Best Movie Year For Lead Actors

[Antonio]

Any year is pretty much a good year for lead actors, but which year had you most frustrated because you couldn't narrow the performances down to five? My vote is for 1997, a great year for film, and for actors. Even the horror, comedy and action stars fared well. My ultimate winner is Peter Fonda, followed by Ian Holm, Eamonn Owens, Jack Nicholson (for BLOOD & WINE, not AS GOOD AS IT GETS), and yes Sly Stallone!

My complete list, in alpha order:

Ben Affleck in CHASING AMY
Woody Allen in DECONSTRUCTING HARRY
Kevin Anderson in EYE OF GOD
Nicolas Cage in CON-AIR and FACE/OFF
Robert Carlyle in THE FULL MONTY
Jim Carrey in LIAR LIAR
Billy Connolly in MRS. BROWN
Russell Crowe in L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
John Cusack in GROSSE POINT BLANK
Matt Damon in GOOD WILL HUNTING
Matt Day in KISS or KILL
Daniel Day-Lewis in THE BOXER
Johnny Depp in DONNIE BRASCO
Leonardo DiCaprio in TITANIC
Michael Douglas in THE GAME
Robert Duvall in THE APOSTLE
Aaron Eckhardt in IN THE COMPANY OF MEN
Peter Fonda in ULEE’S GOLD
Harrison Ford in AIR FORCE ONE
Morgan Freeman in KISS THE GIRLS
Andy Garcia in NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN
Mel Gibson in CONSPIRACY THEORY
Philip Baker Hall in HARD EIGHT
Dustin Hoffman in WAG THE DOG
Ian Holm in THE SWEET HEREAFTER
Djimon Hounsou in AMISTAD
Samuel L. Jackson in JACKIE BROWN and EVE’S BAYOU
Kevin Kline in THE ICE STORM and IN & OUT
Mike Myers in AUSTIN POWERS
Jack Nicholson in BLOOD & WINE and AS GOOD AS IT GETS
Nick Nolte in AFTERGLOW
Eduardo Noriega in OPEN YOUR EYES
Eamonn Owens in THE BUTCHER BOY
Al Pacino in DONNIE BRASCO
Guy Pearce in L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
Sean Penn in U-TURN
Bill Pullman in THE END OF VIOLENCE and LOST HIGHWAY
Keanu Reeves in THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE
Paolo Rotondo in THE UGLY
Kurt Russell in BREAKDOWN
Tom Sizemore in THE RELIC
James Spader in CRASH
Sylvester Stallone in COP LAND
John Travolta in FACE/OFF
Jon Voight in ANACONDA
Mark Wahlberg in BOOGIE NIGHTS
Billy Zane in THIS WORLD, THEN THE FIREWORKS

[QUENTIN]

The ones that spring to mind for me are:

1974
Dustin Hoffman -Lenny **
Al Pacino -The Godfather Part II *
Gene Hackman -The Conversation *
Jack Nicholson -Chinatown *
Bruno S. -The Enigma of Kaspar Hauer *
James Caan -The Gambler
Albert Finney -Murder on The Orient Express
Jean-Pierre Léaud -The Mother and The Whore
Francois Truffaut -Day For Night
Art Carney -Harry and Tonto
Rudiger Vogler -The Wrong Move
Erland Josephson -Scenes From A Marriage
Peter Falk -A Woman Under The Influence
Yuri Solomin -Dersu Uzala
Maksim Munzuk -Derzu Uzala
Paul Newman -The Towering Inferno
Gene Wilder -Young Frankenstein & Blazing Saddles
Walter Matthau -The Front Page & The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3
Jack Lemmon -The Front Page
Pierre Blaise -Lacombe Lucien


1960
Jack Lemmon -The Apartment **
Marcello Mastroianni -La Dolce Vita *
Jean-Paul Belmondo -Breathless *
Anthony Perkins -Psycho *
Alain Delon -Purple Noon *
Carl Boehm -Peeping Tom
Charles Aznavour -Shoot The Piano Player
Spencer Tracy -Inherit The Wind
Philippe Leroy -The Hole
Alain Delon -Rocco and His Brothers
Kirk Douglas -Spartacus
Max Von Sydow -The Virgin Spring
Burt Lancaster -Elmer Gantry
Marcello Mastroianni -The Night
Albert Finney -Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
Yul Brenner -The Magnificent Seven
Toshirô Mifune -The Bad Sleep Well
Robert Mitchum -The Sundowners
Travor Howard -Sons and Lovers
Frederic March -Inherit The Wind

[Antonio]

Great lists, QT! As usual, you went with quality over quantity. I especially love the inclusions of Anthony Perkins, Albert Finney, Art Carney and Alain Delon.

