Great Performances
 

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I've always gotten such pleasure from threads started here that compile lists of favorite movies, books, poetry, songs, etc.

One thing I'd enjoy is a compilation of great performances by artists of any genre — music performances, clips from live theatre, movie scenes, or anything that qualifies in your mind as being a great performance.

I'll start and hope others will contribute.

This extraordinary performance by Aretha Franklin: "Natural Woman" live from the Kennedy Center.

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Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is J. K. Simmons's award-winning turn in Whiplash from 2014. Probably the most intense movie I have ever seen. Simmons plays a prestigious music college bandleader (jazz), who is downright sadistic in squeezing the best out of his pupils. Here's a representative scene, though be forewarned that it is absolutely rife with foul language and epithets...

I've never understood how to compare performances. Maybe I can learn from those of you who don't share my blindness.
Why prefer Ms. Franklin's performance of this song to, say, Ms. King's performance on the original recording? (I can hear, of course, that they're different.)

A friend's daughter being the most badass bride ever in 2015, performing with her Taiko group as the sun sets behind Scripps Pier:
https://www.facebook.com/731388774/v...3299326088775/
I love San Diego.

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It's strictly subjective, Max. What makes AF's performance great for me was the context (it's a Carole King composition and she's being honored for her lifetime achievements. She —Carole King — appears overwhelmed with gratitude and doesn't hold back), the fact that this might have been one of her last public performances, her drop-dead swagger as she moves from the piano to centerstage, the shedding of the fur coat (who wears a fur coat under the hot lights?!?) and then of course her astonishing, electrifying voice. In my mind, Carole King owns the copyright to the song, but Aretha Franklin owns the best performance of the song.

Funny thing is, I'm not a big fan of her. But this transcends my preference for musical styles, etc. and I am genuinely moved by her performance/prescence in this. It is clear, too, that every single member of the audience is moved. Carole is ecstatic.

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I agree! To be there would have been an unforgettable experience.

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Perhaps it’s the modernity of it, but I never truly felt the desperation and the depth of Hamlet's soliloquy until I heard it delivered by David Tennant here. Acting genius. Great camera work.

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I’ve posted this before, but I can’t help myself. The jazz poetry I’ve heard—even Langston himself—is jazz and poetry. This may be the only true blend I’ve ever heard. Where is that mesmerizing old PBS series?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVRzeTWP9Fk

Here she is again, framed by Odetta.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47lw8pc7mdw

A genius for performing his words as well as for fashioning them, I think:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nboj...bCByZWFkcyA%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cJ_... CByZWFkcyA%3D
"I like that," said Offa, "sing it again."

Here's one you may enjoy (Iris DeMent, but I don't think she wrote this one).

PS-- She wrote this one, though, which is quite wonderful.

One more (for now). This is a great performance by Sinead O'Connor of a song I had never heard before, Lagan Love.

That's a great Hamlet! Directed by Gregory Doran, based on his 2008 production. Theater directing is the one interpretive art that I feel I get, because it's made up of choices I can experience (particularly when the play is a familiar one, so I can compare the choices to those of other productions). In this Hamlet, time and time again lines mean something different than I'd ever heard them mean before, and not giving the impression that Doran and his cast were trying to be clever, but making me feel "Oh that's what Shakespeare meant!" That I can't think of a specific example shows me it's time to rewatch this. Thanks for bringing it up, Jim.

Especially the last minute or so: Malagueña - Gaby Moreno

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Thanks everyone — and keep them coming, keep digging, keep raising the bar higher and higher, looking for rarer and rarer examples of rare performances. I have a few more that I'll post soon.

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A performance of a kind, and her only truly televised interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1zw...aXNwZWN0b3I g

I’ve watched that interview too many times, Cam. She passed away soon after.

Here's a extremely great performance of Summertime by Janis Joplin.

Well, I'll give a nod to Heath Ledger. I thought he was fantastic in Brokeback Mountain, which should have won best picture (on a night when Hollywood was patting their backs on being so inclusive, Crash being the winner...) And then the only superhero movie I ever liked, because of him (swear to God, Nolan should thank the stars for him). So, for me, it is not the best performance (tho it is), but the best poetic moment. It is funny and painful. Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stranger.

