Favorite One scene performance

[chasingbanky]

The cameo thread brought up the difference between a cameo and a one scene performance... One is sort of a wink at the audience (cameo), and the other is a character that could of been anyone and still had the same significance but was still played by a "big name" actor.

My favorite : Christopher Walken in True Romance... " tell the angels in heaven you never seen evil so singularly personified as you did in the face of the man who killed you." Vincent Concotti should have had his own movie. I only named one because I don't want to take all the good ones in one post. :)

[the ooze]

been awhile since i pulled it out and watched it but.....alec baldwin in glengarry glen ross? wasn't that the only scene he was in...if not strike this from the list

[chasingbanky]

Originally posted by the ooze
been awhile since i pulled it out and watched it but.....alec baldwin in glengarry glen ross? wasn't that the only scene he was in...if not strike this from the list

Oh fuck yeah the brass balls scene... I forgot about that when making this topic... Nice call. While I'm here I'll kill off two easy ones in the other thread already....

PULP FICTION

Winston Wolf (Harvey Keitel)

and

Captain Koons (C Walk again)

Hell I'll even through in Quentin himself as Jimmy. That scene makes me laugh my ass off all over the place. Well not so much anymore, but the first few times.

[the ooze]

rodney dangerfield in little nicky

[Derek237]

Since William Hurt was mentioned in the cameo thread, I just have to mention his one scene in A History Of Violence. A great performance. Well worthy of his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

- Cheating a little bit, but: Thomas Kretschmann in The Pianist. Another small performance worthy of recognition.

-Michael Parks in Kill Bill, Volume 2. He plays Esteban...it's such an interesting scene he has...like some odd pit-stop on the way to revenge. It's a moment in the movie where you're sort of bracing yourself. At that point in the movie, you're either restless to get to killing Bill, or you want to take the time to listen to what this guy has to say. He pulls it off well.

-Donald Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Candy, and probably a load of others I'm forgetting, in JFK.

-Ted Dansen in Saving Private Ryan, maybe? It's just good to see the guy on the screen.

-Eric Bogosian with his one line in Igby Goes Down. Just because he's so damn cool.

-Lance Henrikson in Alien 3 is definitely worth mention.

-Richard Lewis, Steven Weber, Valeria Goliino, R. Lee Eremy, and Shawnee Smith in Leaving Las Vegas. My ultimate hope for a special edition DVD of the movie would be to have a selected scene commentary by these guys...much like they had for True Romance.

-Robert Mitcum in Cape Fear, the remake I mean. That was pretty interesting...Gregory Peck got, like 5 scenes...and Mitchum got 1. I dunno, I was watching this movie last night.

BUT, EVERYONE...

I have the best one of all....


Brian Cox in ADAPTATION.

Easily one of the film's best scenes. And one of Cox's best performances.

[Le_Big_Mac]

Christopher Walken in True Romance
Christopher Walken in Pulp Fiction
Robert Duvall in Sling Blade
James Caan in The Godfather Part II

[ilovemovies]

Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross IS the best!

Although William Hurt's GREAT performance in A History of Violence comes pretty close.

Also have to give props to Drew Barrymore in Scream.


And this might be considered more of a cameo but it was a lengthy scene so I'll mention the awesomeness of Al Pacino in Gigli!

[powersauce]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross IS the best!

Although William Hurt's GREAT performance in A History of Violence comes pretty close.

Also have to give props to Drew Barrymore in Scream.


And this might be considered more of a cameo but it was a lengthy scene so I'll mention the awesomeness of Al Pacino in Gigli!

I'm sure you and I will agree on this one from a certain Spielbergo film since we're both fans of her ;) :

http://www.makeup411.com/images/beauty_breakdown/jen_garner.jpg

"Go fish!"

[Danger^Cart]

Originally posted by Derek237
-Michael Parks in Kill Bill, Volume 2. He plays Esteban...it's such an interesting scene he has...like some odd pit-stop on the way to revenge. It's a moment in the movie where you're sort of bracing yourself. At that point in the movie, you're either restless to get to killing Bill, or you want to take the time to listen to what this guy has to say. He pulls it off well.


He also plays the sheriff, which he does equally well. He's just a great fucking actor, that man.

Agreed with Brian Cox. I could watch him shit for 2 hours and find it profound and exciting.

