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Post by wallsofjericho on Apr 18, 2020 21:44:05 GMT
What are your thoughts on him as an actor? Does anyone have any recommendations with regard to his performances on film and TV? I did love him in The Great White Hope which was his first oscar nomination. His stage pedigree is impressive and clearly one of the best voice actors.
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Post by stephen on Apr 18, 2020 21:48:50 GMT
A veritable titan whose only career misstep (for me) was reprising his role as Mufasa.
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 18, 2020 22:01:44 GMT
He's one of the greatest talents in American acting history, particularly in theatre. His achievments on stage are legendary. While he managed excellent screen work, often in supporting/character roles (the anatgonist in Conan The Barbarian, the iconic voice of Darth Vader), the great tragedy of his career was that he was never able to really establish himself as a dominant leading actor in film. His race clearly played a part in his lack of opportunity, which was a shame. By the time opportunities started to open up for African-American actors in Hollywood, Morgan Freeman was just about the right age (and more of a "fresh face") to get those big opportunities for leading movie roles than James Earl Jones, who wasn't quite as fresh a face in the industry compared to Freeman.
For recommendatioms, the aforementioned Conan The Barbarian, where he plays one of the most chilling villains you'll see. And Coming To America, where he shows a nice flair for comedy. But too much of his screen work is comprised of thankless character parts beneath his talent and ability. That his most iconic film role is a voice part is symptomatic of how the industry let him down.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 18, 2020 22:03:18 GMT
He's at worst in the 2nd tier of GOAT American actor's in all 3 mediums (covered a lot in that thread).
Maybe is in the all-time American top tier group (Robards, Scott, Lemmon, Pacino). Maybe his film career keeps him out of that elite group but he was great on film a lot too.....if you've never seen A Family Thing with Robert Duvall I'd recommend that as a buried treasure.
His performance in "Fences" (a Tony win) is quite similar to Denzel Washington's and I don't mean that as just one actor copied the other but rather that Jones is so modern and specific that the two big performances of Fences after him - Washington and Lenny Henry in the UK - couldn't help but take from it.
He's a major American actor in several ways....
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Post by Mattsby on Apr 18, 2020 22:23:58 GMT
Up to 1:10 in the clip, some of James Earl Jones' great performance in Matewan - I rewatched it the other day and that perf, without much dialogue, is tremendous.
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 18, 2020 22:25:33 GMT
To add, some of his most notable work was in television, especially as Alex Haley in Roots and Roots: The Next Generation.
Roots was such a cultural television phenomenon at time it was made, that I believe it helped Jones accrue a high level of visibility and recognisibility with the American public (though it still didn't lead to a better film career, which you could say for most of the cast of Roots).
But Roots: The Next Generation did give Jones the opportunity to go toe to toe in a long scene with Marlon Brando (playing George Lincoln Rockwell, head of the American Nazi Party). Jones may never have had the opportunity on film to be as great as Brando, but in spirit it still feels like a meeting of equals:
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Post by wallsofjericho on Apr 18, 2020 22:28:49 GMT
To add, some of his most notable work was in television, especially as Alex Haley in Roots and Roots: The Next Generation.Roots was such a cultural television at time it was made, that I believe it helped Jones accrue a high level of visibility and recognisibility with the American public (though it still didn't lead to a better film career, which you could say for most if the cast of Roots). But Roots: The Next Generation did give Jones the opportunity to go toe to toe in a long scene with Marlon Brando (playing George Lincoln Rockwell, head of the American Nazi Party). Jones may never have had the opportunity on film to be as great as Brando, but in spirit it still feels like a meeting of equals: Cool, Jones said that the whole spray thing from Brando was improvised including where he reaches for his hancerchef. He said him and Brando got along really well of camera.
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Post by wallsofjericho on Apr 18, 2020 23:22:31 GMT
He's one of the greatest talents in American acting history, particularly in theatre. His achievments on stage are legendary. While he managed excellent screen work, often in supporting/character roles (the anatgonist in Conan The Barbarian, the iconic voice of Darth Vader), the great tragedy of his career was that he was never able to really establish himself as a dominant leading actor in film. His race clearly played a part in his lack of opportunity, which was a shame. By the time opportunities started to open up for African-American actors in Hollywood, Morgan Freeman was just about the right age (and more of a "fresh face") to get those big opportunities for leading movie roles than James Earl Jones, who wasn't quite as fresh a face in the industry compared to Freeman .For recommendatioms, the aforementioned Conan The Barbarian, where he plays one of the most chilling villains you'll see. And Coming To America, where he shows a nice flair for comedy. But too much of his screen work is comprised of thankless character parts beneath his talent and ability. That his most iconic film role is a voice part is symptomatic of how the industry let him down. It's a shame he wasn't an established leading man, dude was a good looking guy with great screen presence.
