(posted 8836 days ago)Don't know about best. I guess best is whatever suits you and your style of images. I have seen wonderful portraits on all sorts of emulsions, including some cross-processed images with lurid colours.
But, for your reference, the following is a (probably incolplete) list of films that the manufacturers thinks are especially good for portraits:
NEGATIVE FILMS Agfa Portait 160 Pro Portraiture Fuji NGH II ISO 800 portraiture 160 NPL Artificial light portraiture 160 NPS Portraiture 400 NPH Portraiture Kodak Ektacolor Pro Gold 1000 ISO 1000 ambient light portraiture, very high saturation Portra 160 NC Natural colours Portra 160 VC Vivid colours Portra 400 NC Natural colours Portra 400 VC Vivid colours COLOUR REVERSAL FILMS Fuji Astia (RAP) Fashion photography, very high colour fidelity Kodak Ektachrome 100-Pro (EPN) very accurate colours My aplologies to all the manufacturers if I have omitted somebody. In the colour reversal market, only Astia seems to be marketed specifically as a portrait film. However, for formal, face only portraits, I prefer Fujichrome Provia 100F (RDPIII). I guess in the reversal market you are expected to know your film and have enough time to apply all those colour correcting filters. No point in recommending anything in particular: you'll know what you are doing. In print film there seems to be a much more visisble tradeoff between high saturation general purpose film and the more subltle colours and ability to record fine tones that are expected of e.g. a wedding portrait. So in this market is does make sense to talk about portrait film.
Hope this all makes sense.