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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 6, 2019 17:46:54 GMT
This is actually a good one, because we don't automatically associate Connery with the adventure genre (is the Bond imprint too strong?), but yeah, he's been in an awful lot of these type of films, and really damned good in them. And he does tend to have great chemistry with men and women. A true movie star. Ironic that it's the perceived badness of an adventure film, The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, that hastened his retirement from movies. Yeah, this movie seems to have stopped/slowed down the career of some people, including its director, Stephen Norrington (Blade), both guys experiences making the film with each other was so bad that they both decided to retire, it must have been something on set. And the movie did fairly well at overall Box Office ($179M). I know Connery feared being typecast and was bored being completely and so often identified as Bond so maybe all these adventures films were a way to somehow escape from it and I think he just had a lot of fun making them (and like Anthony Quinn, his face could easily pass for many different nationalities). He's a guy also known for turning down so many projects, some of them because how violent they were (Hannibal Lecter, Irons role in Die Hard...) and of course this for me was a mistake, I like his work with Lumet, especially The Offence where you see more of his dark side and he should have explored it more and more, imo. Never saw his Macbeth (in his early 30's), I may give it a try if I can find it somewhere. Whatever happened to Norrington anyway? Blade is a seminal film in the horror/superhero genre. It arguably kickstarted the modern wave of superhero films. You'd think someone who made that film would get multiple chances to replicate it's energy and success, even if League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen failed. One of the weirdest cases of director jail ever. But as you said, Norrington may have stopped directing of his own accord. I concur that Connery went very much out of his way to avoid typecasting. And he managed to do it, even if he was still essentially in Scotsman in every role (Irish Cop, Spanish swordsman....still a Scotsman )
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2019 18:29:37 GMT
She was not just "in" comedies - she added so much to them. Still holds up too, marvelously, all these years later. Irene Dunne's films and performances hold up beautifully. She was so classy all the while delivering these screwball performances. She's one of my favourite actresses (and I have about 8). She was known for her dramas, but her performances in The Awful Truth, Theodora Goes Wild, and My Favourite Wife shine brighter.
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sirchuck23
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Bad news dawg...you don't mind if I have some of your 300 dollar a glass shit there would ya?
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Post by sirchuck23 on Jul 6, 2019 19:34:45 GMT
Denzel WashingtonGenre: CrimeIn Denzel's long and distinguished career, he has done multiple films in different genres (Crime, Sports, Historical Biopics, Action, etc.) but for this I'm going to concentrate on his contributions to the crime genre. Now obviously in most moviegoers minds when they think of Denzel and a crime movie, their thoughts will probably turn towards Training Day, and with good reason. It's now considered a classic police/crime movie with an iconic, career redefining performance from Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris in which he was awarded his first Best Actor Oscar for his work. Add to that his terrific chemistry with Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt and Antoine Fuqua at his absolute best behind the camera, Training Day has inspired several copycat films and Alonzo-esque performances following it. Following that up, is another endlessly re-watchable film in the crime genre Denzel did in 2006 when he hooked up with Spike Lee again to make the great heist film, Inside Man. A film that pays homage to the legendary Sidney Lumet and one of his great masterpieces, A Dog Day Afternoon. Inside Man is a rare "popcorn entertainment" film from Lee that still has his look and style and contains a great cast including Denzel, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Plummer, and Willem Dafoe, all Oscar winning/nominated actors just having a blast doing this film. Denzel in particular seems to be having fun playing the loose, wisecracking Detective Keith Frazier who not only is heavily invested in solving a hostage situation but also getting his deadbeat brother in-law out of his apartment. One of Spike's best films. In 1995, Denzel hooked up for the first time with Carl Franklin for a neo-noir film based on one of the books of Walter Mosley's popular Easy Rawlins series called Devil in A Blue Dress. At the time it was a critically acclaimed film that failed to make much of a dent at the box-office but is now considered a cult classic because of the film's atmosphere, a rare black lead in this type of film, and the dynamic between Denzel and at the time a little known character actor named Don Cheadle who was probably best known for his role on the 90s tv show Picket Fences. His performance as Mouse and Denzel's work as Easy Rawlins carried the film to cult classic status where film fans ponder what could've been a great series of films had the film performed better at the box-office. The entire cast is terrific including Tom Sizemore and Jennifer Beals. I also want to mention a film that seems divisive with film going fans today but was looked upon as an event in leading up to its theatrical release and that's American Gangster. Pairing up Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, who pretty much were all over the Best Actor Oscar races from 1999-2001 and seen as the pre-eminent A-List Hollywood leading men at this time in a big studio gangster film with the legendary Ridley Scott directing was huge and seen as a big Oscar contender. It ended up doing pretty well with critics (80% RT, 76 MC) and did good box-office but seen as divisive now based on how the storytelling played out. That being said, I feel this is one of Denzel's more underrated performances for how quiet and restrained he played Frank Lucas, where people were expecting a rehash of the loud, swagged out, Alonzo Harris and added an interesting character to the long rich history of the crime/gangster film genre in American films. So with these four films, you can see how Denzel Washington's contribution to the genre is immense with these respective films. Honorable Mention: Fallen - Who can forget the ending to that along with the Rolling Stones song.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Jul 6, 2019 20:43:40 GMT
She was not just "in" comedies - she added so much to them. Still holds up too, marvelously, all these years later. Irene Dunne's films and performances hold up beautifully. She was so classy all the while delivering these screwball performances. She's one of my favourite actresses (and I have about 8). She was known for her dramas, but her performances in The Awful Truth, Theodora Goes Wild, and My Favourite Wife shine brighter. Oh honeys, thank you both. Wow! I didn't realise she'd starred in the original of The King & I... I think I'll start with The Awful Truth (1937)... There was also a revenge thriller listed called Thirteen Women (1932) with Myrna Loy that looks really intriguing... I feel such a stupe for never have seen any of her movies!!!
