Remembering Sydney Pollack
June 17, 2008
Love ya, Cleveland. My apologies for not responding to the previous blog comments as quick as I usually do. But here are my thoughts and opinions regarding the comments posted about the late Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson. Better late than never, and thanks for your patience.
Tom in Coats-Bruce, I think one of his most overlooked, but best, roles was as the town patriarch in the fantastic mini-series Chiefs. It was about the series of police chiefs in a small southern town coming to see that one of its oldest residents is a serial killer. Just a great job by him. Also if you are a fan of the great widescreen historical epics The fall Of The Roman Empire is finally out on DVD. For reference Gladiator is a loose remake of the awesome movie! Try to find the 3-disc version as the final DVD is hours upon hours of historical documentaries about the making of the epic and the history of the Roman Empire.
The Fall of the Roman Empire, absolutely and some of the other comments. Yeah, I totally agree and keep that info coming on Butch Davis.
Matthew in Meadville-Great column Bruce. I partially agree with you as Ben-Hur is easily Heston's best movie and one of my all-time favorites. Best movie ever? Certainly it would be in the debate. Another thing I think you should have mentioned is that, with all these great movies and all his great dialogue in them, it is almost sad he will probably be remembered for two lines: 1. "Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!" and 2. telling people to get his gun they would have to pry it "from my cold, dead hands." It should also be noted that he made a cameo appearance in Tim Burton's 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes.
Yes indeed it is a debate on the greatest movie of all time, but certainly we all have our own preferences and personal picks. But for me this movie had it all, and the amazing thing to me about Ben Hur was that it was four hours in length but you'd never know it. It never dragged at all considering it was that long of a movie! I agree with you as far as "get your stinking paws off of me you damned dirty ape!" is a line that he'll be remembered for, but you're forgetting the biggest line of his career which was obviously in Ben Hur right before the chariot race when they're all lined up behind the scenes before they come out to crowd. Stephen Boyd's character Messala said something over to Ben Hur about "today's the match," and Charlton Heston in that deep voice said "yes, today is the day." I think that line is significant. And finally after all those years of being adversaries, first boyhood friends, and then adversaries "yes, today is the day."
James in Findlay-Nice column, Bruce. Heston has long been a favorite of mine. The chariot race is the best action sequence ever filmed. How they were able to accomplish that without the use of CGI technology is a great mystery. 'Touch Of Evil' directed by Orson Welles was a very interesting picture as well. I loved many of the films you mentioned, but one of my favorite Heston moments was his cameo in 'Wayne's World 2' in which he played the "good actor". Very funny moment.
No question about it, I agree with you James. The chariot race is the best action sequence ever filmed. Isn't it incredible that they were able to do what they did back then? Keep in mind that was 1959. Incredible. If you go back 20 years prior to that in 1939, you could have said the same thing about Gone With the Wind, and what they were able to accomplish with Atlanta burning when Sherman's troops marched through. When you think of what they had to work with then compared to now, the same thing can be said 20 years later with all the marvelous technical accomplishments of Ben Hur. It's absolutely incredible film making. William Wyler, one of the greatest director's of all time, directed Ben Hur. As a matter of fact I'm going to do a future blog entry on William Wyler as one of my favorite directors, but indeed I'm glad you observed that. Also Orson Welles was a great director and actor. You're right about the great Touch of Evil being a very underrated movie, no question about it.
Pete in Marysville-Hey Bruce, Enjoyed your tributes to Charlton Heston and Richard Widmark. Though I never cared for Heston's politics, I do admit he was a great actor and was in so many great films. My personal favorites are "Ben-Hur," "Planet of the Apes," "Soylent Green," "Will Penny," and "The Omega Man." I also thought he was very good as Cardinal Richelieu in "The Three Musketeers" (you mistakenly had "Four Musketeers," but maybe he was in that one as well). One thing I noticed about Heston, he very rarely appeared in films that had a contemporary time setting - he was either a historical figure, or in a futuristic setting. I think he would have been a better actor if he'd taken on more contemporary, dramatic roles. Nonetheless, his films were always entertaining, and they were a part of my youth!