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Apr 18, 2020 23:47:15 GMT
Admiral. Jim. Greer.
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 19, 2020 2:04:33 GMT
He's one of the greatest talents in American acting history, particularly in theatre. His achievments on stage are legendary. While he managed excellent screen work, often in supporting/character roles (the anatgonist in Conan The Barbarian, the iconic voice of Darth Vader), the great tragedy of his career was that he was never able to really establish himself as a dominant leading actor in film. His race clearly played a part in his lack of opportunity, which was a shame. By the time opportunities started to open up for African-American actors in Hollywood, Morgan Freeman was just about the right age (and more of a "fresh face") to get those big opportunities for leading movie roles than James Earl Jones, who wasn't quite as fresh a face in the industry compared to Freeman .For recommendatioms, the aforementioned Conan The Barbarian, where he plays one of the most chilling villains you'll see. And Coming To America, where he shows a nice flair for comedy. But too much of his screen work is comprised of thankless character parts beneath his talent and ability. That his most iconic film role is a voice part is symptomatic of how the industry let him down. It's a shame he wasn't an established leading man, dude was a good looking guy with great screen presence. Very true. There was a huge vacuum towards the end of the peak of Sidney Poitier's career in the late 1960's till the film career of Denzel Washington started to take off in the late 1980's. Between that time, there wasn't really an African-American leading man of major stature who was carrying dramatic films in Hollywood. Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy were allowed to be comedic superstars between that period, but the only dramatic leads were the likes of Richard Roundtree and Jim Brown in blaxploitstion films like Shaft, which were seen as niche items in Hollywood. In theory, James Earl Jones should have been able to fill the void left by Poitier in the 1970's, but outside of blaxploitation, which I can understand a serious actor like Jones avoiding, there weren't many leading roles for African-American dramatic actors. Opportunities were thin on the ground, and as I said by the time they came around regulary, Morgan Freeman essentially was there to take those big roles suitable for his playing age. Maybe Jones percieved "classical" pedigree didn't really help. His voice and demeanour suggests an authoritative Shakespearian actor, like Richard Burton. That kind of actor was out of fashion in American cinema of the 1970's. Even white actors in that mould didn't really fit into the New Hollywood of that time (think Frank Langella), which seemed to suit more naturalistic or method type actors. Jones wasn't really in that mould, nor was he really an "everyman" type of performer.
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Post by mikediastavrone96 on Apr 19, 2020 2:10:46 GMT
If someone called him the greatest all-around actor ever, I wouldn't bat an eye.
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Post by TerryMontana on Apr 19, 2020 15:27:34 GMT
He'll always be Darth Vader's voice, something not very fair for him as he had some very memorable film performances: Great White Hope, Claudine, Hunt for Red October, Gardens of Stone, Coming to America, Conan...
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Apr 19, 2020 22:19:01 GMT
It's a shame he wasn't an established leading man, dude was a good looking guy with great screen presence. Very true. There was a huge vacuum towards the end of the peak of Sidney Poitier's career in the late 1960's till the film career of Denzel Washington started to take off in the late 1980's. Between that time, there wasn't really an African-American leading man of major stature who was carrying dramatic films in Hollywood. Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy were allowed to be comedic superstars between that period, but the only dramatic leads were the likes of Richard Roundtree and Jim Brown in blaxploitstion films like Shaft, which were seen as niche items in Hollywood. In theory, James Earl Jones should have been able to fill the void left by Poitier in the 1970's, but outside of blaxploitation, which I can understand a serious actor like Jones avoiding, there weren't many leading roles for African-American dramatic actors. Opportunities were thin on the ground, and as I said by the time they came around regulary, Morgan Freeman essentially was there to take those big roles suitable for his playing age. Maybe Jones percieved "classical" pedigree didn't really help. His voice and demeanour suggests an authoritative Shakespearian actor, like Richard Burton. That kind of actor was out of fashion in American cinema of the 1970's. Even white actors in that mould didn't really fit into the New Hollywood of that time (think Frank Langella), which seemed to suit more naturalistic or method type actors. Jones wasn't really in that mould, nor was he really an "everyman" type of performer. Yes, even with a best actor nomination for The Great White Hope, James Earl Jones still struggled to get good roles in Hollywood, mostly being obviously limited by his skin color, and the fact that were certain types he could never play, he could never be a fast-talking smooth guy like Richard Roundtree for example. He found more success on TV, and in theater, and he probably worked in the later better then film. That's why there's such a gap in his filmography when he was much younger. He's done some great under the radar work over the years, though. I think of a movie like The Man (originally made for TV, and underseen), written by Rod Serling, that's the first film that I know of that deals with the sudden idea of an African American becoming president, and the political and racist ramifications it cause. Like a lot of Serling's work, the movie's a bit on the nose with its political ideology, but Jones' performance is so tightly constructed, and balances a fine line of being a noble servant, and a man who just commands your attention on screen. It's why he was so good at playing higher figures, even taking his "grand voice" out of the equation.
