In a prolific career, it is almost impossible to pick his "best" role. In my opinion, however, his role in this movie would certainly have to be one of my picks. Even if one would not pick this role as his best performance, it would be hard to argue that his character in this movie was not the most likeable. Any comments?
As an aside, I agree with the other comments posted, this was one of my favorite movies, a vastly unappreciated film. Thanks.
Citizen X and Ordinary People in my opinion were his greatest performances. Since this is a Citizen X board, I need not say more about how strong his performance was in this movie. He deserved his accolades.
[Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't seen Ordinary People]
One of the reasons I liked his performance in Ordinary People was the hard choice he had to make between his wife or his son. Despite the character's complacent nature, he was the rock of not only his family, but of the entire film. All through the movie, poor Conroy (Timothy Hutton) lived with the guilt of surviving when his brother didn't. This guilt was future cemented by the cold reception of his mother (played to eerie perfection by Mary Tyler Moore.) Since he couldn't receive love from his mother, it was up to his father. In the end, letting the mother go was what father and son needed to heal and find strength in each other.
Citizen X is definitely an understated and great performance from Sutherland. I thought he was a bit underused in this film and did not get nearly enough screen time.
Sutherland was a quiet, calm contrast to Ackland's bold, brash, yelling Bondarchuck. I always wondered how Sutherland Fetisov would have made it to the higher ranks, he seemed a bit...soft.
A Freudian slip is when you mean one thing, but you say your mother
I agree Donald Sutherland a bit underused here, but I'm coming from the perspective of a fan rather than for the sake of the story. His character did indeed seem a bit "soft," or rather cerebral, considering the tenor of the Cold War era.
shareThere were all kinds of people in the Soviet system just as there are in any political system in the world. Fetisov was quiet but politically astute, knew how to manipulate things and pick his battles.
shareQuite so amikelhenry - MASH and The Dirty Dozen (both with such mad amusement), The Assignment, JFK (a fabulous monologue), The Eagle has Landed, Eye of the Needle (with such menace), A Time to Kill (one of many almost cameos) and ... and ... and ...
He offered so many good performances we could be here for weeks ranking them and ranking them again.
Sutherland is outstanding during a period when there were so many of the same calibre. The first I saw him in was The Bedford Incident (but it was a bit part), The Dirty Dozen when I first noticed him and then MASH when I was 20 or so (which has remained a favourite for me since). The great shame is that his work is coming to an end, at age 76.
In this one he plays so well as crafty mentor who then learns some things himself.
As good as Donald Sutherland was Max von Sydow gets to deliver the very best line, to the successful pair at the end ... "May I say that together you make a wonderful person".
I agree....Donald Sutherland's best performance...he won a Golden Globe and I think an Emmy...
That line by Max von Sydow sums up the glue that holds this movie together...the relationship between the two men..
They begin to adopt each others good qualities as the movie goes on...
The cast is magnificient....
Loved Sutherland in this movie.
Love this movie, period.
Also, one should not forget his chillingly fine performance in 'Panic'.
He is a shining star....
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois
I don't know about "best" but he was certainly very good in this film.
When he's addressing the troops and outlining his plan to induce the killer to strike in a small train station where undercover police will be station and said "It is here we want him to make his next attempt to kill one of our children". You can hear the suppressed rage in his voice - he's speaking as if he's speaking of his own children and you get the feeling he'd strangle the killer with his bare hands if he had the chance. An excellent contrast to his character's earlier lack of emotion about the case.
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Fox "News": We lie, you panic!
No, his greatest role was when he played Joseph in "Die Die, My Darling!"
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