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I'm a film geek. No, a film obsessive. There are plenty of us, movie addicts, but I just happen to be one who feels the need to write about my love of cinema in books and articles. I devote weeks to writing about the work of a particular actor or director, sometimes months on one film. I love films. Always have, always will. They are the ultimate art form. They combine all the others to make the most complete and all consuming experience. When not making music or spending time with my family, it's all about films.
As young people, we tend to get into films based on who's in the film in question, and only when we are a little older do we start to recognise films for their creator, their writer, their director. But in getting into cinema via an actor's filmography, especially one with a long and rich one, we get to experience all the great visionaries along the way. In our love affairs with the stars, we end up sampling the best of what the movies have to offer.
I have been making movie lists and guides for years, since I was a boy in fact, only now I put these thoughts, theories and views into book form. One of my favourite things to do as a kid was to list my favourite actors, and then provide a summary of why I liked them so much and a list of their essential movies. I've never done this as an adult. For some reason, a childish one perhaps, I feel like doing it now. So here are my 10 fave actors at the moment, with a list of essential credits for each.
1, JAMES WOODS
Holocaust, The Onion Field, Eyewitness, Videodrome, Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Promise, Best Seller, My Name is Bill W, Hard Way, Citizen Cohen, Casino, Killer: A Journal of Murder, The Specialist, Ghosts of Mississipi, Contact, Hercules, Another Day in Paradise, John Carpenter's Vampires, Any Given Sunday, The Virgin Suicides, Dirty Pictures, John Q, Pretty Persuasion, Rudy, This Girl's Life, ER, Shark, White House Down, Ray Donovan, Too Big to Fail, Dice, Simpsons, Family Guy.
2, GENE HACKMAN
Bonnie and Clyde, Riot, French Connection, I Never Sang for My Father, Poseidon Adventure, Prime Cut, Scarecrow, Conversation, Night Moves, Young Frankenstein, French Connection 2, Superman, Misunderstood, Twice in a Lifetime, No Way Out, Hoosiers, Another Woman, Mississippi Burning, Narrow Margin, Class Action, Unforgiven, The Firm, Quick and the Dead, Get Shorty, Crimson Tide, Birdcage, Absolute Power, Antz, Enemy of the State, Under Suspicion, Heartbreakers, Royal Tenenbaums, Runaway Jury.
3, MARCELLO MASTROIANNI
Lucky to be a Woman, Big Deal on Madonna Street, La Dolce Vita, Il Bel Antonio, La notte, L'assassino, Divorce Italian Style, 8 1/2, The Organizer, Yesterday Today and Tomorrow, Marriage Italian Style, Pizza Triangle, A Slightly Pregnant Man, La Grande Bouffe, Don't Touch the White Woman, Todo Modo, A Special Day, Bye Bye Monkey, The Terrace, City of Women, Ghosts of Love, La Nuit de Varennes, Henry IV, General of the Dead Army, Maccheroni, Beekeeper, GInger and Fred, Dark Eyes, Intervista, Splendor, What Time Is It?, Everybody's Fine, Un Deux Trois Soleil, Pret a Porter, 101 Nights, Three Live and Only One Death, Voyage to the Beginning of the World
4, MICHEL PICCOLI
Contempt, Diary of a Chambermaid, Les Creatures, Young Girls of Rochefort, Belle De Jour, Benjamin, La Chamade, Dillinger is Dead, Milky Way, Things of Life, Max and the Junkmen, Liza, Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Wedding in Blood, Woman in Blue, La Grande Bouffe, Themroc, Don't Touch the White Woman, Vincent Francois Paul and the Others, Phantom of Liberty, A Leap in the Dark, Strange Affair, Passion, Passerby, General of the Dead Army, Dangerous Moves, Death in a French Garden, Le Paltoquet, May Fools, Walking a Tightrope, La Belle Noiseuse, 101 Nights, Party, Travelling Companion, Paris Timbuktu, I'm Going Home, Belle Toujours, Gardens in Autumn, Boxes, We Have a Pope, Les Toits de Paris, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet.
5, JACK NICHOLSON
The Raven, Shooting, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, King of Marvin Gardens, A Safe Place, Carnal Knowledge, Last Detail, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Tommy, The Passenger, The Shining, Reds, Postman Always Rings Twice, Terms of Endearment, Batman, Ironweed, A Few Good Men, Wolf, Mars Attacks, As Good As It Gets, Blood and Wine, The Pledge, About Schmidt, Something's Gotta Give, The Departed.
6, CATHERINE DENEUVE
Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Repulsion, Creatures, Young Girls of Rochefort, Belle De Jour, La Chamade, Benjamin, Donkey Skin, April Fools, Mississippi Mermaid, Tristana, Liza, Un Flic, A Slightly Pregnant Man, Don't Touch the White Woman, Lovers Like Us, Last Metro, Choice of Arms, Hotel America, The Hunger, Le Bon Plaisir, A Strange Place to Meet, Indochine, My Favourite Season, 101 Nights, The Convent, Thieves, Place Vendome, Time Regained, Dancer in the Dark, East West, I'm Going Home, 8 Women, A Talking Picture, Persepolis, A Christmas Tale, Potiche, On My Way, Brand New Testament, The Midwife, The Truth.
