MovieChat Forums > The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) Discussion > The greatest 60 seconds of acting ever? ...

The greatest 60 seconds of acting ever? (SPOILERS)


...when he's told he's got the job, and he tears up in the office til he goes nuts in the street. It's the most emotional piece of acting I've seen for ages.

But is it, as the subject line says, "The greatest 60 seconds of acting ever?"

There are some more famous, more memorable 60 seconds from some legendary actors.

- "I coulda been a contender..." Al Pacino, Raging Bull
- "'Do I feel lucky?' Well, DO you, punk?" Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry
- "Take it off. Take it off." Brad Davis, Midnight Express
- "As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again!" Vivien Leigh, Gone with the Wind

BUT are they great examples of ACTING, or are they just SHOUTING and GESTURING wildly? Something any of us could do.

I invite you to submit your favourite 60 seconds of acting.

THE RULES
- It must be a SHORT SCENE (around 60 seconds or less)
- The excellent acting must come from ONE ACTOR, not an ensemble. If there are many excellent examples of acting in one scene, choose only one actor you feel performed the best.
- It is the ACTING that we're assessing, not the popularity of the scene.

Let's give it a go then.

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Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood, the baptism scene. It's more than 60 seconds and there's Paul Dano's voice, but the best part is shorter and it's just Day-Lewis.

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For me the greatest single acting-triumph is Al Pacino on the steps of the opera at the end of GF III. That one single scream...

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Could not agree more. That scene rips my guts out every time I see it. Superb acting.

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Sophia Loren has a scene in Two Women where she's looking out a window while riding in a truck, not a word spoken, after staying strong for her character's daughter for so long, finally letting the despair wash across her face.

No other scene I've read of here compares.

Cicely Tyson had a similarly silent scene in Sounder--tough call if I had to choose one.

"Well, for once the rich white man is in control!" C. M. Burns

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the scene in ROCKY where he turns down Mick to train him...yelling "Your prime? What about my prime.....?"

heyworld-checkmeout

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Some fav. scenes

Court room speech at the end of A Time to Kill

The what was your best day / worst day speech by Bruno Kirby in City Slickers.

Kevin Bacon - "I'd rather die than go back there" - Murder in the First.

The delivery of why he killed in Felon, a great performance by Val Kilmer.



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Tom Hanks- Forrest Gump, when jenny tells forrest that he is the little boys dady.

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Speaking of Rocky, that scene at the end of Rocky II where he says, "...except my kid being born...." yada, yada, yada, is pretty friggin' emotional. I remember being moved as a kid watching that.

My vote history link:http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=5504773

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That is a great scene by Tom Hanks, and the one with Wilson floating away is right up there.

Although Sylvester Stallone is not on my list of top actors, he has done some nice scenes:

The end scene in Rambo: First Blood

A couple in Rocky Balboa:

The talk with his son outside

The talk to the Boxing commission board (or whatever they were)

Those two moved me greatly!

An obvious one:

Tom Cruise in the courtroom in A Few Good Men, with the whole, "I want the truth" scene. Jack Nicholas gives a great performance right after that exchange, and I think Cruise nailing him with questions right after that, which causes Jack's character to admit he ordered the code red.

I never get tired of watching that exchange.

The Dark Knight:

The "why so serious" story by Heath was great, as well as his entrance into the Penthouse with the alternate story behind his scars.

So many great scenes! I like this thread topic!!!



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Agreed. The look in Tom Hanks eyes when he steps back is amazing. Instantly brings tears to my eyes every time.

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Planet of the Apes: The ending scene.

Forrest Gump: his speech at Jenny's **SPOILER** grave

Pulp Fiction: when Sam Jackson first quotes the bible

Rasing Arizona: Nic Cage's dream about the future.

Might think of some others later.

cuz here things go from grey
to grey and back to grey again

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Rasing Arizona: Nic Cage's dream about the future

It's a while I did't watch that movie, but I still recall that scene. That is saying something when you're 6 years old, and still remember it in your 25's

IMDb message boards, you'll never find a more wretched hive of pessimism and racism.

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I'm sorry to tell you, but you are all wrong. The best acting ever can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyophYBP_w4

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right on.

----------------------------------------
Twitter: Diversionized

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Woah, Trolls 2, my new favorite movie of all time!!!

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Oh, I am so happy that you included the word *spoiler* here! I almost read the word behind it.

Michel Couzijn

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It is a powerful piece. He had a lot of those in that movie. For me:

Marlon Brando's "Stella Monologue" in "Streetcar Named Desire"

In the Killing Fields, when Dith doesn't get to leave with Schanberg and the look on their faces as he has to leave him behind... I can't watch that movie again after seeing it the first time. It tears my guts out.

There are sooooo many....

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Don't laugh, but Ricky Gervais in Extras . There's a scene where he's apologizing to his friend on national TV, and he starts crying, and it's really great. If anyone else has seen it, you know what I'm talking about. For everyone else, here it is if you want to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQAr_AjZt-E

The whole scene has great acting by Ricky, but if I'm going by the 60-second rule, go from 3:30 - 4:20

He ain't playin' God....he's bein' judged by him.

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That was my favourite scene on televsion last year. Beautiful.

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Thanks for all your posts, guys.

If we're including TV performancs, here's a great one.

It's a bit longer than a minute, but I'd like to share it with you all.

It starts at the end of this one, at 7:16...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8WaOn7PTVg

...and finishes at the beginning of this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKFqihiXFw0

Keep 'em coming.

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