BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Beccy
Date: 21 May 03 - 03:17 PM

Jet Li's fantastic. Have you seen any of the Deadly China Hero series? It's about foreign encroachment on traditional China during the beginning of the last century. It's really fascinating.

Beccy

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 21 May 03 - 01:22 PM

i like kung fu movies too...but really am starting to like Jet Li....

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Beccy
Date: 21 May 03 - 01:19 PM

One more thing, Doug. Matrix was LOADED with wirework. I just read an interview with the fight choreographer and he said he looks forward to the day that he can combine the extensive wirework he did in "Matrix" and "Matrix Reloaded" with a super-star martial artist. He can't wait for a modern Bruce Lee.

Beccy

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Beccy
Date: 21 May 03 - 01:04 PM

Doug_Remley... I didn't say I dig it 'cause of the realism... I just said I dig it (kung fu films, that is.)

I'm with ya on the Chow Yun Fat, Kim C. He's pretty nice to look at, eh? His fighting style is quite graceful, too.

Beccy

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: mutineer
Date: 21 May 03 - 02:26 AM

Sean Connery would have to be my favourite, just the presence he has on stage...

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Cluin
Date: 21 May 03 - 12:17 AM

Nope. Nor Billy Bob Thorton. I liked him in "A Simple Plan".

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Kim C
Date: 20 May 03 - 01:29 PM

Kevin Spacey is awesome.

Hey, Beccy, I like kung fu movies too! Jackie Chan is my favorite - but golly I sure love Chow Yun-Fat. So easy on the eyes.

Okay, Fred, but SIL is still one of my favorite movies. The sappiness of it greatly appeals to me.

Has anyone mentioned Cate Blanchett?

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Branwen23
Date: 20 May 03 - 10:41 AM

Kevin Spacey must make the list somewhere... Incredibly versatile and believeable in every role

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Doug_Remley
Date: 20 May 03 - 08:26 AM

Russian bears fly with lots of wire work, too, Beccy. The best story line without gratuitous wirework, I thought, was "Matrix" and I'm not into that genre.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Beccy
Date: 20 May 03 - 07:50 AM

I have to admit to being a HUGE Kung Fu fan (in the loving it hugely sense... I'm quite slim...) First and foremost, Gordon Liu, then in no particular order, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun Fat, Sammo Hung, and many more.

I LOVE "Fist of the White Lotus" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"

Beccy

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Cluin
Date: 19 May 03 - 11:25 PM

"The Crimson Pirate"... the faggiest (in a 12 year old boy's sense of the word) hero on the silver screen. Not Burt's best role.

Besides, nobody buckled on a swash like Errol Flynn (unless it was Fairbanks, Sr.)

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: The Walrus
Date: 19 May 03 - 07:16 AM

I note that no-one has mentioned Douglas Fairbanks, the man who gave us the 'athletic hero' bouncing around the screen like a rubber ball, and was thereby a precuror of other such 'heros' from Lancaster(?) swinging through the rigging in the likes of 'The Crimson Pirate' to Jackie Chan using everything and anything as a prop in a fight or as an escape route out of one.
Nor has anyone mentioned Yacamo Cnut (spelling?), in his day, the King of stuntmen.

Regards

Walrus

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Cluin
Date: 19 May 03 - 02:35 AM

Bob Denver (was also Maynard G. Krebbs in Dobie Gillis).

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 19 May 03 - 12:28 AM

Odd that you didn't see fit to mention Jerry Lewis, Don Knotts, and William Shatner.

And who was that guy who played "Gilligan"?

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 18 May 03 - 02:31 AM

My list:

Lon Chaney, Sr.
Laurence Olivier
Meryl Streep
Robert DeNiro
Marlon Brando
Daniel Day Lewis
Jeremy Irons
Robert Mitchum
James Dean
Jim Broadbent
Toshiro Mifune
Alec Guinness
Buster Keaton
Dustin Hoffman
Judi Dench
Charles Laughton
Lillian Gish
Sidney Poitier
Kenneth Branagh
Debra Winger
Al Pacino
Stuart Whitman (Underrated, in my book)
Aidan Quinn
Bette Davis
Lee J. Cobb
Edward G. Robinson
Katherine Hepburn
Charlie Chaplin
Tom Hanks
Marisa Tomei
James Cagney
Henry Fonda
Johnny Depp
John Barrymore
Janet Margolin

I'm sure I'll think of more.

Chanteyranger

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peg
Date: 17 May 03 - 10:51 AM

Giok; if you are a Jane Horrocks fan, try to see Mike Leigh's "Life is Sweet." This actress is like a chameleon. In this film she plays a depressed teen...whose twin sister (Claire Skinner) works as a plumber. Jim Broadbent, Alison Steadman and Timothy Spall also star.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Sam L
Date: 17 May 03 - 08:51 AM

Thanks Peg, I was trying to remember P. S. Hoffman.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 17 May 03 - 04:59 AM

Peg. Thanks for mentioning Jane Horrocks, I loved her in Little Voice, and the character of Bubble in Absolutely Fabulous is uproariously funny. I just have to see her in one of the crazy outfits she wears, and I corpse......Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 16 May 03 - 03:39 PM

Well, I just saw "A Mighty Wind", and I have to say that Catherine O'Hara's acting in that was utterly superb!

