What Makes a Great Performance? 

Please never stop making these videos. Because of you I got introduced to a lot of old movies and interesting aspects about filmmaking.

I found this channel last week and I can’t believe it doesn’t have a million subs. Truly, you’ve increased my appreciation of classic movies in a handful of videos.

I've been acting for 30 years and I was a little reticent to watch this video. I've loved the many that I've watched and I was prepared for this one to be the exception. But no! You nailed it. You got it absolutely right. The small moments-- BEHAVING-- I could go on about this for hours. Watching this video, two moments come to mind. 1, Rod Steiger's first scene is Dr Zhivago as he sits smoking and reading the paper when Julie Christie enters. He speaks and barely moves his mouth, smokes, dangles his hand, feet propped up, then she looks at him as he has so much gravity in the scene. SO small and powerful. 2. Monty Clift in The Misfits, the telephone booth scene. Everything he does in that scene is extraordinary, and it's so difficult to pull off. Talking on the phone, being sucked into Marilyn's beauty, listening and reacting to the other person on the phone...masterful. I could go on like this for HOURS. Keep up the great work!

I had the pleasure of finding this channel last week, and I've fallen into a deep and profound love with all of your work. Thank you for all of the hard work and dedication you must pour into this content.

I love the way that you analyise things in such a humorous way😂 . Its nice to see a film channel with its own personality.

I've been saying for years that there aren't that many channels here truly about cinema instead of only blockbusters. It's good to see that it is changing.

Glorious! I never noticed these details. You’re training me to be more attentive. My eternal thanks!

Love this! The sheer honesty of "I dunno" at the start was completely unexpected but I admire that you acknowledge what a hard and relatively subjective topic this is. What's better than that, you then just choose to take us - remarkably skilfully - through some performances and moments that you love, which is exactly why I look forward to each one of your videos. You help me to notice and pay attention to the smallest details in the films I watch, which make them all the more beautiful. Keep up the great work!

I found your channel from the how to identify a great director video, and I’ve been watching your videos nonstop since. It feels like you’re one of the only people I’ve seen analyze movies in depth, but also in a totally non pretentious way. Your videos are very insightful and super entertaining. Keep up the great work!

It might be basic, but I love the part in Rocky where Adrian stands up to her abusive brother. Something about the way Talia Shire yells “What do I owe ya, Paulie?” feels so raw- it’s like her character is finally speaking in her own voice. Powerful scene.

I've been watching all your videos. This is some of the best analysis of cinema I've ever seen. This channel needs way more followers, it's amazing. Keep up the good work.

Great video, love this channel. Along with Collative Learning (which has a very different focus), one of my 2 favorite movie analysis channels. Also, I've seen Goodfellas 20+ times and somehow I've never noticed that quick "Shane" reaction before. Now I love it!

Your videos make me watch at least one classic film a day. It's not that I never thought of doing that, my lazy ass was just wasting time watching films that are similar to other films and aren't even well-made. Thank you for making all of these videos and bringing us new perspectives and the aspects of filmmaking that most of us have missed!!!

I love your videos. Such unique and brilliant takes, with great humour and editing. Keep up the amazing work!

Great video!! The subtle jaw-clench is something we definitely need more of. Christian Bale did it really well in American Psycho. The bit where the women tell him they’ve never heard of his company Some of my other favourite acting moments: Matthew McConaughey in Killer Joe, the chicken leg scene Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet, the “love letter” scene Bob Hoskins in Roger Rabbit, the scene where he quits drinking and goes into the Toontown tunnel Joaquin Phoenix in Beau is Afraid, the scene where the old man finds his sons, and the ending Mia Goth in Pearl, the scene where she talks to ‘Howard’ through Mitzi Willem Dafoe in The Lighthouse, the burial scene John Turturro in Miller’s Crossing, the scene with him and Gabriel Byrne in the woods The Wild Bunch, the look Ernest Borgnine gives William Holden before the big shootout, and Holden’s reaction 🔫 The Talented Mr. Ripley - the boat scene between Matt Damon and Jude Law

Ya know, the first 5/10 seconds I watched my first video of yours I was put off by your voice or accent. Now we are about 25 /30 videos in and I am well-past captured. Now your accent is your voice, unique, warm and exudes your love of cinema, like it has always been there. Your voice represents your eye, which is phenomenal. Welcome to the Pantheon! The fame and riches will come. Any moment now. Boooom!