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 6, 2019 21:10:17 GMT
Denzel WashingtonGenre: CrimeIn Denzel's long and distinguished career, he has done multiple films in different genres (Crime, Sports, Historical Biopics, Action, etc.) but for this I'm going to concentrate on his contributions to the crime genre. Now obviously in most moviegoers minds when they think of Denzel and a crime movie, their thoughts will probably turn towards Training Day, and with good reason. It's now considered a classic police/crime movie with an iconic, career redefining performance from Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris in which he was awarded his first Best Actor Oscar for his work. Add to that his terrific chemistry with Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt and Antoine Fuqua at his absolute best behind the camera, Training Day has inspired several copycat films and Alonzo-esque performances following it. Following that up, is another endlessly re-watchable film in the crime genre Denzel did in 2006 when he hooked up with Spike Lee again to make the great heist film, Inside Man. A film that pays homage to the legendary Sidney Lumet and one of his great masterpieces, A Dog Day Afternoon. Inside Man is a rare "popcorn entertainment" film from Lee that still has his look and style and contains a great cast including Denzel, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Plummer, and Willem Dafoe, all Oscar winning/nominated actors just having a blast doing this film. Denzel in particular seems to be having fun playing the loose, wisecracking Detective Keith Frazier who not only is heavily invested in solving a hostage situation but also getting his deadbeat brother in-law out of his apartment. One of Spike's best films. In 1995, Denzel hooked up for the first time with Carl Franklin for a neo-noir film based on one of the books of Walter Mosley's popular Easy Rawlins series called Devil in A Blue Dress. At the time it was a critically acclaimed film that failed to make much of a dent at the box-office but is now considered a cult classic because of the film's atmosphere, a rare black lead in this type of film, and the dynamic between Denzel and at the time a little known character actor named Don Cheadle who was probably best known for his role on the 90s tv show Picket Fences. His performance as Mouse and Denzel's work as Easy Rawlins carried the film to cult classic status where film fans ponder what could've been a great series of films had the film performed better at the box-office. The entire cast is terrific including Tom Sizemore and Jennifer Beals. I also want to mention a film that seems divisive with film going fans today but was looked upon as an event in leading up to its theatrical release and that's American Gangster. Pairing up Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, who pretty much were all over the Best Actor Oscar races from 1999-2001 and seen as the pre-eminent A-List Hollywood leading men at this time in a big studio gangster film with the legendary Ridley Scott directing was huge and seen as a big Oscar contender. It ended up doing pretty well with critics (80% RT, 76 MC) and did good box-office but seen as divisive now based on how the storytelling played out. That being said, I feel this is one of Denzel's more underrated performances for how quiet and restrained he played Frank Lucas, where people were expecting a rehash of the loud, swagged out, Alonzo Harris and added an interesting character to the long rich history of the crime/gangster film genre in American films. So with these four films, you can see how Denzel Washington's contribution to the genre is immense with these respective films. Honorable Mention: Fallen - Who can forget the ending to that along with the Rolling Stones song. Nice summation! Now obviously I think he's very possibly the general GOAT actor, but I do actually wonder if you could make a case for him being the GOAT crime actor? Not the Gangster subgenre, as he's only played one Gangster ( Frank Lucas in American Gangster). You could stretch it to two If you counted Alonzo in Training Day (almost certainly Alonzo would have been a Blood or a Crip if he was based on Rafael Perez. Only way he could have survived with impunity in the Jungle. Not just because he was a cop). But he's played so many variety of protectors and law enforcement...cops, corrupt cops, private eyes, bodyguards, FBI agents etc. And obviously he's proven in the Gangster/Criminal role as well. You named the cream of the crop of his crime genre work, but to have been able to achieve that in the crime genre without working with the "greats" who specialised in the genre (no disrespect to Spike or Ridley, who are great filmmakers but crime is not their thing) like Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Sidney Lumet, Brian De Palma etc etc, I feel gives him a very solid argument for being the Crime Actor GOAT. He's basically been the elite crime actor of the last 20 years or so. Without working with any elite crime directors. I might actually add Man On Fire to his list of great crime movies/roles. It's on the spectrum of being an action film, but it's so character driven for the first hour and so heavily centered on kidnapping and police corruption, that it has to count.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 6, 2019 23:44:28 GMT
Billy Bob Thornton
Genre: Neo-Noir
Sometimes a surprise pick makes more sense when you think it through a bit. You could pick more famous or even better actors certainly - depending on how you classify neo-noir you could pick guys in bigger movies too. But often (though not always) genre needs to be focused to see the most special performers within it - ie Pacino for Police only, De Niro for Crime only (see pages 1,2). If you combine them well you lose genre - in a way - it's then merely "cops AND robbers".
Well, Thornton's work here - defined, precise and as the genre name says "new" (neo) might surprise you by how it fits and narrows down and focuses in the best ways. So I've chosen to focus on him because I think he's the most unexpected pick so far (of my profiles, at least).
Thornton gets some of his noir heat from a classic performance on TV - a brilliant portrayal of the unforgettable, deliverer of death Lorne Malvo in Fargo. But for me it's for 3 unique films: One False Move, A Simple Plan and The Man Who Wasn't There that he also fits.
Sometimes lead, sometimes support, sometimes dangerous and at others he plays the helpless sap. These films all take film noir situations and tweak them in very modern ways - sometimes with interracial angles, class and familial or family surrogate connections.
Even the film which appears the most direct throwback to straight noir (The Man Who Wasn't There) is updated towards modern assessments through viewpoint and ironic perspective. What Thornton does most brilliantly with this material is capture the full doomed spirit without pandering to it - he's not an imitator - and he isn't in the know because it's not a self-aware joke - he plays it straight with a modern spin and never once in these films winks his way through it.
Thornton evokes and plays off the fatalistic spirit inherent in this genre - he's fantastic with co-stars specifically - a darkness that lurks in rural areas or cities, good men and bad, good women and bad - and in himself most of all. Remember he is also a screenwriter and it's as if he's writing those characters for himself or shaping them and thinking like a writer at least in adding perspective to his performances.
Here's a scene from A Simple Plan - one of the best acted scenes in modern US film imo. What money can buy and what you would do for it - a noir staple, a cliche even - but this guy and how he's playing this scene, now that's new.
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sirchuck23
Based
Bad news dawg...you don't mind if I have some of your 300 dollar a glass shit there would ya?
