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Post by pupdurcs on Sept 1, 2019 5:31:16 GMT
I'm not especially comfortable calling any of the leading lights in Phoenix's generation the best actor of their generation (with no caveats) by a distance, because none of them are stage actors, and that will always matter as far as I'm concerned. But best film actor of his generation.... sure, he's laid down his marker, and then some. But I feel the top 3 guys in his generation all have different strengths and weaknesses, and none have yet to draw away from the pack, imho. But Joker absolutely can be a game changer for him. It's a role designed to elicit strong reactions in people (though Jared Leto probably didn't get the strong reaction he hoped for ), and it absolutely meshes with the weird oddball vibe that Phoenix really specialises in. I also wouldn't surprised if the film does well enough (which based off early reviews, it should), that WB will try to get a sequel off the ground, but I'll surprised if Phoenix says yes, because I'm sure he came into the role with the idea that it would only be a one-off. He's really as "anti-franchise" as gets as far as acclaimed actors go. I also wouldn't be surprised if they low-key signed him to a three picture deal without telling people. I have a hard time believing they don't plan to use Phoenix's Joker in Matt Reeves new 80's set version of Batman with Robert Pattinson. There's obviously a plan in place for this iteration of Batman, and I think Phoenix's version of the Joker is likely part of those plans. Maybe not the main villain in Reeves' first Batman film, but possibly the sequel.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Sept 1, 2019 6:08:07 GMT
I also wouldn't surprised if the film does well enough (which based off early reviews, it should), that WB will try to get a sequel off the ground, but I'll surprised if Phoenix says yes, because I'm sure he came into the role with the idea that it would only be a one-off. He's really as "anti-franchise" as gets as far as acclaimed actors go. I also wouldn't be surprised if they low-key signed him to a three picture deal without telling people. I have a hard time believing they don't plan to use Phoenix's Joker in Matt Reeves new 80's set version of Batman with Robert Pattinson. There's obviously a plan in place for this iteration of Batman, and I think Phoenix's version of the Joker is likely part of those plans. Maybe not the main villain in Reeves' first Batman film, but possibly the sequel. I could see that, especially since WB seemed to have confidence with the film from the start. I just can't imagine it going well with Phoenix, given his whole aversion to the shared universe thing. I think he'd make a great Batman villain though. I'd love seeing him square off with Robert Pattinson's Batman. I could see that turning into a great battle of order vs. chaos.
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Post by TerryMontana on Sept 1, 2019 13:02:00 GMT
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Sept 1, 2019 16:15:24 GMT
I know that, see the post I made after. If the film does excellent business then WB will absolutely want to do a sequel, because franchises are what the studios are trying to push these days, even if Phoenix says no.
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Post by TerryMontana on Sept 1, 2019 17:10:17 GMT
I know that, see the post I made after. If the film does excellent business then WB will absolutely want to do a sequel, because franchises are what the studios are trying to push these days, even if Phoenix says no. I read your post, you are right.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Sept 1, 2019 17:25:02 GMT
I know that, see the post I made after. If the film does excellent business then WB will absolutely want to do a sequel, because franchises are what the studios are trying to push these days, even if Phoenix says no. I read your post, you are right.
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Post by pupdurcs on Sept 6, 2019 22:06:26 GMT
Marlon Brando
Genre: Historical
Brando is regarded as a landmark actor due to his vivid and emotional method acting style, which he didnt invent, but certainly helped popularise. His personal affectations such as mumbling and pregnant pauses were imitated (often to embarrasing effect) by scores of actors, even to this day (though Tom Hardy denies it ). One of the ways Brando proved his skill and range as an actor was by tackling a lot of historically based films. Most had some sort of biopic component, but not all. By going into historical pictures very early in his career, Brando was able to quickly quell any belief that his range was limited to contemporary working class Americans like Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire.