As an actor, this is probably my favorite acting video ever watched on RU-vid with the one dissecting Anthony Hopkins' Westworld monologue. Thank you. So inspiring ❤

Many moons ago, at a local community theater, I played the lead in "The Miser" and had a full third of the lines in the play. I'm playing a really old guy, I have a bread glued to my face, I am somewhat hunched over, and I have cane. One of the small details that I added was a slight tremble to whatever hand that wasn't grasping the cane. The tremble would be most pronounced when the hand wasn't doing anything" such as, say, pointing with emphasis at another actor. The idea being that when the character was choosing to do something with it, asserting will, it would be more controlled; but when he wasn't thinking about the hand it may tremble a bit more. It is a small detail, and one that never made it into the directors notes for me, but it is something that helped convince the audience that I was genuinely old. Small hinges swing big doors.

Love your video's! To in the minute DETAIL! (That's what it is all about....).

I just saw Silence of the Lambs on the big screen again, and though it's become fashionable to bag on Hopkins' showy performance recently, I was once again knocked out - because the showy is definitely there, and hugely entertaining. But the brilliance of it is the real performance beneath, which is gentle, subtle, and incredibly personal. The big show is what he feels most of the outside world deserves; he thinks of most people as vile, empty caricatures, so he pays them back in kind - but as he connects to Foster, he lest more and more of his true self be seen in the smallest touches and looks. Unlike anyone else in the world, he RESPECTS her. So by the time we hit the closeups during the 'screaming of the lambs' speech, he is almost completely himself, and his eyes are soft and profoundly grateful; tears brim, but don't fall. Absolutelyy overwhelming; a perfect mix of empathy and good old fashioned entertainment.

First time since i'm following this amazing channel that i'm watching a brand new video! Thank you and keep them coming!

Henry fonda has always been an absolute favorite of mine.The way he can play a very vulnerable character in 'Wrong man' and also can be a completely terrifying villan in a leone western is, just amazing.

For me though jack lemmon's performance in glengary glen ross is one of the best piece of acting. If an actor can portray dominance and vulnerability at the same time that's great enough. His interaction with spacey and pacino in the 3rd act is a perfect example

Man, of all cinema essayists on youtube, you truly are the one with the deepest insight. I salute you. I hope you keep the videos coming.

Please give us more of similar acting analysis 🤩....more, more...Brilliant observation dude!

A maestro conducting the words of the writer. Never thought about it like that but now that you planted this idea in my mind I can't stop thinking like that. Thanks again for a brilliant video. You deserve more subs!

Someday, the right person will watch one of your videos and all your passion will pay off when this channel explodes. I like your concise format. I like how you go against the grain. Keep it up.

Great! Acting is like a magic trick. We experience a nuanced set of human choices, but the illusion is ruined if we see "the actor" making those choices.

I'm leaving another comment for the algorith. This is one of the best, if not the very best, film analysis channels I've ever seen. Please keep making more essays like this! I have a request (which I left on another video), that you analyse the film Alexander (2004) or at least the director's cut Alexander Revisited. I consider the film to have a few great moments and set pieces but to be an overall failure narratively, tonally, and in its direction and editing. However perhaps I have this opinion because I'm too jarred by Oliver Stone's take on the Encyclopedic genre (whereas JFK is clearly a huge success). Thanks in advance!

Great humor and great critique on the films reviewed for specifying area to improve your own story/script. However, his deep voice makes me question what he does late at night on the streets of Gotham City.

I've done it, I binged all your videos in a few days. Great experience.

"Shane" finally someone else who loves that as much as I do!!!!

Franco Citti in Edipo Re. There’s a scene where the kings soldiers are coming to kill him, so he throws a massive rock at one of them, wounding them badly, and then just turns and runs away in the opposite direction as fast as he can - in a split second his initial boldness is shown to be fraudulent, as it turns into abject terror. The berserk speed with which he shuffled through these sickeningly human emotions totally jolted me when I first saw the movie 30 years ago, and had exactly the same affect when I watched it a few weeks ago.