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Post by sirchuck23 on Jul 6, 2019 23:54:24 GMT
Denzel WashingtonGenre: CrimeIn Denzel's long and distinguished career, he has done multiple films in different genres (Crime, Sports, Historical Biopics, Action, etc.) but for this I'm going to concentrate on his contributions to the crime genre. Now obviously in most moviegoers minds when they think of Denzel and a crime movie, their thoughts will probably turn towards Training Day, and with good reason. It's now considered a classic police/crime movie with an iconic, career redefining performance from Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris in which he was awarded his first Best Actor Oscar for his work. Add to that his terrific chemistry with Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt and Antoine Fuqua at his absolute best behind the camera, Training Day has inspired several copycat films and Alonzo-esque performances following it. Following that up, is another endlessly re-watchable film in the crime genre Denzel did in 2006 when he hooked up with Spike Lee again to make the great heist film, Inside Man. A film that pays homage to the legendary Sidney Lumet and one of his great masterpieces, A Dog Day Afternoon. Inside Man is a rare "popcorn entertainment" film from Lee that still has his look and style and contains a great cast including Denzel, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Plummer, and Willem Dafoe, all Oscar winning/nominated actors just having a blast doing this film. Denzel in particular seems to be having fun playing the loose, wisecracking Detective Keith Frazier who not only is heavily invested in solving a hostage situation but also getting his deadbeat brother in-law out of his apartment. One of Spike's best films. In 1995, Denzel hooked up for the first time with Carl Franklin for a neo-noir film based on one of the books of Walter Mosley's popular Easy Rawlins series called Devil in A Blue Dress. At the time it was a critically acclaimed film that failed to make much of a dent at the box-office but is now considered a cult classic because of the film's atmosphere, a rare black lead in this type of film, and the dynamic between Denzel and at the time a little known character actor named Don Cheadle who was probably best known for his role on the 90s tv show Picket Fences. His performance as Mouse and Denzel's work as Easy Rawlins carried the film to cult classic status where film fans ponder what could've been a great series of films had the film performed better at the box-office. The entire cast is terrific including Tom Sizemore and Jennifer Beals. I also want to mention a film that seems divisive with film going fans today but was looked upon as an event in leading up to its theatrical release and that's American Gangster. Pairing up Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, who pretty much were all over the Best Actor Oscar races from 1999-2001 and seen as the pre-eminent A-List Hollywood leading men at this time in a big studio gangster film with the legendary Ridley Scott directing was huge and seen as a big Oscar contender. It ended up doing pretty well with critics (80% RT, 76 MC) and did good box-office but seen as divisive now based on how the storytelling played out. That being said, I feel this is one of Denzel's more underrated performances for how quiet and restrained he played Frank Lucas, where people were expecting a rehash of the loud, swagged out, Alonzo Harris and added an interesting character to the long rich history of the crime/gangster film genre in American films. So with these four films, you can see how Denzel Washington's contribution to the genre is immense with these respective films. Honorable Mention: Fallen - Who can forget the ending to that along with the Rolling Stones song. Nice summation! Now obviously I think he's very possibly the general GOAT actor, but I do actually wonder if you could make a case for him being the GOAT crime actor? Not the Gangster subgenre, as he's only played one Gangster ( Frank Lucas in American Gangster). You could stretch it to two If you counted Alonzo in Training Day (almost certainly Alonzo would have been a Blood or a Crip if he was based on Rafael Perez. Only way he could have survived with impunity in the Jungle. Not just because he was a cop). But he's played so many variety of protectors and law enforcement...cops, corrupt cops, private eyes, bodyguards, FBI agents etc. And obviously he's proven in the Gangster/Criminal role as well. You named the cream of the crop of his crime genre work, but to have been able to achieve that in the crime genre without working with the "greats" who specialised in the genre (no disrespect to Spike or Ridley, who are great filmmakers but crime is not their thing) like Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Sidney Lumet, Brian De Palma etc etc, I feel gives him a very solid argument for being the Crime Actor GOAT. He's basically been the elite crime actor of the last 20 years or so. Without working with any elite crime directors. I might actually add Man On Fire to his list of great crime movies/roles. It's on the spectrum of being an action film, but it's so character driven for the first hour and so heavily centered on kidnapping and police corruption, that it has to count. I thought about including Man on Fire for Denzel but like you said I always think of it as an action film first and foremost, but you’re correct it could and should be looked at as a crime film too. I actually think Spike is underrated as a director in the crime genre. Inside Man is one, but then you think of BlackKklansman, Clockers, Summer of Sam, even the “Detroit Red” first hour of Malcolm X looks like a 1930s gangster film. But he doesn’t go back into the genre or make films consistently in that genre as others do, plus he really has his own film universe where it’s almost like a genre within itself. I actually would like to see his own version of a gangster film now. Would’ve loved to see how American Gangster looked with him behind the camera.
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Post by fiosnasiob on Jul 7, 2019 0:15:01 GMT
Denzel WashingtonGenre: CrimeIn Denzel's long and distinguished career, he has done multiple films in different genres (Crime, Sports, Historical Biopics, Action, etc.) but for this I'm going to concentrate on his contributions to the crime genre. Now obviously in most moviegoers minds when they think of Denzel and a crime movie, their thoughts will probably turn towards Training Day, and with good reason. It's now considered a classic police/crime movie with an iconic, career redefining performance from Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris in which he was awarded his first Best Actor Oscar for his work. Add to that his terrific chemistry with Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt and Antoine Fuqua at his absolute best behind the camera, Training Day has inspired several copycat films and Alonzo-esque performances following it. Following that up, is another endlessly re-watchable film in the crime genre Denzel did in 2006 when he hooked up with Spike Lee again to make the great heist film, Inside Man. A film that pays homage to the legendary Sidney Lumet and one of his great masterpieces, A Dog Day Afternoon. Inside Man is a rare "popcorn entertainment" film from Lee that still has his look and style and contains a great cast including Denzel, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Plummer, and Willem Dafoe, all Oscar winning/nominated actors just having a blast doing this film. Denzel in particular seems to be having fun playing the loose, wisecracking Detective Keith Frazier who not only is heavily invested in solving a hostage situation but also getting his deadbeat brother in-law out of his apartment. One of Spike's best films. In 1995, Denzel hooked up for the first time with Carl Franklin for a neo-noir film based on one of the books of Walter Mosley's popular Easy Rawlins series called Devil in A Blue Dress. At the time it was a critically acclaimed film that failed to make much of a dent at the box-office but is now considered a cult classic because of the film's atmosphere, a rare black lead in this type of film, and the dynamic between Denzel and at the time a little known character actor named Don Cheadle who was probably best known for his role on the 90s tv show Picket Fences. His performance as Mouse and Denzel's work as Easy Rawlins carried the film to cult classic status where film fans ponder what could've been a great series of films had the film performed better at the box-office. The entire cast is terrific