exanda kane
Senior Member
Originally posted by Rampant ox
James Earl Jones hardly acted. His voice over was superb, no doubts about it, but actualy physically performing in front of a camera is a different thing entirely.Harrison Ford was good. Definatly one of the best in the OT, but I wouldn't rank him in the top three.
1. Christopher Lee.
2. Peter Cushig
3. Ian McDiarmid
4. Liam Neeson
5. Harrison Ford
No, you got it all wrong there.
As hard as it is to place actors in any numerical superiorty over each other, the throne really goes to Sir Alec Guinness, even you can't begrudge him that. No one can match the gravitas of such a great actor as that, and I'm sure Lee and Cushing, while modest men in their field and about their work, would acknowledge that. Doctor Zhivago, Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Ladykillers, Passage To India and my personal favourite, The Quiller Memorandum. I am not just listing them as the films he has appeared in (which were all great) but his performances in them. Top of his field.
Christopher Lee is up there, as is Peter Cushing, although both had there best work elsewhere, and to that I would also give Cushing the edge. Cushing had some great roles in his time which, I have to say, were alot more diverse than Lee's. His role as Winston Smith in the original adaptation of 1984 is phenominal.
McDiarmid doesn't deserve a say in the matter in my opinion, while he hit the right notes occasionally, some of it was just awful and cringeworthy: I didn't know whether to laugh or not in Revenge of the Sith. True, you can't deny Palpatine is sinister, but there is a line that is crossed when the character just becomes pantomime.
Liam Neeson is a fine actor, and it is a role well built for him. But his impression, while strong, isn't lasting. It is a shame because I enjoyed the character for what it's worth. Same could be said of McGregor, but to a much lesser degree; he is a fine, fine actor (Shallow Grave anyone?) but the character is so diluted that there isn't anything left for him to play with. They try and give Obi-Wan the cocky lines that, if Solo had been present, would have been dished to him. Sadly, it doesn't work.
Harrison Ford is a completely different kettle of fish to the others, so much so that they are incomparable. His presence and delivery make movies, literally, into franchises, but he does not have the gravitas nor the finesse of the more classically trained. He is an American actor, an embodiment of alot of things which allow American cinema to develop outside of the snobbish Theatrical circles that hindered a true British cinema. I rate him highly as a leading man for a certain kind of film, and I love the films he has appeared in, but he can be considered limited in some ways.
As for the rest (I know I've gone off on one), I'd say Han Solo is my favourite character in the entire saga, thus being my favourite everyman devoid of that ridiculous Force malarkey. Obi-Wan is my favourite Jedi, possibly because of his role within the Skywalker story (Quite tragic in some ways, but not too much so; no need for Lucas to feel too pleased with himself) and the actors who portrayed him. As for favourite Sithy-thingme, I'll go with Vader. Mainly for this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6A0rwG39Jzk