Also in Goodfellas, in Pesci’s Mom’s kitchen and De Niro says ‘hoof’ when Pesci couldn’t think of the word for a deer foot, that he supposedly needed the knife for. An acting highlight for me. ‘Hoof’.

I might have said this on a previous comment, but I can tell that you're a man who has a love for the craft, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if you make, have made or intend to make movies yourself, with a critical eye and a desire for something better than adequate.

The almost kiss in the rain from Matthew McFayden in Pride & Prejudice is one of these incredible moments. I love it.

This video was absolutely brilliant. As much as I admire Daniel Day Lewis' method acting, to me acting is spontaneity. That's it. Any actor who pulls that off, is a good-to-great actor in my book. The "Shane" from Joe Pesci is one fine example.

This is so different from everything ive seen. Bravo!

The example of Henry Fonda's clenched jaw in Jezebel reminded me of one of my favorite subtle facial expressions from an actor: in Psycho, when Arbogast is questioning Norman and looking through the register, Anthony Perkins gives Norman a tiny facial tic, just a little twitch of the lips on the left side. You'd almost miss it entirely, because he's also eating candy at the time, but he repeats it several times, including when Norman isn't chewing. Earlier in the film, when he's upset by Marion's suggestion that he put his mother "someplace," his demeanor is intense and his face is eerily still, his eyes locked on her like a predator.

Jane Fonda in "Klute". She became that character. Donald Sutherland in "Ordinary People". He's at a party, and someone casually says to him, "I'm not talking to you!" as he passes by. Sutherland reacts with a perfect reaction/, "What? Why?" Bewilderment and guilt are perfectly mixed. Pacino in "Dog Day Afternoon", when he's on the phone, and just sounds so hot. exhausted and ready to just give up. Jake Gyllenhaal in "Nightcrawler". Like Fonda, he became the character. Bogart, with his small mannerisms that kept your eyes glued to him while he was on the screen. Rutger Hauer in "Bladerunner." Ryan Gosling, at the christening of his child in "The Place Beyond the Pines", where he manages to show so much pent-up sorrow while sitting absolutely still.

I've been picking up some stuff over the course of my career and this is the hardest thing for a director. Getting performances out of actors. Many bad directors get big jobs because people think they were good directors when in fact it was just about their cast being great on their own. To spot a good performance is the mark of the best directors and it's more important than being visually literate in the visual language of film. Personally I think a good way to direct is to talk about restraint. A common acting thing to discuss is how to act drunk in the best way possible and most actors agree on the best way being to try and act normal. The key point is to get into the mindset of being extremely drunk, like batshit-soon-to-fall-asleep-or-puke-into-the-alleyway level of drunk and then make every effort possible to seem like a civil and good upstanding buddy to all around. That sells what "real drunk" looks like in reality. People don't "behave drunk", people "try to act normal". There's no one who looks more drunk than a person who's trying to act normal in front of a doorman or cop. That's where restraint comes in. People are internally mostly just children with extreme emotions and drives that without restraint would lead to absolute chaos and the downfall of civilisation. The level of restraint sets character, it sets personality. They have a worldview and a philosophy to live by, and internally they are extremely emotional about it and without restraint they would just run around punching people, scream at them, scream at everyone, fall down crying in front of the people they love, laugh maniacally at anything even remotely tingling their sense of humor etc... But they don't. Everyone restrain themselves, keep those emotions at bay. Everyone learns how to control themselves. But no one actually does, they keep farting out this underlying persona out in public, in front of others. It's what leads to every emotional clash that happens in real life, it's what leads to conflict and emotional truth. So, getting actors to reach some emotional truth in their performance usually comes from exploring a characters inner emotional turmoil. Who's the extreme childish internal version of this character, what's the emotional extremes, what's the most dangerous parts, the most loving, the most spiteful, the most depressing and so on. What does this character believe and how would their extreme turmoil of inner emotion defend those beliefs? And then restrain all of it. That makes the actor sense the inner world and emotional truth of the character and then they aren't acting on that, they are acting on trying to present a false image of keeping that inner life a secret. They will try and look sober in front of the doorman. They try to look like they don't care in front of a loved one that rejects them, they try to act with courage on the battlefield to inspire fellow soldiers, while having pure bottomless horror within them. Holding back emotions leads to great performances. Acting is trying to react extremely emotional to someone or something but put all acing energy into holding back those emotions. Depending on the intensity of the emotions and the level of ability that a character has with holding back said emotions, define much of the personality of that character and the job of the actor is to find that level and what emotional inner landscape exists within.