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Post by getclutch on Apr 21, 2020 19:06:55 GMT
This actor always brought his “A” game in any role. Little surprised nobody brought up his performance in Best of the Best, really made you intimidated by his character. Plus, his character in The Bingo Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings was the inspiration of Josh Gibson, which I thought he pulled off beautifully.
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Post by fiosnasiob on May 3, 2020 12:07:40 GMT
How I missed this thread about JEJ I'm a fan, he can be such a commanding and powerful presence on screen (and I can only imagine how good the experience to see him performs live on stage must be). One of my favorites of his perfs is in The Reading Room, it's your above average sunday afternoon TV movie but on his shoulders it becomes something much more profound, he illuminates everything in it. I also like the fact that he was cast in interracial couple movies and I like it even more because it was against very talented (and underrated, like him) actresses. We all know him and Jane Alexander being stupendous in The Great White Hope, less people know him and Estelle Parsons giving their all in The UFO Incident and probably even less people have heard about him and Lynn Redgrave in Charles Burnett's The Annihilation of Fish. JEJ in The Man (1972)
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Post by pacinoyes on May 29, 2020 20:43:03 GMT
Everybody plays King Lear, right? - McKellen, Hopkins .......Pacino might do it next ......heck three or four people on here ( ) will be really, really excited that Denzel Washington might try it although he'd probably just do it 4 years after Pacino and then those same 3 or 4 people would just say he did it first, ammirite?...... Anyway this is kind of super cool - a FULL version of James Earl Jones onstage from '74 as Lear - some big drawbacks - the camera is at times in wtf are you doing mode but this is the performance for his fans in this thread and that's all of us or why would you be in this thread, reading this eh?. Paul Sorvino, Raul Julia, Rene Auberjonois in the cast ..... allarts.org/programs/all-arts-vault-selects/king-lear-pmaa5j/allarts.org/programs/all-arts-vault-selects/king-lear-pmaa5j/
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Post by Martin Stett on May 29, 2020 21:16:40 GMT
Everybody plays King Lear, right? - McKellen, Hopkins .......Pacino might do it next ......heck three or four people on here ( ) will be really, really excited that Denzel Washington might try it although he'd probably just do it 4 years after Pacino and then those same 3 or 4 people would just say he did it first, ammirite?...... Anyway this is kind of super cool - a FULL version of James Earl Jones onstage from '74 as Lear - some big drawbacks - the camera is at times in wtf are you doing mode but this is the performance for his fans in this thread and that's all of us or why would you be in this thread, reading this eh?. Paul Sorvino, Raul Julia, Rene Auberjonois in the cast ..... allarts.org/programs/all-arts-vault-selects/king-lear-pmaa5j/allarts.org/programs/all-arts-vault-selects/king-lear-pmaa5j/ Gonna steal this and put it on the stage show thread
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Post by cheesecake on Jun 1, 2020 12:09:50 GMT
He is such a consistent and welcome presence. He does wonders in small roles like Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, and Sneakers. Outside of his most iconic voice work performances, he's so good in his Oscar nominated turn, as well as The Hunt for Red October, The Ambulance, Matewan and Claudine. I especially love when he plays himself in True Identity.
And... this reminds me I need to get back into Homicide: Life on the Street ASAP as I see he has a 3 episode appearance.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 1, 2020 12:15:19 GMT
He is such a consistent and welcome presence. He does wonders in small roles like Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, and Sneakers. Outside of his most iconic voice work performances, he's so good in his Oscar nominated turn, as well as The Hunt for Red October, The Ambulance, Matewan and Claudine. I especially love when he plays himself in True Identity.And... this reminds me I need to get back into Homicide: Life on the Street ASAP as I see he has a 3 episode appearance. Yes indeed.........with Jeffrey Wright in the 3 episode arc too
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Post by cheesecake on Jun 1, 2020 13:22:28 GMT
He is such a consistent and welcome presence. He does wonders in small roles like Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, and Sneakers. Outside of his most iconic voice work performances, he's so good in his Oscar nominated turn, as well as The Hunt for Red October, The Ambulance, Matewan and Claudine. I especially love when he plays himself in True Identity.And... this reminds me I need to get back into Homicide: Life on the Street ASAP as I see he has a 3 episode appearance. Yes indeed.........with Jeffrey Wright in the 3 episode arc too Hell yes.
