Best Performance of the 70's

[JefCostello]

My choice would be Marlon Brando's work in "Last Tango in Paris".

 

But there are certainly countless great performances in that decade to choose from.

 

 

 

 

[hamradio]

Linda Blair in "The Exorcist" for horror. She turned a lot of heads during the '70's

 

Jackie Gleason in "Smokey and The Bandit" for comedy.

 

Richard Dreyfus in "Close Encounters of The Third Kind" for sci-fi

 

John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever" for drama/musical.

[JefCostello]

I honestly didn't consider any of those performances. You're entitled to your opinion, though. The other people I was thinking of were:

 

George C. Scott for "Patton"

Al Pacino for "Dog Day Afternoon", "Serpico" and "Godfather Part II"

Jack Nicholson for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Chinatown"

Liv Ullman for "Face to Face"

Robert DeNiro for "Taxi Driver"

Klaus Kinski for "Aguirre Wrath of God"

Marlon Brando for "Godfather Part I"

[Swithin]

So many to sift through, but these certainly stand out:

 

Isabel Adjani in The Story of Adele H

 

Donald Sutherland in The Day of the Locust

 

Geraldine Page in Interiors

[hamradio]

Thanks for mentioning George C. Scott in "Patton", I forgot to mention him for war.

 

A worthy mention, Frederic Forrest, Kathleen Lloyd and John P. Ryan in the very low budget horror "It Lives Again" (1978). The acting (as well as the surreal music) saved this movie from being a flop for me.

 

Edited by: hamradio on Sep 27, 2012 10:08 PM

[Fedya]

The various actresses in *The Stepford Wives*.

[twinkeee]

MERYL STREEP in "Kramer vs. Kramer":)

[Sepiatone]

 

Actually Twinkee, I thought Dustin Hoffman's work in "Kramer" was heads above Streep's. But his turn in *Little Big Man* was his best, and better than many of the others mentioned.

 

 

Pacino's *Serpico* was also a grand effort.

 

 

And Frederic Forrest was one of those who was tragically underrated and little used. He's tremendous.

 

 

Sepiatone

 

 

[Dargo2]

Here's a vote for Ali MacGraw in Love Story

 

(...hey...comedy means "never having to say you're sorry", ya know!)

[Dargo2]

Okay, now that I've got my comedic little shot at Miss MacGraw out o' the way here, I'm gonna say my vote might actually go to Cloris Leachman in The Last Picture Show.

 

(...now SHE was brilliant in that...what a performance!)

[dpompper]

 

In no particular order:

 

 

{font:Times New Roman}Al Pacino in "Dog Day Afternoon"{font}

 

 

{font:Times New Roman} {font}{font:Times New Roman}Robert DeNiro in "Taxi Driver" and "The Deer Hunter"{font}

 

 

{font:Times New Roman} {font}{font:Times New Roman}Jack Nicholson in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"{font}

 

 

{font:Times New Roman} {font}{font:Times New Roman}Cloris Leachman in "The Last Picture Show"{font}

 

 

{font:Times New Roman} {font}{font:Times New Roman}Sigourney Weaver in "Alien"{font}

 

 

{font:Times New Roman} {font}{font:Times New Roman}Gene Wilder in "Young Frankenstein"{font}

 

 

{font:Times New Roman} {font}{font:Times New Roman}Steve McQueen in "Papillon"{font}

 

 

{font:Times New Roman} {font}{font:Times New Roman}Ellen Burstyn in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"{font}

 

 

{font:Times New Roman} {font}{font:Times New Roman}Gena Rowlands in "A Woman Under the Influence"{font}

 

 

{font:Times New Roman} {font}{font:Times New Roman}Jane Fonda in "Klute"{font}

 

 

{font:Times New Roman} {font}{font:Times New Roman}Sally Field in "Norma Rae"{font}

 

 

{font:Times New Roman} {font}

 

 

[JefCostello]

Good choices.

 

Now I feel like a sexist, because my honorable mentions were mostly male performances, except for LIv Ullmann.

 

 

[JefCostello]

Also, I should mention that to me, the best performance William Holden ever gave was in "Network".

 

So I'll add that to my honorable mentions.

[libradoll]

I would like to add:

 

{font:Verdana}Robert Redford, Paul Newman, The Sting - 1973 {font}

 

 

{font:Verdana}Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight Deliverance - 1972 {font}

 

 

{font:Verdana}Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, All the President's Men - 1976 {font}

 

 

{font:Verdana}Walter Matthau, George Burns, The Sunshine Boys - 1975 {font}

 

 

{font:Verdana}Robert Redford, Peter Boyle The Candidate - 1972 {font}

 

 

{font:Verdana}Robert Redford, Barbara Streisand, The Way We Were - 1973{font}

 

 

Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, The Goodbye Girl - 1977

Oh dear! A lot of Robert Redford. Didn't mean for it to come out that way. Oh well....

