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Post by wallsofjericho on Feb 25, 2022 21:25:22 GMT
Taking from Pacinoeyes earlier thread, how would you rank the following legendary brits. It was a random selection.
1) Alec Guinness
2) DDL
3) Albert Finney
4) Laurence Olivier
5) Gary Oldman
This is my personal preference but Guinness's range is remarkable to me and how he could switch more seamlessly between comedy and drama. Finney and DDL are neck and neck for me and could switch anytime. Hopkins was hugely influenced by Finney himself.
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Post by stephen on Feb 25, 2022 21:30:28 GMT
1. Daniel Day-Lewis.
(Richard Attenborough)
2. Alec Guinness.
3. Albert Finney.
4. Laurence Olivier.
5. Gary Oldman.
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Post by pacinoyes on Feb 25, 2022 22:00:33 GMT
The first 3 are my top UK ever : 1. Olivier - who is the UK's Brando imo - and entirely changed his film career arc and acting style over 50. I mean he's the starting point..... 2. Finney - who was the loosest and most freely associative actor from the UK - in that way he seems more American tbh and a precursor of Oldman than he does an heir to Olivier. 3. DDL - love him but he was only great like 7 times (his Oscar nods & The Boxer) - I mean " really great" 7 times. Not enough - or at least not enough to top Olivier and Finney - who surpass that number and did it first - AND had comedies which DDL really doesn't though he could be funny in dramas and was. Not overrated - just overrated at his esteemed level.........and not "THE GOAT" with 7 great film performances. I know why people say that.......but ....they are undoubtedly, obviously........ wrong  4. Guinness - Love him too and he's by far the best at comedy out of all these guys - and comedy matters A LOT to me - but he was like James Mason - a great actor who rarely carried the show and compared to the top 3 he seems lesser because of it. Olivier actually was what people make Mason and Guinness out to be ....I don't think they ever felt the burden Olivier had to carry........but he's obviously great and great at wrenching drama like The Prisoner too. 5. Oldman - His peak run only really went from 86-90 or so........and while he's been terrific since then too he hasn't been great in a way that stretches out to also surpass a talent like Guinness......I'd rather WATCH Oldman than Guinness personally though and of course he's still active so we don't know how we'll feel about him by the end........he has the talent to do anything though.
Olivier and Finney - in 1960 in The Entertainer ........like Brando passed the torch to Pacino, yanno? |
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Post by countjohn on Feb 25, 2022 23:22:17 GMT
DDL
Oldman
Olivier
Finney
Guinness
Just doing film work here, Olivier is a more talented actor than Oldman but his film resume might be a touch better at this point. All of these guys are really good so there's no shame in being in last and I am aware the argument could be made for both Finney and Guinness doing both drama/comedy. But the top three's dramatic work is just so good and as I've noted before it's not like DDL can't be extremely funny regardless of what genre you want to classify his movies as.
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Post by Mattsby on Feb 25, 2022 23:53:44 GMT
 To a man of extremely great importance.... 1. Albert Finney 2. Laurence Olivier 3. Gary Oldman 4. Daniel Day Lewis 5. Alec Guinness |
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Post by JangoB on Feb 26, 2022 1:47:13 GMT
1. Daniel Day-Lewis - muh personal goat
2. Alec Guinness
3. Albert Finney
4. Laurence Olivier
5. Gary Oldman
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Post by Kings_Requiem on Feb 26, 2022 2:15:32 GMT
Olivier
Finney
DDL
Guinness
Oldman
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Post by Mattsby on Feb 26, 2022 2:19:56 GMT
We have a George Smiley pair and a Churchill pair. Any other shared roles amongst these guys?
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Post by stephen on Feb 26, 2022 3:33:04 GMT
We have a George Smiley pair and a Churchill pair. Any other shared roles amongst these guys? If we threw Hopkins into the mix as well, we'd have Hitler, Sir, Othello, and Lear. |
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Post by Mattsby on Feb 26, 2022 4:07:26 GMT
We have a George Smiley pair and a Churchill pair. Any other shared roles amongst these guys? If we threw Hopkins into the mix as well, we'd have Hitler, Sir, Othello, and Lear. Van Helsing as well w Olivier. |
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Post by pupdurcs on Feb 26, 2022 8:25:48 GMT
1 Guinness
2 DDL & Oldman
3 Olivier
4 Finney
Guinness was a supreme film actor. A great dramatist and comedian. Never got the glory of Olivier, but his work screen work holds up far better. Frankly, he is the prototype for so many of the great British character actors, from Oldman to Ian McKellen. Also a great stage actor.
Hard to separate DDL and Oldman at this point. DDL is more celebrated, but I don't think he is more talented than Oldman, who can probably do a bit more. He just has a better career strategy. Oldman has wasted large chunks of his career taking on pointless roles in pointless films, but he himself is rarely bad (unlike say, Nic Cage). When he has a part that demands his full talent, he almost always can still deliver. DDL made himself a mythical figure with his selectiveness, and he is more of a leading man than Oldman. And he is great and exceptionally talented. But if he worked as much as Oldman, I can't see him being as celebrated. Oldman was greater on stage than DDL, but both of them gave up far too early in their careers.
Olivier is an occasionally great, film actor, but much of his film work has dated poorly. He is a great example of someone who was celebrated in their lifetime. As great as his stage reputation is and was, I can't rate him higher, because I don't think his film work in totality, lives up to. He did have the charisma of a star though, and you can see that in his screen work.
Finney is a great film and stage actor that lacks that indefinable charisma that the highest tier of stars had or have. He's great, but something always keeps me from putting him on a higher pedestal.
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