My favorite acting performance was Natalya Bondarchuk as Hari Kelvin in Solaris (1972). It was tragic; she broke my heart. I love her.

What is this? Why is this channel so underrated?

The stand-out performance in GGR was Jack Lemon. He was one of the greatest actors, with considerable range: alcoholic / SLiH and even a cowboy film!

Probably my favorite delivery of a line was just one word by Grace Zabriskie in The Big Easy: "Runnin'?"

I love your voice and speech delivery man keep up the great work

Love this page. Love what you do. Keep em coming. ♥️🤠

The kitchen timer! So funny. Love your channel.

Maybe it's too flashy or something but I got chills watching Naomi Watts' scene in Mulholland Dr where she's auditioning for a movie, playing opposite an older man who is playing the character of a friend of her father's with whom she's having an affair. It's very meta because she's in a movie acting as if she's in a movie but the performance itself is stunning to me. My friend and I often shout 'Patel' at each other in moments of disbelief. Glengarry Glen Ross is a wonderful film. I have binged all your videos recently, they are great. Keep it up!!

So glad to see Al P. in GG-GR scene...one of my favs of all time: "If Vishnu himself came down...." WooHoo...

Always love to see his videos. ... Been binge watch all his videos since I discovered his channel

The four outstanding acting performances that spring to my mind are: 1. Marlon Brando in The Godfather. “Look what they did to my boy!” 2. William Hurt in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Excellent acting in a prison cell. 3. George C. Scott in Patton. Sometimes this is a performance of Patton giving a performance. 4. And yes, a more obscure one. Renee Jeanne Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc. Such incredible acting just with her face.

Always amazing work

I never met James Dean but I did meet Glenn McCarthy, the oil tycoon on whom Jett Rink is based, and he wasn't half as good at playing that role as Dean was. Dean was incorporating the character - just as effective as when a character incorporates Joe Pesci. In some cases, it works the other way around. Once more, Mr. Moviewise, "bravo!" for yet another brilliant video!

9:28 lol the origin of the Tom Cruise jaw clinch! Great scenes! Pacino cooking his wonderful (awful) coq au vin in Donnie Brasco is a masterclass like this as well. "Annette.. Annette.."

Mykelti Williamson as Sgt. Drucker in ‘Heat’. When Justine gets to the safe house and Drucker makes the pitch to her as to why Justine should flip on Chris. Love his acting in that scene.

I think you are the best movie channel. And I have seen a lot

My personal criteria for a good performance: - You fo get that they're acting (i.e., that is a real person up there on the screen and not somebody born on a storyboard) - Even if the character is a horrible person, you become emotionally invested in what they do next - You cannot look away: you get hooked on the way the performer moves, speaks and interacts with the scene. E.g., the way Anthony Hopkins moves (or doesn't) in Silence of the Lambs hits the dopamine switch in brain every time. But then again, what the hell do I know. I signed the deal, by the way. So you know.

Very interesting! Thanks! :) Love all of your examples. I have to see Jezeebel!

LOVE your movie range, truly a film aficionado. I also appreciate the subtle details and, as an add-on, any actor who eats “real” on camera has my admiration.

As a Texan, I can say that James Dean's accent was spot on.

I wonder if you'd consider looking into the works of Abbas Kiarostami, Robert Bresson, Apichatpong Weerasethakul (and some others too), who in many cases have worked with unprofessional actors and yet were able to bring out great nuanced "screen performances" out of them. I stress upon "screen performances" because, after all, it's movie magic. Perhaps we wouldn't want untrained actors on a stage play.

Thanks man. Great channel!

Thank you for again such a masterclass. So instructive. An acting teacher of mine used to say that avery acting moment should be fed by an intention. Which is consistent with your purpose. I see it in movies when suddenly the actor vanishes behind the character. For instance, James Caan in the Godfather when the family is gathered and they decide to kill Solozo and the cop; Laurence Ollivier i the pool scene of Sleuth from Joseph Mankiewicz.

