Saturday, July 12, 2008
Damn.
It's doubtful that I would've coughed up the $225 U.S. to buy this Darwyn Cooke page but imagine how awesome it would have looked on my wall. Wolverine and Doop walking down College Street! (Albeit with some slightly screwy geography.)
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
How I learned to stop worrying and love George C. Scott
I somehow managed to get through nearly 29 years of existence on this planet without seeing Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. It was one of those films I was embarrassed to admit I hadn't yet seen. So the other week I found the DVD at a good price and picked it up. And I must admit it was not what I was expecting. I felt like so many of the film's classic scenes had already been spoiled for me through Oscar montages and AFI clip shows. In fact, I was pretty surprised to find that Dr. Strangelove the character has a relatively small role in the grand scheme of things. So for me the best part of the film was not Sellers' various roles but George C. Scott as the manic General Buck Turgidson. Watching the documentary that accompanied the DVD I learned that Scott felt like Kubrick had encouraged him to over-act. But I think it turned out pretty damn good.
My favourite part in the movie isn't even scripted. As Turgidson begins another paranoid rant, he takes a step backwards and trips. But instead of just lying there on the floor and laughing it up for the blooper reel, Scott rolls over and springs back up. "Look at the big board," he yelps. "They're gettin' ready to clobber us!" For me, this little slice of unintended slapstick perfectly captures the character of Turgidson. He's an overgrown kid who's had just a little too much sugar and probably needs a time out. Check it out about 20 seconds into this clip:
My favourite part in the movie isn't even scripted. As Turgidson begins another paranoid rant, he takes a step backwards and trips. But instead of just lying there on the floor and laughing it up for the blooper reel, Scott rolls over and springs back up. "Look at the big board," he yelps. "They're gettin' ready to clobber us!" For me, this little slice of unintended slapstick perfectly captures the character of Turgidson. He's an overgrown kid who's had just a little too much sugar and probably needs a time out. Check it out about 20 seconds into this clip:
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Cinematic Appreciation: William Holden
"You and Colonel Nicholson, you're two of a kind, crazy with courage. For what? How to die like a gentleman, how to die by the rules. When the only important thing is how to live like a human being." - William Holden as Maj. Shears in Bridge on the River Kwai
The Film Society of Lincoln in New York City is holding a retrospective on someone who has become one of my favourite actors over the past year or so: William Holden. Accordingly there are some interesting articles popping up in the media covering the event. This article in the New York Sun comes closest to nailing my thoughts on the man and his work.
Like the article says, Holden is the perfect bridge between the Old Hollywood leading man and New Hollywood's anti-heroes, and you can find touches of both in his best performances. Although I cringed through most of the comedic scenes in Stalag 17 (pretty moldy stuff that was covered later and better by things like M*A*S*H) I was absolutely riveted whenever Holden was on the screen. He was working on a different level than the rest of the cast, projecting to the outside world that cold cynicism, but communicating to the audience a more wounded inner space. It's similar to the persona that Steve McQueen would utilize so well in films like Bullitt.
By the mid '60s Holden's roles tended to be unspectacular, and his leading-man looks began to deteriorate, most likely from his years of hard drinking. This should have been the kiss of death for someone like Holden, who was much a box office draw for his beefcake status as his acting. But instead, he was able to transition into craggy character-driven roles, beginning with his role as the gunslinger past his prime with Sam Peckinpah's the Wild Bunch. And indeed, as painful as it can be so compare fresh-faced young Holden with his craggy older self, you can't deny the sheer expressiveness of those worry lines. You think, "Here's a guy who's lived a few years." And you're right.
Of course, my favourite Holden role is the aging newsman Max Schumacher in Network. Max acts as the voice of reason in that film, but like so many of Holden's characters, finds himself compromising his morals and is unable to put up much of a fight against either the exploitation of his friend Howard Beale or the predatory charms of Diana Christensen. Of course, it's a metaphor for dumbing dumb of the news media, but it wouldn't work without Holden's unflinchingly vulnerable performance pulling it all together. It's not too often you get an actor of Holden's stature giving such a raw and honest portrayal of the fear of death the way you do with Max's "primal fears" speech. It's not a monologue I could imagine any of the other Old Hollywood stars giving, with the exception of maybe Henry Fonda. (Certainly I can't see Humphrey Bogart or James Stewart bickering with Faye Dunaway about "cocksmanship," can you?)
