Best Jack Nicholson Performance

[movielover-9]

I'd pick Randle P. McMurphy in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". Classic! Jack Torrence in "The Shining" comes second.

[Adam J. Hakari]

In a powerful, touching performance that nearly brought a tear to my eye, Warren Schmidt from ABOUT SCHMIDT.

McMurphy's about one step away from top honors, though.

[MikeyB]

J.J. Gittes in Chinatown and McMurphy in OFOTCN.

[AnnoyingQuestionAsker]

With how much I love many of those listed performances, I went with "Other" for his portrayal of The Joker in BATMAN.

[Sugar Magnolia]

He's great in everything, especially About Schmidt, As Good As It Gets, Terms of Endearment, and Chinatown, but I've got to say his best performance was as R.P. McMurphy in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

[dannywalker17]

Definetely The Shining for me.

[QUENTIN]

Other: Robert Eroica Dupea in Five Easy Pieces

[Hannibal21]

TOP 10 JACK NICHOLSON ROLES:
1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
2. Chinatown
3. Terms of Endearment
4. A Few Good Men
5. The Shining
6. Five Easy Pieces
7. As Good as it Gets
8. Batman
9. Reds
10. About Schmidt

TOP 10 JACK NICHOLSON MOVIES:
1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
2. Chinatown
3. The Shining
4. Five Easy Pieces
5. Terms of Endearment
6. Batman
7. A Few Good Men
8. About Schmidt
9. Reds
10. As Good as it Gets

[Moviefan1234]

Jessop in "A Few Good Men."

[MickeyKnox]

George Hanson in Easy Rider

[The Delfonics]

I havent seen all of these movies but Jack in the Shining

[bob]

I went with McMurphy.

[The Claw]

I voted for his part of Randle Patrick McMurphy in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest"

[Annie Hall]

McMurphy without a doubt

[Spielberg-Fan]

McMurphy, no question.

[ze424]

I don't like him... but I have to chose so it's A Few Good Men

[eraserhead_99]

I voted The Shining. Schmidt and Mcmurphy were great too.

[Brock-Landers]

Jack Nicholson was at his greatest in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

[bowieee]

The Shining. Forever made me scared everytime I see his Mug.

[DaMovieMan]

R.P. MacMurphy "One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest". (10/10)

Followed closely by Jack Torrence in 'The Shining'. (10/10)

DMM

[Clarkey07]

The Shinnig followed closely by One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and A Few Good Men

[rupert pupkin]

"good god boy...your about as big as a mountain....looks like you mighta played some football"

[Jon Lyrik]

Other: his role in Batman. The Shining comes a close second.

[Drewza89]

1) Randall Patrick McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
2) Jack Torrance in The Shining
3) Jack "The Joker" Napier in Batman
4) Col. Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men
5) J.J. "Jake" Gittes in Chinatown
6) Costello in The Departed

[Le_Big_Mac]

Best Role: Chinatown

Best Performance: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Best Movie: Chinatown

[LelekPL]

This one is though as you can't really pick the best one. It's a tight race however between McMurphy, Torrance, Hansen ad the Colonel. I just can't choose.
But when picking his best movie I would have to go with something entirely different - the Departed. Sorry Cuckoo fans

[Jig Saw 123]

Best Performance: The Shining

Best Characters: The Joker and Francis "Frank" Costello

[Natty]

Best Role: MacMurphy, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Best Performance: Costello, The Departed or Dupea, Five Easy Pieces.

Best Movie: The Departed

[Mr. Creasy]

Best Role
Frank Costello - The Departed

Best Performance
Randle Patrick McMurphy - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Best Movie
The Shining

[Monotreme]

On the one hand, I really wanted to vote for About Schmidt, just because I felt that it was easily his second best performance and just an absolutely amazing, beautiful, tragic, incredible piece of acting and because I saw that it only had 5 votes and not really enough representation. But in the end, I decided to go for what I thought was truly his best performance, as MacMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Just... riveting. Simply riveting.

[ivana]

RP McMurphy in OFOTCN

[Art Vandelay]

Best Role - MacMurphy, Cuckoos Nest
Best Performance - About Schmidt
Best Movie - The Shining

While most would say Cuckoo's Nest is his best performance, I find that the better the script the easier the performance. And this script fit him to the T. This isn't to say that About Schmidt isn't a great script, it's fabulous, but this is also, in my opinion, the most "un-Jack" performance he's given. And The Shining is one of the two best (and in my opinion only) true horror movies ever made. This was easy. And fun. I love Jack.

[athf1980]

This was a tough call. I love both of his performance from One Flew & The Shining. so I flip a coin and One flew won.

