Just a little article on 10 performances in 'big' pictures I feel should be given a LOT more attention than they are.
10. John Cazale in 'The Godfather Part II'
The only reason I put him so low is (1) the Academy has already been ravaged enough for this particular snub (2) everyone's complained so much about this oversight that it's not really overlooked anymore. Nevertheless...poor show, Academy. Poor show.
9. Yūnosuke Itō and Mika Odagiri in 'Ikiru'
Now these are helluva set of underrated performances. Takashi Shimura's performance is amazing, no doubt, as is Kurosowa's direction, but this incredibly quiet masterpiece woudl have not nearly worked as well as it does without occasional flashes of more overt emotions. Itō and Odagiri are simply sublime as two companions of Shimura's Kanji Watanabe, respectively reflecting pained sympathy and joyous revitilization they bring to the poor man's life. They both have limited characters but also give incredibly strong, moving performances.
8. Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People
I'm not sure whether this was a case of deliberate underrating, or just incidental oversight. I rather like 'Ordinary People' but I must confess, each and every time I watch it I begin to see it more clearly for what it is: a very simple, quiet little suburban drama, with some very good, nominated performances and one great unnominated one. Each re-watch just proves to me that the real emotional resonance I get each time from this film comes from Donald Sutherland. First time you watch the film, you might barely even notice him amidst the histrionics of Hutton and Moore--but slowly, as you begin to study how he gradually unpeels the layers of his deceptively simple role, you realise, god he's good, and my he should have gotten that Oscar nomination (and if not for John Hurt in 'The Elephant Man', I'd give him the win without second thought). P.S. GET DONALD SUTHERLAND AN OSCAR
7. Celia Johnson in 'In Which We Serve'
I chose this performance out of all of Johnson's because I feel it is by far the most underpraised. 'In Which We Serve' did quite well at the Oscars actually, but received no acting nominations. And indeed, it didn't really warrant any outside of Johnson's beautiful performance which makes so much out of very little and makes, for me, the usual 'boring' scenes in a war film, the most compelling with her moving portrait of a lady who's given her husband away to the war effort.
6. Pat O'Brien in 'Angels with Dirty Faces'
Cagney is great in 'Angels with Dirty Faces' no doubt, he's one of my top 10 leading male performances ever, but I feel Pat O'Brien's performance as the 'good priest' who's lifelong friends with Cagney's 'bad criminal' is criminally overlooked. He wasn't nominated for an Oscar, and boy did the Academy make a mistake there, for without O'Brien's wonderful work in helping Cagney mould both sides of his character's moral dilemma, as well as crafting for himself a portrait of a genuinely good man who's simply trying his best to help his buddy.
5. William Holden in 'Bridge on the River Kwai'
Alec Guinness and Sessue Hakayawa got the Oscar nominations, and very rightly so.William Holden however, was not--and how wrong the awards organisations were to completely snub Holden, for her really does give a performance for the ages. He carries the film when Guinness and Hakayawa aren't around and makes the subplot of the Allies destroying the bridge really resonate. I don't think Holden nearly gets enough credit for carrying these portions of the film on his back when they could've easily been rendered superfluous, and it's that gradual progression from cynicism to a determination to do right that really makes the ending of the film work.
4. Veronica Cartwright in 'Alien'
The whole cast of 'Alien' is great really, but every time I re-watch it, Veronica Cartwright has been the highlight for me. No one else can quite scream and tremble with fear like she does, and the viscreal impact she brings to her (truth be told) rather thin character is just amazing. I will say that though Sigourney Weaver's performance in 'Aliens' was completely worthy of that Oscar nom, so was Cartwright's work here. Shame the Academy have to be so stuffy sometimes.
3. Anthony Quayle in 'Lawrence of Arabia'
'Lawrence of Arabia' has a great ensemble, and out of it Omar Sharif is particularly exceptional as Ali (and fully deserving of his nomination, and really he should've won), and Claude Rains and Alec Guinness too would've been fully deserving of nominations in a very competitive year. My favourite performance out of the supporting cast bar Sharif, however, has to be Quayle, who wonderfully creates the stiff persona of the British soldier only to gradually bring it down to earth and finally, transition into the most sympathetic and consequently, heartrending character in the film. I cannot stress enough how underrated this performance is; watch 'Lawrence' again, and marvel at it.
2. Trevor Howard in 'The Third Man'
You can see my extended thoughts on the Head-to-Head with him and Richard Burton for 'Brief Encounter', but I feel with all the praise given to Graham Greene, Carol Reed, Orson Welles, that several crucial aspects to 'The Third Man''s brilliance are often overlooked. Joseph Cotten's inspired deconstruction of the All-American private eye, of course, but also Howard's amazing performance that turns an expositionary figure into a fascinating enigma; a sometimes cold, even callous figure who ends up being the moral centre of the story.
8. Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People
I'm not sure whether this was a case of deliberate underrating, or just incidental oversight. I rather like 'Ordinary People' but I must confess, each and every time I watch it I begin to see it more clearly for what it is: a very simple, quiet little suburban drama, with some very good, nominated performances and one great unnominated one. Each re-watch just proves to me that the real emotional resonance I get each time from this film comes from Donald Sutherland. First time you watch the film, you might barely even notice him amidst the histrionics of Hutton and Moore--but slowly, as you begin to study how he gradually unpeels the layers of his deceptively simple role, you realise, god he's good, and my he should have gotten that Oscar nomination (and if not for John Hurt in 'The Elephant Man', I'd give him the win without second thought). P.S. GET DONALD SUTHERLAND AN OSCAR
7. Celia Johnson in 'In Which We Serve'
I chose this performance out of all of Johnson's because I feel it is by far the most underpraised. 'In Which We Serve' did quite well at the Oscars actually, but received no acting nominations. And indeed, it didn't really warrant any outside of Johnson's beautiful performance which makes so much out of very little and makes, for me, the usual 'boring' scenes in a war film, the most compelling with her moving portrait of a lady who's given her husband away to the war effort.
