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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2019 13:26:40 GMT
Ellen Barkin, Cher, Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Hershey, Holly Hunter, Anjelica Huston, Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon, Sissy Spacek, Kathleen Turner, Sigourney Weaver, Debra Winger, and of course, Meryl Streep. Fire. Share your thoughts on this Golden Age of American actressing? Who are your personal favorites? Edit: I included Sarandon.
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Post by pacinoyes on Feb 14, 2019 13:54:51 GMT
Fine actresses all but the fun one to talk about is Pfeiffer. Underrated because she's gorgeous and started as at best a marginal figure (Grease 2) and didn't do much of anything until later in the decade. Hollywood used her as a pretty face or something quirky until the roles caught up to her.
She later gave a genuinely great performance in Frankie & Johnny in '91 and then got major sh it for it because we do not understand acting roles etc. in this country - at all - and some kind of sexist BS too - i.e. the role is meant for someone "ugly" or "average" where her actual looks works and make it deeper with an added a layer of complexity (ie this gorgeous woman doesn't see her beauty). The "fact" that she stole the role - did she? - from 1990 "Oscar winner" Kathy Bates who originated it onstage (role was written for her) is one of the biggest "So what/Who Gives a Fnck?" in modern movies.
Anyway, Pfeiffer is fascinating to look at in that way and to contrast with Winger who as an actress is unique from all of these others and who started really fast and then hit the wall..............hard.
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Post by Allenism on Feb 14, 2019 14:03:40 GMT
You forgot Susan Sarandon.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2019 14:05:39 GMT
You forgot Susan Sarandon. I tend to think of her as one of the actresses who defined the 90s, though she does have several key performances from the 80s... Atlantic City, The Hunger, The Witches of Eastwick, Bull Durham...
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Post by MsMovieStar on Feb 14, 2019 14:15:14 GMT
Oh Tyler honey, JUDY DAVIS!!!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2019 14:17:47 GMT
Oh Tyler honey, JUDY DAVIS!!! Who is Australian, honey.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Feb 14, 2019 14:23:31 GMT
Oh Tyler honey, JUDY DAVIS!!! Who is Australian, honey.
Who?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2019 14:25:58 GMT
Who is Australian, honey.
Who?
Judy Davis is Australian! The thread is about American actresses.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Feb 14, 2019 15:17:29 GMT
Judy Davis is Australian! The thread is about American actresses. Oh honey! Sometimes being this beautiful is a curse...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2019 15:22:55 GMT
Judy Davis is Australian! The thread is about American actresses. Oh honey! Sometimes being this beautiful is a curse... ![](https://66.media.tumblr.com/6cb28031d73276b546b3fc50b5c8aea5/tumblr_ms05roYoZE1qfw572o1_400.gif)
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Post by speeders on Feb 14, 2019 17:04:42 GMT
I would include Geena Davis too! She may not have been super prolific but she won an Oscar for The Accidental Tourist and did The Fly and Beetlejuice. I second the Susan Sarandon mention too.
But yes, I did not actually realize what a strong decade for American actresses this was. My favorite is Pfeiffer, followed by Lange, but Close's 80's work is very strong too.
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Post by Javi on Feb 14, 2019 17:13:04 GMT
Cher, Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Hershey, Holly Hunter, Anjelica Huston, Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sissy Spacek, Kathleen Turner, Sigourney Weaver, Debra Winger, and of course, Meryl Streep. Fire. Share your thoughts on this Golden Age of American actressing? Who are your personal favorites? An amazing era for American actresses. If you look at young actresses today... there's no comparison really. And none of them fit the "damsel in distress" stereotype. On the contrary, they were all kind of fierce. Spacek, who might've come closest to the public's idea of an "ingenue", demolished that the second she did Carrie. Same for Pfeiffer: her Susie Diamond and her Selina Kyle were something else.
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Post by bob-coppola on Feb 15, 2019 14:02:45 GMT
For me, the 2010's is still by far the best decade for actresses, maybe behind the 60's because so many iconic performances are from that time. But the 80's were so important to cement the status of many of the current giant actresses, the ones everyone looks up to.