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peg
Date: 16 May 03 - 03:34 PM

ooh ooh ooh! and FIONA SHAW and BRIAN COX!!!!! (both of whom I got to interview)

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peg
Date: 16 May 03 - 03:32 PM

gosh, I forgot to mention Angus MacFadyen! and Ian McKellen! and Timothy Spall! and Rupert Graves! and Miranda Richardson! and John Gielgud! and Stellan Skaarsgard! and Martin Donovan! and Sidney Poitier! and Paprika Steen! and Fairuza Balk! and Philip Seymour Hoffman (whose name someone in this thread seemed to be fishing for earlier)...

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 16 May 03 - 03:26 PM

Then there was Nixon. Greatest impersonation of a used-car-salemsan-cum-life-insurance-agent-cum-undertaker ever done by anyone in politics...

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Cluin
Date: 15 May 03 - 09:56 PM

I still think Ronald Reagan never got the credit as an actor that he deserved. In his role as President, he was eerily lifelike.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 15 May 03 - 09:02 PM

Kathy Bates! Kathy Bates! Kathy Bates!

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST,maire-aine, not home yet
Date: 15 May 03 - 05:06 PM

No Orson Welles?
No Helen Hayes?
No John Barrymore?

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Sam L
Date: 15 May 03 - 04:43 PM

yes Kim C, I was aware of that, I did watch it. In the film it adds a second degree--a woman playing a man playing a woman, so the historical basis seems a little beside the point. And Leonardo painted himself as a woman in the Mona Lisa--a deep notion recently reprised about a different painter and a different picture. I used to have a handy list, but one forgets.

   Romeo and the Pirate captain's daughter, haw! Oh, stop! Yer killin' me! The parody of psychoanalysis was a hoot, too. The sweetest part was his relationship with his wife and son, I thought. If you did hokey pointless stuff like that about real people who were great in any field but arts, everyone would throw up.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: MMario
Date: 15 May 03 - 01:33 PM

I think that technically - a lot of the bit actors and charactor actors are much better then most of the "stars" - and there are a number of them that pop up in movie, after movie, after movie, after movie, after movie, after movie, after movie

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Kim C
Date: 15 May 03 - 01:30 PM

Fred - back in Shakespearean times, women weren't allowed to act in the theater (just like in the movie), and men played all the parts. So in that regard, high art sometimes does have something to do with cross-dressing - in this instance it's based on history.

I think Shakespeare in Love is a very sweet and entertaining movie.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 15 May 03 - 01:19 PM

what about georgie juniior? he sure is play acting well enough at being a president...

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 15 May 03 - 08:19 AM

I find it surprising...very surprising...that NO ONE has mentioned the greatest actor of all time...

* * * William Shatner * * *

(hee! hee!)



Well...no, I guess I don't find it all that surprising...





But my vote for at least one of the greatest actors of all time is Daniel Day Lewis. The guy is amazing. Did you see him in "Gangs of New York"? Di Caprio was quite good in that one too, and he was superb in "Catch Me If You Can". Harrison Ford is usually very good. Clint Eastwood is very good at being himself...which is useful in the right movie. I always thought Burt Lancaster had a lot of class, and an incredible smile! Christopher Plummer is marvelous, no matter what part he plays.

Now...actresses. Well, Kathleen Turner was riveting in "Body Heat". Great movie. And I have a preference for Winona Ryder, but that's just me...I like her. I also like Sigourney Weaver.

Bogart and Bacall were the most memorable screen couple of all time. Wow. Talk about chemistry.

I think Cher has been consistently great as an actress, although her singing is a little odd at times.

Okay, gotta go to Toronto now. See ya later.

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 14 May 03 - 01:56 PM

My Gawd Peg, that's an amazing list! Where have you been all my life?!!!

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peter T.
Date: 14 May 03 - 12:00 PM

I don't know about great acting overall, but I just saw Year of Living Dangerously again with Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver, and there is all kinds of fine acting in it, including Mel being not only amazingly handsome, but also revealing a moral weakness that is quite convinving. The best moment of the movie is a brief scene where Sigourney Weaver is walking in the rain drunk with desire for Mel Gibson that I found quite amazing, something I had not seen in her acting before -- Linda Hunt was also quite superb. As someone who spent a bit of time wandering around countries and cities in the 3rd world, I always recommend the film -- but I hadn't seen it in awhile. yours, Peter T,

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peg
Date: 13 May 03 - 12:12 PM

Those reader polls tend to not address classic films or vetarn actors IMHO...a recent poll on greatest foreign films at a local theatre was a revelation: the top choice was Run Lola Run which came out the year of the poll! Others in the top 20 were films that were made and that people had obviously seen *recently*, and many greats from Italy, Germany, France etc. from the last twent years, even, were in ridiculously low positions...

