 at 02:01. Reason: wrong Closer link
The entirety of Gene Hackman's performance in The Royal Tenembaums comes to mind, though I know you're not going to agree with me on that one.
Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive
though it's even better if you've been watching the from the beginning.
And the masturbation scene is devastating; no youtube though
Last edited by Aja; 7th Mar 2008 at 03:05.
That's a great scene, Aja, it almost makes me want to sit through that horrible movie again.
Fuck. I read the thread title and that was the first one that came to my mind.Originally Posted by Scots Taffer
everybody in that movie was amazing, but her performance just broke my heart. Damn movie scarred me for life.
No ending in the history of film has left so thoroughly shattered, drained and broken by the side of the road than Requiem. And yes, the performances were all something special - even Leto, for fuck's sake.
I don't know how you can say that. It is an absolutely brilliant film in terms of subtlety of story, acting, cinematography, soundtrack, and Lynch's uncanny ability draw the viewer so hopelessly into his bizarre landscapes.
Requiem for a Dream has been on my to-see list for a while, though from what everyone tells me I will be in pieces afterwards.
Not to derail this thread but I'll answer quickly, part of the problem I had with Mulholland Drive might have been that he was continuing the same structural lark that he established with Lost Highway and I had grown tired of it. Also, until that point I felt like Lynch's work was best viewed very tired at the creeping edge of night and morning where all the crazy nightmare-fuelled shit that gets out of his head onto paper makes the most dream-logic sense, whereas it just heightened my confusion.
I'll fully admit that there are great scenes in that movie, you linked one, I'll link another but as is often the case with a lot of Lynch's work, there isn't as much of a narrative as there is an overall feel and vibe to his work. Some of it is very ugly. I don't like Blue Velvet, at all. It's just too much that's wrong with the world.
And Aja, you must see Requiem for a Dream, it's a masterpiece but also utterly draining. The last thirty or so minutes are a full-on sensory assault.
Scots, Mulholland Drive is, like, an amazing movie.
The most intense scene in Training Day.
There are a lot of things going on in this scene, but focus on Ethan Hawke and see if you're not convinced that's how you'd be in that exact situation.
That scene Scots linked to was the one that made me a Lynch devotee, after only seeing one movie plus Mulholland Drive up to that point. Something about the vibe you mention (and I'll agree it's more feel than narrative) just resonates with me. The penultimate scene with the old people is so horrifying that I still get tense, and I've seen it more than a few times. Hell, the 2-second shot in the limo at the very beginning is eerie as anything, and it's all constructed from elements so subtle that I'm convinced few filmmakers besides Lynch could create that sort of atmosphere.
But back on track: this thread is making me realize that I haven't seen a great deal of really good acting...
But but there was the obviously fake robin tweeting outside the window to let you know everything was right in the world at the end. What twaddle.
The only dialogue I can think of at the moment is Dustin Hoffman saying, "my life had just been saved by the violent murder of my best friend by my mortal enemy, sometimes life is just too confusing to go on living it" in Little Big Man. That doesn't exactly fit here but I like it.
It would take me hours to download this stuff but you have me interested in Requiem now.
Bricktop from Snatch.
Not acting, explicitly, but still kind of cool, and posessing interesting character, from the documentary No Maps For These Territories Link: http://www.nomaps.com/
Last edited by piano-sam; 7th Mar 2008 at 04:47. Reason: ammendment
I realise that most of my choices feature dialogue heavily, because from my own personal favouritism I like how dialogue informs character when it's written well but that doesn't mean that you have to think of examples solely to do with dialogue.
For example, Ko0k's scene is a great choice for simply the cumulative expression of the actors involved to create a magnificent tension. A similar situation occurs in the train station scene in The Untouchables, you know it's coming but not when and it's that slow steady build that in part is contributed by the actors but is often owned by the directors, scorers and cinematographers more often than not.
Maybe your are not alone in your proclivity for dialogue?
Jeff Daniels doing some REAL acting. He's a master of creating the scene for you.
I recognise that, I just didn't want people to think they could only post speeches. If I was posting speeches I'd be all over it with Alec Baldwin's from Glengarry Glen Ross.
