5. James Whitmore in Give 'Em Hell Harry!- This simple truth about this performance is it should not have been nominated. This is not a performance for film, it was performed for an audience in the theater not for the the person watching the film. This abundantly clear throughout the film in his theatrical performance, that is completely unrelenting, and is rather awkward to watch.
4. Walter Matthau in The Sunshine Boys- Matthau performance is not all that funny to me in most of his scenes. In most scenes I found him rather annoying, but he makes up for it somewhat due to every scene with George Burns, because their scenes are wonderful.
3. Maximilian Schell in A Man in the Glass Booth- Schell whole performance really is nuts, but a glorious nuts. He is incredibly entertaining in his insanity, as well as does his very best to manage the concepts of his character.
2. Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest- Nicholson excels in every single moment of his performance here. It is a perfect role for Nicholson, and Nicholson knows. He gives an entertaining magnetic performance, that works wonders for his film.
1. Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon- As great as Nicholson is there is no doubt in my mind that Pacino gives the best performance this year. Pacino simply makes so many risks with this performance from his manic ways, to his voice he uses, to the extreme emotional range found in Sonny, and the thing is they all pay off completely, this is truly a perfect performance. There is not a false or boring moment, only powerful, effective, entertaining, and fascinating ones in this stunning portrait of a man.
Deserving Performances:
Michael Caine in The Man Who Would be King
Sean Connery in The Man Who Would be King
