Who do you has given the greatest performances ever?

My top 10 are;

1. Al Pacino as Michael Corlonene--The Godfather PartII
2. Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta--Raging Bull
3. Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy-- On the waterfront
4. Al Pacino as Tony Montana-- Scarface
5. Ray Liotta as Henry Hill-- Goodfellas
6. Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen-- The Godfather Part II
7. Sean Connery as Sam Malone-- The Untouchables
8. Joe Pesci as Tommy DeSimone-- Goodfellas
9. Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corloene-- The Godfather
10. Sean Penn as David Kleinfeld-- Carlitos Way

Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro in Casino springs to mind.

Man wheres Harrison Ford as Indy..

James Dean-Rebal without a cause

1.Al Pacino as Antonio Montana---Scarface
2.Al Pacino as Michael Corlonene---The Godfather Part 2
3.Mickey Rourke as Henry Chinaski---Barfly
4.Robert De Niro as Ace---Casino
5.Joe Pesci asTommy Desimone---Goodfellas
6.Johnny Depp as George Jung---Blow
7.Sean Penn as David Kleinfeld---Carlito's way
8.Eric Bana as Mark "chopper"Read----Chopper
9.Marlon Brando as The Don Vito Corlonene
10.Al Pacino as Carlito Brigante---Carlito's way

thats my 10..probably very different to alot of others

He's next. Followed by Al Pacino as Carlito Brigante.

This DID say greatest performances EVER, right? Not just mafia-related movies?

In no real order:

• Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine (Casablanca)
  
• Al Pacino as Michael Corleone (The Godfather Pt II)
  
• Sean Connery as James Bond
  
• Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
  
• Clark Gable as Rhett Butler (Gone With the Wind)
  
• Edward Norton/Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden (Fight Club)
  
• Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone (The Godfather)
  
• Paul Newman as Luke Jackson (Cool Hand Luke)
  
• Jack Nicholson as McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
  
• James Cagney as George Cohan (Yankee Doodle Dandy)
  
• James Cagney as Eddie Bartlett (The Roaring Twenties)
  
• Cleavon Little as Bart (Blazing Saddles)
  
• Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)
  
• Harrison Ford as Han Solo (Star Wars)
  
• Lauren Bacall as Slim (To Have and Have Not)
  
• Brad Pitt as Mickey O'Neil (Snatch)
  
• Vinnie Jones as Big Chris (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels)

I'm sure there are more.

These are just some scattershots at some great performances IMO.

Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone The Godfather
Al Pacino as Sonny Wortzik Dog Day Afternoon
George C. Scott as General George S. Patton Patton
Orsen Welles as Charles Foster Kane Citizen Kane
Robert De Niro as Noodles Aaronson Once Upon A Time in America
Malcolm McDowell as Alex de Large A Clockwork Orange
Jack Nicholson as Jack Napier/The Joker Batman
Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison The Doors

Marlon Brando in "Streetcar."
Robert DeNiro in "Raging Bull."
Brando in "The Wild One."
Robert Duvall in "True Confessions."
Giancarlo Gianinni in "Pascualino Settebellizza."
Charles Durning in "True Confessions."
Ben Johnson in "Last Picture Show."
Max Schreck in "Nosferatu."
Alain Delon in "Rocco e Sui Fratelli."
Michael V. Gazzo in "GFII."
Meryl Streep in "Angels in America."
Jack Lemmon in "The China Syndrome."
Rose Gregorio in "True Confessions."

BONUS: Harvey Keitel in "Mean Streets."

In no particular order, my favorites:

* Robert DeNiro in Raging Bull and The Deer Hunter
* Robert Shaw in A Man for All Seasons
* Robert Duval in The Great Santini
* Marlon Brando in The Godfather
* Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man
* Denzel Washington in Glory
* Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon and The Godfather
* Jackie Gleason in The Hustler and Requiem for a Heavyweight

In no particular order:

Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront
Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski in Streetcar
Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull
Alain Delon as Costello in Le Samouraï
Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the Indian Jones trilogy
Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy
Marlon Brano as Vito Corleone in The Godfather
Brad Pitt/Edward Norton as Tyler Durden in Fight Club
Martin Sheen as Capt. Willard in Apocalypse Now
Orson Welles as Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane
George C. Scott as Gen. George S. Patton in Patton
Peter Sellers as Dr. Strangelove/President Merkin Muffley/Group Captain Lionel Mandrake in Dr. Strangelove

I know there are more, but that's all my brain will process at 11:24 p.m.

Hey Bogey, I see you posted Edward Norton for FIGHT CLUB. He is a phenomenal actor, but I think his performance in PRIMAL FEAR gets the nod. If I hadn't read the book first, I never would have seen that ending coming. I guess it's considered a supporting role, but it's still one of the greats.

Well.. Fight Club is my favorite. To each her own, eh?

Absolutely, there's no right or wrong answer, that's the fun of these discussions.

Meh.. I didn't mean to sound so... grumpy.