including Tom Sizemore and Jennifer Beals. I also want to mention a film that seems divisive with film going fans today but was looked upon as an event in leading up to its theatrical release and that's American Gangster. Pairing up Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, who pretty much were all over the Best Actor Oscar races from 1999-2001 and seen as the pre-eminent A-List Hollywood leading men at this time in a big studio gangster film with the legendary Ridley Scott directing was huge and seen as a big Oscar contender. It ended up doing pretty well with critics (80% RT, 76 MC) and did good box-office but seen as divisive now based on how the storytelling played out. That being said, I feel this is one of Denzel's more underrated performances for how quiet and restrained he played Frank Lucas, where people were expecting a rehash of the loud, swagged out, Alonzo Harris and added an interesting character to the long rich history of the crime/gangster film genre in American films. So with these four films, you can see how Denzel Washington's contribution to the genre is immense with these respective films. Honorable Mention: Fallen - Who can forget the ending to that along with the Rolling Stones song. Very well put Sirchuck. I was going to create a thread about "your favorite's actress/actor coolest performance" the other day and Inside Man would have probably been my choice for Denzel or close to it. I mean, has an actor ever been more completely at ease in front of the camera than Denzel here ? He's working for the 4th times with his old friend (after being out of movies for 2 years, doing Broadway), in their city, from the set videos, pics, etc... the joy/excitement, the "camaraderie", etc... was very palpable. I love Denzel's Keith Frazier, despite playing a lot of cops before I found his performance here to be incredibly fresh and it starts right from the look, those extra pounds he gained to play this NYC cop, add the thin mustache, the golden watch, the bald head and that fedora that he's wearing with a helluva lot of style, I love his look and girls half his age seems to love it too in the movie, that's Keith Fraziiiiier. He has a cocky, cynical, sometimes full of himself attitude but he's good at his job, street smart with great instints and determination. He creates a fully complex, layered and fun character who is also vulnerable and even has a degree of moral ambiguity. He's doing his character work like the Champ that he is and the performance is just so charismatic and effortlessy cool, fun to watch, he moves with more grace than any actor around. Not to take away from all the fine actors in the movie but they barely exit when he is here (except Plummer who was born to play Arthur Case). He and Spike have so many things (moves, way of talking..) from all their previous collaborations and certainly life friendship and it's all in the movie. Hope the 5th collaboration is coming someday.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 7, 2019 0:24:31 GMT
Nice summation! Now obviously I think he's very possibly the general GOAT actor, but I do actually wonder if you could make a case for him being the GOAT crime actor? Not the Gangster subgenre, as he's only played one Gangster ( Frank Lucas in American Gangster). You could stretch it to two If you counted Alonzo in Training Day (almost certainly Alonzo would have been a Blood or a Crip if he was based on Rafael Perez. Only way he could have survived with impunity in the Jungle. Not just because he was a cop). But he's played so many variety of protectors and law enforcement...cops, corrupt cops, private eyes, bodyguards, FBI agents etc. And obviously he's proven in the Gangster/Criminal role as well. You named the cream of the crop of his crime genre work, but to have been able to achieve that in the crime genre without working with the "greats" who specialised in the genre (no disrespect to Spike or Ridley, who are great filmmakers but crime is not their thing) like Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Sidney Lumet, Brian De Palma etc etc, I feel gives him a very solid argument for being the Crime Actor GOAT. He's basically been the elite crime actor of the last 20 years or so. Without working with any elite crime directors. I might actually add Man On Fire to his list of great crime movies/roles. It's on the spectrum of being an action film, but it's so character driven for the first hour and so heavily centered on kidnapping and police corruption, that it has to count. I thought about including Man on Fire for Denzel but like you said I always think of it as an action film first and foremost, but you’re correct it could and should be looked at as a crime film too. I actually think Spike is underrated as a director in the crime genre. Inside Man is one, but then you think of BlackKklansman, Clockers, Summer of Sam, even the “Detroit Red” first hour of Malcolm X looks like a 1930s gangster film. But he doesn’t go back into the genre or make films consistently in that genre as others do, plus he really has his own film universe where it’s almost like a genre within itself. I actually would like to see his own version of a gangster film now. Would’ve loved to see how American Gangster looked with him behind the camera. You have a point a point about Spike, but for the purposes of declaring Denzel the Crime Actor GOAT because he's done it without great specialist directors, it doesn't help too much to overstate Spikes crime credentials.LOL! I do think because Spike has overreaching thematic concerns in those films like Summer Of Sam and Blackkklansman, that while they can technically be classed as crime films, they can be considered more social dramas/thrillers. Spike is quite unique in how he blends things. For me, Inside Man was the first time he tried to make a crime film on the most straightforward, Hollywood sense of the genre. He nailed it of course, but I feel like Denzel was probably a huge determining factor in him pulling it all together. I mean not long after, the writer of Inside Man, Russell Gerwirtz wrote Righteous Kill, an absolute turkey of a crime thriller featuring two Crime Actor GOAT contenders. I guess Spike and Denzel made the difference. Spike helming American Gangster would have been interesting. I could see critics taking hin to task for being too heavy handed, whether it was an accurate criticism or not. I think Scott did a fine job for someone who didn't specialise in the genre, but you could see him as doing a greatest hits piecemeal approach ( a bit of Godfather, a bit of The French Connection, a bit of Serpico) as opposed to doing something that organically came naturally to him. It worked, but you could sense another filmmaker who truly lived the genre could have taken that story with Denzel firing on all cylinders to all-time great movie status. Would have been real interesting to see how Martin Scorsese interpreted American Gangster. If Denzel is arguably the GOAT crime actor, then it'd be interesting to match him with arguably the GOAT crime director in that material.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 7, 2019 0:36:15 GMT
Denzel WashingtonGenre: CrimeIn Denzel's long and distinguished career, he has done multiple films in different genres (Crime, Sports, Historical Biopics, Action, etc.) but for this I'm going to concentrate on his contributions to the crime genre. Now obviously in most moviegoers minds when they think of Denzel and a crime movie, their thoughts will probably turn towards Training Day, and with good reason. It's now considered a classic police/crime movie with an iconic, career redefining performance from Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris in which he was awarded his first Best Actor Oscar for his work. Add to that his terrific chemistry with Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt and Antoine Fuqua at his absolute best behind the camera, Training Day has inspired several copycat films and Alonzo-esque performances following it. Following that up, is another endlessly re-watchable film in the crime genre Denzel did in 2006 when he hooked up with Spike Lee again to make the great heist film, Inside Man. A film that pays homage to the legendary Sidney Lumet and one of his great masterpieces, A Dog Day Afternoon. Inside Man is a rare "popcorn entertainment" film from Lee that still has his look and style and contains a great cast including Denzel, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Plummer, and Willem Dafoe, all Oscar winning/nominated actors just having a blast doing this film. Denzel in particular seems to be having fun playing the loose, wisecracking Detective Keith Frazier who