So he did historical Shakespeare in Julius Caesar to great acclaim. Before that he did a historical biopic of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata in Viva Zapata. It's a questionable bit of casting that arguably hasn't aged very well at all, but at the time people bought it. Brando really ran into trouble in this genre when he was terribly miscast as Napoleon Bonaparte in Desiree, which was probably the beginning of the end of his best period in the 1950's. The stench of Desiree had worn off by the time the 1960's rolled round, and he had taken to doing more historical films such as his directorial debut, One Eyed-Jacks and Mutiny On The Bounty. He did some more historical films that got a tepid reception in that decade like Burn.
Brando made a major comeback after a decade of disappointingly recieved projects commercially and critically with The Godfather, as the fictional head of an Italian-American crime family. It pretty much helped cement his legend, which had been fading somewhat up to that point. Below, Brando as Fletcher Christian in Mutiny On The Bounty:
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Sept 6, 2019 22:24:23 GMT
Marlon Brando
Genre: Historical
Brando is regarded as a landmark actor due to his vivid and emotional method acting style, which he didnt invent, but certainly helped popularise. His personal affectations such as mumbling and pregnant pauses were imitated (often to embarrasing effect) by scores of actors, even to this day (though Tom Hardy denies it ). One of the ways Brando proved his skill and range as an actor was by tackling a lot of historically based films. Most had some sort of biopic component, but not all. By going into historical pictures very early in his career, Brando was able to quickly quell any belief that his range was limited to contemporary working class Americans like Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire.
So he did historical Shakespeare in Julius Caesar to great acclaim. Before that he did a historical biopic of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata in Viva Zapata. It's a questionable bit of casting that arguably hasn't aged very well at all, but at the time people bought it. Brando really ran into trouble in this genre when he was terribly miscast as Napoleon Bonaparte in Desiree, which was probably the beginning of the end of his best period in the 1950's. The stench of Desiree had worn off by the time the 1960's rolled round, and he had taken to doing more historical films such as his directorial debut, One Eyed-Jacks and Mutiny On The Bounty. He did some more historical films that got a tepid reception in that decade like Burn.
Brando made a major comeback after a decade of disappointingly recieved projects commercially and critically with The Godfather, as the fictional head of an Italian-American crime family. It pretty much helped cement his legend, which had been fading somewhat up to that point. Below, Brando as Fletcher Christian in Mutiny On The Bounty:
Marlon Brando has conquered so many different roles, and mastered the art of method acting, that it's interesting that he'd play so many historical figures. I guess he just has the bravado for those kinds of roles, like it's believable he could deliver the "countrymen" speech from Julius Caesar, because back then he was an imposing figure. It's great that you highlight One-Eyed Jacks, that's actually a really underappreciated western, Brando's only film as a director, and it's got an interesting backstory. Stanley Kubrick was actually originally attached to direct, but left over creative differences, and then Sam Peckinpah was approached, but turned it down, even though parts of his screenplay still exist in the final product. Brando literally had to step it at the last minute, and even if his inexperiences as a director show, it's still mighty impressive. It's also one of the last time he was really "thin" ( Bedtime Story in 1964 is the last proper skinny Brando film), by 1966 he was already packing on the pounds. I think for all the parodies of his "unintelligible Italian accent", in The Godfather, I think people forget just how vulnerable he gets in that film. That's part of what makes Vito such a compelling character. He's a mob-boss, but with a purpose and a family. We don't sympathize with his character, because ultimately he's doing terrible things, but with Brando in the role, we sure as heck get close.
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Post by TerryMontana on Sept 6, 2019 22:34:03 GMT
I think for all the parodies of his "unintelligible Italian accent", in The Godfather, I think people forget just how vulnerable he gets in that film. That's part of what makes Vito such a compelling character. He's a mob-boss, but with a purpose and a family. We don't sympathize with his character, because ultimately he's doing terrible things, but with Brando in the role, we sure as heck get close. His reaction when Hagen tells him they shot Sonny and the "look how they massacred my boy" scene show exactly how vulnerable he was.
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Post by pupdurcs on Sept 6, 2019 22:56:21 GMT
Marlon Brando
Genre: Historical
Brando is regarded as a landmark actor due to his vivid and emotional method acting style, which he didnt invent, but certainly helped popularise. His personal affectations such as mumbling and pregnant pauses were imitated (often to embarrasing effect) by scores of actors, even to this day (though Tom Hardy denies it ). One of the ways Brando proved his skill and range as an actor was by tackling a lot of historically based films. Most had some sort of biopic component, but not all. By going into historical pictures very early in his career, Brando was able to quickly quell any belief that his range was limited to contemporary working class Americans like Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire.
