Ten Best Actresses of All Time Relay Race

I am privileged to once again be selected to participate in another blog-a-thon created Nostra of My Filmviews, The Ten Best Actresses of All Time Relay Race. A twin blog-a-thon, focusing on Actors, has also been making the rounds through the blogging community. Tyler at Southern Vision is the man who has passed the honours on to me, and whom I thank. The idea around the blogathon… well, to use Nostra’s words:

“I’ve created a list of what I think are the best actresses of all time. At the end of the post I, just like in a real relay race, hand over the baton to another blogger who will write his own post. This blogger will have to remove one actress (that is an obligation) and add his/her own choice and describe why he/she did this. At the end the blogger chooses another blogger to do the same. The idea is to make this a long race, so that enough bloggers get a chance to remove and add an actress. We will end up with a list (not ranked in order) which represents a common agreement of the best actresses. It will also mean that those who follow this relay race will get to know new blogs as well!”

Here is a list of the blogs that have participated thus far:

My Filmviews

The Velvet Café

Martin Teller

The Movie Review Warehouse

Benefits of a Classical Education

Just Another Movie Blog

Film Actually

Public Transportation Snob

FlixChatter

Defiant Success

And So It Begins…

and Southern Vision

Find the line-up and my substitution after the jump...

Audrey Hepburn 

 Barbara Stanwyck

 Cate Blanchett

 Gena Rowlands

 Ingrid Bergman

 Isabelle Huppert

 Julianne Moore

Juliette Binoche

 Katherine Hepburn

Meryl Streep

Who I am adding?
Tyler removed Kate Winslet, my favourite actress, and I was very tempted to immediately return her again. I considered a few other actresses - Julie Christie, Liv Ullman, Ingrid Thulin, Bette Davis, and after watching Take This Waltz this week I also considered Michelle Williams (no?) - but once again returned to Kate because I have seen almost all of her performances and would simply watch a film because she stars in it. As for the other women, I have seen just a few of their roles (though they are indeed fantastic roles). Since her breakthrough role in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures it is rare she has given anything other than a strong performance. She was excellent in Titanic (just 22 years of age, and the first role I saw her in) and has been nominated for an Oscar six times since 1995. Examples of her talents are everywhere: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Little Children, Revolutionary Road and The Reader. She was the best in show in Contagion, and turned in another brilliant performance (and certainly a scene stealing one on occasions) in Roman Polanski's Carnage, which is one of my favourite films of the year to date. As one of the best actresses of her generation/currently working, and in my opinion 'the' most consistent standout over the last twenty years, I place her back in.

Who am I taking out?
I hate this part. It is so tough. Looking through this list, who can I realistically take out? Certainly not Ingrid Bergman, not Katherine and Audrey Hepburn or Meryl Streep, not Julianne Moore or Juliette Binoche (two more of my favourites) and not Isabelle Huppert. I agree with Tyler's choice to include her. The only one I feel I can take out is Gena Rowlands. I don't have an opinion on her acting because I can't recall ever seeing a film she has starred in. Sorry Alex.

I now pass this on to Bonjour Tristesse.