[The Other]

Let's resurrect this puppy. The year below is one in which I found fit both the quality and quantity categories!


1955 - How could anyone narrow it down to a personal top 5 and winner?


Humphrey Bogart - The Desperate Hours
Ernest Borgnine - Marty
Marlon Brando - Guys and Dolls
James Cagney - Love Me or Leave Me
Richard Conte - The Big Combo
James Dean - East of Eden / Rebel Without a Cause
Roger Duchesne - Bob Le Flambeur
Henry Fonda - Mister Roberts
Glenn Ford - Blackboard Jungle / Trial
Jean Gabin - French Cancan
Cary Grant - To Catch a Thief
Alec Guinness - The Ladykillers
William Holden - Picnic / Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
Rock Hudson - All That Heaven Allows
Gene Kelly - It’s Always Fair Weather
Henrik Malberg - Ordet
Fredric March - The Desperate Hours
Ralph Meeker - Kiss Me Deadly
Toshiro Mifune - Samurai 2: Duel at Ichijoji Temple
John Mills - The Colditz Story
Robert Mitchum - The Night of the Hunter
Laurence Olivier - Richard III
Jack Palance - The Big Knife
Jean Servais - Rififi
Frank Sinatra - The Man with the Golden Arm
Spencer Tracy - Bad Day at Black Rock
Orson Welles - Mr. Arkadin
Cornel Wilde - The Big Combo

[zeppelin]

Originally posted by QUENTIN
1974

Absolutely my favorite year for leading actors. Basically all of those performances you mentioned were worthy of Oscar nominations. And to even try to pick a winner from the bunch is torture (though in the end, I too would go with Dustin Hoffman in Lenny).

Here are some really good recent years:

2002
Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York
Nicolas Cage, Adaptation
Jack Nicholson, About Schmidt
Robin Williams, One Hour Photo
Michael Caine, The Quiet American
Adrien Brody, The Pianist
Campbell Scott, Roger Dodger
Kieran Culkin, Igby Goes Down
Edward Norton, 25th Hour
Tom Hanks, Road to Perdition
Mel Gibson, Signs
Sam Rockwell, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Hugh Grant, About a Boy
Adam Sandler, Punch-Drunk Love

1993
Daniel Day-Lewis, In the Name of the Father
Daneil Day-Lewis, The Age of Innocence
David Thewlis, Naked
Tom Hanks, Philadelphia
Denzel Washington, Philadelphia
Liam Neeson, Schindler's List
Bill Murray, Groundhog Day
Anthony Hopkins, The Remains of the Day
Anthony Hopkins, Shadowlands
Harrison Ford, The Fugitive
Robin Williams, Mrs. Doubtfire
Tom Hanks, Sleepless in Seattle
Kevin Kline, Dave
Johnny Depp, Benny & Joon
Laurence Fishburne, What's Love Got to Do with It

[QUENTIN]

I don't know how I forgot 1989 first time around. 4 performances from this year rank in my top 10 of the whole 1980's. What a fantastic crop:

Matt Dillon -Drugstore Cowboy **
James Spader -sex, lies, and videotape *
Daniel Day-Lewis -My Left Foot *
Tom Cruise -Born On The Fourth of July *
Michel Blanc -Monsieur Hire *
Morgan Freeman -Driving Miss Daisy & Lean On Me
John Cusack -Say Anything...
Kenneth Branagh -Henry V
Matthew Broderick -Glory
Kevin Costner -Field of Dreams
Axel Jodorowsky -Santa Sangre
Harrison Ford -Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade
Chow Yun-Fat -The Killer
Donald Sutherland -A Dry White Season
Christian Slater -Heathers
Michael Douglas -The War of The Roses
Billy Zane -Dead Calm
Jeff Bridges -The Fabulous Baker Boys
Beau Bridges -The Fabulous Baker Boys
Lothaire Bluteau -Jesus of Montreal
Michael McManus -Speaking Parts
Michael Gambon -The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
Billy Crystal -When Harry Met Sally...
Al Pacino -Sea of Love
Robin Williams -Dead Poety's Society
Steve Martin -Parenthood
Ron Silver -Enemies, A Love Story
Colin Firth -Valmont

And arguably:
Danny Aeillo -Do The Right Thing
Martin Landau -Crimes and Misdemeanors
Nick Nolte -New York Stories