anyway my favorite actors:

(in no way an exhaustive list; trying to focus on Brits though in keeping with the thread)

Ian Holm
Helen Mirren!!!
Ewan MacGregor
Clive Owen
Jane Horrocks
Daniel Day-Lewis
Judi Dench
Meryl Streep
Raul Julia (the two of them did an amazing Taming of the Shrew!)
Jeremy Northam
Hugo Weaving
Johnny Depp
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Colin Firth
Nicole Kidman
Jeremy Irons
Julianne Moore
Toni Collette
Kerry Fox
Mark Rylance!!!!!
Denzel Washington (amazing in Training Day)
Martin Sheen
Sissy Spacek
Cloris Leachman
Rowan Atkinson (comedy!)
Dianne Wiest
Maggie Smith
Kevin McKidd
Jennifer Ehle
Simon Callow
Harriet Walter
Tom Hollander!!!
Helena Bonham-Carter

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Sam L
Date: 13 May 03 - 10:12 AM

The only thing I enjoyed in Shakespeare in love was the loan shark who got caught up in the play. That was vintage Shaw. The rest I found lame, full of dopey tired jokes--the Hamlet on Gilligan's Island was funnier--and it was too late to try to be serious in the last few minutes.

   Why in the popular imagination does high art always have something to do with cross-dressing?

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 13 May 03 - 04:46 AM

Hey GUEST! I didn't say I WASN'T afraid of Meryl, Barbra, Bette, and Joan.....I am! Still can't watch 'em though.

Do like Emma though!

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Kim C
Date: 12 May 03 - 10:50 AM

PS - I don't think anyone has mentioned Johnny Depp. He is just about the only pretty-boy actor I like at all. He has made some bombs but I think he is under-rated.

Everytime I see Brad Pitt, I want to turn him over my knee and spank him - and not for kinky reasons.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Kim C
Date: 12 May 03 - 10:48 AM

Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman are GREAT in Glory. Morgan Freeman has been one of my favorites for a long time.

Laugh if you want, but I really liked Brendan Fraser in the Mummy movies.

Haven't seen the Klaus Kinski Nosferatu, but I'd like to.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Beccy
Date: 12 May 03 - 10:40 AM

Laugh if you must, but Leo DiCaprio in "This Boy's Life" with DeNiro was amazing! DiCaprio was also great in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape". My poor husband thought the guy was really retarded until I told him differently.

Beccy

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peter T.
Date: 12 May 03 - 10:00 AM

We will have to disagree on this one, Carol. I was in a production of the play (played Guildenstern) in London, and was amazed how brilliant it was. The movie is slow and dull. I cannot imagine what was on Stoppard's mind -- I revere him, but he does occasionally fall flat -- and that was one occasion. Learning the film business I guess. He has written some tedious screenplays. On the other hand, Shakespeare in Love is vintage Stoppard, what a great film.

yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: CarolC
Date: 12 May 03 - 09:47 AM

The film "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" is one of the worst travesties of a wonderful play ever.

Apples and oranges, Peter T. The movie and the play were two entirely different animals (in my opinion). I loved them both. And they both came from one of my favorite of human minds.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Sam L
Date: 12 May 03 - 09:44 AM

R&G are dead is more Godot than Hamlet to me, and I think it's a good dark comedy--but I've only read it. But that reminds me of the awful handling of their deaths in Zefferelli's film. The reading of the letter, with the two trustfully standing there is what I'd show.

I found nothing promising in the business of Elsinore Corporation. And R&G was a travesty of a wonderful play? I suppose there are different ways to look at things.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peter T.
Date: 12 May 03 - 09:07 AM

The film "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" is one of the worst travesties of a wonderful play ever.


I thought Mel Gibson was ok as Hamlet, but none of the films have been very satisfactory, even the Olivier film is dull -- the ultramodern one of a year or two ago was a great idea, but it waned as the film moved on. The best thing about the Branagh film was Derek Jacobi, he was terrific. yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 12 May 03 - 08:25 AM

Rick, your aversion to the strong, power wielding female actors you list looks more like sexism than an aesthetic preference.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: alison
Date: 12 May 03 - 04:03 AM

another vote for Mel Gibson's "Hamlet"... I expected to loathe it and was very pleasantly surprised......
I absolutely hate him in most other things since being trapped on a long distance flight with only "the patriot" as a choice for the movie... now that is horrible!!!!

I quite liked Pfeiffer and Kline in "A Midsummer night's dream".... but the old black and white version with ?James Cagney as "Puck"... (is it him or Mickey Rooney?... its been a long time)is a classic...


slainte

alison

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: mg
Date: 12 May 03 - 01:00 AM

I don't watch enough movies to even comment...but I love watching Dianne Keaton for some reason. You know who I love on TV...that Dan-Jumbo guy on one of those home improvement shows..apparently so do others because he was just named one of the most beautiful people..I hope he gets his own show...also saw a most beautiful woman today making really quick food out of mostly lemons..Nigella I think her name was...I also love Norm Abrams and Lynette Jennings and Phoebe on Friends...Juan whats his name on Fox..oh yeah..Sean Hannerty..people I just can't stand to watch..Katy Couric..Jerry Seinfeld...Aaron Brown...Barney...

mg

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 11 May 03 - 05:53 PM

I just watched three quarters of an hour of a film in which Kevin Bacon held Meryl Streep and her obnoxious kid hostage, in a WHITE WATER RAFT! I was screaming at the screen (well politely talking to it actually) KEVIN! SHOOT HER!...and her little kid too!

