Everyone loves lists and this one has ten great film performances that you should most definitely view before Hollywood decides to make it with an inferior actor.
10. Madeline Kahn as Trixie Delight in Paper Moon
Tatum O’Neal flat out stole the Oscar from Madeline Kahn for her performance in this 1973 film. Yet, Kahn’s performance is more memorable. Bogadonavich managed to get some great performances from a lot of his actors in the black and white films he made in the seventies but in my opinion, this one stands out the most.
9. Catherine O’Hara as Marilyn Hack in For Your Consideration
Catherine portrays an aging actress who suddenly has a little awards buzz behind one of her performances. Always great to watch, O’Hara is perfectly funny and tragic in this Christopher Guest film. Apparently, she even managed to not use prosthetics when her character gets too much plastic surgery.
8. Liv Ullman as Elisabet Vogler in Persona
This film is about an actress who has a breakdown on stage and her relationship with her caretaker while in recovery. However, Elisabet, the actress, barely utters a word while her caretaker slowly divulges more and more about her life as they build a kind of one way relationship.
7. Paul Newman as Luke Jackson in Cool Hand Luke
Newman plays a drunk who achieves a kind of greatness and legend while in prison. You have to at least watch the fifty egg scene if you haven’t seen the film.
6. Charlie Chaplin as The Tramp in City Lights
I dare you not to cry when you see the final scene. Chaplin balances perfectly between slapstick and the more serious scenes. A great film that you should most definitely watch.
5. Katherine Hepburn as Tracy Lords in The Philadelphia Story
This is Hepburn’s first Oscar-winning performance and the one that some consider her best. I think it’s still a toss-up between this and “The Lion in the Winter” but you are less likely to have seen this one so go see it!
4. Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver
Robert De Niro portrays a lonely veteran who decides to become a taxi driver. You see his gradual descent into madness brought on by a variety of factors including loneliness and isolation. At one point, you don’t quite know what is real and what’s in his head.
3. Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown in My Left Foot
Watching his performance just wears me out.
2. Peter Finch as Howard Beale in Network
Ditto. Finch in his portrayal of a man being pushed out of his job manages to bring a voice to those relegated to the trash bin.
1. Meryl Streep as Sophie in Sophie’s Choice
Katherine Hepburn hated her but you have to give Meryl her props for the amount of preparation that went into this role. She learned multiple languages and definitely had to find some very dark places to accurately portray Sophie. She won an Oscar for this role and set a very high bar or herself. It’s no wonder she hasn’t won another Academy Award for a leading role as none of her performances hold a candle to this one.
