Daniel Day-Lewis Has Announced He Is To Retire From Acting.

[...]

the same has always been true. you watch something like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and you'd be hard pressed to know why it was a big deal were it not for Spencer Tracy dying before your eyes and K.Hepburn getting all torn up about it.

SPOLIER!!!! C'MON MAN!!!!!!!

Typical, Markus, spolier than thou to the last....

[The Modernist]

The rest?

Really? You don't consider Age of Innocence, Name of the Father, My Left Foot great films? A man of high standards

I'd add The Unbearable Lightness of Being as well.

[The Modernist]

Still I know where Davey's coming from. But I think that's just where we are. I mean how many truly great films have there been over the last 20 years? Not many and very rarely from an English speaking country.

[Goat Boy]

You have to be around at the right time of course and Lewis was born too late for Hollywoods golden age.

[algroth]

Still I know where Davey's coming from. But I think that's just where we are. I mean how many truly great films have there been over the last 20 years? Not many and very rarely from an English speaking country.

There've been quite a few by my estimation, both English-spoken and otherwise. But I do agree that Lewis' performances by and large exceed the quality of his films (There Will Be Blood is the only one I'd say with absolute certainty that I love from his work).

[Tactful Cactus]

I'd add The Unbearable Lightness of Being as well.

Never seen it! I'll add it to the list

[Tactful Cactus]

But I do agree that Lewis' performances by and large exceed the quality of his films

Intentional? He seems to go for character studies, no complicated stories. You couldn't imagine DDL being in Inception -- ensemble cast serving intricate plot. I think he just wants to dress up and play pretend for a few months, and he's really good at it.

[Dr Markus]

But I do agree that Lewis' performances by and large exceed the quality of his films

Intentional? He seems to go for character studies, no complicated stories. You couldn't imagine DDL being in Inception -- ensemble cast serving intricate plot. I think he just wants to dress up and play pretend for a few months, and he's really good at it.

I don't know, I think DDL needs a noticeable character trait to act to see the best of his talents. In inception for example, I don't think he could have played that character. Kinda like my opinion on De Niro, he can't play an everyday person, he needs characters that have an edge.

[algroth]

But I do agree that Lewis' performances by and large exceed the quality of his films

Intentional? He seems to go for character studies, no complicated stories. You couldn't imagine DDL being in Inception -- ensemble cast serving intricate plot. I think he just wants to dress up and play pretend for a few months, and he's really good at it.

That would assume that character studies inherently lead to worse films than complicated stories, which is not something I agree with. What I recall of the 80s and 90s films I've seen him in is that they are by and large good but formally pretty non-descript, even when being directed by someone as usually boisterous in his style as Scorsese or Mann. There Will Be Blood stands out for me because it is formally on par with Lewis' performance while still being a character study. Personally I can see what is appealing in each of these projects even if the end result is less interesting than it could have been.

[Snarfyguy]

Daniel Day-Lewis Has Announced He Is To Retire From Acting.

Thank God.

[Tactful Cactus]

By the way, how does one read the title?
There will be blood... if you crave power and money?

[Matt Wilson]

For years I didn't really care for Gangs of New York. After seeing it again a couple of times I changed my mind. Scorsese based that story on real events. There really was a Bill the Butcher and there really were gangs just like that in NY. The documentary on the blu opened my eyes to the background of the project. It's still no masterpiece, but it's at least a good movie.

[Matt Wilson]

The more I think about it, the more I disagree with the consensus on this thread that he was better than his movies, that most of them were no more than above average. I could choose seven of his pictures which would make for a fine retrospective. Try these:

My Left Foot
Last of the Mohicans
In the Name of the Father
The Age of Innocence
Gangs of New York
There Will be Blood
Lincoln

and that still leaves off The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Room with a View. I haven't seen My Beautiful Launderette since it came out, but that's the first time I noticed him.

[algroth]

The more I think about it, the more I disagree with the consensus on this thread that he was better than his movies, that most of them were no more than above average. I could choose seven of his pictures which would make for a fine retrospective. Try these:

My Left Foot
Last of the Mohicans
In the Name of the Father
The Age of Innocence
Gangs of New York
There Will be Blood
Lincoln

and that still leaves off The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Room with a View. I haven't seen My Beautiful Launderette since it came out, but that's the first time I noticed him.

Of those you mentioned, the only two I've yet to see are Room with a View and My Beautiful Launderette, and whilst I like all of the rest, I still stand by my opinion, the only one of all those I love is There Will Be Blood. Gangs of New York and In the Name of the Father are also very good, but not great.

[Davey the Fat Boy]

There are some fine films in his discography. But I'll bet that none of his films got any votes in the BCB's 100 favorite films list Algroth is doing.

[...]

Anyone remember his blink and you'll miss it scene in Sunday, Bloody Sunday?

[Matt Wilson]

Put it this way, he's definitely as good as anyone else in the last thirty years. He's British and doesn't live in Hollywood and as such doesn't have an American film actor's sensibility in terms of choosing projects for himself with an attitude towards box office. His choices are always more artistic. I think he did a damn fine job of choosing roles for himself.

[Tactful Cactus]

Anyone remember his blink and you'll miss it scene in Sunday, Bloody Sunday?

Never seen it, good? I keep thinking of the excellent Paul Greengrass TV movie but this was years before that I presume