[Scarfather]

I didn't like Glengarry Glen Ross, but holy fuck is Alec Baldwin good in that movie.

I don't get blown away often, but that was one of those few times.

[pablo_super1!]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eyhw8Z1cZ-c

Nuff Said

[thedudeman69]

Originally posted by pablo_super1!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eyhw8Z1cZ-c

Nuff Said

Norton was in the whole movie.

[pablo_super1!]

OOPS :eek: I didn't read the top i feel stupid

[Terror Australis]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross IS the best!

I gotta agree with that!

[Sigur509]

Originally posted by pablo_super1!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eyhw8Z1cZ-c

Nuff Said

Still, thats one of the best scenes of any movie I've seen in a long time.

[Derek237]

And, Brian Cox is in it. :D:D

[Buck Turgidson]

Originally posted by Danger^Cart
Agreed with Brian Cox. I could watch him shit for 2 hours and find it profound and exciting. Especially since it would turn purple and smell like raspberry sherbet.*

And Jenny Garner was the only thing in that film that didn't make me want to shit. Good call.





*Only funny if you've seen Super Troopers :D

[ilovemovies]

Originally posted by Buck Turgidson

And Jenny Garner was the only thing in that film that didn't make me want to shit. Good call.



:eek: :(


I agree that Garner's scene was great but I thought the WHOLE movie was great!

[Buck Turgidson]

You and I agree @ 10% of the time. I like to accentuate the positive aspect of that :D

[ilovemovies]

This isn't a case of me liking a movie that is hated like The Postman or Gigli. This is a movie that most people at least liked and some loved.

And I think Leo gave one of his best performances in this flick. Better than his two movies of 2006, The Departed and Blood Diamond.

[SAI]

Walken in True Romance is a great one but the one that really sticks in my head right now is Jane Adams' stunning 5 minutes as Jackie Earle Haley's date in Little Children. She's never rubbish but I've seldom seen her give a better performance.

[Buck Turgidson]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
This isn't a case of me liking a movie that is hated like The Postman or Gigli. This is a movie that most people at least liked and some loved. Most people here like or love P.T. Anderson's whole oeuvre, David Lynch and Tom Cruise, too. I don't.

You've known me a long time and you know I march to the beat of my own drummer :cool:

[powersauce]

I just thought of one from early on in Samuel L. Jackson's career where he plays a "diseased rhinocerous pizzle" in Coming To America. That scene where his plan to rob McDowell's is foiled by Eddie and Arsenio is priceless.

[Terror Australis]

Alec Baldwin in "Glengarry Glen Ross"
Christopher Walken in "Pulp Fiction"

These the best of ALL time!

...and most recently....

Bruce Willis in "Fast Food Nation"
Rick Hoffman in "Hostel"

[chasingbanky]

Watching that show The Riches (which i loved by the way) reminded me of one of the best One Scene'rs ever... From the film The Secret Agent (which sucks but has Christian Bale playing a mentally challenged lad), and is from the Actor/Comedian Eddie Izzard. Classic scene.

[Elementmorgan]

I CAN'T believe that no one has said Bill Murray in "Little Shop Of Horrors"(Remake)!

[Rick-James]

MICHAEL PARKS - FROM DUSK TILL DAWN

[LedZeppelin1114]

Michael Parks as the Pimp in Kill Bill Vol. 2 stands out as one that was especially memorable.

[zeppelin]

I'm not going to beat Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross, or William Hurt in A History of Violence. Or, for that matter, Christopher Walken in True Romance and Pulp Fiction.

But still, I think Sylvia Miles in Midnight Cowboy deserves a mention. I think she was even nominated for an Oscar, if I'm not mistaken. I'm not sure what makes that little performance so memorable, but it's one of the scenes that immediately sticks out to me.

Oh, and this is probably cheating, but everyone in both Night on Earth and Coffee and Cigarettes (both Jim Jarmusch movies) only has one scene each. The movies are both compilations of short segments, each of which are really only one scene. So I guess that counts.

[franky4fingerz]

toby maguire and gary busey in fear and loathing

[Monotreme]

Originally posted by franky4fingerz
toby maguire and gary busey in fear and loathing
Technically, Maguire had two scenes (his character returns later on), but whatever.

Anyway, one I just had to mention that hadn't been before:

Beatrice Straight in Network. She fucking won an Oscar for her one scene in this movie, and I'll be damned if it wasn't well-deserved.