# Top 10 Performance of the 70s?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 31, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808 "2019-03-31T14:29:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/1 "2019-03-31T14:29:23Z")
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)
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### Author:  [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/2 "2019-03-31T14:47:08Z")
Allman Brothers (Fillmore East)
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### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/3 "2019-03-31T14:49:52Z")
The Band & friends, _The Last Waltz_
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/4 "2019-03-31T15:28:01Z")
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_
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### Author:  [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/5 "2019-03-31T15:39:42Z")
“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”
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### Author:  [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/6 "2019-03-31T15:41:21Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/7 "2019-03-31T15:45:08Z")
I’d also like to nominate Robert Shaw’s peformance in _Jaws_ as one of my favorites as well.
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/8 "2019-03-31T15:47:43Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/9 "2019-03-31T15:50:39Z")
You guys just named my favorite Supporting Actors — John Cazale and Robert Shaw
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### Author:  [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/10 "2019-03-31T18:03:37Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#):
>
> 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.
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.
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### Author:  [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/11 "2019-03-31T20:10:49Z")
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)
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/12 "2019-03-31T20:17:31Z")
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**
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### Author:  [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2019, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/13 "2019-04-01T00:04:35Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#):
>
> “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’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
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### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/14 "2019-04-01T00:44:11Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2019, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/15 "2019-04-01T00:50:34Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#):
>
> Allman Brothers (Fillmore East)
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.😃
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### Author:  [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/16 "2019-04-02T20:18:15Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#):
>
> 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
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?”
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### Author:  [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-performance-of-the-70s/831808/17 "2019-04-03T14:02:25Z")
Jane Fonda, _Klute_
Elliott Gould, _The Long Goodbye_
Shelley Duvall, _3 Women_