Film Experience Blog

Monday, April 26, 2010

21 comments:

Anonymous said...: Simply...the best.

Beps; 11:28 AM
NicksFlickPicks said...: "Don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars!" (Among which she surely, rightly, includes herself.); 12:12 PM
MRRIPLEY said...: SHE GOT BETTE DAVIS EYES!!!; 12:14 PM
Craig said...: Very likely the most talented star of the decade (1930s) was a popeyed little dynamo named Bette Davis. Though her own personality was so strong that every screen character she played, from The Old Maid to Jezebel, was unmistakenly Bette Davis, she was mevertheless able to inject a biting realism into a remarkable range of roles . . . Time/Life: This Fabulous Century 1930-1940

Who today could lay claim to such an accolade? Meryl Streep, perhaps?

From a precedent-setting string of concurrent Oscar nominations (1938-1942) to the top female box office draw in the late 30s and early 40s, Davis helped define what an actress could accomplish during Hollywood's Golden Age and laid the foundation of what film actresses today can achieve.

Bette Davis -- you did it your way -- and we thank you for your great performances and blazing a trail of modernity in film acting for your contemporaries and every actress since then.; 12:32 PM
John T said...: One of the "movie stars," indisputably.

It sort of makes you wonder who from our current batch of actors will become the sparkling diamonds in the cinema firmament-Roberts, Cruise, Hanks, Foster, Washington, Streep-any other actors from the past twenty years who truly deserve that title?; 12:38 PM
Rick said...: Davis was the Best ...but Streep is sitting there right beside her...

i think Streep will be remembered like Davis.. Streep, IMO, delved deeper into characterization... of course, in the 30's and 40's, they made many more movies a year under conrtract.; 1:50 PM
jimmy said...: "all about eve" was on last night. great!; 3:00 PM
Chris Na Taraja said...: RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN was on too....WOW! : ); 3:11 PM
Volvagia said...: I really don't know if anyone will be remembered. Streep is, frankly, noted now, but her only loved lead role is Sophie's Choice. So...that will be remembered, but her career could fade and bury fairly quickly once she dies. And, frankly, almost no one currently popular has the necessary mix of charisma and skill to endure. (I can think of three performers, popularity be damned, who could last: Bruce Campbell, Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. There were dozens of stars like that forwarding the medium up until the late 80s. Then ol' Schwarzie and CGI started to take over, saying, to quote schlock horror, "I spit on your grave" to charisma and talent. And yes: Chins can kill.); 3:13 PM
NATHANIEL R said...: Volvagia... i think you underestimate the love for Streep. Sophie's Choice is hardly her only beloved role. and even if it's true that she's sorely lacking in "classics" that measure up to having her in them, she's still got those massive seminal 70s hits and for the later years I think Devil Wears Prada will easily stay popular as a later entry.

also it seems to me that Postcards From the Edge -- but i admit some bias here since i loved it from the moment i laid eyes on it -- has collected far more fans over the years than it originally had.; 3:29 PM
JD said...: My all time favourite actress; 3:33 PM
John T said...: Bruce Campbell? That's a bit of a stretch for an actor that's never even been nominated for an Emmy, and isn't remotely a household name. The other two, however, could be considered Movie Stars (full caps).; 4:25 PM
Lady Macbeth said...: just a question... when will the actress psychic page be completed?; 6:32 PM
cal roth said...: I think Streep's today Sophie's Choice will be The Bridges of Madison County tomorrow.

Not only it's her best performance ever to many people, the movie got a cult rare movies starred by Streep can claim. It was chosen the best film of the 90's by Cahiers du Cinema, and it belongs to a filmography of a very acclaimed director (like it or not).

If your movie is seen as great, more people will see your performance. Just think how many people today love Davis in All About Eve, no matter that she landed her best work in the 30's, in Human Bondage, The Letter or Dark Victory.

Streep has been great since ever, but the movies? No-no. Madison County will be her Johnny Guitar.; 6:55 PM
Kenneth said...: Watch on the Rhine!!! (I think); 7:38 PM
Craig said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2:12 AM
Craig said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2:35 AM
Craig said...: As a technician, Meryl Streep has no peer -- and like Davis, she has registered a high level of honesty and realism in her body of work. But what of her emotional range? Can you essentially get lost in her characterization of the roles she has approached like you can with Davis?

Watching both Davis and Streep, you are aware at one level that they are acting, and you are cognizant that both Davis and Streep are doing what they do best -- presenting us with a truthfulness of characer but never forgetting who they are on screen. That is a mark of a true star.

But ultimately, to judge the best actors, the force of personality is superceded by acting as a craft, and this is where both Davis and Streep excel -- they remain true to each role, giving us an honest, emotional and relevent insight into the character they manifest.

The difference between the two? For me, Davis is more emotionally nuanced whereas Streep is the ultmost character actress -- she more readily sheds her personality and becomes the character.

Different approaches, but equally facinating -- Davis emphasizing the emotional and Streep the technical -- but both essentially integrating these two acting styles to give us unforgetable performances that have elevated the art of film acting.; 2:46 AM
Runs Like A Gay said...: I'd just decided to rewatch Dark Victory this evening as well.

Thanks for the screen shot.

I'm off to get the tissues out.; 1:27 PM
Volvagia said...: I said "popularity be damned." And yes, Kidman and RDJ are famous, but not only does 1. Fame have nothing to do with charisma or skill, but also 2. they're the exception, not the rule. On the pop side, are many going to remember Will Smith, Christian Bale or Leo DiCaprio, among countless others, years after they stop putting out movies? On the more artistic film side, will there be vast public rediscoveries of films featuring Nick Nolte, Sean Penn or Susan Sarandon? Like the first statement, there are numerous modern under-charismatic "serious actors" I could have substituted. And I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Hollywood abandoning Christian Slater was, and still is, a travesty.; 3:19 PM
Ed A said...: not sure if you can listen to this but its a short radio play on the davis crawford feud. Very funny!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s3h42#synopsis; 5:59 PM