Some actors just do that to me!

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: CarolC
Date: 11 May 03 - 12:01 PM

My favorite version of Hamlet on film is the little snippets you see in between the real action in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I love the rest of that film even more than the Hamlet bits. That one's got Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, and Richard Dreyfuss, each of whom did an excellent job. Originally a play by Stoppard, the film was directed by him as well.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Sam L
Date: 11 May 03 - 09:38 AM

But, CarolC, to be fair, Brannaugh's Hamlet "did" less to the text than Zefferelli's did. I also don't find anachronistic setting choices interesting, I think it ruins most stage productions with self-conscious po-mo armature, but I was able to pass over it in K.B.'s Hamlet without much trouble. It seemed rushed sometimes, and Zefferelli took time for some priceless little details. A woman in the audience at the play laughed in such a way you could see her entire life, Ophelia's uncertain manner at the table and the look in her eyes--things like that. I see your point, but only to a point.

   I don't think anyone ever does the killing the prisoners scene in Henry V. I'm surprised Brannaugh didn't.

Anyway, neither are as magnificent as the version I'll direct, when I have a little free time, and a few extra bucks.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 11 May 03 - 09:22 AM

Jeez, Malkovitch! Another fascinating actor. I've completely changed my mind about the state of acting cuz' of this thread. There are one hell of a lot of very convincing performers working today. I have to agree with Carol, in that I can hardly watch Brannagh....not sure why...probably for the same reasons I can't watch Streisand, Crawford (Joan not Broderick) Garbo, or Davis. Just personal, can't figure it out.

Hmmmm.....what about directors? Maybe I'll push this and start another thread.

Rick

P.S. Better get back to chord positions soon though.....

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 11 May 03 - 05:08 AM

Interesting thread, I saw part 1 of the programme, the whole thing was played over two consecutive nights in 3 hour portions. Each actor was given 5 minutes or more, with suitable clips, and spoken about by other actors and reviewers/ critics etc.,
Whilst everyone will have their own favourites, and queries about who was omitted, a quick read through this thread suggests that keeping it down to 100 would be difficult without offending someone.
I may not agree with some of the selections, but what I saw made an entertaining evening. (My wife forgot to tape part 2, the 'Top' of the list!)

Nigel

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 10 May 03 - 11:59 PM

To those who disagreed with my ranking of Mel's Hamlet, remember, I did say that it was in my opinion the best that I had seen. Two qualifiers: My opinion, and that I had seen.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Benjamin
Date: 10 May 03 - 11:08 PM

To be honest, I'm kind of surprised to not see Val Kilmer get mentioned.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: CarolC
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:53 PM

I guess I should have given a reason. Brannaugh's treatments of Shakespeare entirely lack subtlety and nuance (imo), and he's not particularly interested in being faithful to historical periods. I know some people think that's interesting, but I find it hard to take.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: CarolC
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:49 PM

The things Brannaugh does to Shakespeare make my teeth itch.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Sam L
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:45 PM

Huh. I'd put Robert Duvall before many of the names mentioned already. He manages to combine the breathing nuances of method with incredible accuracy, in Tomorrow, for example. If someone mentioned Malkovitch I missed it, but I think he's better than the three in the thread title. Julianne Moore is very good--Uncle Vanya on 42nd street, some others I mention all the time. William Macy is very good, and that heavy-set red-haired fellow whose three names I always forget is unusually gifted and brave.

Have trouble separating the acting/directing/editing questions in film versions of Hamlet. Gibson was quite good in Zefferelli's film, but there were off moments such as his over-played reaction shots with the excellent ghost of his father--was that Jacobi?--anyway the entire treatment of the ghost was good. But such is film--Gibson might have done much better takes, but I felt Zefferelli was trying to make him seem very young there, and it turned into very bad illustrational mugging. Glen Close is very good but makes some weird choices, and laughs off some of her best work.

I prefer Brannaugh's version by far, though the ghost was hokey. I vastly prefer the scripting, the scale of the kingdom, the peculiar intimacy of the relations--it was both bigger and smaller, and unscarred by the Freudian oedipal stuff that was stupid already when Olivier did it. But both were pretty darn good, unlike the more recent one with whatshisname--not Keanu matrix whatshisname, but grunge-dude whatshisname.

Running Man was Marathon Man, if someone wants to look for it. It's sometimes hard to appreciate Olivier's style in film since most of us are more accustomed to a less clinical approach, but in certain monstrous characters the point is moot, anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:40 PM

speaking along the shakespeare lines....anthony hopkins was wonderful as titus andronicus in the film version as well as jessica lange as queen of the goths, tamara....and then there was the great angus macfadyen as Lucius...

and then there are stephan rhea...and brendan gleason...both decent actors...

and the lovely emily watson...

