Best of the Best
As my love for movies grows, so does my admiration for actors. It's fairly easy to look back and pick out the best from the past... Stewart, Hepburns, Bogart...but who is the best of our time? Make your case.
posted by Wicked Little Critta at 6:28 PM
18 Comments:
I think when people from 2050 or so look back at our era, they'll hail Tom Hanks as one of our greatest.
He's equally comfortable in comedy or drama. He's been nominated for 5 best actor Oscars and won two. He's been nominated for six Golden Globes and won four. And he's one of a few actors that can carry a movie all by himself--see Cast Away.
He's probably the James Stewart of our generation: effortless charisma; likable, but capable of playing both good and evil; attractive enough without being a stunner. And he gets my vote as the standout actor of the last 15 years.
Can I get a more specific definition of "our time"? Like, who's been prolific in the last ten years or so?
Ummm, I didn't really have a specific time frame in mind. I guess 90s until today. But feel free to comment about other eras as well...
i don't think there is actually an objective "best," but one of my favorites is Leonardo DiCaprio. he has played a Shakespearian hero, a retard, a millionaire, and a French king, and he executes all of them with a fluidity and immersion that is pretty rare. a lot of people think he's just a pretty face, but i don't understand where that comes from. he has worked with some of the biggest directors multiple times (Speilberg, Allen, Scorcese), and has only acted in one "girl" movie (Titanic). DW mentioned Tom Hanks, and he's right to, but let me point out that Leo starred in a film with Tom and OUTPERFORMED him. that should be all the evidence that you need.
In my case (and you'll have to bear with me as I'm 10+ years older than you lot) there can be only one:
Harrison Ford first captured my imagination as the best space pilot ever (who else could navigate an asteroid field) and as the educated professor that would not be afraid to get his knuckles scratched while fighting evil to the death (Indiana Jones).
He was also involved in some serious films of high quality, too: Blade Runner (my all time favorite film) and Witness.
While he hasn't been doing well over the last few years and while his performances never received any official acknowledgement, I will happily dismiss that with a "so what" comment. The guy's my childhood hero; there's not that much out there that can compete with that.
a very good childhood hero to have, Moshe. Harrison Ford ranks up there with Tom and Leo, in my opinion. with him, it's the fact that he can be so masculine, and yet not vulgar or offensive. he's a man's man and a woman's man. John Wayne and Russell Crowe are like that, too.
and btw, we have familiarity with actors beyond our lifetime. we've all seen (and loved) the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies. well, most of the Star Wars movies, anyway...
Really? Are we all OK with mentioning Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, and Leonardo DiCaprio in the same breath?
I haven't yet seen The Departed or Blood Diamond, so maybe he's had his apotheosis without me noticing. And I'm not saying he's not good or underrated, but this is really rarefied air up here in the "Best of the Best" discussion, and, in my estimation, Leo has not yet ascended to such lofty heights.
And I'll have to go back and re-watch Catch Me If You Can, but I'm not yet willing to concede that he was better than Tom Hanks in that movie.
IMO, Tom Hanks is a bit like...vanilla.
To me, vanilla is a flavor that goes with just about anything. Versatile, complementary, and classic.
However, there's nothing that jumps out about vanilla. I know you're pulling out your hair as I write this, Dr. Worm, as you have vigilantly come to the defense of vanilla in the past. But really, Tom Hanks doesn't grab me. He's good, he's talented, he's versatile, but I don't think he has the same charisma as say, James Stewart. I find Hanks a bit predictable, and even boring at times.
Leo? Ummm, I dunno. Don't get me wrong, I think he's great. But he's not very polished, at least, not as polished as others. I don't have much else to say about him.
And I'll admit that I love Harrison Ford. I see him as becoming more of an icon of an era, rather than one of the "greats." Does that make sense? I guess I see him similar to how PM describes, but I haven't seen him out of his standard action/humor element.
Now, what do I think?
First of all, I'll give a shout out to my females and nominate Meryl Streep. Tell me she's not stellar at anything she does.
And what about Christian Bale? He is quickly building up his acting resume, and doing a pretty good job. I see some great potential for him, though he's not as established as Hanks or Streep.
i think the reason you don't think of Leo as a "great actor" is because in almost every role he's in, there are other actors in the film that perform better. in Gangs of New York, it was Daniel Day-Lewis. in Romeo + Juliet, it was John Leguizamo. in The Departed, it was Jack Nicholson. and even in the unseen-by-me Blood Diamond, presumably it was Djaimon Hansoo. his talent is constantly overshadowed.
and to mention a female, i have to give a shout-out to Annette Benning. she was absolutely flooring in American Beauty, and she has the ability to shape and mold the atmosphere of a room to match her whims. stellar.