So he did historical Shakespeare in Julius Caesar to great acclaim. Before that he did a historical biopic of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata in Viva Zapata. It's a questionable bit of casting that arguably hasn't aged very well at all, but at the time people bought it. Brando really ran into trouble in this genre when he was terribly miscast as Napoleon Bonaparte in Desiree, which was probably the beginning of the end of his best period in the 1950's. The stench of Desiree had worn off by the time the 1960's rolled round, and he had taken to doing more historical films such as his directorial debut, One Eyed-Jacks and Mutiny On The Bounty. He did some more historical films that got a tepid reception in that decade like Burn.
Brando made a major comeback after a decade of disappointingly recieved projects commercially and critically with The Godfather, as the fictional head of an Italian-American crime family. It pretty much helped cement his legend, which had been fading somewhat up to that point. Below, Brando as Fletcher Christian in Mutiny On The Bounty:
Marlon Brando has conquered so many different roles, and mastered the art of method acting, that it's interesting that he'd play so many historical figures. I guess he just has the bravado for those kinds of roles, like it's believable he could deliver the "countrymen" speech from Julius Caesar, because back then he was an imposing figure. It's great that you highlight One-Eyed Jacks, that's actually a really underappreciated western, Brando's only film as a director, and it's got an interesting backstory. Stanley Kubrick was actually originally attached to direct, but left over creative differences, and then Sam Peckinpah was approached, but turned it down, even though parts of his screenplay still exist in the final product. Brando literally had to step it at the last minute, and even if his inexperiences as a director show, it's still mighty impressive. It's also one of the last time he was really "thin" ( Bedtime Story in 1964 is the last proper skinny Brando film), by 1966 he was already packing on the pounds. I think for all the parodies of his "unintelligible Italian accent", in The Godfather, I think people forget just how vulnerable he gets in that film. That's part of what makes Vito such a compelling character. He's a mob-boss, but with a purpose and a family. We don't sympathize with his character, because ultimately he's doing terrible things, but with Brando in the role, we sure as heck get close. Yeah, I knew about the backstory regarding Kubrick and One Eyed Jacks. Kubrick also wanted Spencer Tracy to play the role that eventually went to Karl Malden. Malden was a great character actor, but the pairing of Tracy and Brando would have been quite iconic, so a shame it never happened. Considering all the issues Kirk Douglas and Kubrick had with each other, I'm not sure the inevitable clash of egos would have resulted in a positive working experience (though it probably would have been a better directed film, even if as you say, it turned out pretty well considering Brando's inexperience in the directing chair). When Brando was directed by Charlie Chaplin in A Countess From Hong Kong, Brando ended up hating Chaplin and calling him a sadist. Sometimes, when you put two truly iconic figures together as actor/director....the resulting battle of egos can result in them hating each other.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Sept 6, 2019 23:15:45 GMT
I think for all the parodies of his "unintelligible Italian accent", in The Godfather, I think people forget just how vulnerable he gets in that film. That's part of what makes Vito such a compelling character. He's a mob-boss, but with a purpose and a family. We don't sympathize with his character, because ultimately he's doing terrible things, but with Brando in the role, we sure as heck get close. His reaction when Hagen tells him they shot Sonny and the "look how they massacred my boy" scene show exactly how vulnerable he was.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Sept 6, 2019 23:29:07 GMT
Marlon Brando has conquered so many different roles, and mastered the art of method acting, that it's interesting that he'd play so many historical figures. I guess he just has the bravado for those kinds of roles, like it's believable he could deliver the "countrymen" speech from Julius Caesar, because back then he was an imposing figure. It's great that you highlight One-Eyed Jacks, that's actually a really underappreciated western, Brando's only film as a director, and it's got an interesting backstory. Stanley Kubrick was actually originally attached to direct, but left over creative differences, and then Sam Peckinpah was approached, but turned it down, even though parts of his screenplay still exist in the final product. Brando literally had to step it at the last minute, and even if his inexperiences as a