 

 

[skimpole]

Yves Montand, The Confession

Catherine Deneuve, Tristana

Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange

Juliet Berto, Out 1

Al Pacino, The Godfather (!!)

Liza Minnelli, Cabaret

Jean-Pierre Leaud, The Mother and the **** (!!)

Ana Torrent, The Spirit of the Beehive (!!)

Albert Finney, Murder on the Orient Express (!!)

Al Pacino, The Godftather, Part II

Jack Nicholson, Chinatown

Gene Hackman, The Conversation

Erland Josephson, Scenes from a Marriage

Dominique Labourier, Celine and Julie Go Boating (!!)

Liv UIlmann, Scenes from a Marriage

Gena Rowlands, A Woman Under the Influence

Michael Caine, The Man who Would Be King

Delphine Seyrig, Jeanne Dielman, 2300 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (!!)

Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver

Ana Torrent, Cria Cuervos

Woody Allen, Annie Hall

Diane Keaton, Annie Hall (!!)

Peter Ustinov, Death on the Nile*

Liv Ullmann, Autumn Sonata*

Peter Sellers, Being There

Sally Field, Norma Rae

 

 

[twinkeee]

 

Dargo2, Cloris Leachman was also "brilliant" in HIGH ANXIETY, as well as very very funny.

 

 

By the way it is also a 70s movie as it was made in 1977.

 

 

[RaquelVixen]

*The Who Live at the Isle of Wight in 1970.* *Or Live at Leeds.*

 

:^0

[MacCaulayConnor]

Jack Nicholson in "Chinatown" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

 

Jane Fonda in "Klute"

 

Robert DeNiro in "The Godfather II" and "Taxi Driver"

 

Marlon Brando in "The Godfather"

 

and there really are a LOT to choose from

[EugeniaH]

Maybe this wouldn't be considered "best", but certainly one of my favorites - Ruth Gordon in *Harold and Maude*. Abolutely delightful!

[CountessDracula]

Pacino in:

The Godfather

Serpico

The Godfather part 2

Dog Day Afternoon

 

Redford in :

The Candidate

All the Presidents Men

 

Hoffman in:

Kramer vs. Kramer

 

David Carradine in:

Bound for Glory

 

Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn in:

The Exorcist

 

Jack Lemmon:

The China Syndrome

 

Defnitely a lot of outstanding performances during that decade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lzcutter]

Performances that have stayed with me since seeing them on their original runs:

 

Al Pacino (a terrific run of films):

*The Godfather*

*The Godfather II*

*Dog Day Afternoon* (Attica! Attica!)

*Serpico*

*Scarecrow*

 

Marlon Brando:

*The Godfather*

 

Roy Scheider:

*Jaws*

*Marathon Man*

*All That Jazz*

 

Robert Shaw:

*Jaws*

*Swashbuckler*

 

Richard Dreyfuss:

*Jaws*

 

Jason Robards:

*All the President's Men*

*The Ballad of Cable Hogue*

 

Jack Nicholson:

*Chinatown*

*Five Easy Pieces*

*One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest*

 

Gene Hackman

*Night Moves*

*The Conversation*

*The French Connection*

*Young Frankenstein* (My name is Harold)

 

Oliver Reed:

*The Three Musketeers*

*The Four Musketeers* (absolutely heartbreaking)

 

Richard Jaeckel

*Sometimes a Great Notion* (for the big scene)

 

Robert Duvall:

*The Great Santini*

 

Peter Fonda

*The Hired Hand*

 

Dustin Hoffman:

*Little Big Man*

 

Sean Connery and Michael Caine:

*The Man Who Would Be King*

Sean Connery and Brian Keith:

*The Wind and the Lion*

 

Isaac Hayes:

*Shaft*

 

Warren Beatty and Julie Christie:

*McCabe and Mrs. Miller*

*Shampoo*

*Heaven Can Wait*

 

Paul Newman and Robert Redford:

*The Sting*

Robert Redford without Paul Newman:

*The Candidate*

*Three Days of the Condor*

Robert Redford with Barbra Streisand:

*The Way We Were*

 

Jill Clayburgh:

*An Unmarried Woman*

 

Gena Rowland:

*A Woman Under the Influence*

 

Richard Gere and Lisa Eichorn:

*Yanks*

 

Gene Wilder:

*Young Frankenstein*

and with Cleavon Little:

*Blazing Saddles*

 

Jane Fonda:

*Klute*

 

George C. Scott:

*Patton*

*They Might Be Giants*