Particle Man, whether you realize it or not, you just shot your argument in the face.
How can Leo be "best of the best" if he's consistently overshadowed by his co-stars? How is he the best of his era if he's not even the best of the movies he's in?
Again, just so we're clear, we agree that he's underrated. And we agree that he's good. He's just not "best of the best."
With Meryl Streep, I haven't seen her in a ton of things, but you're right that she's consistently stellar.
Christian Bale has jumped from solid to stellar with Batman Begins and The Prestige. If he can keep it up, he'll definitely deserve mention in this category.
I've actually only seen Annette Bening in American Beauty, but she was excellent in that. Though she was overshadowed by Kevin Spacey.
I think it's the first time I'm doing this, but I am about to side with WLC and oppose DW on the Tom Hanks issue. I couldn’t find the right way to express my problem with Hanks until WLC's vanilla came along.
Don't get me wrong: he's a great actor. But he never truly managed to captivate me, other than perhaps in Big which I saw in my early teens - at time when pretty much everything would captivate me.
In my view, Hanks represents a lot of what is wrong with American cinema: the manufactured political correctness / happy ending thing.
Now I'm not saying Harrison Ford is immune from those issues or from others; but Harrison Ford played in some films that are probably the most deeply embedded films in our culture today, something Hanks comes close to (with Forrest Gump) but De Caprio is light years away from. Sure, Titanic was a big hit, but he made too many eccentric films since.
You can argue that being involved in a particular film that turns out to be the event of the century is not an indicator for good acting skills, and you'll be right, but I don't think history would care.
As for female actresses: I can offer a few names, but none is really up there at the same level as the big male actors.
I think that problem in coming up with proper female suggestions is evidence of Hollywood being (and I'll be PC for a change) somewhat less than as accommodating as it should.
DW, i never called Leo as one of the "best of the best," even though that is what this thread is actually about. i merely said he was one of my favorites. i also said that i don't think there can actually be a "best of the best," at least not in the completely objective sense. i didn't "shoot my argument in the face," as you say, because my argument was simply that Leo is a very good actor. i don't need an argument for that he's one of my favorites. as for whether or not moviegoers in 2050 will look back at Leo and hail him, i don't think they will with him in his present state; but they might hail the state i think he'll be in in about 5 to 10 years.
Well, Particle Man, that makes much more sense.
I'm pretty sure the rest of us thought you were presenting him as one of the "best of the best" and one we'll hail when we look back 50 years from now, not just as one of you favorites. I'm sure you can understand why we thought that.
I had to think about this for a long time, but I can finally chime in. First of all, I don't think Tom Hanks has turned in a single performance of merit since Philadelphia. I think he's quite possibly the most overrated actor fo all time. I also disagree with DW about his ability to play an evil character: as of yet, I haven't seen anything he's done that would lead me to think he's capable of that. After much thought, I think the greatest actor of the last 15 or so years is Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He steals pretty much everything he's in, I always believe him, and he's unafraid of getting drunk and ugly. Other runner-ups are Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Judi Dench, Anthony Hopkins, and Kevin Spacey. Eric Bana, Johnny Depp, and Tom Cruise (if he doesn't lose his mind first.....) show vast potential, but haven't quite elevated themselves to the A+ list yet.
i can, though i thought my caveat of "no best" would have cleared that up.
and michael c (YRF?), i'm totally with you on Phillip Seymour Hoffman. i haven't seen a whole bunch with him in it, and what i have seen, he's usually in a pretty small role (Boogie Nights, Magnolia). though i've seen Capote, and that alone is almost reason enough to put him in the "best" category.
good choices, hession, but i'm irritated at your tendency to make statements without reasons. i don't disagree, but WHY Al Pacino? WHY Matt Damon? WHY Dakota Fanning?
Hmmm... Dakota Fanning. She is definitely unlike any child actor/actress I've ever seen but she annoys me a little. Her acting seems a little dry to me at times however I think she does have potential.
Meryl Streep? I DEFINITELY agree with WLC on that one. She has been amazing in just about every movie I've seen her in and I love how she molds herself to fit whatever part she plays... and her performances are always well worth remembering.
As for male actors... I don't know if I would put him in the best of the best category but I think he is definitely well worth mentioning as he is becoming one of my favorite actors.. Johnny Depp (did I spell that right?).
I have enjoyed some of the unique roles which he's played and he frequently delivers a memorable performance.
Dakota Fanning, believe it or not, is the most profitable actress working today. Everything she's been in has uncannily grossed a lot of money. And she is pretty good, despite being an American child actress.
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