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:26 PM

Actually catspaw, in addition to mentioning Alfre Woodard, I also mentioned Denzel, Angela Bassett, Ozzie Davis, Ben Kingsley, and Raul Julia. Actors of color all, who are eminently qualified to be in the great actor category.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: CarolC
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:17 PM

Cuba Gooding

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: catspaw49
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:05 PM

Kinda' a segregated looking listing here folks......outside of James Earl Jones and Alfre Woodard. I think we also might have some consideration for Denzel Washington, Lawrence Fishburne, Danny Glover, Don Cheadle (pretty amazing guy), Whoopee's no slouch BTW, and of course, Sidney Poitier. Also Blair Underwood and Andre Bragher.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Doug_Remley
Date: 10 May 03 - 06:56 PM

Did anyone mention Kenneth Brannagh in the film version of Henry V? I was impressed by the films transitions, but have always liked Shakespeare and used the film as an introduction to genre for my young daughter. I guess my all-around favorite is Kevin Kline, though as with artists of any ilk, there are many good actors and often some peices stand above others.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 10 May 03 - 04:50 PM

Jeez, I just watched Donald Sutherland do an amazing bit in JFK as a dangerous (and apparently fabricated) special ops guy.

Hmmmmm, Mel's Hamlet the best? I haven't seen it, but.........he's been sooo wooden in everything else I've seen him in...but I'll take your word for it Uncle Dave.
Would have been nice to see Gielgud's though.

Carol, James Earl was so fucking powerful as Othello, and you could just tell that he and Plummer were competing with every word.

You know another great stage actor that nobody's ever heard about? I saw Heath Lamberts as Cyrano, and he was this little bald fat guy with a BIT of a fake nose........Just as romantic and tragic a figure as Ferrer. His rival became a big star, but I can't remember his name.

Great actors in bad roles? Burton, Burton, and Burton. Did you see him as the washed up artist playing opposite teen Tatum O'Neil? It was almost impossible to watch. Sad.

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 10 May 03 - 04:21 PM

Mark

You left out Efram Zimbalist Jnr, Ed Byrnes foil in 77 Sunset Strip
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 03:54 PM

Mel Gibson's version is the best on film, is it? I'm sure Keanu Reeves will disappointed to hear that.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 10 May 03 - 03:18 PM

Some here have put down Mel, but THE BEST movie of Hamlet I ever saw was by him.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 03:12 PM

I can't BELIEVE you left out Troy Donahue.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Mark Clark
Date: 10 May 03 - 02:59 PM

Boy, I don't know where you all spend your time. Clearly it isn't watching the truly great ones. What about Elvis, Fabian, Yevette Mimieux, Edd Byrnes and please don't forget Audie Murhpy.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 02:25 PM

Movie trivia alert--how much was James Earl Jones paid for the Darth Vader voiceover in the first Star Wars film (speaking of sins against thespianism)?

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peter T.
Date: 10 May 03 - 02:16 PM

And then there are worst performances by great actors.... (A LONG LIST, headed by Richard Burton for multiple sins against thespianism). yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: CarolC
Date: 10 May 03 - 01:27 PM

P.S. Rick, I also saw James Earl Jones do an excellent King Lear on Public Television back in the early 70s. He's definitely one of my favorites.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: CarolC
Date: 10 May 03 - 01:23 PM

It doesn't look like anyone has mentioned Liv Ullman. She was quite good in a lot of Ingmar Bergman films, but she was also very good in the movies The Emigrants and The New Land.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 10 May 03 - 12:58 PM

I nearly forgot, silly me, Rod Steiger in The Pawnbroker or as the cop in In the heat of the Night [?] I always class him with Donald Pleasance in the "Scary actors" category. Donald Pleasance would have been a great Hannibal Lector.
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 12:28 PM

I much preferred Helena Bonham Carter's performance to Emma Thompson's, in Howard's End. Helena is another one I'd put on my great actor's list.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 12:13 PM

When it comes to film acting, I'd say the greats are rarely the biggest stars, just like the best films are rarely the biggest box office grossing films.

Sometimes you can see an actor's greatness early on, as was the case with Meryl Streep, IMO.

With others, as I would suggest is the case with James Earl Jones, the promise of greatness early on, is never realized.

Then there are those who become great through a body of work over an extended period of time, including outstanding performances in mediocre and sometimes even bad films.

It is nigh on impossible to rank people on this basis anyway. Even the most talented, gifted actors make bad choices and turn in poor performances, overact here and there, that sort of thing. Some of these people become better known as stars than for their acting ability, which I think is the case with Brad Pitt.

Then there are some of the best actors who have quietly turned in remarkable performances over and over, who are virtually ignored by the industry, like Alfre Woodard, whom I mentioned above. I can't think of a single thing I've seen her in where she didn't shine, or even carry the film.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 10 May 03 - 11:48 AM

Darn it! Forgot William H Macy. We liked him so much that we've rented his whole catalogue of films over the last year. He refuses to be in bad ones (he says).