not only is heavily invested in solving a hostage situation but also getting his deadbeat brother in-law out of his apartment. One of Spike's best films. In 1995, Denzel hooked up for the first time with Carl Franklin for a neo-noir film based on one of the books of Walter Mosley's popular Easy Rawlins series called Devil in A Blue Dress. At the time it was a critically acclaimed film that failed to make much of a dent at the box-office but is now considered a cult classic because of the film's atmosphere, a rare black lead in this type of film, and the dynamic between Denzel and at the time a little known character actor named Don Cheadle who was probably best known for his role on the 90s tv show Picket Fences. His performance as Mouse and Denzel's work as Easy Rawlins carried the film to cult classic status where film fans ponder what could've been a great series of films had the film performed better at the box-office. The entire cast is terrific including Tom Sizemore and Jennifer Beals. I also want to mention a film that seems divisive with film going fans today but was looked upon as an event in leading up to its theatrical release and that's American Gangster. Pairing up Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, who pretty much were all over the Best Actor Oscar races from 1999-2001 and seen as the pre-eminent A-List Hollywood leading men at this time in a big studio gangster film with the legendary Ridley Scott directing was huge and seen as a big Oscar contender. It ended up doing pretty well with critics (80% RT, 76 MC) and did good box-office but seen as divisive now based on how the storytelling played out. That being said, I feel this is one of Denzel's more underrated performances for how quiet and restrained he played Frank Lucas, where people were expecting a rehash of the loud, swagged out, Alonzo Harris and added an interesting character to the long rich history of the crime/gangster film genre in American films. So with these four films, you can see how Denzel Washington's contribution to the genre is immense with these respective films. Honorable Mention: Fallen - Who can forget the ending to that along with the Rolling Stones song. Very well put Sirchuck. I was going to create a thread about "your favorite's actress/actor coolest performance" the other day and Inside Man would have probably been my choice for Denzel or close to it. I mean, has an actor ever been more completely at ease in front of the camera than Denzel here ? He's working for the 4th times with his old friend (after being out of movies for 2 years, doing Broadway), in their city, from the set videos, pics, etc... the joy/excitement, the "camaraderie", etc... was very palpable. I love Denzel's Keith Frazier, despite playing a lot of cops before I found his performance here to be incredibly fresh and it starts right from the look, those extra pounds he gained to play this NYC cop, add the thin mustache, the golden watch, the bald head and that fedora that he's wearing with a helluva lot of style, I love his look and girls half his age seems to love it too in the movie, that's Keith Fraziiiiier. He has a cocky, cynical, sometimes full of himself attitude but he's good at his job, street smart with great instints and determination. He creates a fully complex, layered and fun character who is also vulnerable and even has a degree of moral ambiguity. He's doing his character work like the Champ that he is and the performance is just so charismatic and effortlessy cool, fun to watch, he moves with more grace than any actor around. Not to take away from all the fine actors in the movie but they barely exit when he is here (except Plummer who was born to play Arthur Case). He and Spike have so many things (moves, way of talking..) from all their previous collaborations and certainly life friendship and it's all in the movie. Hope the 5th collaboration is coming someday. Keith Fraizier is such a brilliant, kooky performance. Denzel was doing incredible work just before that ( The Manchurian Candidate and Man On Fire were powerhouse performances), but he'd had a long stretch of playing intense characters who didn't seem very fun. Frazier was fun. Spike always pushes Denzel to find different sides to himself, and Fraizier was no different. Looking forward to their collaboration again as well. It'll be special, as their overall partnership has been. I get the distinct feeling Denzel will tap Spike to direct one of the August Wilson films he's doing for Netflix (formerly a deal with HBO). And not neccesarily one with Denzel acting in it. But Denzel is producing 9 of these films, so it's very unlikely he won't ask Spike to do at least one if them.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 7, 2019 1:09:48 GMT
Hey guys....just recieved a PM from urbanpatrician . He says he'd like to do a profile on Charlton Heston within the next week or so. Hope we can all show him a bit of courtesy, and give him time to get his piece together on Chuck, without someone doing else Ben-Hur first. Not enforceable, but let's be decent human beings. Thanks.
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sirchuck23
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Post by sirchuck23 on Jul 7, 2019 1:24:38 GMT
I thought about including Man on Fire for Denzel but like you said I always think of it as an action film first and foremost, but you’re correct it could and should be looked at as a crime film too. I actually think Spike is underrated as a director in the crime genre. Inside Man is one, but then you think of BlackKklansman, Clockers, Summer of Sam, even the “Detroit Red” first hour of Malcolm X looks like a 1930s gangster film. But he doesn’t go back into the genre or make films consistently in that genre as others do, plus he really has his own film universe where it’s almost like a genre within itself. I actually would like to see his own version of a gangster film now. Would’ve loved to see how American Gangster looked with him behind the camera. You have a point a point about Spike, but for the purposes of declaring Denzel the Crime Actor GOAT because he's done it without great specialist directors, it doesn't help too much to overstate Spikes crime credentials.LOL! I do think because Spike has overreaching thematic concerns in those films like Summer Of Sam and Blackkklansman, that while they can technically be classed as crime films, they can be considered more social dramas/thrillers. Spike is quite unique in how he blends things. For me, Inside Man was the first time he tried to make a crime film on the most straightforward, Hollywood sense of the genre. He nailed it of course, but I feel like Denzel was probably a huge determining factor in him pulling it all together. I mean not long after, the writer of Inside Man, Russell Gerwirtz wrote Righteous Kill, an absolute turkey of a crime thriller featuring two Crime Actor GOAT contenders. I guess Spike and Denzel made the difference. Spike helming American Gangster would have been interesting. I could see critics taking hin to task for being too heavy handed, whether it was an accurate criticism or not. I think Scott did a fine job for someone who didn't specialise in the genre, but you could see him as doing a greatest hits piecemeal approach ( a bit of Godfather, a bit of The French Connection, a bit of Serpico) as opposed to doing something that organically came naturally to him. It worked, but you could sense another filmmaker who truly lived the genre could have taken that story with Denzel firing on all cylinders to all-time great movie status. Would have been real interesting to see how Martin Scorsese interpreted American Gangster. If Denzel is arguably the GOAT crime actor, then it'd be interesting to match him with arguably the GOAT crime director in that material. True..Spike usually has overarching themes he tries to convey in his films while using specific genres. He doesn’t go to the crime genre often, but has shown he’s more than comfortable in the genre. A Scorsese/Denzel pairing has always been on the top of my wishlist, but sadly I don’t see it happening. Who knows, I’d never thought I’d see a Denzel/Coen collaboration either, so never say never I guess. Scorsese doing American Gangster would’ve been awesome.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 7, 2019 1:39:43 GMT
