Post by SeanJoyce on Apr 21, 2019 20:43:37 GMT
This thread certainly has the potential to go off the rails...i.e., instances where a movie's timeline made it an impossibility (the smorgasboard of stars in How the West was Won, De Niro and Pacino in GFII), dubious use of "powerhouse" (Willis and Oldman in The Fifth Element, Brolin and Bardem in No Country for Old Men), etc., but what the hell, let's roll.
Even if a movie's narrative technically doesn't call for it, there's few things more frustrating than the excitement of seeing two auspicious actors cast in the same movie and not get any screen time together, even for a fleeting moment. Here, in my opinion, are the biggest offenders:
The Young Lions - Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift. You get the best actors of the postwar generation in a movie together, based on an epic novel, and you can't get them in the same frame? To quote William Hurt in A History of Violence: "How do you fuck that up?" The novel was already altered a great deal...would have been no problem for Clift to kneel down and have a brief yet poignant exchange with the dying Brando about war and mortality. I mean, SOMETHING, right?
Chato's Land - Charles Bronson and Jack Palance; I'm sort of violating my own precept up above, as neither guy would ever be construed as a "powerhouse actor". I'm approaching this more from the "two legendary tough hombres on opposite sides of the law" angle. Bronson and Palance were as badass as they come, how do you miss the opportunity to size one another up?
The Boys from Brazil - Laurence Olivier and James Mason; arguably the two best British thespians of all time, a tense verbal confrontation about ethics and the changing world could have been the highlight of a rather goofy and bizarre film.
Reds - Jack Nicholson and Gene Hackman; would have been difficult to do given the functions of their respective roles, but come on, it's Jack and Gene...shit would've been lit!
The Untouchables - Sean Connery and Robert De Niro; you never get their faces in the same shot, so I count this one. Connery tries to defuse a potentially deadly situation by pulling an irate Costner away from an encroaching De Niro and his thugs. But why couldn't De Palma indulge us a little and have Connery turn around to trade barbs with Bob before departing? The wise old Irish cop and reigning Sicilian mobster exchanging choice words about the old ways and the role of law and order. Maybe it's just me, but could've been great!
Even if a movie's narrative technically doesn't call for it, there's few things more frustrating than the excitement of seeing two auspicious actors cast in the same movie and not get any screen time together, even for a fleeting moment. Here, in my opinion, are the biggest offenders:
The Young Lions - Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift. You get the best actors of the postwar generation in a movie together, based on an epic novel, and you can't get them in the same frame? To quote William Hurt in A History of Violence: "How do you fuck that up?" The novel was already altered a great deal...would have been no problem for Clift to kneel down and have a brief yet poignant exchange with the dying Brando about war and mortality. I mean, SOMETHING, right?
Chato's Land - Charles Bronson and Jack Palance; I'm sort of violating my own precept up above, as neither guy would ever be construed as a "powerhouse actor". I'm approaching this more from the "two legendary tough hombres on opposite sides of the law" angle. Bronson and Palance were as badass as they come, how do you miss the opportunity to size one another up?
The Boys from Brazil - Laurence Olivier and James Mason; arguably the two best British thespians of all time, a tense verbal confrontation about ethics and the changing world could have been the highlight of a rather goofy and bizarre film.
Reds - Jack Nicholson and Gene Hackman; would have been difficult to do given the functions of their respective roles, but come on, it's Jack and Gene...shit would've been lit!
The Untouchables - Sean Connery and Robert De Niro; you never get their faces in the same shot, so I count this one. Connery tries to defuse a potentially deadly situation by pulling an irate Costner away from an encroaching De Niro and his thugs. But why couldn't De Palma indulge us a little and have Connery turn around to trade barbs with Bob before departing? The wise old Irish cop and reigning Sicilian mobster exchanging choice words about the old ways and the role of law and order. Maybe it's just me, but could've been great!