director show, it's still mighty impressive. It's also one of the last time he was really "thin" ( Bedtime Story in 1964 is the last proper skinny Brando film), by 1966 he was already packing on the pounds. I think for all the parodies of his "unintelligible Italian accent", in The Godfather, I think people forget just how vulnerable he gets in that film. That's part of what makes Vito such a compelling character. He's a mob-boss, but with a purpose and a family. We don't sympathize with his character, because ultimately he's doing terrible things, but with Brando in the role, we sure as heck get close. Yeah, I knew about the backstory regarding Kubrick and One Eyed Jacks. Kubrick also wanted Spencer Tracy to play the role that eventually went to Karl Malden. Malden was a great character actor, but the pairing of Tracy and Brando would have been quite iconic, so a shame it never happened. Considering all the issues Kirk Douglas and Kubrick had with each other, I'm not sure the inevitable clash of egos would have resulted in a positive working experience (though it probably would have been a better directed film, even if as you say, it turned out pretty well considering Brando's inexperience in the directing chair). When Brando was directed by Charlie Chaplin in A Countess From Hong Kong, Brando ended up hating Chaplin and calling him a sadist. Sometimes, when you put two truly iconic figures together as actor/director....the resulting battle of egos can result in them hating each other. It might have led to a different world where Kubrick decided to stay in Hollywood, as he left for London very quickly after. The only thing that gives me side-eye about Tracy's casting, is that might have demanded top-billing and equal screentime, though he might have also mellowed by that point as well. Malden was basically cast because he was someone who Brando was familiar with and was an acting memoir, he's great in the role, but Tracy could have also been something else. Brando was definitely a "firebrand of an actor", when it came to what he wanted. He would only do certain movies by that end of his career if he thought the script was worthy enough, or he championed the director, like in the case of Richard Stanley and his ill-fated version of The Island of Dr. Moreau. I think that what makes him a fascinated figure, he could be a real troll, but he was also a great actor, and as a result could often grab our attention.
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Post by Viced on Sept 6, 2019 23:32:40 GMT
I wouldn’t replace Malden in One-Eyed Jacks with anyone... one of the best performances of all time and it was obvious by that point that he and Brando were magic together.
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 7, 2019 1:01:27 GMT
I wouldn’t replace Malden in One-Eyed Jacks with anyone... one of the best performances of all time and it was obvious by that point that he and Brando were magic together. The casting also makes thematic sense due to the paternal themes in the piece not the least of which is the name "Dad" of the Malden character - while it could work in a lesser way with someone else (maybe) given their past films its a big deal here.
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Post by TerryMontana on Sept 7, 2019 13:03:41 GMT
His reaction when Hagen tells him they shot Sonny and the "look how they massacred my boy" scene show exactly how vulnerable he was. That one too. Another great scene!!
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Post by pupdurcs on Sept 17, 2019 18:40:30 GMT
Benicio Del Toro
Genre: Crime
"I said he"ll flip ya. Flip ya for real"
So said Fenster, whom Del Toro played in The Usual Suspects. One of the few lines his character said that was actually understandable, but the bold character and acting choices Del Toro made in that part allowed him to stand out in a movie full of scene stealing character actors seemingly in competition to knaw the furniture with their teeth. This was Del Toro's break out role in the crime genre, which would be very good to him. He followed up with a supporting role in Abel Ferrera's The Funeral, a dark crime film. Then Snatch and Way Of The Gun. So it was fitting that he won the supporting actor Oscar for Traffic, a crime film about the drug trafficking trade in Mexico.
While he has branched out into numerous different types of genres and roles, Del Toro is never far from going back to the Crime genre, whether it be Sin City or Sicario and it's sequel. In fact, he's so well suited to the genre that he was originally supposed to play the role Russell Crowe played in American Gangster, when Antoine Fuqua was signed to direct it. His looks, his charisma and air of mystery make him a perfect actor for the genre. Below, Del Toro in Traffic:
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Sept 17, 2019 20:02:30 GMT
Great write-up. Been waiting for a new one for a while now TBH.