You have a point a point about Spike, but for the purposes of declaring Denzel the Crime Actor GOAT because he's done it without great specialist directors, it doesn't help too much to overstate Spikes crime credentials.LOL! I do think because Spike has overreaching thematic concerns in those films like Summer Of Sam and Blackkklansman, that while they can technically be classed as crime films, they can be considered more social dramas/thrillers. Spike is quite unique in how he blends things. For me, Inside Man was the first time he tried to make a crime film on the most straightforward, Hollywood sense of the genre. He nailed it of course, but I feel like Denzel was probably a huge determining factor in him pulling it all together. I mean not long after, the writer of Inside Man, Russell Gerwirtz wrote Righteous Kill, an absolute turkey of a crime thriller featuring two Crime Actor GOAT contenders. I guess Spike and Denzel made the difference. Spike helming American Gangster would have been interesting. I could see critics taking hin to task for being too heavy handed, whether it was an accurate criticism or not. I think Scott did a fine job for someone who didn't specialise in the genre, but you could see him as doing a greatest hits piecemeal approach ( a bit of Godfather, a bit of The French Connection, a bit of Serpico) as opposed to doing something that organically came naturally to him. It worked, but you could sense another filmmaker who truly lived the genre could have taken that story with Denzel firing on all cylinders to all-time great movie status. Would have been real interesting to see how Martin Scorsese interpreted American Gangster. If Denzel is arguably the GOAT crime actor, then it'd be interesting to match him with arguably the GOAT crime director in that material. True..Spike usually has overarching themes he tries to convey in his films while using specific genres. He doesn’t go to the crime genre often, but has shown he’s more than comfortable in the genre. A Scorsese/Denzel pairing has always been on the top of my wishlist, but sadly I don’t see it happening. Who knows, I’d never thought I’d see a Denzel/Coen collaboration either, so never say never I guess. Scorsese doing American Gangster would’ve been awesome. I don't seen Denzel and Scorsese happening either. He's tied up with a bunch of projects in development and he's not getting any younger as well. Who would be a good subsitute for a crime film? Chris Nolan maybe? With Memento, Insomnia and large elements of his Batman trilogy (particularly the very Heat and Point Break influenced The Dark Knight ) Nolan certainly understands the genre well. And perhaps working with JDW, might give Nolan the impetus to give his old man a call.
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sirchuck23
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Post by sirchuck23 on Jul 7, 2019 3:08:09 GMT
Denzel WashingtonGenre: CrimeIn Denzel's long and distinguished career, he has done multiple films in different genres (Crime, Sports, Historical Biopics, Action, etc.) but for this I'm going to concentrate on his contributions to the crime genre. Now obviously in most moviegoers minds when they think of Denzel and a crime movie, their thoughts will probably turn towards Training Day, and with good reason. It's now considered a classic police/crime movie with an iconic, career redefining performance from Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris in which he was awarded his first Best Actor Oscar for his work. Add to that his terrific chemistry with Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt and Antoine Fuqua at his absolute best behind the camera, Training Day has inspired several copycat films and Alonzo-esque performances following it. Following that up, is another endlessly re-watchable film in the crime genre Denzel did in 2006 when he hooked up with Spike Lee again to make the great heist film, Inside Man. A film that pays homage to the legendary Sidney Lumet and one of his great masterpieces, A Dog Day Afternoon. Inside Man is a rare "popcorn entertainment" film from Lee that still has his look and style and contains a great cast including Denzel, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Plummer, and Willem Dafoe, all Oscar winning/nominated actors just having a blast doing this film. Denzel in particular seems to be having fun playing the loose, wisecracking Detective Keith Frazier who not only is heavily invested in solving a hostage situation but also getting his deadbeat brother in-law out of his apartment. One of Spike's best films. In 1995, Denzel hooked up for the first time with Carl Franklin for a neo-noir film based on one of the books of Walter Mosley's popular Easy Rawlins series called Devil in A Blue Dress. At the time it was a critically acclaimed film that failed to make much of a dent at the box-office but is now considered a cult classic because of the film's atmosphere, a rare black lead in this type of film, and the dynamic between Denzel and at the time a little known character actor named Don Cheadle who was probably best known for his role on the 90s tv show Picket Fences. His performance as Mouse and Denzel's work as Easy Rawlins carried the film to cult classic status where film fans ponder what could've been a great series of films had the film performed better at the box-office. The entire cast is terrific including Tom Sizemore and Jennifer Beals. I also want to mention a film that seems divisive with film going fans today but was looked upon as an event in leading up to its theatrical release and that's American Gangster. Pairing up Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, who pretty much were all over the Best Actor Oscar races from 1999-2001 and seen as the pre-eminent A-List Hollywood leading men at this time in a big studio gangster film with the legendary Ridley Scott directing was huge and seen as a big Oscar contender. It ended up doing pretty well with critics (80% RT, 76 MC) and did good box-office but seen as divisive now based on how the storytelling played out. That being said, I feel this is one of Denzel's more underrated performances for how quiet and restrained he played Frank Lucas, where people were expecting a rehash of the loud, swagged out, Alonzo Harris and added an interesting character to the long rich history of the crime/gangster film genre in American films. So with these four films, you can see how Denzel Washington's contribution to the genre is immense with these respective films. Honorable Mention: Fallen - Who can forget the ending to that along with the Rolling Stones song. Very well put Sirchuck. I was going to create a thread about "your favorite's actress/actor coolest performance" the other day and Inside Man would have probably been my choice for Denzel or close to it. I mean, has an actor ever been more completely at ease in front of the camera than Denzel here ? He's working for the 4th times with his old friend (after being out of movies for 2 years, doing Broadway), in their city, from the set videos, pics, etc... the joy/excitement, the "camaraderie", etc... was very palpable. I love Denzel's Keith Frazier, despite playing a lot of cops before I found his performance here to be incredibly fresh and it starts right from the look, those extra pounds he gained to play this NYC cop, add the thin mustache, the golden watch, the bald head and that fedora that he's wearing with a helluva lot of style, I love his look and girls half his age seems to love it too in the movie, that's Keith Fraziiiiier. He has a cocky, cynical, sometimes full of himself attitude but he's good at his job, street smart with great instints and determination. He creates a fully complex, layered and fun character who is also vulnerable and even has a degree of moral ambiguity. He's doing his character work like the Champ that he is and the performance is just so charismatic and effortlessy cool, fun to watch, he moves with more grace than any actor around. Not to take away from all the fine actors in the movie but they barely exit when he is here (except Plummer who was born to play Arthur Case). He and Spike have so many things (moves, way of talking..) from all their previous collaborations and certainly life friendship and it's all in the movie. Hope the 5th collaboration is coming someday. Agreed, he was so loose and easygoing in that film. I like how he brings different facets to his cop characters like you said. You can see the difference between someone like Frazier and Alonzo. I’ve seen that video a bunch of times, you can see how cool their friendship is and their rapport with each other. No coincidence that those two have done some of the greatest work in their careers with each other. Spike recently presented Denzel with his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award and gave his son his breakthrough in movies. I have a feeling we may see them do at least a couple of more films together. We at least have to have one more from them..here’s hoping!