6. Pat O'Brien in 'Angels with Dirty Faces'
Cagney is great in 'Angels with Dirty Faces' no doubt, he's one of my top 10 leading male performances ever, but I feel Pat O'Brien's performance as the 'good priest' who's lifelong friends with Cagney's 'bad criminal' is criminally overlooked. He wasn't nominated for an Oscar, and boy did the Academy make a mistake there, for without O'Brien's wonderful work in helping Cagney mould both sides of his character's moral dilemma, as well as crafting for himself a portrait of a genuinely good man who's simply trying his best to help his buddy.
5. William Holden in 'Bridge on the River Kwai'
Alec Guinness and Sessue Hakayawa got the Oscar nominations, and very rightly so.William Holden however, was not--and how wrong the awards organisations were to completely snub Holden, for her really does give a performance for the ages. He carries the film when Guinness and Hakayawa aren't around and makes the subplot of the Allies destroying the bridge really resonate. I don't think Holden nearly gets enough credit for carrying these portions of the film on his back when they could've easily been rendered superfluous, and it's that gradual progression from cynicism to a determination to do right that really makes the ending of the film work.
4. Veronica Cartwright in 'Alien'
The whole cast of 'Alien' is great really, but every time I re-watch it, Veronica Cartwright has been the highlight for me. No one else can quite scream and tremble with fear like she does, and the viscreal impact she brings to her (truth be told) rather thin character is just amazing. I will say that though Sigourney Weaver's performance in 'Aliens' was completely worthy of that Oscar nom, so was Cartwright's work here. Shame the Academy have to be so stuffy sometimes.
3. Anthony Quayle in 'Lawrence of Arabia'
'Lawrence of Arabia' has a great ensemble, and out of it Omar Sharif is particularly exceptional as Ali (and fully deserving of his nomination, and really he should've won), and Claude Rains and Alec Guinness too would've been fully deserving of nominations in a very competitive year. My favourite performance out of the supporting cast bar Sharif, however, has to be Quayle, who wonderfully creates the stiff persona of the British soldier only to gradually bring it down to earth and finally, transition into the most sympathetic and consequently, heartrending character in the film. I cannot stress enough how underrated this performance is; watch 'Lawrence' again, and marvel at it.
2. Trevor Howard in 'The Third Man'
You can see my extended thoughts on the Head-to-Head with him and Richard Burton for 'Brief Encounter', but I feel with all the praise given to Graham Greene, Carol Reed, Orson Welles, that several crucial aspects to 'The Third Man''s brilliance are often overlooked. Joseph Cotten's inspired deconstruction of the All-American private eye, of course, but also Howard's amazing performance that turns an expositionary figure into a fascinating enigma; a sometimes cold, even callous figure who ends up being the moral centre of the story.
1. Robert Duvall in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'
I love, love, love this film and I love, love, love this performance but I can see why it's been overlooked. It's a short performance. It's entirely silent. His screentime doesn't even really focus on him. But it's just that Boo Radley, who's been built up as this mysterious figure throughout the film, is just so transcedent in Mr Duvall's hands that in my opinion, he steals the film away from everyone in his brief time onscreen. The marvellous Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Philip Alford, Brock Peters...they're all great, but it's Duvall who really carries forth the final emotional impact of 'To Kill a Mockingbird', and is so often neglected as the crux of its success.
I love, love, love this film and I love, love, love this performance but I can see why it's been overlooked. It's a short performance. It's entirely silent. His screentime doesn't even really focus on him. But it's just that Boo Radley, who's been built up as this mysterious figure throughout the film, is just so transcedent in Mr Duvall's hands that in my opinion, he steals the film away from everyone in his brief time onscreen. The marvellous Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Philip Alford, Brock Peters...they're all great, but it's Duvall who really carries forth the final emotional impact of 'To Kill a Mockingbird', and is so often neglected as the crux of its success.
Photo credits:
andsoitbeginsfilms.com
andsoitbeginsfilms.com
flickr.com
supertran.net
flickchart.com
actorblogspot.co.uk
savetheapptheatre.com
avelyman.com
denofgeek.com
allposters.com
supertran.net
flickchart.com
actorblogspot.co.uk
savetheapptheatre.com
avelyman.com
denofgeek.com
allposters.com
Great list.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I thought of putting your all-time favourite supporting performance, Robert Shaw in 'Jaws' down, but though I absolutely adore that performance too, I didn't put it down because:
ReplyDelete(1) No one else from Jaws was nominated (I wouldn't have put Cartwright in if Weaver hadn't been nominated for 'Aliens', instead I would've probably placed say, Wendy Hiller/Anne Bancroft in 'The Elephant Man', Judy Davis in 'Barton Fink', or Tilda Swinton in 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' in her place)
(2) 'Jaws' being snubbed as a whole is usually what I would bring into the conversation, since though it was nominated for Best Picture and won in several technical categories, it really should've been nominated for its direction and script as well.