I can't start talking about the 80's by anyone else besides Meryl. That's when she delivered her two finest performances - and two I consider all-time best -, Sophie's Choice and A Cry In The Dark. They're so different from each other, and show different strenghts from Streep. She also had The French Lieutenant's Woman, Out of Africa, Silkwood, Ironweed and even the campfest that's She's Devil (not entirely good, but a sign that she was willing to step into new territory).
And then I'd move to Holly Hunter. Her best performance (The Piano) came in the 1990's, but she had pretty great movies between Blood Simple, Raising Arizona and Broadcast News. And then Close, who was simply iconic in Dangerous Liasions and Fatal Attraction, even if I don't care about the other movies she did in the 80's.
And even if they didn't go on to have careers I love, I think Whoopi and Barbara Hershey are two unsung heroes from the 80's. The Color Purple, Shy People and A World Apart are performances people should talk about more.
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Post by ingmarhepburn on Feb 16, 2019 1:11:17 GMT
Great decade for american actresses. My favourites are:
1. Jessica Lange, with her performances in Frances, Tootsie and Sweet Dreams, among others; 2. Meryl Streep, with Sophie's Choice, Out of Africa and A Cry in the Dark (I still need to see Silkwood); 3. Sigourney "badass" Weaver, who delivered iconic performances in Aliens and Gorillas in the Mist; 4. Michelle Pfeiffer, melting the screen with her performance in The Fabulous Baker Boys after the already successful turns in Scarface, Married to the Mob and Dangerous Liaisons.
The others are also great, but these have higher highs.
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Post by Schiggy on Feb 17, 2019 3:58:51 GMT
Judy Davis is Australian! The thread is about American actresses. Oh honey! Sometimes being this beautiful is a curse... Oh honey, I forgive you. Australia didn't become a state until 1994, anyways.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Feb 17, 2019 4:30:14 GMT
Oh honey! Sometimes being this beautiful is a curse... Oh honey, I forgive you. Australia didn't become a state until 1994, anyways. Thanks honey.
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Post by SeanJoyce on Feb 22, 2019 4:31:12 GMT
I love Debra Winger man, and for a short time there she was throwing serious heat...but just like Edward Norton (appropriate given the current discussion), her reputation for being difficult to work with derailed her career.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2019 4:22:19 GMT
I edited my OP to also include Ellen Barkin... Can't believe I forgot to mention her. She was THE "it-girl" of the late 80s with The Big Easy and Sea of Love. pacinoyesGood God, those gams. The hottest sex scene ever put to celluloid... ![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FBInvvykbdc/T00dYuJNImI/AAAAAAAAAac/mvokjmG5rEc/s1600/bigeasy+001.jpg)
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 10, 2019 10:44:15 GMT
I love her in a shallow pacinoyes way like sometimes I really really loved her looks and her slightly goofy crumpled face - in Sea of Love - all 80s big hair and wide lapels - swooooooooooooon ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/6692321/images/KAUR26Rad8w62aSMorQH.gif) she has the kind of body where it doesn't seem like a gym body - she's just sexy beyond belief. Her acting in Sea of Love should have taken her into Pfeiffer star territory but it came too late I guess - she was mid-30s there. Pacino had never done anything like that opposite a strong female (maybe Panic in Needle Park but not really) and that was just his 13th film performance (3rd cop!) iirc. Think of that he had been around since '71 and that was '89 - he was the DDL of his day. But that's a different issue! She should have had that career bump because there are several scenes in that movie where she goes at him and is his equal in scenes and you know, at that time, no one did that to him. I often say that Streep 15 years later in AiA challenged Pacino which made him be more "female-friendly" and a better, more complete actor as he got older (yeah, I said it) - opposite Streep, Mirren, Hunter, Sarandon, Bening - but you could actually say it started here with Barkin. Most importantly she talked seriously about acting - she knew who were the best actors going and she tried to do stuff that would make her a better actor too. It didn't always work out - a Nicholson flop and some good work that didn't fully click and she got a lot of bad breaks too (her performance in Blake Edwards Switch is a total gem in a dud film that deserves to be rediscovered in the #metoo era - she's a riot) but she was never a pushover or a wallflower. I am posting a long scene here but this scene is exactly what she had that made her special and unique - watch how it starts and ends, this is 50s film noir level tough girl stuff - none of the movies that Sea of Love was "like" were like this at all. She stands up to him, the way a real person would, and look at the levels in this writing (by Richard Price) and acting and yeah it's his scene but she is totally his equal as a character and actress in this role.