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sirchuck23
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Post by sirchuck23 on Jul 7, 2019 3:12:54 GMT
True..Spike usually has overarching themes he tries to convey in his films while using specific genres. He doesn’t go to the crime genre often, but has shown he’s more than comfortable in the genre. A Scorsese/Denzel pairing has always been on the top of my wishlist, but sadly I don’t see it happening. Who knows, I’d never thought I’d see a Denzel/Coen collaboration either, so never say never I guess. Scorsese doing American Gangster would’ve been awesome. I don't seen Denzel and Scorsese happening either. He's tied up with a bunch of projects in development and he's not getting any younger as well. Who would be a good subsitute for a crime film? Chris Nolan maybe? With Memento, Insomnia and large elements of his Batman trilogy (particularly the very Heat and Point Break influenced The Dark Knight ) Nolan certainly understands the genre well. And perhaps working with JDW, might give Nolan the impetus to give his old man a call. Chris Nolan would be an excellent choice, although I still would like to see a Mann/Denzel pairing. I know Mann is past his prime and getting up there in age, but all it takes is one film and I believe Denzel could bring the best out of whatever Mann has left in the tank. Seeing that Denzel is doing Little Things next year, he still has things he can do in the crime genre.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 7, 2019 5:56:25 GMT
I don't seen Denzel and Scorsese happening either. He's tied up with a bunch of projects in development and he's not getting any younger as well. Who would be a good subsitute for a crime film? Chris Nolan maybe? With Memento, Insomnia and large elements of his Batman trilogy (particularly the very Heat and Point Break influenced The Dark Knight ) Nolan certainly understands the genre well. And perhaps working with JDW, might give Nolan the impetus to give his old man a call. Chris Nolan would be an excellent choice, although I still would like to see a Mann/Denzel pairing. I know Mann is past his prime and getting up there in age, but all it takes is one film and I believe Denzel could bring the best out of whatever Mann has left in the tank. Seeing that Denzel is doing Little Things next year, he still has things he can do in the crime genre. I feel bad for Mann. I think he has trouble getting projects off the ground. The whole business with Christian Bale dropping out of his Enzo Ferrari biopic (ostensibly because he balked at gaining weight again, something he then went onto to do in Vice). Hollywood is a very "what have you done for me lately" town, and when your last movie was Blackhat, you may get certain forces whispering " he's lost it , work with someone else" to those elite level leading men he used to secure so easily ( Chris Hemsworth is fine at what he does, particularly comedy, but was a clear step down from the calibre of dramatic leading man he was used to securing with ease).Hell even Kurosawa and Orson Welles had trouble getting projects of the ground when they got older and were seen as slightly past their best. I do agree that Denzel could possibly he reinvigorate Mann, commercially and critically. He's sort of done that in the past with elite directors who were going through creative and/or commercial funks ( Ridley Scott with American Gangster and Robert Zemeckis with Flight) . So yes, I wouldn't be averse to a Mann/Denzel collaboration, even if he hasn't been on peak form for a bit.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 7, 2019 8:59:33 GMT
Harvey KeitelGenre : Crime (Overall: Police and Gangster)I already listed Pacino (Police) and DeNiro (Criminal) separately - and I mentioned before that I like to narrow down genres as specific as possible but when you expand them here, Keitel has an uncommon amount of police and thieves triumphs that in total nearly rivals Pacino and De Niro each and in some ways cuts even deeper too - in many ways he's the two sides of Heat - by himself. He uses these roles to do what some other bigger box office stars can't do at all - to play off each other and cross-connect into something grander and more unsettling about criminality in modern life. Keitel's cops are particularly complex and contradictory - contradictory is the key word - Bad Timing and Thelma & Louise present practically feminist (!) male police officers - when do you ever see that - and he has it twice (and arguably 3 times in Mortal Thoughts). In an age where the cop has descended as an agent of hope he's instead the only hope these women have at all. That alone would qualify him in this genre but instead it's only the starting point. The flipside of that coin - police gone wrong and more corrupt than are almost imaginable and unforgettably etched in Corrupt (Copkiller) and in particular Bad Lieutenant - arguably the 90s finest performance by anyone - and a veritable seething cauldron of procedural violations and soul killing torment. His cops are criminal and his criminals are sometimes noble like cops - that is the cross connection and he does this in a deeply complex and emotionally affecting ways - particularly in something where you can't fully read him at first either (Cop Land). If his cops had that dichotomy his criminals had it even more vividly at least and again in contradiction - Fingers and Mean Streets where he is literally 2 halves that don't connect - that cannot connect - are the best examples. They are not merely great genre performances but complicated character studies as well. Taxi Driver, Reservoir Dogs are the best examples of his criminality curdling back on itself into criminals that are the cops of their world. In fact, Reservoir Dogs in a way most typifies the push and pull in his genre roles even - think of that film and how it dovetails with that actor : Between his friendship (the personal) and his moral code to the crew (the professional) - neither sustains him, it rather drains him, the different sides can't support each other rather they often destroy him or those in his professional sphere who he is choosing to protect or even crucially ........ sworn to protect. From Bad Timing (1980) and Mean Streets (1973) :
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Post by MsMovieStar on Jul 7, 2019 9:15:17 GMT
Harvey KeitelGenre : Crime (Overall: Police and Gangster)I already listed Pacino (Police) and DeNiro (Criminal) separately - and I mentioned before that I like to narrow down genres as specific as possible but when you expand them here, Keitel has an uncommon amount of police and thieves triumphs that in total nearly rivals Pacino and De Niro each and in some ways cuts even deeper too - in many ways he's the two sides of Heat - by himself. He uses these roles to do what some other bigger box office stars can't do at all - to play off each other and cross-connect into something grander and more unsettling about criminality in modern life. Keitel's cops are particularly complex and contradictory - contradictory is the key word - Bad Timing and Thelma & Louise present practically feminist (!) male police officers - when do you ever see that - and he has it twice (and arguably 3 times in Mortal Thoughts). In an age where the cop has descended as an agent of hope he's instead the only hope these women have at all. That alone would qualify him in this genre but instead it's only the starting point. The flipside of that coin - police gone wrong and more corrupt than are almost imaginable and unforgettably etched in Corrupt (Copkiller) and in particular Bad Lieutenant - arguably the 90s finest performance by anyone - and a veritable seething cauldron of procedural violations and soul killing torment. His cops are criminal and his criminals are sometimes noble like cops - that is the cross connection and he does this in a deeply complex and emotionally affecting ways - particularly in something where you can't fully read him at first either (Cop Land). If his cops had that dichotomy his criminals had it even more vividly at least and again in contradiction - Fingers and Mean Streets where he is literally 2 halves that don't connect - that cannot connect - are the best examples. They are not merely great genre performances but complicated character studies as well. Taxi Driver, Reservoir Dogs are the best examples of his criminality curdling back on itself into criminal that are the cops of their world. In fact, Reservoir Dogs in a way most typifies the push and pull in his genre roles even - think of that film and how it dovetails with that actor : Between his friendship (the personal) and his moral code to the crew (the professional) - neither sustains him, it rather drains him, the different sides can't support each other rather they often destroy him or those in his professional sphere who he is choosing to protect or even crucially ........ sworn to protect. From Bad Timing (1980) and Mean Streets (1973) :
Oh honey, if only all cops were like Harvey, I'd probably spend less on speeding tickets and more on car wash...
