Subject was brought up in another post, thought it would make for an interesting topic. Lord knows we need more great female performances in film, lets get a good list going.
Peace


"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams

Especially for the opera scene.

Especially for the audition scene.

Came to say this

Samantha Morton in The Messenger.
Samantha Morton in Sweet and Lowdown.

Especially for the hospital bed scene.

she *KILLS IT* in this

& I'm not one who watches for individual actor/actress performances

Lead:

Isabelle Huppert – The Piano Teacher
Ellen Burstyn – Requiem for a Dream
Vera Farmiga – Down to the Bone
Bjork – Dancer in the Dark
Qi Shu – Three Times
Emmanuelle Devos – Read My Lips
Charlotte Rampling – Under the Sand
Samantha Morton – Code 46
Kerry Washington - Our Song
Penelope Cruz - Volver



Supporting:

Bae Du-na – Linda Linda Linda
Luminita Gheorgiu – The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Kelly Macdonald – No Country for Old Men
Parker Posey – Best in Show
Charlotte Rampling – Keys to the House
Shareeka Epps – Half Nelson
Nicole Dogue – 35 Shots of Rum
After the Wedding – Sidse Babett Knudsen
Rachel Regulier – The Class
Michelle Williams – The Baxter

Isabelle Huppert – The Piano Teacher
Gena Rowlands – Minnie and Moskowitz
Judy Davis – Husbands and Wives
Patricia Neal - Hud
Kerry Fox – An Angel at My Table
Stefania Sandrelli – The Conformist
Barbara Stanwyck – The Lady Eve
Judy Davis – High Tide
Ellen Burstyn – Requiem for a Dream
Giulietta Masina – Nights of Cabiria
Rosalind Russell – His Girl Friday
Juliette Binoche – Three Colors: Blue
Delphine Seyrig - Jeanne Dielman
Liv Ullmann – Scenes from a Marriage
Gena Rowlands – A Woman Under the Infuence
Rena Owen – Once Were Warriors
Barbara Stanwyck – Double Indemnity
Frances McDormand – Fargo
Julie Christie – McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Cecilia Roth – All About My Mother

is incredible acting.

I just had to write a paper on mental disorders in cinema, and I was going to do Woman Under the Influence, but I chose somatoform disorder and wrote about Persona/Sorry,Wrong Number (Barbara Stanwyck is great in this as well)

>I just had to write a paper on mental disorders in cinema, and
>I was going to do Woman Under the Influence, but I chose
>somatoform disorder and wrote about Persona/Sorry,Wrong Number
>(Barbara Stanwyck is great in this as well)

Your paper sounds interesting.

Yeah, Stanwyck is great in that. I love her. She's my favorite actress in American film.

"Hi"-(c)Joker

CCH Pounder - The Shield (LOL @ the facial expressions she made before the shot cuts away)

Onahoua Rodriguez - The Shield (especially the scene w/ Mackey in her house and w/ Claudette in the interrogation room - utterly amazing work in those)

Connie Britton - Friday Night Lights (2 of the most convincing moments of crying I've seen; scenes with Chandler and Teegarden are gold)

Edie Falco - The Sopranos

Her, Irons, & Silver all killed it but Glenn pulled off a unique combination of a composed gravitas and an addled frenzy. I thought it was a fearless performance in the portrayals of her being bathed and comatose.


©

When the Chief is in the house...ohmigod

1: Falconetti in the Passion of Joan of Arc

The rest:

-Setsuko Hara, Late Spring
-Binoche, Blue
-Maggie Cheung, In the Mood for Love
-Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
-Swank, Boys Don't Cry
-Stanwyck, Double Indemnity
-Schygulla, Marriage of Maria Braun
-Watts, Mulholland Dr
-Brooks, Pandora's Box

Dyed blonde bombshell. Sexy and curvy with a bodacious set of ta-tas…all of which was incredibly nice to look at. However it was how she managed to convey a childlike innocence and wonderment (without ever being annoying), all while packaged in that sex siren frame that left an impression on me. She was scared, demure, silly, funny, and easily the realest person in the whole film. Terrific performance.


©

When the Chief is in the house...ohmigod

Jeanne Moreau - Jules and Jim (not my favorite of hers, but this is one is her most iconic and she's really great in it)
Catherine Deneuve - Belle de jour
Ingrid Bergman - Notorious
Jennifer Connelly – Requiem for a Dream


I always forget about comedic performances. These are great:

Elaine May – A New Leaf
Diane Keaton – Annie Hall
Barbara Stanwyck - Ball of Fire
Katherine Hepburn – Bringing Up Baby
Holly Hunter - Raising Arizona

She laid waste to that movie in one scene
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diahann carroll - claudine