Edward Copeland's poll of the all-time best and worst Best Actor Oscar winners

Of the 81 performances, I remember seeing 65. (I've missed six of the most recent dozen, very intentionally.)

OK, too historical for the room.

We need something more visceral, like rampant shit-talk re: Cuba Gooding Jr.

Lol, I've seen 20 performances, and all but 6 are from the past 20 years.

You're on crack re Bogie in The African Queen – amusing self-parody.

A tie between Broderick Crawford and Al Pacino.

This is a terrible streak:

1996: Geoffrey Rush (Shine)
1997: Jack Nicholson (As Good As It Gets)
1998: Roberto Benigni (Life Is Beautiful)
1999: Kevin Spacey (American Beauty)

We've talked about this before but why precisely is Roberto Benigni so awful in "Life Is Beautiful"?

(Assuming the central thesis of the movie works for you.)

He laughs and smiles like he's got a tit in between his ears.

I like Benigni in one very early scene (in a classroom?) in LiB, where he's mocking the Nazis ... the rest of it is so disastrously conceived and cutesily self-congratulatory that it's poisonous. He's definitely a contender, but he was an even worse Best Director choice.

xp: well, obv it doesn't

basically, he stole Chaplin's thunder from The Great Dictator (which I'm not crazy about, but its intentions are better and it has 2 or 3 graceful comedy scenes far beyond Benigni's talents)

Subjects for Further Research: Robin Williams in Jacob the Liar.

I think where LiB worked is that the juxtaposition of the ludicrous slapstick with the horrifying reality was very jarring and unsettling. I think the film was at its best in the little peeks in between the slpastick when the actual conditions of the concentration camp were shown, particularly the last scene where Begnini is marched around the corner and shot while the son is hiding in the crevasse laughing at his silliness.

El stinko: Henry Fonda (On Golden Pond).

Having said that, I kind of never want to see the movie again, but I appreciated it when I saw it. (I feel the same way about "American Beauty", actually; enjoyed it while I watched it, never want to see it again.)

xp Alfred: oh c'mon, as farewell treacle goes it's not in the movie-saving class of Tracy in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, but he's way better than Hepburn.

how many stiffer than Heston in Ben-Hur?

as good as it gets is pretty awful but i did enjoy nicholson when his character wasn't going through sitcomy ocd mannerisms. anything else that was bad about his performance i was blinded to by the white-hot sun of suck that was helen hunt.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ OTM

The best scene in The Loons! The Loons!! is when Fonda is caught ogling Jane diving into the lake.

William Holden is quite good in Stalag 17, better than the film.

I think the best (that I've seen) in the last 20 years are Irons and Day-Lewis.

i might add in adrien brody though i don't think he should have won.

I was fine with Brody, esp compared to Spacey, Hopkins, Penn, Benigni etc.

I agree with those, and I don't have a problem with Jamie Foxx.

"those" = Irons and Day-Lewis.

Clark Gable might've won for his best role (after Rhett Butler).

I think I have to give #1 to Brando in Waterfront

I know Brando's "epochal" and all that in Waterfront, but I preferDL in My Left Foot.