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 7, 2019 9:34:45 GMT
John CusackGenre: Teen MovieEarly on this thread, we talked about Molly Ringwald and her huge impact on the teen/high school genre in the 1980's. Now there were a lot of teen or teen appealing stars in the 80's. It was a virtual smorgasbord of Tiger Beat pin-ups and whatnot. But the closest male equivalent of Ringwald for me in that decade was John Cusack. Cusack shared the same qualities as Ringwald...good looking, but not intimidatingly so. Awkward and insecure at times, without being dorks or geeks. In the case of both Cusack and Ringwald, it's brilliant universal casting to appeal to all teens. They can appeal to the cool, trendy in-crowd cool kids, but also to the nerds and outcasts....because they share traits with both. Cusack was actually a teen actor for most of his significant 80's output. He had a supporting role with Ringwald in Sixteen Candles. His big breakthrough as the lead in the genre came in The Sure Thing as Walter "Gib" Gibson, a recent high school graduate trying to get laid. His biggest and most iconic role in a teen movie came as he had aged out of his teens into his early 20's as Lloyd Dobler in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything. It's one of Cusack's most iconic parts, and his farewell to the teen genre. But I'd say the goodwill engendered from his teen movie run gave him a fairly long and successful shelf life in adult roles. Below is a clip of Cusack's iconic Boom box serenade from Say Anything:
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 7, 2019 14:29:22 GMT
Oh honey, if only all cops were like Harvey, I'd probably spend less on speeding tickets and more on car wash...
One thing that's very revealing to do is to see how many scenes Keitel has that eerily parallel each other on both sides of the law like that scene. In "Fingers" as a criminal he sort of imposes himself and has (maybe, at best) consensual but forced sex - you could clearly see it as assault - with Tanya Roberts - the girlfriend of a man who owes money to his father. Prior to that scene he is "acting" like a cop - he's polite, asking questions about where the man is, calling him in a rude but truthful way trying to resolve the situation, giving him a chance to resolve it as a cop would. But in the sex scene with her he crosses the line into criminal but he never was on the cop side except in behavior - not in occupation. In the Bad Lieutenant scene it's that in reverse - he's a cop but all his thoughts and actions are to subvert the law and feed his personal um............quirks.........like a criminal would. The rules just get in the way but provide the structure..........if he had just one role like this it would still be great but he has a ton that weave in and out like this on both sides of the law.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 7, 2019 15:18:46 GMT
Hmm... after 5 days this is the second most viewed thread ever in the Acting Forum, after one of the pinned threads. Viced , you can send me my check in the mail
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Post by Viced on Jul 7, 2019 15:23:26 GMT
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 7, 2019 15:24:41 GMT
Just doing my bit, chum! We did have a nice long chat by PM about driving content, which is why you pinned and merged that undersung actors thread. Which kind of stopped going after it was pinned. Shame!
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Post by TerryMontana on Jul 7, 2019 17:28:26 GMT
Maybe not one of the very first responses you'd get in such a question, but the Zucker brothers along with Abrahams somehow "created" this new kind of comedy, surreal/slapstick/spoof genre. And by doing so, they typecast this guy in that genre:
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 7, 2019 17:45:18 GMT
Jack NicholsonFilm Genre : Americana@raygittes07 because well, you know ........ The most lauded/awarded American film actor - ever - in a genre which some wouldn't think of as genre at all? The film term Americana usually is used to apply to distinctly American-isms - ie films on the Civil War or Westerns say etc. - but I'd argue Jack Nicholson is so great a film icon he not only defines this (too) broad genre he transcends it . Even films you wouldn't think at first fit, actually do often seemingly because of him - he is an original American-ism in and of himself.. No other actor - not John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall others that seem like they apply - ever said more in as many ways or represented more about his country and its paradoxes. One of the best and the single most important film actor of his generation in several ways - and he comes from a generation of very great and important actors - he himself conveys America at its most restless and curious. He in effect was like Robert Altman as an actor - appearing across material that revealed the beauty, horror, humor and sadness of late 20th century American culture. Tragedies of family and capitalistic commerce (Five Easy Pieces, Chinatown, King of Marvin Gardens), comedies that then soured into drama about our bureaucracies and power structures in American culture - sexual, military, authoritarian (Carnal Knowledge, The Last Detail, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest), our pop-Art (Batman), our high Art too (Eugene O'Neill in Reds). What's more this was reflected in his characters own mixed feelings about where he was and what it meant then and how it may end up - his great Easy Rider speech about America specifically for example, the disconnect of family and purpose in About Schmidt, the unkept promise implicit in The Pledge. To Nicholson these characters well that was America, the past and the present at odds, promises made that couldn't completely be honored, families held together and separated by time - by the most tenuous strings in a land too big to fail and too noble in principle to fail even. His solution was to portray it as honestly as possible and I'd say many Americans would say that their life - their real life, not some Hollywood version of it could be represented in his characters and by extension in this actor himself. The man himself, lost in the supermarket, from About Schmidt:
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