Saturday, March 21, 2009

Best Biopic Performances

You know I don't love people playing real roles. Like my good friend Ricky says, "You can't sum up a persons life in two hours." But they can be great. Let's list off some of the best, in no particular order (although if it's listed high chances are I thought of it quickest).
1. George C. Scott as Gen. George S. Patton in "Patton"...quite simply one of the most quotable, memorable biopic performances, heck, performances period. He's so badass it's ridiculous.
2. Christopher Plummer as Mike Wallace in "The Insider"...He's in it for like, 20 minutes, and he's amazing. You get the impression Mike Wallace was exactly like that. Try to convince me his blowup at Gina Gershon is not one of the most intense things you've ever seen.
3. Bruno Ganz as Adolph Hitler in "Downfall"...we all have an impression of how crazy Hitler was. Nobody likes him. Yet Ganz does an amazing portrayal of a man at his end, cornered and losing his grip. Like Christopher Plummer, try to convince me his blowup is not one of the most intense things you've ever seen.
4. F. Murray Abraham as Atonio Sallieri in "Amadeus"...Amadeus rules. And Abraham does such a great job, granted it's not necessarily accurate. He plays Sallieri as a forgotten man. You really the idea, too.
5. Paul Newman and Robert Redford as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid"...just plain, straight up entertainment. Is there a better outlaw duo ever? Heck, Newman and Redford should have been credited as one entity: Newford or or or Redman....yeaaaa.....
6. Eric Bana as Mark 'Chopper' Reed in "Chopper"...just watch it and you'll understand why it's on this list.
7. Denzel Washington as Ruben 'Hurricane' Carter in "The Hurricane"...arguably his best performance. Like many on this list, there are a few scenes which just make your skin tingle. Carter in solitary confinement battling his demons. As if the Hurricane and Ruben Carter are two different people fighting for control of the same body. Awesome stuff.
8. Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown in "My Left Foot"...never even seen it. All I know is he uses his left foot for everything. I mean, shoot man, who the hell can keep their concentration that long? He's method, too. Did he do it the whole filming process?
6. Muhammad Ali as Muhammad Ali in "When We Were Kings"- How amazing is it that an actor with the exact same name as Muhammad Ali ends up playing him in one of the best sports flicks ever? HAHAHA, good stuff eh?..........what? That was the real Muhammad Ali? Oh....BOOYA!

1 comment:

  1. Daniel's so method, he probably took certain medication to paralyze all but the left side of his body for the whole filming. Patton=greatest portrayal of an American military figure ever. Hell, it might be the greatest portrayal of any military figure ever.

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