[MightyCelestial]

My top 5 faves:

5. Hoffa - Okay, I know he got razzed alot for this performance, but I liked it alot. When I look at footage of Jimmy Hoffa, Jack looks & sounds in this film alot like the corrupted union leader
But since I'm not only in the minority in this opinion, but most likely, I'm the only one who holds this view, I'll just end my thoughts on this now so that the attention of anyone who reads this will disappear as quickly as Hoffa's body.

4. A Few Good Men - Jack in a role that plays perfectly to his strengths. A mean ol' sunuvabitch with a focused confidence, a black heart & a wry look that you know he wears wether he's describing a blowjob from a female officer or warding off bullets from Cuban snipers in defense of this great country and, more importantly, of his military career. And Nicholson does this to such a successful degree, that even though he doesn't really have all that much screentime in this film, the face of Col. Jessup in the witness chair is usually the 1st. image that comes up when this movie is mentioned. And as always, the mark of a great performance is to be able to deliver a line that ends up becoming a part of the culture. And if you don't agree with that, there's only one reason why:
"YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!"

3. The Shining - First of all, I'm always partial to Stanley Kubrick. IMO, he tends to make movies that are an inch away from being abstract beyond understanding, but keeps the flow of the film reeled in just enough to make seem like it makes sense on some kind of creative level. Add in the grounding of a Stephen King story & a role taylor made for Jack Nicholson, & you have one of my top favorite horror movies. And with very little slashing, to boot. The horror stems more from Jack's delivery & facial expressions as his character gradually slips into the madness of the haunted hotel's dark intentions.
"Here's Johnny!" wouldn't be a very scary line if it weren't for Jack's maniacal mug peering thru the door's cracked orifice, freshly smashed thru by the axe-wielding writer with "redrum" on his mind.

2. As Good As It Gets - I've never really been into romance flicks all that much. The few that I do enjoy usually tend to have a sort of a sharp or jagged edge to 'em. And this one definitely does thru Jack's portrayal of a writer with "redrum" on his mind. At least, he does with the little dog during the opening sequence. Nicholson eases thru the role of a crusty curmudgeon with psychological problems ( Is it just me or does it seem that the majority of Jack's most memorable roles always have something seriously askew upstairs? Or am I just being crazy?), & he does so with an insanely smoothness of an actor who can do this blindfolded. And the fact that, at the same time, he still manages to allow himself to deliver lines that would make the ladies go "awwww...", therefore, substantially increasing the chances of me "gettin' some" with my date, & you can see why this beats The Shining as my number two spot.

1. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - I recently watched this movie again, & for me, this is about as good as it gets ( ...sorry). Randall McMurphy is a mischievious criminal who ends up becoming a leader of rebellion & eventually, a friend to Billy & the rest the Cuckoo's Nest. Jack's performance is not of a man overly or angelically transformed, but as someone who's ability to care is gradually bought up to the surface by the only type of people who could cause such a subtle & internal catalyst: a group of guys who are crazier than he is.

[Iclubseals]

Melvin Udall followed by The Joker

[John Galt]

Although I voted for Cuckoo, his performances in Five Easy Pieces, The Crossing Guard, and The Pledge were all extraordinary.

[syxxpac]

Jake Gittes in Chinatown, followed very closely by Frank Costello in The Departed and R.P McMurphy in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Special shoutout to his overlooked work as the existentially alienated journalist David Locke in Antonioni's The Passenger.

[bigred760]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

[Trail_Blazer]

I went with The Shining on this, with Cuckoo's Nest close behind it.

Jack's great at playing mental!

[Major Mojo]

Schmidt

Very different kind of Jack character...

[rithsarc]

gah. that was a bloody tough one to answer though i will agree with the majority that One Flew Over the Cuckoos nest was by far his best performance. Just one question though, where is Anger Management on that list? :p

[the_deacon]

Best of the 'Others'

'Bad Ass' Buddusky - The Last Detail
Frank Chambers - The Postman Always Rings Twice
Daryl Van Horne - The Witches of Eastwick

[Freddy Krueger]

Cuckoo's Nest

[PSU80]

The Shining

[LordSimen]

Jack Fuckin' Torrence. None of his others even compare.

[notchreturns]

1. Five Easy Pieces
2. Chinatown
3. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
4. The Passenger
5. The Shining
6. About Schmidt
7. The Last Detail
8. The Pledge
9. Prizzi's Honor
10. Carnal Knowledge

[rh123]

I cant really choose from the list, but The Deaprted is an excellent movie and his role was played really well.

[tbone]

Other: Robert Eroica Dupea in Five Easy Pieces

for the chicken salad scene alone - not to mention that scene with his father