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Post by Mattsby on Aug 9, 2020 18:25:25 GMT
if you've never seen A Family Thing with Robert Duvall I'd recommend that as a buried treasure. For anyone interested - this was added to HBO recently !!Such a beautifully acted movie from Jones, Duvall, Irma P Hall, and sensitively written (co- Billy Bob Thornton, same year as Sling Blade). There are three big monologues from each of the three actors mentioned and each one gets you right in the gut - this'd work as a stage play I think, but it works perfectly well as a movie and has a sort of subtle scope to it with its locational contrasts and heft of the past....
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Post by Mattsby on Aug 11, 2020 20:00:33 GMT
Wanna shout out The Annihilation of Fish (1999) - it's on youtube in so-so quality. With only 150 votes on IMDb it's maybe the least-seen from Jones. Directed by Charles Burnett; there's a goofiness and cuteness to it that might automatically turn some away, but it's worth sticking with for the performances - Jones plays a Jamaican immigrant, slightly mentally-ill, and it's such a funny, cautious, surprisingly physical perf. Lynn Redgrave plays his neighbor/romantic interest who also, like him, has imaginary friends - her perf is shrill and a little much but she has some good scenes (and she smokes just like Geraldine Page). And there's an out-of-nowhere career best turn by Margot Kidder in support as their landlady - she has a monologue about the letter "e" that is heartbreaking/hilarious. The movie deals with shared insanity, aging, loneliness...... it has an amateur off-broadway feel, but it has a big heart and those perfs.
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Post by Mattsby on Nov 23, 2020 2:19:29 GMT
From the pilot of Gabriel's Fire (1990-91) which starred Jones as a former cop serving a life sentence for killing a white cop, twenty years later he's released (bringing us to the scene below) and he begins working as a PI. Great set-up...
This only had 1 Season- 22 eps and Jones won an Emmy for Lead Actor (beating Falk/Columbo, and the first seasons of Law and Order (Moriarty) and Twin Peaks (MacLachlan). Same year he won for Heat Wave - afaik somehow he's the only actor to ever win two Emmys for diff perfs in the same year ?? Three actresses have done it - Colleen Dewhurst, Shirley Knight, Stockard Channing - someone correct me if I'm wrong or if there are others! Idk if the show is any good, seems low-quality but J stands out in moments of the pilot.
Two-min single take that brought me a bucket of joy today. "Onions? Hey! Onions." Sort of like the ending of Buffalo 66....
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Post by Martin Stett on Nov 23, 2020 14:12:21 GMT
From the pilot of Gabriel's Fire (1990-91) which starred Jones as a former cop serving a life sentence for killing a white cop, twenty years later he's released (bringing us to the scene below) and he begins working as a PI. Great set-up... This only had 1 Season- 22 eps and Jones won an Emmy for Lead Actor (beating Falk/Columbo, and the first seasons of Law and Order (Moriarty) and Twin Peaks (MacLachlan). Same year he won for Heat Wave - afaik somehow he's the only actor to ever win two Emmys for diff perfs in the same year ?? Three actresses have done it - Colleen Dewhurst, Shirley Knight, Stockard Channing - someone correct me if I'm wrong or if there are others! Idk if the show is any good, seems low-quality but J stands out in moments of the pilot. Two-min single take that brought me a bucket of joy today. "Onions? Hey! Onions." Sort of like the ending of Buffalo 66.... The first episode is on Youtube, but finding the others may be more of a hassle. That clip looked really great. If you discover more about this show, give me a call.
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Post by Mattsby on Jan 17, 2022 18:57:50 GMT
Happy 91st Bday to the King! Here he is as Macbeth in a 1966 Shakespeare in the Park production - one of eight he did - it was after the landmark show of Jean Genet's The Blacks and after he won an Obie for doing Brecht. It was before his several Tony wins. Stage GOAT contender. And I'd wager for movies/film too - consistently remarkable, underrated work..... Matewan Paul Robeson King Lear A Family Thing The UFO Incident The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened The Great White Hope The Annihilation of Fish Roots: The Next Generations - Part VII East Side/West Side ep. Claudine The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars Grim Prairie Tales Gardens of Stone Under One Roof Conan the Barbarian Heat Wave The Ambulance Gabriel's Fire pilot End of the Road Jesus of Nazareth ETC
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