Poor Julia is a bit under the weather too, snagging whatever it was Gabriel had. It's good to have her at home all day, that's for sure, though.
Soul Track of the Day:
"I Can't Stand the Rain," by Ann Peebles, from her 1974 album of the same name. It went to #6 on the R&B charts, #38 on the U.S. pop charts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5Rjo_imHDE
Peebles, a St. Louis native, was a critically-esteemed performer who released, with producer Willie Mitchell (who worked with Al Green on some of Green's classic albums around the same time), a string of well-regarded albums in the mid-1970s. Tina Turner, Little Feat's Lowell George, and Humble Pie, among others, have covered the song. Her "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" is pretty wonderful too.
R.I.P. Maurice Sendak. Where the Wild Things Are was my favorite book as a kid.
You know, hundreds of my readers come up to me every day and flood me with The Question. It plays out like this:
Avid Reader: Charles, what's the best performance you've ever seen?
Charles: Oh, wow. Good question. I can't really say.
Avid Reader: Oh, come on!
Charles" Okay, okay, settle down. Just back off. Now - okay, are we talking about the post-Brando Method Revolution?
Avid Reader: When was that?
Charles: Early 1950.
Avid Reader: Sure. Yeah, I don't wanna include silent film acting or anything like that. None of that early theatrical acting, you know?
Charles: Sure. So let's just say - what? The last 50 years? 40 years? Since 1970?
Avid Reader: Since 1970. No, since 1962. The last 50 years.
Charles: Got it. My very, very, very humble opinion about the 100 Must-See Performances of the last 50 years? Since 1962, we'll say?
Avid Reader: Yep. Give 'em to me.
Charles: Can we make it 200? I find that I always end up leaving folks out.
Avid Reader: Yep. Roll with it.
And here they are (in no order)
Let me say, however, that this was an extremely difficult list to make. For fairness' sake, I only included one performance apiece by an actor. Or else, the list would have, like, 10 Jack Nicholson perfs, 3 or 5 by Julianne Moore, Streep, DuVall, etc.:
- Gene Hackman, The Conversation (1974)
- Bill Murray, Lost in Translation (2003)
- Charlize Theron, Young Adult (2011)
- Sean Penn, Mystic River (2003)
- Susan Sarandon, Bull Durham (1988)
- Robert DuVall, The Apostle (1997)
- Vera Farmiga, Down to the Bone (2005)
- Melissa Leo, Frozen River (2008)
- Robert DeNiro, Taxi Driver (1976)
- Joe Pesci, Raging Bull (1980)
- Al Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
- Marlon Brando, The Godfather (1972)
- John Cazale, The Godfather Part II
- Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia (2009)
- Martin Landau, Ed Wood (1994)
- Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
- Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart (2009)
- Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds (2009)
- Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- Emma Thompson, Howards End (1992)
- Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah (2007)
- Javier Bardem, Before Night Falls (2000)
- Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler (2008)
- Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction (1987)
- Paul Newman, Nobody's Fool (1994)
- Jessica Tandy, Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
- Daniel Day-Lewis, My Left Foot (1989)
- Ralph Fiennes, Schindler's List (1993)
- Ben Kingsley, Gandhi (1982)
- Burt Lancaster, Atlantic City (1981)
- Kevin Spacey, L.A. Confidential (1997)
- Burt Reynolds, Boogie Nights (1997)
- Nick Nolte, Affliction (1998)
- Matt Damon, The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
- Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There (2007)
- George Clooney, Up in the Air (2009)
- Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder (2008)
- Annette Bening, The Kids are Alright (2010)
- Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive (2001)
- Dennis Hopper, Blue Velvet (1986)
- Jeremy Irons, Reversal of Fortune (1990)
- Kathy Bates, Misery (1990)
- Jack Nicholson, Chinatown (1974)
- Paul Scofield, The Crucible (1996)
- Michael Caine, The Quiet American (2002)
- Albert Finney, Under the Volcano (1984)
- Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction (1994)
- Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote (2005)
- Julianne Moore, Safe (1995)
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Catch Me if You Can (2002)
- F. Murray Abraham, Amadeus (1984)
- Colin Firth, The King's Speech (2010)
- Edward Norton, American History X (1998)
- Tom Hanks, Big (1988)
- Emily Watson, Breaking the Waves (1996)
- Frances McDormand, Fargo (1996)
- Christian Bale, American Psycho (2000)
- Michael Douglas, Wonder Boys (2000)
- Russell Crowe, The Insider (1999)
- Sissy Spacek, The Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
- Diane Lane, Unfaithful (2002)
- Nicole Kidman, To Die For (1995)
- Dianne Wiest, Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
- Judi Dench, Notes From a Scandal (2006)
- Sigourney Weaver, Aliens (1986)
- Geoffrey Rush, Quills (2000)
- Woody Allen, Annie Hall (1977)
- Diane Keaton, Shoot the Moon (1982)
- Jack Lemmon, Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
- Holly Hunter, The Piano (1993)
- Kate Winslet, The Reader (2008)
- Steve Carell, The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)
- Paul Rudd, I Love You, Man (2009)
- Anjelica Huston, The Grifters (1990)
- John Cusack, Say Anything (1989)
- Jack Black, School of Rock (2003)
- Donald Sutherland, Eye of the Needle (1981)
- Ed Harris, Pollock (2000)
- Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River (2003)
- Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart (2007)
- Julie Christie, Away From Her (2007)
- Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan (1998)
- Dwight Yoakam, Sling Blade (1996)
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sherrybaby (2006)
- Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson (2006)
- Morgan Freeman, Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
- Jeff Daniels, The Squid and the Whale (2005)
- Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me (2005)
- Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
- Paul Giamatti, Sideways (2004)
- William H. Macy, Fargo (1996)
- Gary Busey, The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
- Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter (2011)
- Michael Shannon, Take Shelter (2011)
- Brad Pitt, Moneyball (2011)
- Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine (2010)
- Sally Field, Norma Rae (1979)
- Michelle Pfeiffer, The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
- Kurt Russell, Miracle (2004)
- Helen Mirren, The Queen (2006)
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dirty Pretty Things (2003)
- Laura Dern, Inland Empire (2006)
- Christopher Plummer, Beginners (2011)
- Mo' Nique, Precious... (2009)
- Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker (2009)
- Natalie Portman, Black Swan (2010)
- Barbara Hershey, The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
- Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children (2006)
- Uma Thurman, Kill Bill Volumes 1-2 (2003-4)
- Clive Owen, Children of Men (2006)
- Dustin Hoffman, Midnight Cowboy (1979)
- Faye Dunaway, Chinatown (1974)
- John Travolta, Saturday Night Fever (1977)
- Amy Adams, Junebug (2005)
- Toni Collette, Japanese Story (2003)
- Hugh Grant, About a Boy (2002)
- Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener (2005)
- Woody Harrelson, The Messenger (2009)
- Joaquin Phoenix, Two Lovers (2009)
- Angela Bassett, Waiting to Exhale (1995)
- Jim Broadbent, Topsy-Turvy (1999)
- Louise Fletcher, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
- Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
- Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
- Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
- Sergei Lopez, Pan's Labryinth (2006)
- Peter O'Toole, Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- Albert Finney, Two for the Road (1967)
- Jessie Eisenberg, The Social Network (2010)
- Kevin Bacon, The Woodsman (2004)
- Benicio Del Toro, Traffic (2000)
- Renee Zellweger, Jerry Maguire (1996)
- Vincent D'Onofrio, The Whole Wide World (1996)
- Tom Cruise, Magnolia (1999)
- Clive Owen, Children of Men (2006)
- Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino (2008)
- Ulrich Muhe, The Lives of Others (2006)
- Vlad Ivanov, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
- Jane Fonda, Coming Home (1978)
- Jon Voight, Coming Home (1978)
- Robert Forster, Jackie Brown (1997)
- Debra Winger, Terms of Endearment (1983)
- Ian Holm, The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
- Tobey Maguire, Brothers (2009)
- Imelda Staunton, Vera Drake (2004)
- Bill Nighy, Love Actually (2003)
- Audrey Tautou, Amelie (2001)
- Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone (2010)
- Liam Neeson, Taken (2009)
- George C. Scott, Patton (1970)
- Richard Burton, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965)
- Elizabeth Taylor, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Freaky Friday (2003)
- Denzel Washington, The Hurricane (1999)
- Maggie Smith, Gosford Park (2001)
- Gena Rowlands, A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
- Robert Shaw, Jaws (1975)
- Mia Farrow, Rosemary's Baby (1968)
- Alan Arkin, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968)
- Cicely Tyson, Sounder (1972)
- Liv Ullmann, Scenes From a Marriage (1974)
- Greg Kinnear, Auto Focus (2002)
- Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long (2008)
- Columbus Short, Cadillac Records (2008)
- Courtney Love, The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
- Don Cheadle. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
- Jim Carrey, The Truman Show (1998)
- Colin Farrell, In Bruges (2008)
- William Hurt, Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
- Brendan Gleeson, The General (1998)
- Peter Sellers, Dr. Strangelove (1964)
- R. Lee Ermey, Full Metal Jacket (1987)
- Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange (1971)
- Emma Stone, Easy A (2010)
- Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids (2011)
- Matt Dillon, Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
- Danny Aiello, Do the Right Thing (1989)
- Viola Davis, Doubt (2008)
- Greta Gerwig, Greenberg (2010)
- Vanessa Redgrave, Julia (1977)
- Jennifer Garner, 13 Going on 30 (2004)
- Laurence Fishburne, What's Love Got to Do With It? (1993)
- Patricia Neal, Hud (1963)
- Philippe Noiret, Cinema Paradiso (1989)
- Henry Fonda, Once Upon a Time in the West (1969)
- Peter Saarsgard, Shattered Glass (12003)
- Johnny Depp, Ed Wood (1994)
- Adrien Brody, The Pianist (2002)
- Keira Knightley, Pride and Prejudice (2005)
- Lesley Manville, Another Year (2010)
- Chloe Sevigny, Boys Don't Cry (1999)
- Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby (2004)
- Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins (1964)
- Anne Bancroft, The Graduate (1967)
- Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy, Before Sunset (2004)
- Joanne Woodward, Rachel, Rachel (1968)
- Angela Lansbury, The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
- Klaus Kinski, Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972)
- Gunnar Bjornstrand, Winter Light (1963)
- Virginia Madsen, Sideways (2004)
Thanks for hanging in there. I might lean heavy towards more recent films, but that''s only because they are fresher in my mind....