7, SOPHIA LOREN
Too Bad She's Bad, Lucky to be a Woman, Scandal in Sorrento, Pride and the Passion, Boy on a Dolphin, Legend of the Lost, Desire Under the Elms, The Key, Black Orchid, Two Women, Millionairess, Madame Sans Gene, Boccaccio 70, Five Miles to Midnight, Yesterday Today and Tomorrow, Marriage Italian Style, Arabesque, A Countess from Hong Kong, More Than A Miracle, Man of La Mancha, Voyage, A Special Day, Blood Feud, Pret A Porter, Between Strangers, Nine, Lives of the Saints, The Life Ahead.
8, SHARON STONE
Deadly Blessing, Stardust Memories, Total Recall, Year of the Gun, Scissors, Basic Instinct, Specialist, Intersection, Casino, Quick and the Dead, Last Dance, Diabolique, The Mighty, The Muse, Gloria, Antz, Sphere, Simpatico, Broken Flowers, Bobby, Alpha Dog, When A Man Falls, Huff, 5 Dollars A Day, Lovelace, Fading Gigolo, All I Wish, Ratched, Life on the Line, New Pope, Agent X, Mosaic.
9, ROBERT DE NIRO
Greetings, Hi Mom, Mean Streets, Bang the Drum Slowly, Godfather 2, Taxi Driver, 1900, The Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, King of Comedy, Once Upon a Time in America, The Mission, Untouchables, Midnight Run, Jacknife, Goodfellas, Awakenings, Cape Fear, Casino, Heat, This Boy's Life, Wag the Dog, Jackie Brown, Analyze This, Meet the Parents, Being Flynn, Everybody's Fine, The Irishman, What Just Happened.
10, GERARD DEPARDIEU
Nathalie Granger, Going Places, Vincent Francois Paul and the Others, 1900, Barocco, Maitresse, Last Woman, Get Out Your handkerchiefs, Buffet Froid, Bye Bye Monkey, Last Metro, My American Uncle, Loulou, Choice of Arms, Woman Next Door, Return of Martin Guerre, Danton, Police, Jean De Florette, Tenue de Soiree, Under the Sun of Satan, A Strange Place to Meet, Too Beautiful For You, Camille Claudel, Green Card, Cyrano de Bergerac, Merci La Vie, Germinal, Elisa, Secret Agent, Count of Monte Cristo, Between Strangers, How Much Do You Love Me?, Potiche, Bellamy, Mammuth, Life of Pi, Welcome to New York, Valley of Love.
As young people, we tend to get into films based on who's in the film in question, and only when we are a little older do we start to recognise films for their creator, their writer, their director. But in getting into cinema via an actor's filmography, especially one with a long and rich one, we get to experience all the great visionaries along the way. In our love affairs with the stars, we end up sampling the best of what the movies have to offer.
I have been making movie lists and guides for years, since I was a boy in fact, only now I put these thoughts, theories and views into book form. One of my favourite things to do as a kid was to list my favourite actors, and then provide a summary of why I liked them so much and a list of their essential movies. I've never done this as an adult. For some reason, a childish one perhaps, I feel like doing it now. So here are my 10 fave actors at the moment, with a list of essential credits for each.
1, JAMES WOODS
Holocaust, The Onion Field, Eyewitness, Videodrome, Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Promise, Best Seller, My Name is Bill W, Hard Way, Citizen Cohen, Casino, Killer: A Journal of Murder, The Specialist, Ghosts of Mississipi, Contact, Hercules, Another Day in Paradise, John Carpenter's Vampires, Any Given Sunday, The Virgin Suicides, Dirty Pictures, John Q, Pretty Persuasion, Rudy, This Girl's Life, ER, Shark, White House Down, Ray Donovan, Too Big to Fail, Dice, Simpsons, Family Guy.
2, GENE HACKMAN
Bonnie and Clyde, Riot, French Connection, I Never Sang for My Father, Poseidon Adventure, Prime Cut, Scarecrow, Conversation, Night Moves, Young Frankenstein, French Connection 2, Superman, Misunderstood, Twice in a Lifetime, No Way Out, Hoosiers, Another Woman, Mississippi Burning, Narrow Margin, Class Action, Unforgiven, The Firm, Quick and the Dead, Get Shorty, Crimson Tide, Birdcage, Absolute Power, Antz, Enemy of the State, Under Suspicion, Heartbreakers, Royal Tenenbaums, Runaway Jury.