-Jeff Bridges as The Dude - The Big Lebowski
-Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman - Batman Returns
-Willem Dafoe as Agent Smecker - The Boondock Saints
-Mel Gibson as William Wallace - Braveheart
-Robert De Niro as Max Cady - Cape Fear
-Robert De Niro as Sam 'Ace' Rothstein - Casino
-Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro - Casino
-Edward Norton as Derek Vinyard - American History X
-Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump - Forrest Gump
-Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher - Gangs of New York
-Russell Crowe as Maximus - Gladiator
-Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone - The Godfather
-Al Pacino as Michael Corleone - The Godfather Part II
-Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara - Gone With the Wind
-Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito - Goodfellas
-Robert De Niro as Jimmy 'The Gent' Conway - Goodfellas
-Ray Liotta as Henry Hill - Goodfellas
-Samuel L. Jackson as Ordell Robbie - Jackie Brown
-Sean Connery as James Bond - Goldfinger
-Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison - JFK
-Gary Oldman as Lee Harvey Oswald - JFK
-David Carradine as Bill - Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2
-Uma Thurman as The Bride - Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2
-Natalie Portman as Mathilda - Leon the Professional
-Denzel Washington as Malcolm X - Malcolm X
-Denzel Washington as John Creasy - Man on Fire
-Guy Pearce as Leonard - Memento
-Joe Pesci as Vincent Gambini - My Cousin Vinny
-James Caviezel as Jesus Christ - The Passion of the Christ
-Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow - Pirates of the Caribbean 1 & 2
-Tim Roth as Pumpkin - Pulp Fiction
-Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield - Pulp Fiction
-Robert De Niro as Jake La Motta - Raging Bull
-Joe Pesci as Joey La Motta - Raging Bull
-Slyvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa - Rocky's I - IV
-Al Pacino as Tony Montana - Scarface
-Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler - Schindler's List
-Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth - Schindler's List
-Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance - The Shining
-Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter - The Silence of the Lambs
-Terence Stamp as General Zod - Superman II
-Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator - Terminator 2:Judgment Day
-Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday - Tombstone
-Gary Oldman as Drexl Spivey - True Romance
-Benicio Del Toro as Fenster - The Usual Suspects
-Kevin Pollak as Hockney - The Usual Suspects
-Kevin Spacey as Verbal - The Usual Suspects
-Hugo Weaving as V - V for Vendetta
-Ian McKellen as Eric Lehnsherr/Magneto - X-Men & X2

Miranda Richardson - Spider (Cronenberg)
Peter Lorre - M (Lang)
Isabelle Huppert - Piano Teacher (Haneke)
Liv Ullman - Persona (Bergman)
Peter Sellers - Being There (Ashby)
Setsuko Hara - Late Spring (Ozu)
Michael MacLiammoir - Othello (Welles)
Marlon Brando - Last Tango In Paris (Bertolucci)
Maria Falconetti - Passion Of Joan Of Arc (Dreyer)
Bibi Andersson - Persona (Bergman)

Isn't her face at the very end incredible? Talk about a complexity of emotions.

It is. Indescribable. I can't stomach the movie, but I only rewatched to see Huppert do her thing. Not that I don't think it's a fine film.

Huppert is such an intense and daring actress. I feel she is only rivaled by some in those terms.

In no particular order:

Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge (clockwork Orange)
Al Pacino as Michael Corleone (Godfather 1&2)
Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump)
Robert DeNiro as Vito Corleone (Godfather 2)
Al Pacino as Tony Montana (Scarface)
Ray Liotta as Henry Hill (Goodfellas)
Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone (Godfather 1)
Joe Pesci as Tommy ? (Goodfellas)
Robert DeNiro as Rupert Pupkin (The King of Comedy)
Kevin Spacey as Verbal (The usual Suspects)
Al Pacino as L.t Colonel Frank Slade (Scent of a woman)
Edward Norton as ??? (Primal Fear)
John Cazale as Fredo Corleone (Godfather 2)
Al Pacino as Sonny Horowitz (Dog Day Afternoon)

Theres, of course plenty more but i can't think of them all right now...

I believe his character is Tommy DeVito, but I'm probably wrong.

Well, as I read through each of the lists I found myself nodding my head on all of them. I would be doing a disservice if I chose to single out people's posts or parts because I didn't disagree with anyone's post. There are only a couple I wish to add. If these were on people's lists I missed them, sorry.

Peter Sellers as Jaques Clouseau in all his films, A Shot in the Dark especially.
Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka
Mel Gibson as William Wallace
Claude Rains as Renault in Casablanca
Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur
Robert Duvall as Lt. Col. Kilgore in Apocalypse Now

Your right ...i think

I haven't seen any of them.

My choices:

Al Pacino in Godfather 1
DeNiro in Raging Bull
Naomi Watts in 21 grams

I think the best cinematic character of all time is Travis Bickle of Taxi Driver.

Charlton Heston as Moses.

What do you mean Charlton Heston as Moses? Heston is Moses!

No one chose Dustin Hoffman in RAINMAN?

You took the words right out of my mouth.

Actually, I think he was in my list.

"Fart."

"Charlie Babbitt made a joke."

I prefer him as Ratso in Midnight Cowboy.