The 30 Best Performances

Denis Lavant in Mauvais Sang
Giulietta Masina in The Nights of Cabiria
Warren Oates in Two-Lane Blacktop
Linda Manz in Days of Heaven
John Cassavetes in Mikey and Nicky
Nicolas Cage in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans/Vampire’s Kiss
Isabelle Adjani in Possession
Gena Rowlands in Love Streams
Elias Koteas in The Adjuster
Robert Mitchum in The Lusty Men
James Mason in Bigger Than Life
Samantha Morton in Morvern Callar
Peter Falk in Husbands
George C. Scott in They Might Be Giants
Jerry Lewis in Rock-A-Bye Baby
Humphrey Bogart in In a Lonely Place
Charlotte Gainsbourg in Antichrist
Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Julie Christie in Away From Her
Jeff Daniels in The Squid and the Whale
Michelle Williams in Wendy and Lucy
Elaine May in A New Leaf
Lee Marvin in Point Blank
Laura Dern in INLAND EMPIRE
Joaquin Phoenix in Two Lovers
Willem Dafoe in Light Sleeper
Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces
Warren Beatty in McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Ben Gazzara in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Synecdoche, New York