One worrying thought though. Just because we really like an actor, does that mean they're a very GOOD actor? Macy is convincing, yes, and appealing (in an everyman sort of way) but Oldman simply blends into what he does so effectively.....might THAT be great acting.

And of course we ARE talking mostly film here.

How about Anthony Quinn in La Strada? Jeez, what a presence...but his dialogue was dubbed into Italian....so, is "presence" great acting? What about Max Von Sydow and Gunnar Bjornstrand in The Seventh Seal? I was 15 when I saw it and was totally devastated when I left the theatre but what the hell did I know about Swedish acting (with subtitles)? Later, I found Von Sydow to be just a colossal bore in English.........but boy, when he was playing chess with Mr Death (who cheated by the way) that was heavy at my age. Hard to go see Jerry Lewis in the Nutty Professor after that!

Oh....and speaking of "presence"...what about Jose Ferrer as Cyrano or Toulouse? Great acting (he won an oscar) or just charisma?

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 11:32 AM

Someone should mention Ben Kingsley, no?

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peter T.
Date: 10 May 03 - 11:30 AM

Hard to know what you can mean by "false", but there you go. I think her best work is in the big Hollywood films - Sense and Sensibility, Howards End, Henry V. The Winter Guest was boring and pretentious, and I thought she was all wrong in "Wit".
yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 11:01 AM

I think the English actor Tom Wilkinson is a great actor, even though he is usually underrated as 'just a character actor'.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:55 AM

Giok, you must see Emma in an American film she did, I think for HBO, where she plays a lonely university professor diagnosed with cancer. It would blow you away. It was directed by Mike Nichols, and is called 'Wit'.

Also, she was excellent (as was her mother) in a film in which they appeared together called 'The Winter Guest'. It was written and directed by Alan Rickman.

I think her best, smartest work has been done in those small indie films, not the big Hollywood films.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:38 AM

The New Globe Theatre, is a compararively new theatre, and post dates all the actors mentioned so far. THE place to train in the UK is RADA "The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art" Though quite few present day actors came up through stage schools, and through the "Central School of Speech and Drama". These latter two are regarded as upstarts by the stage snobs, and truth to say, most of our really good actors came through RADA. I can't tell you where the incredibly false Emma Thomson studied, but the only good part I ever saw her play was as Kettles [sic] in a great UK TV series called Tutti Frutti, which also starred the wonderful Robbie Coltrane,along with Richard Wilson, and my own favourite Katy Murphy.
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peter T.
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:33 AM

Emma never trained as far as I know, she was part of the Cambridge University scene (Arts Theatre) that spawned all kinds of people -- a kind of mutual support system went on between Cambridge, Oxford (less), fringe theatres, and the BBC in London. Hard to overestimate the influence of this little ecosystem over the years. yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:31 AM

This is getting interesting. I find myself nodding in agreement at ALMOST every name mentioned. Perhaps these modern times are NOT a wasteland of acting.

Also...quite a few American actors are being mentioned who seem to be able to emote as convincingly as RADA trained Brits.

So how about some TEAMS?

I saw James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer in Othello (on Broadway no less.....WITH Shwartzenegger in attendance)

Guinness and Mills in Tunes of Glory.....AND.....Guinness and Mifune in Bridge on the River Kwai!!

Now here's one that got bad reviews...lotta people thought it was just campy.......but I remember it as incredible scary and well done. Olivier and Hoffman in Running Man. (dentist anyone?)

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:24 AM

BTW, I thought of another great actor, although some of his best work was done on the NY stage, rather than in films. Raul Julia, especially 'Kiss of the Spider Woman'; 'Presumed Innocent' (in which he showed up Harrison Ford as the exteme acting lightweight that he is), and probably what has become my favorite film performance by him, the role of Tomas Ramirez in the TV movie 'Down Came a Blackbird', which was one of his last films. BTW, Vanessa Redgrave is excellent in the latter.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:06 AM

I'm always curious to find out how and where the actors I consider to be the greats, were educated/trained. I know Meryl Streep and Angela Bassett are both Yale. Kevin Kline is Julliard trained (Robin Williams dropped out of Julliard). While I'm assuming that many of the great British actors trained at places like the Globe, I don't really know as much about their backgrounds. Anyone know where Emma Thompson studied?

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peter T.
Date: 10 May 03 - 09:44 AM

I forgot about "Howards End". Anthony and Emma -- Remains of the Day wasn't bad either. COME BACK EMMA!!! (OK OK having babies is good, but COME BACK EMMA) yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 09:20 AM

I think more men find Mel Gibson sexy than women.

I really can't seriously any list of best movie actors that would have Mel Gibson on it, even if it was the top 1000.

For oldie greats, I'd pick Robert Mitchum WAAAAAY before Cary Grant, who seemed to have played the same role his entire career.