I don't think I started following Del Toro's career until after his Oscar win for Traffic. Something about his appearance (kinda stereotyping really), his voice, and his demeanor made him perfect for corrupt criminals who are trying to smuggle things in illegally, like in the case of Traffic or Sicario. He's done other roles too, and in particular I thought his roles as rogue "not to be trusted" gambler types in Guardians of The Galaxy and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, were most entertaining, but it's clear that Hollywood loves him mostly in those crime flicks.
You can even see it earlier on his career. He got his career started with an episode of Miami Vice, and his second film credit was The James Bond film Licence to Kill, where he played a "kid henchmen" of Sanchez who met a grisly death. Many of his earlier roles were also of the hoodlum variety, which shouldn't really be surprising, but he took these kinds of roles, and managed to make the most of them. It's part of what makes him a great actor, he's an excellent "character", and these crime-type roles are a great reason why.
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Post by pupdurcs on Sept 17, 2019 22:24:44 GMT
Great write-up. Been waiting for a new one for a while now TBH. I don't think I started following Del Toro's career until after his Oscar win for Traffic. Something about his appearance (kinda stereotyping really), his voice, and his demeanor made him perfect for corrupt criminals who are trying to smuggle things in illegally, like in the case of Traffic or Sicario. He's done other roles too, and in particular I thought his roles as rogue "not to be trusted" gambler types in Guardians of The Galaxy and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, were most entertaining, but it's clear that Hollywood loves him mostly in those crime flicks. You can even see it earlier on his career. He got his career started with an episode of Miami Vice, and his second film credit was The James Bond film Licence to Kill, where he played a "kid henchmen" of Sanchez who met a grisly death. Many of his earlier roles were also of the hoodlum variety, which shouldn't really be surprising, but he took these kinds of roles, and managed to make the most of them. It's part of what makes him a great actor, he's an excellent "character", and these crime-type roles are a great reason why. Absolutely. I was even tempted to include License To Kill in my write-up, as Del Toro made a pretty decent impact as a henchman, but even though it was a Bond/Spy movie, you can see that even at the start of his career, he was being utilised in a crime context. Del Toro is quite a remarkable actor. He swings for the fences a lot and often misses, but when he pulls it off he can be mesmerising. Like I said, his choices in The Usual Suspects were so off-the wall and fearless and could have gone horribly wrong.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Sept 18, 2019 2:07:20 GMT
Great write-up. Been waiting for a new one for a while now TBH. I don't think I started following Del Toro's career until after his Oscar win for Traffic. Something about his appearance (kinda stereotyping really), his voice, and his demeanor made him perfect for corrupt criminals who are trying to smuggle things in illegally, like in the case of Traffic or Sicario. He's done other roles too, and in particular I thought his roles as rogue "not to be trusted" gambler types in Guardians of The Galaxy and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, were most entertaining, but it's clear that Hollywood loves him mostly in those crime flicks. You can even see it earlier on his career. He got his career started with an episode of Miami Vice, and his second film credit was The James Bond film Licence to Kill, where he played a "kid henchmen" of Sanchez who met a grisly death. Many of his earlier roles were also of the hoodlum variety, which shouldn't really be surprising, but he took these kinds of roles, and managed to make the most of them. It's part of what makes him a great actor, he's an excellent "character", and these crime-type roles are a great reason why. Absolutely. I was even tempted to include License To Kill in my write-up, as Del Toro made a pretty decent impact as a henchman, but even though it was a Bond/Soy movie, you can see that even at the start of his career, he was being utilised in a crime context. Del Toro is quite a remarkable actor. He swings for the fences a lot and often misses, but when he pulls it off he can be mesmerising. Like I said, his choices in The Usual Suspects were so off-the wall and fearless and could have gone horribly wrong. Yeah. he's a terrific actor, and very ambitious with his choices, like starring in Soderbergh's Che. Maybe he doesn't make the best traditional lead (etc... The Wolfman, though to be fair that movie had a lot of production woes), but he's a damn compelling actor regardless. One of those performers who I've definitely been happy to follow as long as I have.
