Gena Rowlands (A Woman Under The Influence)
Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest)
Art Carney (Harry and Tonto)
Marlon Brando (The Godfather)
Stacy Keach (Fat City)
Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange)
Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver)
Peter Finch (Network)
Ruth Gordon (Harold and Maude)
Marlon Brando (Last Tango In Paris)
Allman Brothers (Fillmore East)
The Band & friends, The Last Waltz
Pacino was better than Brando in The Godfather.
Some other great performances:
Warren Beatty in McCabe and Mrs Miller
Peter Boyle in Joe
Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Bruce Dern in Coming Home
Gene Hackman in The Conversation
Jack Lemmon in Save the Tiger
Walter Matthau in A New Leaf
Liza Minelli in Cabaret
Roy Scheider in All That Jazz
George C. Scott in Patton
Peter Sellers in Being There
John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever
Sigourney Weaver in Alien
Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
“McCabe and Mrs. Miller” is one of my favorite movies… Pacino had some very good performances in the 70s… Gene Hackman “The Conversation” was a great one, too… Steve McQueen in “Pappillon”
I give a special place on the list for John Cazale for his work in The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter.
I’d must the work of all the actors in The Godfather was exceptional and I could honestly see just about any of the main principals being on the list–Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, John Cazale, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and James Caan.
I’d also like to nominate Robert Shaw’s peformance in Jaws as one of my favorites as well.
IMHO, the reason Sylvester Stallone got an Oscar nomination instead of a win is the extent to which folks thought — then, and for decades since — that he pretty much just is the guy who’s clearly taken a few too many hits to the head. And it’s easy to slip into thinking like that, since he really was that convincing.
You guys just named my favorite Supporting Actors — John Cazale and Robert Shaw
In defense of Stallone, I thought his performance as John Rambo in First Blood was great(though it wouldn’t qualify for this list because the movie was released in 1982.) The sequels turned the character into a farce(or parody?) of an action star though.
George C. Scott in Patton (1970) (or The Hospital - 1971)
The Rolling Stones in Gimme Shelter (1970)
Haruo Nakajima in Space Amoeba (1970) – as Kameba (giant sea tortoise) AND Gezora (giant rampaging squid!)
Kenpachirô Satsuma in Godzilla Vs. Hedorah (Godzilla v. The Smog Monster – Satsuma played the latter) (1971)
Tuesday Weld in Play it as It Lays (1972)
Bruce Lee & John Saxon in Enter the Dragon (1973)
Jack Nicholson in Chinatown (1974)
Led Zeppelin in The Song Remains the Same (1976)
Carroll Baker in Andy Warhol’s Bad (1977)
Gordon Liu in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
Tatsuya Nakadai in Bandits Vs. Samurai Squadron (1978)
Geraldine Chaplin in* Remember My Name* (1978)
David Bennett in *The Tin Drum *(1979)
SUPPORTING ROLES
Fernando Rey in* The French Connection I & II (1971 & 1975)
Valerie Perrine in Slaughterhouse Five (1972)
John Cassavetes in The Fury (1978) – especially at the end when he explodes
Reggie Nalder in Salem’s Lot* (1979 TV movie)
Jack Nicholson, Chinatown
Jack Nicholson, The Last Detail
Jack Nicholson, Cuckoo’s Nest
Louise Fletcher, Cuckoo’s Nest
Sigourney Weaver, Alien
Gene Hackman, The French Connection
Robert de Niro, Taxi Driver
Harrison Ford, Star Wars
I’ve watched McCabe twice and didn’t love it. So many do. Maybe I just wasn’t in the frame of mind for it, will have to try again
The unstated assumption is movie performances. Post 2 from Dag Otto cited a rock music performance. That’s why I posted a movie of a rock concert to make sure I got the bases covered.
Came in to say this, saw the OP was about movies, and was disappointed that I wasn’t going to get to say it.
Then, obviously, I saw that you did it anyway.
My 2nd viewing was a lot better. I’ve noticed this with Altman movies. With “McCabe…” you have a lot going on at once, not just the overlapping dialogue, but the different things happening (non-visuals) simultaneously… I hope you do watch it again. I think its one of the best ordinary stories that tells symbolically of our system. Similar to a movie made two years before, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”
Jane Fonda, Klute
Elliott Gould, The Long Goodbye
Shelley Duvall, 3 Women