I'm sure I've forgotten people, but, oh, well (sorry, Kevin Kline, Rod Steiger, Daniel Craig, Sean Connery, Christopher Walken, Bob Hoskins, Tilda Swinton...) This is as definitive list as I could think of on the spur of the moment. And hopefully it will serve as a tribute to how rich and fertile an era this has been for world film acting.
Our next photographer...
Peter Lindbergh (#34)
The Polish-born Lindbergh (b. 1944) apprenticed in Duiburg, Germany as a window dresser and then went on to study design and painting in Berlin and Krefeld. He began doing free-lance photography in 1973, built up his name in the 80s (after he had moved to Paris) working for almost every major photo outlet (Harper's Bazaar, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Vogue, Marie Claire, etc.) and is now of one of the most respected and influential fashion photographers in his field.
His style? Bleak locations, grainy/realistic black-and-white, naturalistic, unfussy subjects, simple clothes ("a stylist's nightmare," according to Tina Turner). All very minimalist.
His influences? Early German cinema, German dance of the 1920s. pictorialism. His idol is Vincent Van Gogh.
- If you know nothing of the work of actress Vera Farmiga, I suggest you catch up. I just caught her directorial debut, Higher Ground (2011), in which she also stars as a woman who has spent her whole life in a tight-knit Fundamentalist community. The film (adapted from Carolyn S. Briggs' memoir This Dark World) is a sensitive, sometimes funny account of a woman who begins to question the life she has found herself in. As usual, Farmiga herself (in a strong outing all around) is terrific.
Here are some other notable turns by this fantastic actress:
- 2005's Down to the Bone, as a mother in the throes of drug addiction; she was unfairly snubbed of an Oscar nod, probably because the film (directed by the woman whose Winter's Bone was definitely noticed by Oscar) had so little hype:
- 2006's The Departed, the sole woman amongst a testosterone-y cast as the police psychiatrist drawn to Leonardo DiCaprio 's informer.
- 2007's Joshua, in which she was harrowing as a mother having a movie-long nervous postpartum breakdown; it didn't help that her kid was an evil, unholy, Damien-like child.
- 2008's The Boy in the Plastic Pajamas, in which she was miscast but effective as the German wife of a Nazi camp commander (David Thewlis) whose son is curious about a uniformed boy on the other side of the fence
- 2008's underrated, razor-sharp Nothing But the Truth in which she played the Valerie Plame-inspired role in director Rod Lurie's tense, fair, absorbing recounting of the Judith Miller affair; the whole ensemble was superb, from Kate Beckinsale to Matt Dillon to Alan Alda.
- 2009's Orphan in which, once again, she played the mother of a homicidal, crazed child. The movie was fun, gory, goofy, but I think she has dipped into this well once too often.
- 2009's Up in the air where she earned a well-deserved Oscar nod as a businesswoman who has a fling with George Clooney's similarly-lifestyled bachelor. The sparks between her and Clooney are tangible, crackly. She is romantic, funny; the ending does come as a shock.
Other notable films (some of which might not be worth your time) include 2011's Source Code, this year's Safe House (with Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds), 2006's awful Running Scared, The Manchurian Candidate, and Autumn in New York.
She seems to be an actress who can do just about anything, is what I'm saying.
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| Higher Ground |
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| Up in the Air |
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