You never cared for Heston's politics, but you may or may not know that Heston started out as a Democrat and like Ronald Reagan switched to the Republican party. During his career, the movie portion of his career, he was not very vocal about politics. It wasn't until he became older and associated with the National Rifle Association that he did become very, very vocal. But you're right about the movies that you mentioned. Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green, Will Penny, and The Omega Man. He was also great as Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers. And another one, Major Dundee was a very good western which he made.
Tom in Coats-Bruce, Here is an interesting story about Soylent Green. If you remember towards the end of the movie the Carlton Heston character finds the Robinson character at the death house for lack of a better term. I f you recall Heston while talking to him looks as though he can barely get through the dialog of the scene. Some have said it was some of his greatest acting in this scene but the truth is very interesting. According to Heston he stated during a TCM interview that only he, the director, and about 3 others working on the film knew that Robinson was dying from cancer (?) and as they had grown close during filming having to do a death scene became incredibly hard since he knew that Robinson did not have long left to live. Of course soon after filming he did indeed pass away and I think for a final film done while suffering from that horrible disease shows how great he truly was because it never showed on the screen. Sadly it seems that we are losing more of the true movie giants these past few years and there seem to be very few out there now who will be remembered they way those actors of the past will always be.
Yes, towards the end of the movie when Edward G. Robinson had decided to end his life. Interesting note that you point out Tom, about Heston. Maybe it wasn't really acting because he had bonded with Edward G. Robinson in doing this movie, and he knew that Edward G. Robinson's days were numbered. As a matter of fact he died from cancer shortly after completing the film. Indeed a very, very touching moment in the movie which is one of my favorite futuristic science fiction call it what you want (I wouldn't call it science fiction, I would call it futuristic) but definitely one of the best. Edward G. Robinson, how he could have not been nominated for supporting actor for that role as well as so many other great roles of his is unbelievable. My three favorite Edward G. Robinson movies are Soylent Green, Key Largo, and Double Indemnity. Thanks for writing in Tom.
Before I pay tribute to Sydney Pollack who passed away recently, I wanted to say something about Tim Russert, the NBC political commentator and talk show host of Meet the Press who shockingly passed away with a sudden heart attack at the age of 58. A lot of people may not realize that he went to college at John Carroll University right here in Cleveland, as well as Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. What I liked about Russert was his objectivity, even though as a young man he was a Democrat who worked with Patrick Moynihan and also then worked with Senator Mario Cuomo. But when he left the political arena he of course was hired at NBC and became the Washington Bureau Chief in 1988, and later was promoted to Senior Vice President of NBC News. He also was the much acclaimed host of Meet the Press. Meet the Press had been a staple. The hour program airing here in the East between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., was such an important show every Sunday morning. He was fair and because of his Democratic background you would think that he would be tainted to one side as I believe that George Stephanopoulos is who was in the Clinton administration. And like Russert, he hosts This Week, an ABC Sunday morning news show (even though he probably was trying to follow the lead of Tim Russert). His non-objectivity comes out too often, however not with Russert. He was equally hard on the Democrats as he was with the Republicans. Just a very likable, likable man who asked the tough questions but seemed to come away and have a respect and friendship with all the guests that he featured over the years, and grilled to the enth degree. He always had his facts and his statistics accurately in front of him so he could support his arguments and questioning of these high profile politicians that he featured over the year. Russert, a native of Buffalo, New York has been described off-camera as a "family man," "beloved colleague," and a "devout Catholic." He also had a passion for sports, loving the Buffalo Bills and Sabres, as well as the Washington Nationals and Wizards. In 2003, Russert was elected to the board of directors of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His son and only child Luke, inherited his father's love of sports, and co-hosts the XM radio show 60/20 Sports with James Carville. A tribute to the legendary Tim Russert.
Back to the movie blog. Sydney Pollack died recently at the age of 70, of cancer. He was a director but first started off in acting school in New York, and on Broadway. He then found his way out to Hollywood in the ‘60s. Pollack first started directing television series and then was able to get into the movies. One of his early movies which was in 1969, and is definitely one of my favorite movies of all time is They Shoot Horses, Don't They? with Jane Fonda and Gig Young. It's a drama about the depression era dance marathons that went on back in those day, and Gig Young plays Rocky, the MC who runs the marathon. Jane Fonda portrays a very depressed woman at the end of the line trying to win, and Susannah York also co-starred in this film. The acting in this movie is absolutely superb.