I do think Gary Sinise is good, but I wouldn't put him in the great category.

We are talking great, and not just good, aren't we? There are a lot of good actors around. I'd put people like John Travolta on a list of good actors, but not great. I think if Nick Cage can be convinced not to return to the idiotic action/adventure & syrupy romantic lead cartoon character phase of his career, that he may be on great list. But as it is, the bad choices he has made were bad genre choices. Like, 'Moonstruck' was a great film, and a great role. That angel thing with Meg Ryan was an abomination. That winning the lottery movie (can't remember the name of that one either) with Bridget Fonda and Rosie Perez fell somewhere between the two.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: CarolC
Date: 10 May 03 - 07:57 AM

Actually, I was surprisingly impressed with Mel Gibson's Hamlet, even though I'm not one of the women who find him irristable (I'll take Alan Rickman over Gibson any day). I thought he did a waaaayyyy better job with Hamlet than (*cough*) Kenneth Brannaugh.

I'm definitely with you on John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Derek Jacobi, and Alec Guinness.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: catspaw49
Date: 10 May 03 - 07:15 AM

Well maybe if you blew up a film studio you'd feel better.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 10 May 03 - 05:51 AM

I confess to a preference for Dustin Hoffman, his portrayal of Ratzo in Midnight Cowboy acted John Voigt, no mean actor himself, off the screen. I've seen most of his films but definitely won't ever see Straw Dogs, I loathe violence.
VIOLENCE IS UGLY,IT IS NOT ENTERTAINMENT.
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: catspaw49
Date: 10 May 03 - 12:56 AM

Glad to see that Pacino and DeNiro made the original list. Anybody else see a lot of greatness in Gary Sinise? And has old Spencer Tracy been totally forgotten nowadays? I kinda' like a lot of the work of James Woods myself. I dunno'.........I hate these things anyway.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST
Date: 09 May 03 - 11:31 PM

In addition to those great Brit actors mentioned, I would add Emma Thompson, Steven Rea, and Alan Rickman.

Belmondo! Juliette Binoche.

Other side the pond...

Sissy Spacek, in just about everything she has ever done, but especially with Anne Bancroft, another acting goddess, in 'Night Mother'.

Also, Sissy with Martin Sheen in 'Badlands'.

Denzell (he's pretty, but he can act too).   

Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave in 'Julia' (with beautiful cinematography by Haskell Wexler, and a young ingenue named Meryl Streep).

Kevin Kline & Streep in 'Sophie's Choice'.

Ed Norton and Johnny Depp in everything.

Angela Bassett. Alfre Woodard.

Paul Newman.

Ozzie Davis.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 May 03 - 10:29 PM

Aidan Quinn, Robert Carlyle, and Morgan Freeman all have done exceptionally well, imo, as well as Cicely Tyson.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 09 May 03 - 08:19 PM

Jeez Peter you're right! Bugger!

Kim did you ever see Nosferatu with Klaus Kinski? My gawd, Dafoe was scary....but Kinski really WAS a dangerous nutbar, and boy did he do Max Schreck well.

Hmmmm, not convinced about Mel. Still think he's a terrible (and very bankable) actor, but now we're finding out he may not be such a good guy after all.

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Kim C
Date: 09 May 03 - 04:23 PM

My favorite actor of all time is Jimmy Stewart. But I think the single most brilliant piece of acting I have ever seen, is Willem Dafoe as the vampire in Shadow of the Vampire.

Mel Gibson has a lot of appeal because he's just an all-around Good Guy. But Burton or O'Toole he ain't.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peter T.
Date: 09 May 03 - 02:52 PM

Daniel Day-Lewis didn't play Chingachcook, he played Hawkeye (the white guy). And he was good too, though I confess I spent the whole movie watching Madeleine Stowe -- whatever happened to her? Whew.



I still think that Jim Carrey might make a good actor, though he would need a real director to beat up on him.

My top 12 list of film performances (a different category):


Laurence Olivier (The Entertainer)

Daniel Day-Lewis (My Left Foot)

Greta Garbo (Camille, Ninotchka)

Cary Grant (everything)

Takashi Shimura (Ikuru and the Seven Samurai, what an actor)

Katharine Hepburn (Long Day's Journey into Night, Philadelphia Story)

Jane Fonda (Klute)

Jimmy Stewart (Vertigo, Rear Window, Destry Rides Again, Philadelphia Story, I could go on)

Buster Keaton (The General and 10 others)

Anthony Hopkins (War and Peace, etc.)

Marlon Brando (On the Waterfront, etc.).

Dustin Hoffmann (The Graduate).

Interesting that 3 of my faves are in the Philadelphia Story.
yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST,Forum Lurker
Date: 09 May 03 - 01:29 PM

Cluin-That second list gave me chills. That anyone living could rate Schwarzenegger over Martin Sheen is the final proof of the decay of American aesthetics.

For our list, Ian McClellan must be on there, for talent and versatility. Day-Lewis is also incredible.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 09 May 03 - 01:28 PM

Jeez, I didn't know the "Poll" was a 'reader's poll'. That answers everything.