3, MARCELLO MASTROIANNI
Lucky to be a Woman, Big Deal on Madonna Street, La Dolce Vita, Il Bel Antonio, La notte, L'assassino, Divorce Italian Style, 8 1/2, The Organizer, Yesterday Today and Tomorrow, Marriage Italian Style, Pizza Triangle, A Slightly Pregnant Man, La Grande Bouffe, Don't Touch the White Woman, Todo Modo, A Special Day, Bye Bye Monkey, The Terrace, City of Women, Ghosts of Love, La Nuit de Varennes, Henry IV, General of the Dead Army, Maccheroni, Beekeeper, GInger and Fred, Dark Eyes, Intervista, Splendor, What Time Is It?, Everybody's Fine, Un Deux Trois Soleil, Pret a Porter, 101 Nights, Three Live and Only One Death, Voyage to the Beginning of the World
4, MICHEL PICCOLI
Contempt, Diary of a Chambermaid, Les Creatures, Young Girls of Rochefort, Belle De Jour, Benjamin, La Chamade, Dillinger is Dead, Milky Way, Things of Life, Max and the Junkmen, Liza, Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Wedding in Blood, Woman in Blue, La Grande Bouffe, Themroc, Don't Touch the White Woman, Vincent Francois Paul and the Others, Phantom of Liberty, A Leap in the Dark, Strange Affair, Passion, Passerby, General of the Dead Army, Dangerous Moves, Death in a French Garden, Le Paltoquet, May Fools, Walking a Tightrope, La Belle Noiseuse, 101 Nights, Party, Travelling Companion, Paris Timbuktu, I'm Going Home, Belle Toujours, Gardens in Autumn, Boxes, We Have a Pope, Les Toits de Paris, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet.
5, JACK NICHOLSON
The Raven, Shooting, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, King of Marvin Gardens, A Safe Place, Carnal Knowledge, Last Detail, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Tommy, The Passenger, The Shining, Reds, Postman Always Rings Twice, Terms of Endearment, Batman, Ironweed, A Few Good Men, Wolf, Mars Attacks, As Good As It Gets, Blood and Wine, The Pledge, About Schmidt, Something's Gotta Give, The Departed.
6, CATHERINE DENEUVE
Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Repulsion, Creatures, Young Girls of Rochefort, Belle De Jour, La Chamade, Benjamin, Donkey Skin, April Fools, Mississippi Mermaid, Tristana, Liza, Un Flic, A Slightly Pregnant Man, Don't Touch the White Woman, Lovers Like Us, Last Metro, Choice of Arms, Hotel America, The Hunger, Le Bon Plaisir, A Strange Place to Meet, Indochine, My Favourite Season, 101 Nights, The Convent, Thieves, Place Vendome, Time Regained, Dancer in the Dark, East West, I'm Going Home, 8 Women, A Talking Picture, Persepolis, A Christmas Tale, Potiche, On My Way, Brand New Testament, The Midwife, The Truth.
7, SOPHIA LOREN
Too Bad She's Bad, Lucky to be a Woman, Scandal in Sorrento, Pride and the Passion, Boy on a Dolphin, Legend of the Lost, Desire Under the Elms, The Key, Black Orchid, Two Women, Millionairess, Madame Sans Gene, Boccaccio 70, Five Miles to Midnight, Yesterday Today and Tomorrow, Marriage Italian Style, Arabesque, A Countess from Hong Kong, More Than A Miracle, Man of La Mancha, Voyage, A Special Day, Blood Feud, Pret A Porter, Between Strangers, Nine, Lives of the Saints, The Life Ahead.
8, SHARON STONE
Deadly Blessing, Stardust Memories, Total Recall, Year of the Gun, Scissors, Basic Instinct, Specialist, Intersection, Casino, Quick and the Dead, Last Dance, Diabolique, The Mighty, The Muse, Gloria, Antz, Sphere, Simpatico, Broken Flowers, Bobby, Alpha Dog, When A Man Falls, Huff, 5 Dollars A Day, Lovelace, Fading Gigolo, All I Wish, Ratched, Life on the Line, New Pope, Agent X, Mosaic.
9, ROBERT DE NIRO
Greetings, Hi Mom, Mean Streets, Bang the Drum Slowly, Godfather 2, Taxi Driver, 1900, The Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, King of Comedy, Once Upon a Time in America, The Mission, Untouchables, Midnight Run, Jacknife, Goodfellas, Awakenings, Cape Fear, Casino, Heat, This Boy's Life, Wag the Dog, Jackie Brown, Analyze This, Meet the Parents, Being Flynn, Everybody's Fine, The Irishman, What Just Happened.
10, GERARD DEPARDIEU
Nathalie Granger, Going Places, Vincent Francois Paul and the Others, 1900, Barocco, Maitresse, Last Woman, Get Out Your handkerchiefs, Buffet Froid, Bye Bye Monkey, Last Metro, My American Uncle, Loulou, Choice of Arms, Woman Next Door, Return of Martin Guerre, Danton, Police, Jean De Florette, Tenue de Soiree, Under the Sun of Satan, A Strange Place to Meet, Too Beautiful For You, Camille Claudel, Green Card, Cyrano de Bergerac, Merci La Vie, Germinal, Elisa, Secret Agent, Count of Monte Cristo, Between Strangers, How Much Do You Love Me?, Potiche, Bellamy, Mammuth, Life of Pi, Welcome to New York, Valley of Love.
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