best film: Malcolm X is a masterpiece. It’s different than David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia in some ways (lush 70mm exteriors, how much of the life is covered) but similar in others (aggressively stylistic from the auteur, tour-de-force from the lead). It’s Spike’s second best film (Do the Right Thing) and I’m pretty sure it’s the best film of 1992 but I oscillate between this and Unforgiven. Denzel’s second best film is either Philadelphia or He Got Game—I’ll get back to this in a second but this isn’t overwhelming for an actor this great so it’s crucial to Washington’s case that he has Malcolm X.
best performance: Malcolm X. There’s no debate here either. Denzel’s portrayal of Malcolm X is multiple performances in the same movie as it covers so many years in his life and different stages (criminal, prison, activist/leader). There’s plenty of debate to be had for Denzel’s second best performance or third best performance but this one is a walk-off. Strictly on the male side Hopkins gives a great performances in Silence of the Lambs, Pesci and Liotta in Goodfellas, and a few others—but I think you can make a strong case that Denzel gives the best male performance of the 1990’s.
stylistic innovations/traits: Denzel is an immensely talented actor. He has 17 movies in the archives, two Oscar wins and a total of 8 nominations. Occasionally he can slip inside a character (Cry Freedom) but by and large he’s a big figure with a commanding presence that doesn’t need range. His strengths are his work with Spike Lee and the depth of the solid tier 3 and 4 performances (Crimson Tide, Devil in a Blue Dress, Flight). His weakness is the quality of films (similar to some issues with Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole earlier on this list). He’s a solo artist and there’s one film, ONE, that has made the top 10 of its respective year. I feel like outside of his top two films with Spike and Philadelphia (which is all Hanks) mainly you can sum up the others by saying “he’s great but the overall film is just ________ (“good” or “so-so”).
directors worked with: Spike Lee (3) and this partnership is key, Norman Jewison (2), Demme (2), Edward Zwick (2) and then once with Ridley Scott and Robert Zemeckis
Top 5 Performances:
- Malcolm X
- He Got Game
- Glory
- Training Day
- American Gangster
Archiveable films
1984- A Soldier’s Story |
1987- Cry Freedom |
1989- Glory |
1992- Malcolm X |
1993- Much Ado About Nothing |
1993- Philadelphia |
1995- Crimson Tide |
1995- Devil In a Blue Dress |
1996- Courage Under Fire |
1998- He Got Game |
1999- The Hurricane |
2001- Training Day |
2004- The Manchurian Candidate |
2006- Inside Man |
2007- American Gangster |
2010- Unstoppable |
2012- Flight |
Excellent Post on Denzel Washington. I agree with everything . But, does solid tier 3 and 4 performances mean B grade performance ???…I dont think Flight is a B grade performance. 🙂
@Adam- thanks for the word on the post– and glad we’re not on the same. I can’t tell from your comment if you think I’m underrating or overrating Denzel’s work in Flight however
Do you consider Flight as Denzel’s Top 10 performance ?? Do you think he gives an excellent performance ???
@Adam- I think he’s good in it- yeah- Id have it around #9 or #10 if I ranked them beyond 5
You say Denzel’s second best film is Philadelphia, yet it doesn’t show up on his top performances. Do you seperate best performances from best films? I think he’s great in Philadelphia. He’s good in Glory as well.
Have you seen any movies directed by him? The Great Debators? It’s on TSDPT top 6000 21st century.
@Azman- Yes- I do separate best performances and best films. Sometimes they line up (De Niro- both Raging Bull) and sometimes they don’t (Brando- his best film is Apocalypse Now– but I have that as his fifth best performance). I have seen the films directed by Denzel. I have not been impressed with them- outside of the acting they feature. He should stick to acting.
Interesrting. You haven’t been impressed by any of them or are you generalising that based of his films?
Have you seen The Great Debaters?
@Azman- I have seen The Great Debaters, Fences and Antwone Fisher– the features directed by Denzel. They all have very fine acting of course- but I didn’t think any were worthy of the archives.
I think maybe only TGDebaters is archive worthy, but if you left it out, I don’t have any problems either. I agree, the acting is very good.
Also Drake what do you mean by: “Philadelphia is all Hanks”???
@Azman- Philadelphia is a much larger achievement for Hanks from an acting standpoint than anyone else in the cast.
Hmm. I don’t remember who had more screen time (Hanks or Washington). I know that Hanks had the main role and Washington was supporting, but sometimes the actor in the supporting role gets more screentime (Pacino in The Godfather for example).
Regardless, I do agree with you on this. I remember clearly that both my dad and I thought that Hanks blew Washington out of the park with his mammoth performance in Philadelphia. That’s not saying Denzel was bad in the movie; In fact I thought he was phenomenal in the movie as well, it’s just that his role was minor and Hanks played the main role so incredibly well.
I’m pretty certain that David Thewlis is the male performance of the decade (1990s). Where you’d rank him?