Peter, perhaps we should be glad that Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey didn't outrank Chaplin and Keaton.

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: GUEST,James
Date: 09 May 03 - 12:50 PM

My List..Guiness, David Niven, Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Judy Dench, Meryl Streep, Audrey Hepburn, Richard Burton, Maggie Smith, Greta Garbo,Katherine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy (yes, comedy counts)Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Jessica Tandy, Christopher Plummer, Paul Newman, Ida Lupino, Montgomery Clift, Harrison Ford,.......wll, I have probably forgotten some of my old faves. Great idea to make our own list

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 09 May 03 - 12:33 PM

Sorry, DD Lewis lost me as Chingatchgook.

Oh, by the way....Robin Williams made the list, but Pete Postlethwaite didn't. Did ya see "Sins of the Father"?

Cripes!! before he BECAME George C Scott, do you remember the acting in "The Hustler"? Piper, Paul, and Jackie didn't always have the best material, but they were strong in that.

Any chance of finding the actual list?

Ahhh shit let's make our OWN lists.

Hurt, Redgrave, Guinness, Oldman, Cobb are definitely in MY top twenty.

La Strada (dated, but....) Tunes Of Glory, Grapes of Wrath, The Dresser and 12 Angry Men. That's a darn good start...I could watch any of them again and again.

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Cluin
Date: 09 May 03 - 12:29 PM

Let's not forget that this is an online vote "popular" poll. It don't mean dick-all, really. If I'm a big fan of Arnold Swartzenegger and have nothing else to do, I can register several thousand votes for him in a weekend.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Cluin
Date: 09 May 03 - 12:25 PM

Here's another article with more info on the list. (Can't seem to find the actual whole list though...)

Or, for an even more disappointing top 100 (still in working form) list of actors, check out this one.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Peter T.
Date: 09 May 03 - 12:17 PM

Hard to believe this is from FilmFour or from Britain, for that matter. Goes to show that it really is the end of Western civilization.


For my money, the greatest actor alive today is Vanessa Redgrave (she is currently wowing them on Broadway in Long Day's Journey into Night, wish I could go); followed by Daniel Day-Lewis (sheer charisma and talent). But both are in films, so complaining about films is not the solution.


yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 May 03 - 12:02 PM

here's your blue clickie, darlin'

Subject: RE: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 May 03 - 11:56 AM

And what about Jimmy Stewart! Bette Davis?

Subject: BS: Greatest Actors, Harrison, Brad, MEL??!!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 09 May 03 - 11:53 AM

Allow me the indulgence of a trivial thread here, cuz' for the moment I can't think of an interesting "Thumb chord" or fascinating scale in open D tuning........and I'm sick of talking about 'Vegitarian song circles'.

A new BRITISH poll has come out listing the greatest 100 actors in history, and imagine my surprise when I perused the top 20.

Tom Hanks (a very believable and reliable actor) rates, but Laurence Olivier doesn't.

Harrison Ford, (pretty darn competent) Brad Pitt, (same) Steve McQueen, and CLINT EASTWOOD rate. John Gielgud, Ian Holm, Ralph Richardson, Ian MacKellan, Maggie Smith, and Vanessa Redgrave DON'T.

Doesn't look like there's any room for Albert Finney, Derek Jacobi, Glenda Jackson or even two stalwarts who's early work was very strong, Peter O'toole and Richard Burton.

And get this! Do you know who DOES rate as one of the 20 greatest actors of all time?

MEL!!!

He certainly was a competent and vibrant member of the Gallipoli troupe, but he's possibly one of the least convincing actors I've ever seen. I know that women find him irresistable, but surely that would put him in the "100 top hunks" list. He's a terribly wooden actor.

Anthony Hopkins gets a mention, but only because of his villainous turns in the "Hannibal Lector" films. I'll bet "A Doll's House" and "Remains of the day" required a lot more of his undeniable skill.

No mention of Alec Guinness!!! Jeez, did you see the guy in "Bridge on the River Kwai" and "Tunes of Glory"? You couldn't take your eyes off him...what a presence!

Tom Wilkinson? Nope. Henry Fonda (watch "Grapes of Wrath again")Nope. Marlon Brando (ok, maybe for just a few years, but rent "Streetcar" and "Waterfront"....and then "Last Tango". He wasn't coasting in those.) but nope. Lee J Cobb? Nope. Johhny Depp? (this guy is VERY good) nope. JOHN HURT?? Nope. BEN KINGSLY? (did you see 'Sexy Beast' where this skinny little guy transforms into the scariest villain in years?) GARY OLDMAN? (This guy is so good he can blend into any character you could imagine, and the movie's half over before you recognize him. Best American accent by a Brit too) Nope!

OK....Rant over. I'm told that there's also a Brit poll for the "100 greatest Films". "Raiders of the Lost Ark" makes the top twenty, but apparently "La Strada", "The Seventh Seal", "Twelve Angry Men", don't!

Could someone find this poll and do a blue clickie? I'll screw it up.

Cheers

Rick