Red Buttons at the end of his career appeared in this film before his death and gave a great performance. He first of course came on the scene for winning best supporting actor for Syonara opposite Marlon Brando and was tremendous. Here too he played an aging sailor who was phenomenal, and actually his character dies off in the movie. The music captured that era, and it is just a tremendous film. If you've never seen it I highly, highly recommend it. Jane Fonda got nominated for best actress. It was her first nomination, but she didn't win. She was absolutely phenomenal, and what this movie did was it exposed Jane Fonda as a serious dramatic talent. She had been stereotyped prior to They Shoot Horses, Don't They? as a sex symbol in movies like Cat Ballou, Barbarella and others that she had made. But this was a serious dramatic role that really put her on the map and of course eventually led to two best actress Oscar winning performances. Gig Young who tragically committed suicide later in life, a very, very troubled man however you'd never know it by his roles on the screen, (he made some Doris Day comedies) gives a truly phenomenal performance as the con man running the show of the America dance marathon. He was such a phony, such a fake! A tremendous performance which earned him the Oscar for best supporting actor in 1969, for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Sydney Pollack directed this film and a great movie indeed.
Pollack also directed seven movies with Robert Redford, first being This Property Is Condemned in 1966, co-starring Natalie Wood. Of course Pollack and Redford did The Way We Were with Barbra Streisand, Jeremiah Johnson, Three Days of the Condor with the great Faye Dunaway, The Electric Horseman with Jane Fonda, and Out of Africa which was in 1985, and this picture won best picture of the year. Pollack won best director and also as producer of the movie won two Oscars as a result of this film. Meryl Streep was nominated for best actress but didn't win. Another great movie indeed. Out of Africa is a long movie which won seven Oscars that year including best picture of the year. I remember as Pollack was going up to receive his Oscar, he went over and shook hands with Steven Spielberg who during the same year had directed The Color Purple which launched Whoopi Goldberg's career. Oprah Winfrey was also in that movie and nominated for best supporting actress. Danny Glover also co-starred in that film. Spielberg ironically as good as The Color Purple was, and it was the main competition for Out of Africa for best picture, but Spielberg wasn't even nominated for best director! Wasn't even nominated! Only one time in the history of the Academy Awards has a film won best picture without its director being nominated and that was Driving Miss Daisy in 1989. However Out of Africa was just a great, great movie with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford directed by Sydney Pollack. And one other movie that Pollack made with Robert Redford was Havana which I think was a very underrated movie and did not get much acclaim. It's a very interesting movie about the pre-Castro take over of Havana, when so many people from the United States were going down to gamble. Alan Akrin also co-starred in that movie with Robert Redford, directed by Sydney Pollack.
Pollack also received a best director nomination for Tootsie, which starred Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange. The story was of a struggling actor played by Hoffman, who then decides to cross-dress and pose as a woman. He was able to get roles that way, and then in the mean time in this comedy he ends up falling in love with an actress which he's starring with in a soap opera played by Jessica Lange. A very funny story! Pollack actually has a cameo role acting performance in this movie and it's one that he plays as the agent of the struggling actor, Dustin Hoffman. During one scene in particular, when Hoffman reveals his true identity dressed as the woman which totally fooled Pollack, Pollack said "you've lost your mind, you're insane, you've gone insane!"
Pollack had several cameo roles as an actor as well as a director and, appeared in such movies as Husband and Wives, a Woody Allen comedy, Robert Altman's The Player, which was a very underrated film featuring an all-star cast lead by Tim Robbins, which really launched Robbin's career. Stanely Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, and of course the most recent Oscar nominated Michael Clayton starring George Clooney. That was directed by Tony Gilroy. Pollack had also appeared on television series such as Frasier, Will and Grace, and The Sopranos. He was also very active as a teacher of direction. Sydney Pollack passing at the age of 73, best known for his direction of the movies Out of Africa and Tootsie. Stay tuned for my next blog entry about director William Wyler-In my opinion one the best directors of all time. Until then, remember........I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I love ya, Cleveland!