Great Lessons, Thanks

Yeah. Tricky subject. Have you checked out the book Directing Actors by Judith Weston? Throwing verbs at actors, and the sorta metaphor / simile technique "as if" approach seem the most important. Weston's other directing book quotes Ben Kingsley, for Don Logan in Sexy Beast, besides going intense Shakespeare on the dialogue said he behaved like a child that was never loved. Fists clenched, alone on the playground. Directors can offer "as if" ideas to actors to get them on the same page. Terry (Ghost World) Zwigoff and Taika Waititi recommend the Weston book.

James Dean's performance in "Giant" is the opposite of "powerhouse." He brings attention to how underplayed it is by making it absolutely fit the dramatic context. He barely pays attention to characters who he knows believe that they are superior to him. His lack of eye context is not deference to his betters, but the essence of his contempt. Pacino is not playing with mere cards. The cards represent sales leads, life or death for the salesmen. But yeah, I agree that how he uses them in the scene is masterful. Dramatic pauses are fine. They can help to illuminate the scene. The actor should be acting throughout the entire scene. The viewer should have a sense of what is being communicated within the space of the pause. I had not noticed the jaw clench in "Jezebel." That is indeed great acting. I wonder if the scene would be as powerful if it was not happening in a black and white film.

That moment of Fonda clenching his jaw is great, yes. However, if you want to see it topped, watch Setsuko Hara in Yasujiro Ozu's Late Autumn. (The scene starts at about 1:29:30.)

My favorites are when you think the producer hired some local person who was not actually an actor - Matthew McConaughey in Dazed And Confused - Ralph Fiennes in Schindler List (though I get that he must have been an established actor) - Maria Bakalova in Borat 2. They are so completely "there" that you're blown away to learn they were following a script.

I might be speaking out of turn here, but I think the acting by pretty much everyone in Aces High is spot on. It's from 1976, so some of the production values reflect the era, and I understand some of the aerial footage was taken from The Blue Max, but nevertheless, the individual characters are terrifically played and convey the pathos and powerless fates of all involved. It was based on the classic play - Journey's End, but transferred the action from the trenches to the skies. Give it a go if you have the time...

Great acting Great video

The performances of Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor in the scene where he confesses his love for her at the country club dance in George Steven's "A Place in the Sun." Both of them are completely in the moment and absolutely electric.

I don't know what makes a great actor, but I know one quality I like. Watch Wonder Woman with Lynda Carter. It is a superhero TV show before the superhero genre became big money. I like Lynda Carter's performance throughout the series and here's why. It didn't matter if she was acting with someone who was wearing a sock on his head to indicate he was an alien, an actor who couldn't be bothered to care about his lines or someone who was more wooden than Pinocchio, Lynda Carter always gave a serious performance. I felt like she genuinely respected the audience, even if most were under the age of fifteen.

best film channel on youtube

Denzel Washington in Glory -- the whip scene. Defiance, pain, shame -- all playing across his face without a word spoken.

You are amazing. Thank you for your insights.

Excelent Video but a little short, I want more moments of great performance like this please share more moments of great performance like this. Moviewise is my favorite movie channel ❤

Your point that appreciation of the acting is subjective is true. I recently re-watched L.A. Confidential and hated the acting, like I could see through them. I couldn’t find anyone (critic or otherwise) that agreed with me. Was it a style they were going for that went over my head? Am I so out of touch? No, it’s planet earth that is wrong.

Any number of Isabelle Hupert performances, but the Piano Teacher and Eaux Profondes are two of my favourites - so psychologically intense.

For me Robert Mitchum gives a truly amazing performance in The night of the Hunter and i love William Holden in just about everything (in particular stalag 17)

Katherine Hepburn used her role in The Lion In Winter to vent her grief over losing Spencer Tracy. A chronic alcholic, Tracy would vanish to several places all over LA to go on a drunk. Hepburn often tailed him to keep an eye on him. It wasn't unusual for staff of hotels to find THE Katherine Hepburn sleeping on a blanket on the floor outside Tracy's room door. He got into a DUI near where Rock Hudson lived, Hudson tried to help him but Tracy shoved passed him and staggard off. Hudson called Hepburn and they went searching for him. They found him in a bungalow and Hepburn spent her last moments with him holding his hand as they waited for the ambulance. The tears she shed in Lion were real, she turned down the role at first then later called the director and said something like, lets make this damn movie before I go mad. I love her in that movie. The cast have their own stories of her, but she was a woman in mourning at the time.