One contemporary actor who I think could learn a lot from this phase of Holden's career is Harrison Ford. It's no secret that Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull is the only Ford movie worth getting excited about in a while. With all the stinkers like Six Days and Seven Nights and Hollywood Homicide a lot of people have probably forgotten that Ford didn't always play the crusty action hero. In fact, he used to be a damn good actor, as films like The Mosquito Coast and Witness can attest. Ford should take a lesson from Holden's playbook and find something that matches his stature as a leading man whose glory days have passed him by. In short, Ford should not be afraid to make himself look vulnerable again. (Getting beaten up in the first five minutes of Crystal Skull doesn't count.)
But I digress. Here's hoping this retrospective brings Holden's work to a broader audience. Wish I were in New York this month!
EDIT: You ever write on a subject and as soon as you're finished realize that someone has not only beat you to it, but they summed up exactly what you were trying to say, only better? That's exactly the case with Sheila O'Malley's fantastic post on the Holden retrospective. Absolutely pitch-perfect and you should read it now!
The Film Society of Lincoln in New York City is holding a retrospective on someone who has become one of my favourite actors over the past year or so: William Holden. Accordingly there are some interesting articles popping up in the media covering the event. This article in the New York Sun comes closest to nailing my thoughts on the man and his work.
Like the article says, Holden is the perfect bridge between the Old Hollywood leading man and New Hollywood's anti-heroes, and you can find touches of both in his best performances. Although I cringed through most of the comedic scenes in Stalag 17 (pretty moldy stuff that was covered later and better by things like M*A*S*H) I was absolutely riveted whenever Holden was on the screen. He was working on a different level than the rest of the cast, projecting to the outside world that cold cynicism, but communicating to the audience a more wounded inner space. It's similar to the persona that Steve McQueen would utilize so well in films like Bullitt.
By the mid '60s Holden's roles tended to be unspectacular, and his leading-man looks began to deteriorate, most likely from his years of hard drinking. This should have been the kiss of death for someone like Holden, who was much a box office draw for his beefcake status as his acting. But instead, he was able to transition into craggy character-driven roles, beginning with his role as the gunslinger past his prime with Sam Peckinpah's the Wild Bunch. And indeed, as painful as it can be so compare fresh-faced young Holden with his craggy older self, you can't deny the sheer expressiveness of those worry lines. You think, "Here's a guy who's lived a few years." And you're right.
Of course, my favourite Holden role is the aging newsman Max Schumacher in Network. Max acts as the voice of reason in that film, but like so many of Holden's characters, finds himself compromising his morals and is unable to put up much of a fight against either the exploitation of his friend Howard Beale or the predatory charms of Diana Christensen. Of course, it's a metaphor for dumbing dumb of the news media, but it wouldn't work without Holden's unflinchingly vulnerable performance pulling it all together. It's not too often you get an actor of Holden's stature giving such a raw and honest portrayal of the fear of death the way you do with Max's "primal fears" speech. It's not a monologue I could imagine any of the other Old Hollywood stars giving, with the exception of maybe Henry Fonda. (Certainly I can't see Humphrey Bogart or James Stewart bickering with Faye Dunaway about "cocksmanship," can you?)
One contemporary actor who I think could learn a lot from this phase of Holden's career is Harrison Ford. It's no secret that Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull is the only Ford movie worth getting excited about in a while. With all the stinkers like Six Days and Seven Nights and Hollywood Homicide a lot of people have probably forgotten that Ford didn't always play the crusty action hero. In fact, he used to be a damn good actor, as films like The Mosquito Coast and Witness can attest. Ford should take a lesson from Holden's playbook and find something that matches his stature as a leading man whose glory days have passed him by. In short, Ford should not be afraid to make himself look vulnerable again. (Getting beaten up in the first five minutes of Crystal Skull doesn't count.)
But I digress. Here's hoping this retrospective brings Holden's work to a broader audience. Wish I were in New York this month!
EDIT: You ever write on a subject and as soon as you're finished realize that someone has not only beat you to it, but they summed up exactly what you were trying to say, only better? That's exactly the case with Sheila O'Malley's fantastic post on the Holden retrospective. Absolutely pitch-perfect and you should read it now!
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