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Post by ibbi on Mar 10, 2019 10:47:57 GMT
It's pretty incredible how in the space of 4 years Field, Sarandon, Keaton, Close, Bates, Hershey, Weaver, Streep, Lange and Spacek were all born. Something was definitely in the water in post-war America. Granted, some of them broke out before this period you're focusing on, and some of them after, but it's an interesting topic within a topic ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/6692321/images/MZ2eSp2yC2LljdVTLpdl.gif)
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Post by pupdurcs on Mar 10, 2019 12:13:18 GMT
It's pretty incredible how in the space of 4 years Field, Sarandon, Keaton, Close, Bates, Hershey, Weaver, Streep, Lange and Spacek were all born. Something was definitely in the water in post-war America. Granted, some of them broke out before this period you're focusing on, and some of them after, but it's an interesting topic within a topic ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/6692321/images/MZ2eSp2yC2LljdVTLpdl.gif) When you consider the population size of Australia, I think it's maybe even more incredible that Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Naomi Watts, Rachel Griffiths, Frances 'O Connor and Claudia Karvan were born within about 4 years of each other. The previous generation, they pretty much had Judy Davis and that was it. Then it exploded.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2019 12:17:09 GMT
It's pretty incredible how in the space of 4 years Field, Sarandon, Keaton, Close, Bates, Hershey, Weaver, Streep, Lange and Spacek were all born. Something was definitely in the water in post-war America. Granted, some of them broke out before this period you're focusing on, and some of them after, but it's an interesting topic within a topic ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/6692321/images/MZ2eSp2yC2LljdVTLpdl.gif) When you consider the population size of Australia, I think it's maybe even more incredible that Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Naomi Watts, Rachel Griffiths, Frances 'O Connor and Claudia Karvan were born within about 4 years of each other. The previous generation, they pretty much had Judy Davis and that was it. Then it exploded. Watts is British, Kidman was born in Hawaii, and Blanchett's father was Texan, but yes, Australia has produced some incredible talent.
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Post by pupdurcs on Mar 10, 2019 12:32:37 GMT
When you consider the population size of Australia, I think it's maybe even more incredible that Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Naomi Watts, Rachel Griffiths, Frances 'O Connor and Claudia Karvan were born within about 4 years of each other. The previous generation, they pretty much had Judy Davis and that was it. Then it exploded. Watts is British, Kidman was born in Hawaii, and Blanchett's father was Texan, but yes, Australia has produced some incredible talent. Watts is a bit iffy, because she moved to Australia at 14, which isn't young enough to make her country of birth/origin irrelevant. And she tends to claim Brit status or Australian status depending on convenience over the years. But she did start her acting training and career in Australia, so I guess they can take credit for her. Kidman being born in Hawaii and Blanchett having an American father are technicalities. Kidman's AustralIan parents took her back to Australus as a toddler, where she was raised and trained as an actor. And Blanchett was born and raised in Melbourne. I consider Kidman and Blanchett to be 100% Australian (even if they have dual nationality) and products of Australian acting training.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2019 12:36:41 GMT
Watts is British, Kidman was born in Hawaii, and Blanchett's father was Texan, but yes, Australia has produced some incredible talent. Kidman being born in Hawaii and Blanchett having an American father are technicalities. Kidman's AustralIan parents took her back to Australus as a toddler, where she was raised and trained as an actor. And Blanchett was born and raised in Melbourne. I consider Kidman and Blanchett to be 100% Australian (even if they have dual nationality) and products of Australian acting training. I'm just pulling your leg. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/6692321/images/VX9qBdLG_XyugpFkNIU4.gif) Of course they are 100% Aussie. Kidman and Blanchett, that is.
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Post by pupdurcs on Mar 10, 2019 12:39:13 GMT
Kidman being born in Hawaii and Blanchett having an American father are technicalities. Kidman's AustralIan parents took her back to Australus as a toddler, where she was raised and trained as an actor. And Blanchett was born and raised in Melbourne. I consider Kidman and Blanchett to be 100% Australian (even if they have dual nationality) and products of Australian acting training. I'm just pulling your leg. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/6692321/images/VX9qBdLG_XyugpFkNIU4.gif) Of course they are 100% Aussie. Kidman and Blanchett, that is. Poor Watts
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