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Post by hugobolso on Sept 19, 2019 18:48:41 GMT
La Cicciolina Ilona Staller, hungarian born,Italian actress and politician. Genre: Porno
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cherry68
Based
Man is unhappy because he doesn't know he's happy. It's only that.
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Post by cherry68 on Sept 19, 2019 19:34:59 GMT
La Cicciolina Ilona Staller, hungarian born,Italian actress and politician. Genre: Porno If I have to name a porn star who was a real actress too, I'd say Moana Pozzi. She had a classy appearance too (she was blonde but she resembled Ava Gardner). She left movies and, unfortunately, she died at 33 from liver cancer.
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Post by hugobolso on Sept 19, 2019 21:28:51 GMT
La Cicciolina Ilona Staller, hungarian born,Italian actress and politician. Genre: Porno If I have to name a porn star who was a real actress too, I'd say Moana Pozzi. She had a classy appearance too (she was blonde but she resembled Ava Gardner). She left movies and, unfortunately, she died at 33 from liver cancer. Both work together several and several times, like Hepburn and Tracy.-
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Sept 23, 2019 0:01:01 GMT
Sterling Hayden Genre: Heist Films
Sterling Hayden is not an actor who is generally considered among the greats of acting, but he was a consummate professional throughout his career, who went from being a B movie type lead to playing important roles in major productions like Doctor Strangelove, and The Godfather. Like many actors of his time, Sterling Hayden’s career consisted of a lot of film noirs, and his best film noirs happen to be of the heist variety. Take for example John Huston’s terrific The Aspault Jungle, which is a classic robbery film, that ends in “everybody betraying everybody”. Here Hayden plays a criminal whose attempting one last big heist, but things don’t exactly go the way he had hoped. It’s a brilliant little “who did it?” type of affair, and Hayden sells it tremendously.
Another much different heist film Hayden was in, is Kubrick’s The Killing, a brilliant low-budget “take the money and run” type affair, that centers around a race horse track scheme. While one could certainly consider him “stiff” as a performer, Hayden is the glue that helps give the film some “humanity”, and he’s actually quite engaging too. The movie is far more low-budget then Huston’s film, owing to Kubrick’s age and lack of experience as a filmmaker, but it’s still just as slick, if not even more effective then that film was at points.
Aside from those two noir heist classics, Hayden also starred in Crime Wave, a great little seen B flick about criminals attempting to pull off robberies. Hayden himself did not play the perpetrator in this film, instead this time he was a lieutenant trying to bring the crooks to justice. If you’ve never seen Crime Wave, I highly recommend checking it out, it’s an underrated little low-budget little noir from the early 1950s, that also features an early appearance by Charles Bronson. Sterling Hayden may have not been the most “method” or challenging of actors, but he certainly had his niche, and he served that well.
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Post by pupdurcs on Sept 23, 2019 0:42:31 GMT
Sterling HaydenGenre: Heist FilmsSterling Hayden is not an actor who is generally considered among the greats of acting, but he was a consummate professional throughout his career, who went from being a B movie type lead to playing important roles in major productions like Doctor Strangelove, and The Godfather. Like many actors of his time, Sterling Hayden’s career consisted of a lot of film noirs, and his best film noirs happen to be of the heist variety. Take for example John Huston’s terrific The Aspault Jungle, which is a classic robbery film, that ends in “everybody betraying everybody”. Here Hayden plays a criminal whose attempting one last big heist, but things don’t exactly go the way he had hoped. It’s a brilliant little “who did it?” type of affair, and Hayden sells it tremendously. Another much different heist film Hayden was in, is Kubrick’s The Killing, a brilliant low-budget “take the money and run” type affair, that centers around a race horse track scheme. While one could certainly consider him “stiff” as a performer, Hayden is the glue that helps give the film some “humanity”, and he’s actually quite engaging too. The movie is far more low-budget then Huston’s film, owing to Kubrick’s age and lack of experience as a filmmaker, but it’s still just as slick, if not even more effective then that film was at points. Aside from those two noir heist classics, Hayden also starred in Crime Wave, a great little seen B flick about criminals attempting to pull off robberies. Hayden himself did not play the perpetrator in this film, instead this time he was a lieutenant trying to