I hate that I found this channel. I can’t just watch movies anymore. You have cursed me with knowledge. I hate it but thank you

Really good shit brother. Keep it up.

Here’s one of my favorite acting moments: Steve McQueen in Papillon when he is talking to the warden after years of solitary confinement.

A good performance is where an actor disappears into a role with a commanding screen presence, while also having a good director and script. For example, Roger Ebert once said the Charlize Theron gave arguably the best female performance ever in Monster, and I am inclined to agree. She was that woman who she was portraying, and you could feel her anger, her fears, and her regrets. It was impossible to take your eyes away from her.

In Rebel Without A Cause its difficult to tell if the scene where Jim is confronting his mom is going against the grain for Dean or his character. Dean speaks harshly and agressively toward the actress on the stairs but his eyes flinch in a manner that shows this is something the person doesn't want to do. Its of the subconscious but it works both the actor and character because you're aware of how sensitive Dean was.

Thanks bro... You are really good.. God bless you...

Jack Nicholson in “The Last Detail” in the last scenes when he and Otis have to report to their superior. He has to eat sh*t but the way he does it is incredible. I also think Bogart as Sam Spade is just so spot on.

The end of The Long Good Friday is a masterclass of tiny detail

You know what grinds my gears? The now clichéd jaw clinch in this application however it does work.

Nicely put

I am not a fan of Al Pachino - the kind of movie he plays, but this sequence was exxxxxtraordinary.

You could have explored Cate Blanchett's masterclass performance in TAR. There are so many nuances than Al Pacino's acting mentioned in video

About ever performance in Glengarry Glen Ross was perfect.

Sooooo good.

Five great low-key performances: Robert Duvall as streetwise cop on his last workday in "Falling Down". Tilda Swinton as wise and hedonistic yet empathetic vampire lady in "Only Lovers Left Alive". Ed Harris as hardboiled and Subtly threatening Gangster in "A History of Violence"... ...and as cunning/educated gunslinger and strategist in "Appaloosa". Christopher Walken as talented con-artist protagonist's that's-where-he-got-it-from! con-artist father in "Catch me if you can". Five great high-key performances: Rutger Hauer as desperate Android fighting for survival and human dignity in "Blade Runner". Tilda Swinton as intense and commanding chied propagandist in "Snowpiercer". Cate Blanchett as spoilt brat diva in "Coffee and Cigarettes". Al Pacino as charming, sly, slick, charismatic, quickwitted and argumentative Devil in "The Devil's Advocate". Christopher Waltz as arrogant businessman in "Carnage". Five great mid-range performances: Terence Stamp as elder, streetsmart, tough gentleman criminal in "The Limey". Sigourney Weaver as unassuming level-headed professional with minor human flaws but a strong sense of duty and good survival instincts in "Alien". Faye Dunaway as cynical, power-oriented, opportunistic career tactician in "Network". Julianne Moore as higher middle-class intellectual with progressing dementia in "Still Alice". Julianne Moore as middle-class mother overwhelmed by developing a bisexual attraction outside her marriage in "The Kids Are Alright".

Serious question, how are we gonna get this guy more subscribers? This is a fantastic channel with incredible content yet not nearly enough eyes on it. Each new video deserves hundreds of thousands of views by now. Can anyone suggest a reliable way to get the word out?

Never stop making videos man❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

My all-time favorite performance is by Sally Field in “Norma Rae.” Everyone in that movie knocks it out of the park. I also love the performances in “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” though Eric Roberts does chew up the scenery. There’s a performance in that movie by an actress whose first name is Geraldine, I think, and it’s great too. Linda Manz (sp?) in “Days of Heaven” is great, and Juliette Lewis is always a pleasure to watch.

Excellent video as usual. Personally I don't particularly care for Pacino but that could be because he's moved into this "never meet your hero" space where his "WhoooHaa" acting has become a meme. In any case it's a good thing that a good acting performance is subjective. Time also plays a role because Bogart wouldn't be able to work today, but we can still enjoy his fast paced film noir performances; Here's-Looking-At-You-Kid (WhooHaa)!