How much losing of shit can you pack into just over four minutes? When it’s Nicolas Cage and you’ve got the Requiem For a Dream score along to grease the wheels, quite a lot. The clip that follows is fast on the way to the hall of fame, but while the editing is well-done, the infamy is all due to the pure emotion of Nic Cage.
The actor has become renowned for his batshit crazy performances, but seen in isolated doses you might assume that some of his fits were motivated by direction or character. If you were having bees poured into a basket on your head you’d go nuts, too. But with all of this hair-pulling, floor-stomping, scenery-chewing totally mental work in one place, there’s no conclusion to draw other than this: Nicolas Cage is the best actor of his generation. Or at least the most vocally volcanic.
Head to Pajiba for a full list of the films excerpted here. Not recognizing the many clips from Deadfall wouldn’t be so surprising — that’s a lesser-seen bit of Cage insanity — but I’m hoping the very weird Vampire’s Kiss isn’t new to many viewers.