Here's one for you -- Dan Vasc is a Brazilian singer, classically-trained, but whose main genre is heavy metal. His cover of Amazing Grace is an incredible performance -- the things he does with his voice across multiple register changes are really impressive, and as a longtime chorister I am in awe (/envious) of his breath control. https://youtube.com/watch?v=89g9yMGFGlM

(For lots of needy details about how he's vocalizing, here's a great reaction/breakdown video by a vocal coach: https://youtube.com/watch?v=bFG6LZM3EDA)

His Adeste Fidelis is also a thing of joy. More Christmas carols should be sung this way! https://youtube.com/watch?v=EyrqmLfh-Qs

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These are all so enjoyable to experience. Thank you.

A film scene that at the time gave me an epiphanic jolt was “The Choice” scene in Sophie’s Choice. What makes this scene so great upon repeated viewings is not the noir-tinged, wide-angle camera work that portrays the utter banality of evil that was so eviscerating, nor was it the flawless acting of Streep, but rather the acting of the child, Sophie's daughter, in her arms. It is incomprehensible to me how a child that age can so perfectly embody the character they are playing. The displaced scream that is shown on Sophie’s face but heard as the child’s scream is cinematic magic. I am forever grateful for having seen it.

Here it is.

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Yes, this is powerfully sad but he managed to make that sadness profound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHCfZTRGiI

Here's another one that's sad. And I'm guessing you all have seen it before. But if we're talking great performances, Sinead's cover of Prince certainly qualifies in my book. This would be great just for listening, but the emotion she conveys with her face is what makes it special. Nothing Compares 2 U

Years ago I saw Jessica Lange on Broadway playing Blanche Dubois, and it was a great performance indeed. Spurred by this thread, I looked on YouTube and found that the entire play with Lange and Baldwin is online! It's a bad print, but still quite effective. Watch the last four or five minutes, and have a tissue handy. I think the most heartbreaking line ever written may be, "Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." And though it suffers from overfamiliarity, Lange nails it.

This isn't the same staging I saw, but it looks great: Streetcar

I always thought Jack Lemmon was a bit of an underrated actor. Outstanding, memorable performance in Glengarry Glen Ross. I don't have a link, but easy enough to look up if you're not familiar with the movie (which I recommend).

Alec Baldwin was also great in Glengarry. (I believe that Glengarry Glen Ross had no speaking parts for women, and women were on screen for just moments).

Yes, they are all white males. AND Kevin Spacey is in it. "Viewer discretion is advised."

Jack Lemmon underrated? I don't think so. I think he's highly regarded. At least by me. The Apartment is one of my favorite movies. Shirley MacLean is also great in it, by the way. (And it's also a wonderful movie script-wise).

I would hope that he's highly regarded. I'm certainly a big fan. What I meant by "a bit underrated" is that, in my experience, I just never hear his name come up when it comes to great actors/performances. He's just so natural I guess is the word that first comes to mind. I know of that movie, Roger, but I admit I haven't seen it yet. I'll punch it in to my movie machine and see if it comes up. (A friend directed me to this wonderful website- have been able to access nearly every movie I've searched for. Nearly in that Oppenheimer has been a no go so far. But I did get Asteroid City...)

Sad to learn that she just died today. Such a talent.

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I have tried and tried, searched far and wide, googled and googled and googled, looking for a clip of Jonathan Groff's portrayal of King George III singing "You'll Be Back" from Hamilton that was filmed by Disney and the camera angles and close-ups give you a “front row seat” to what I consider a masterclass in stage acting.

For starters, the lyrics (written by Lin Manual Miranda) are poetry.
But it is Groff's remarkably subtle, outrageous portrayal of King George that is masterful. Watch his eyes. (He blinks just twice during the whole performance.) Watch his body language. His walk. His lips. His shoulders. His hands. I think it is as close to perfection as acting can get. Not to mention his great singing voice. And the costume! Remember, too, that King George eventually goes mad. You can feel it bubbling beneath the surface in this performance.