bring the crooks to justice. If you’ve never seen Crime Wave, I highly recommend check out, it’s an underrated little low-budget little noir from the early 1950s, that also features an early appearance by Charles Bronson. Sterling Hayden may have not been the most “method” or challenging of actors, but he certainly had his niche, and he served that well. Cool write-up on a sometimes undervalued stalwart actor. I'd agree that he's not neccesarily one of the greats, but I always found him to be a very present and reliable leading man in film noirs (And by extension, heist films) . The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing are classics, more because of the filmmakers who made them, but Hayden brought a welcome presence. I feel the depth of his acting increased as he got older. By the time he was cast in The Godfather as Captain McClusky, the level of detail in the spitefulness of his character was impressive to behold. Sure it was one of those films where even the small parts were either well cast or expertly acted, but Hayden was doing some exceptional work there. Reminded me of the work James Cromwell did in LA Confidential. Wonder if Cromwell borrowed a bit of his traditionalist Irish Cop swagger from Hayden in The Godfather.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Sept 23, 2019 0:55:02 GMT
Sterling HaydenGenre: Heist FilmsSterling Hayden is not an actor who is generally considered among the greats of acting, but he was a consummate professional throughout his career, who went from being a B movie type lead to playing important roles in major productions like Doctor Strangelove, and The Godfather. Like many actors of his time, Sterling Hayden’s career consisted of a lot of film noirs, and his best film noirs happen to be of the heist variety. Take for example John Huston’s terrific The Aspault Jungle, which is a classic robbery film, that ends in “everybody betraying everybody”. Here Hayden plays a criminal whose attempting one last big heist, but things don’t exactly go the way he had hoped. It’s a brilliant little “who did it?” type of affair, and Hayden sells it tremendously. Another much different heist film Hayden was in, is Kubrick’s The Killing, a brilliant low-budget “take the money and run” type affair, that centers around a race horse track scheme. While one could certainly consider him “stiff” as a performer, Hayden is the glue that helps give the film some “humanity”, and he’s actually quite engaging too. The movie is far more low-budget then Huston’s film, owing to Kubrick’s age and lack of experience as a filmmaker, but it’s still just as slick, if not even more effective then that film was at points. Aside from those two noir heist classics, Hayden also starred in Crime Wave, a great little seen B flick about criminals attempting to pull off robberies. Hayden himself did not play the perpetrator in this film, instead this time he was a lieutenant trying to bring the crooks to justice. If you’ve never seen Crime Wave, I highly recommend check out, it’s an underrated little low-budget little noir from the early 1950s, that also features an early appearance by Charles Bronson. Sterling Hayden may have not been the most “method” or challenging of actors, but he certainly had his niche, and he served that well. Cool write-up on a sometimes undervalued stalwart actor. I'd agree that he's not neccesarily one of the greats, but I always found him to be a very present and reliable leading man in film noirs (And by extension, heist films) . The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing are classics, more because of the filmmakers who made them, but Hayden brought a welcome presence. I feel the depth of his acting increased as he got older. By the time he was cast in The Godfather as Captain McClusky, the level of detail in the spitefulness of his character was impressive to behold. Sure it was one of those films where even the small parts were either well cast or expertly acted, but Hayden was doing some exceptional work there. Reminded me of the work James Cromwell did in LA Confidential. Wonder if Cromwell borrowed a bit of his traditionalist Irish Cop swagger from Hayden in The Godfather. Thanks. Yeah, he was always kinda known as an actor who happened to be lurking in the background, sorta like a lower-budgeted younger James Cagney of sorts, just without the music talent. He's not the best actor, but I definitely think he was undervalued. A lot of those film noirs I mentioned wouldn't work as well as they did, if you didn't at least have a confident actor in the lead role. His turn in The Godfather was pretty terrific too. You could see a real seasoned veteran who's quite improved with age there, with him as the older cop trying to bring down the mob. I definitely get the James Cromwell in L.A. Confidential comparisons. I also thought he was exceptionally good in Altman's The Long Goodbye, as a "suspect".
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