The 23rd Best Actress of All-Time: Deborah Kerr
best film: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. I’m anxious to see if this stays above the other Powell and Pressburger films on my ranking (I have it slightly above films like Kerr’s Black
The 24th Best Actress of All-Time: Frances McDormand
best film: Fargo Is currently my #1 ranked Coen brothers film and they are arguably the greatest auteurs in the world since their debut in 1984 (also McDormand’s debut) nearly 35 years ago. So, this
The 25th Best Actress of All-Time: Elizabeth Taylor
best film: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? Is a weakness as it’s not one I ever think about for my top 100 films of all-time and we’re now into the top 25 actresses on this
You Were Never Really Here – 2017 Ramsay
Ramsay, in her last three efforts (I’ve seen Ratcatcher and plan to again soon but it’s been forever) here now has a dedication to an aesthetic I truly appreciate. In this, Morvern Callar, We Need
Erin Brockovich – 2000 Soderbergh
A very strong film for the class action-lawsuit legal/drama subgenre Much more of a triumph for Julia Roberts (her Oscar--- in a year with Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream among others) than for
Pan’s Labyrinth – 2006 del Toro
It is eerily similar to The Shape of Water- the mark of an auteur- tragically sad, a meditation on escapism The performances are great—Maribel Verdu from Y Tu Mama Tambien- Sergi Lopez as Vidal “You
The 26th Best Actress of All-Time: Jane Fonda
best film: Klute. I adore Klute but this is Fonda’s weakness for sure. She was in a half dozen great films and she’s excellent in 10 of them (Klute being the best in both category
The 27th Best Actress of All-Time: Maria Falconetti
best film: The Passion of Joan of Arc is one of the seminal films of the cinema art form. Dreyer’s silent masterpiece, for many, is the zenith of editing, sparse mise-en-scene, and yes—screen acting. It’s
The 28th Best Actress of All-Time: Gena Rowlands
best film: A Woman Under the Influence is Cassavetes best work and Rowlands clear #1 best film here. Faces comes in second and was the beginning of Cassavetes one-man (for a time) American Independent art
Victim – 1961 Dearden
An intelligent and engaging take on both social issues and the crime genre This could change as I get my hands on some of his 50’s films (particularly those with Losey) but for now this
Late Spring – 1949 Ozu
Currently (2018) ranked #73 on TSPDT. I’m not there but this is my second viewing (first in 10 years) and a revelation—it’s the first film of Ozu’s I think you could argue is a masterpiece
The 29th Best Actress of All-Time: Anna Magnani
best film: Rome, Open City. Realism has always been around since the beginning of narrative cinema- some thirty years or so prior to Rossellini’s masterpiece- but the WWII Italian Neo-Realism is/was a real art movement