Disney filmed a live performance of Hamilton (available on Disney+. I think you could do a month free trial and then cancel. It would definitely be worth it just to see the film version with all its angles, closeup, etc. that give you a feeling like you are sitting on stage).

Unfortunately the only clips of it I can find are ones posted by singing coaches and acting coaches. (Disney, I suspect, has blocked the scene from being seen on YouTube).

Here is the best clip I could find of it. It plays the entire three-minute performance uninterrupted but in split screen. You can enlarge the video so that only Groff’s performance fills the screen. After the uninterrupted performance the acting coach then goes back and analyzes it and does a good job. Definitely worth watching his commentary so that you don’t miss any of the myriad of things Groff does to pull of this gem.


Btw, watching a filmed version of a live performance is a crazy-good way of seeing live theatre. During the pandemic the Metropolitan Opera began streaming live performances of operas and it has made me into an opera fan.


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You're in for a treat. I think it's Billy Wilder's best. And it's Shirley MacLean at her most beautiful. Oh, and Fred Macmurray is great as the evil boss.

Yes, Roger, my movie machine gets it, though I haven't had the time to watch it (but will soon). Thank you.

Added: I don't think I've ever watched a movie starring Shirley MacLaine before Terms of Endearment. Isn't that terrible? But she was fantastic in that. The very first scene of that movie is one of my favorite moments of all time. (I could of course be forgetting some things- I'm generally pretty good from the late 60s onwards. Before that, I'm terrible.)

Always loved Sinead. She's a big chunk of the soundtrack to my college years. Such power and grace that stopped me still. Her voice always shattered me. And talk about gender bias. Male artists with significant talent and mental issues are not only more respected for that in most (or all) cases, but even romanticized. Yes, ripping up the pope was unpopular at the time, but it has aged well (it aged well 10 years later). I have the feeling, though, that she's being resurrected more than the average rock god's passing. Tremendous loss, before and after her death.

O'Connor on SNL is its own great performance.

"I feel that having a No. 1 record derailed my career, and my tearing the photo put me back on the right track."

I remember when that happened, Walter, and the prevailing thought was grandstanding. Wasn't so much that she was going after the pope. It might have ruined her career. That she felt well with herself from there going forward, probably not. But that also probably had little to do with that particular moment. She was correct, however you look at it.

What bothers me most about Sinead's work are the arrangements. So horribly 80s. Just crippled by the corny riff, etc. Mandinka, and most especially I Want Your Hands On Me- just a stunning song without the bullshit. She needed a more visionary producer.

Tell me why
 

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I don't know why no one has commented on a #30 post I made of Jonathan Groff's performance of "You'll Be Back".

Is it that no one watched it? Is it that you did but found it uninspiring? Is it that people sometimes find musical theatre to be little more than watered down knockoff opera?

I wish I could find a version without commentary interspersed. It just doesn't seem to exist unfortunately.

But really. How can you watch/listen to this acting performance and not be impressed by his virtuoso performance?

Tell me why. I don't understand!

Here's another analysis of it that is, in spots, off the mark and at times a bit irritating, but it does touch on all the various facets of the performance. For me it is the benchmark for what I was thinking of when I asked for great performances.

Btw, this is a part of a medley of cameo appearances by King George in the play. Each one adroitly presents the "other side" in a most hyperbolic way. Brilliant lyric writing by Lin Manuel Miranda.


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Watch how he casually, easily outdoes the King.
https://youtu.be/tDWfOSKccLM
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I'm not sure this is a "great performance," but it's fun. Molly Tuttle and her band put on silly costumes as they cover "White Rabbit" with a series of truly brilliant instrumental solos.

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This is fantastic, thanks!

It immediately brought to mind Tom Petty's "Don'tCome Around Here No More"

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I've been meaning to pose a question here: Are great performances ubiquitous or are they rare? Isn't nature chockfull of great performances?

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I implore you not to turn away from this video of a 60 day time-lapse of a bird. Make sure the sound is on. I found it on Lex Fridman's instagram page. A great performance if ever there was one.
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Great cover of "Blown' In the Wind"

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