I love when he says "Are they all here? I'm going anyway...", he's all pumped up and ready to spit. Great scene.
Probably my favorite movie moment ever: "Tears in rain" from Blade Runner (link - SPOILERS)
Also, the fake orgasm in When Harry Met Sally.
Last edited by ChickenMcOwnage; 7th Mar 2008 at 06:45.
In The Fountain when Izzy flatlines, and Tommy just breaks comes immediately to mind.
Simon Pegg's breakdown in Shaun of the Dead when he finds out his mum's been bitten.
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: The murder of Ed Miller The look on Garrett Dillahunt's face when Jesse drops behind and tells him to keep going. He conveys perfectly that, definition of a rube that he is, he knows what's coming and he's powerless to stop it. There's also a scene at the end where Sam Rockwell (playing Charlie Ford playing Jesse James) perfectly assumes all the mannerisms that Brad Pitt had been using as Jesse during a reenactment of the titular act that, couple of seconds that it was, just kind of blew my mind.
Of couse, when you enter Parliament, you will all also be ripped to the teats on fine cocaine...
I'd like to second, third, fourth and quite possibly fifth these two. Garrett Dillahunt is amazing anyway; just compare his Jack McCall and his Francis Walcott in seasons 1 and 2 of Deadwood. He actually makes the double casting work.
And Sam Rockwell's scene towards the end of TAOJJBTCRF is made better by having him act the part twice, so you see the development: at the beginning, his (that is, the character's) acting is utter crap, the sort of thing you get in the worst amateur productions. And then, over time, something changes. And I'd slightly disagree with you on Rockwell assuming Pitt's mannerisms - there is that, but there is also a deep loathing for what he and Robert have done that's there at the same time. Jesse James didn't have that loathing; with him, there was more a kind of resignation and even welcoming of what's about to happen. But however you interpret the acting, it's strong as hell.
The scene between the gas station guy and Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. There's no raised voices, no threats, just quiet talking yet the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. The demeanour of the pump guy changes ever so subtly over the course of the scene from bone-idle bored to shitting himself but never gives into obvious panic, which would have completely ruined it.
Yeah that is a great scene and nice to see someone giving props to the 'other' guy. Bardem is fantastic, of course, but it takes two people to make a scene like that work. The final scene between Woody Harrelson/ Javier Bardem scene is also an acting master class. Harrelson, to quote a film reviewer acquaintance of mine, "gives the most impressive impersonation of a man who knows his number is up since, well, Woody Harrelson in “The Thin Red Line”."
Some other great scenes:
Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in the 'did you fuck my wife' scene from 'Raging Bull'. Perfection.
Robert De Niro in the scene from 'Taxi Driver' where he is trying to talk to Peter Boyle about his troubles. The look in his eyes where he say he's been thinking bad things etc is painful to watch. You can see the loneliness and desperation behind them.
Pretty much the entirety of 'Donnie Brasco'. This film was criminally () overlooked for the Oscars.
An obvious one that nobody seems to have mentioned yet is Marlon Brando's scene from 'On The Waterfront'. You know the one in the back of the car with Rod Steiger. Both of them are flawless and this scene alone is better than most whole movies.
I always really loved Johnny Depps performance in 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape'. In particular the scene after he hits his brother and he runs away where Juilet Lewis' character finds him hiding in the trees behind her caravan.
And lastly Heath Ledger in Jacks room near the end of 'Brokeback Mountain'.
Last edited by Angel Dust; 7th Mar 2008 at 23:56.
Possibly my all time favorite movie.
Usual Suspects the line up.
This scene is brilliant. I love that part of the scene is an outtake that works perfectly with the actually footage.
Jack Lemmon at the end of Glenngary Glen Ross was always a favorite of mine. Everybody is great in that film, but Lemmon was just phenomena.
Naomi Watts gets big ups for that scene because she's hot it all. I think everyone else in the scene out-acts her, especially Bob, Woody and the boss guy (whatever his name is). It's a great scene though, but then I think the film, and Lost Highway, are full of great scenes. He's just a good director and the pacing in his films makes the scenes so good. Check out some of the early scenes with Jeff and Patricia Arquette in Lost Highway for more.
Posting Permissions
