Paul Newman, The Express, & Burn After Reading

October 1, 2008

Before that. . .as you are aware,  Paul Newman passed away.   He was 83 ..certainly a tremendously impactful actor whose career spanned decades.  Starting in the 1950's,. . there were so many memorable performances & so many Oscars nominations . . 9 to be exact, with 1 Oscar win, a Lifetime Acheivement win, and a Humanitarian win.  Paul Newman was the consummate leading man and was known for so many memorable and great roles.   His marriage to Joanne Woodward (unlike so many Hollywood stars who of course go from one relationship to another. . .lasted 50 years).  They met on the set of the 1958 Long Hot Summer.  Prior to that. .his first film was The Silver Chalice.  The movie that put him on the map was Somebody Up There Likes Me. . 1956. . which was the story of  Rocky Graziano, the World Champion boxer.

In 1958, he made Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with Elizabeth Taylor and Burl Ives. . a very steamy, controversial movie which really made people stand up and take notice and his performance.

Then, also in '58, he did The Left-Handed Gun, which was a western; the story of Billy the Kid.   Also. . in 1958. . he filmed The Long Hot Summer with Woodward and Orson

Welles. . who I feel really steals the movie & deserved an Oscar nomination.  In 1959 Newman made a very underrated film,  called The Young Philadelphians, where he plays a lawyer.  It had a great cast with Brian Keith, Adam West (the original Batman in the television series),  Tony Franciosa, Robert Vaughn (nominated for best supporting actor).  It was about an ambitious aspiring young attorney who Newman plays. . giving a great performance.   Then, in 1960, he made Exodus directed by Otto Preminger, the story of the forming  of Israel. . as the Jews fled Europe to form the State of Israel. . co-starring Lee J. Cobb,  Eva Marie St. Peter Lawford,

It was a very underrated film. . it was probably best known for it's fantastic musical score.   In 1960, he also made a movie called From the Terrace which was almost a follow up to The Young Philadelphians.  He plays a hatchet man for a Corporation. . very effective performance.  He plays opposite his wife. . Joanne Woodward (they actually did approximately 9 films together!)   In 1961,  he gave us The Hustler.  I feel this is the best film he ever appeared in. . and one of the top 20 movies of all time.  The story tells about a pool shark from Oakland, Ca. who travels cross-country to Philadelphia to challenge "The King". . .Minnesota Fats, played by Jackie Gleason, a notorious gambler who oversees all of Minnesota Fats bets and eventually adopts Fast Eddie Felson into his stable is played by George C. Scott.    The love interest for Eddie. . is Piper Laurie.    All four of these actors in the film were nominated for Oscars.   George C. Scott's performance as Bert, the gambler is one of the greatest performances of all time.    Again. . I feel this is his very best film. . and that's saying something since he did The Sting, Butch Cassidy. .and so many others.   If you've never seen it. . .I cannot recommend it highly enough.  In 1962 he did The Sweet Bird of Youth. . playing a gigilo. . .attached to a rich woman played by Geraldine Page.  Ed Begley also co-starred and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.    In 1963. . .was Hud. . .his 2^nd best movie!  He was a natural. . .again nominated. . .it was a mondern Western. . earning him world wide acclain.  Melvin Douglas played his father and  Patricia Neal played the housekeeper.  He did The Prize with Edward G. Robinson in 1963. . .an Alfred Hitchcock thriller.  In ‘67 he was nominated for Cool Hand Luke. . he may have won. . .but the competition was so brutal that year!  He was up vs. Spencer Tracy for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Warren Beatty for Bonnie and Clyde and Rod Steiger for In the Heat of the Night, who won. .and deserved to win!

 In Cool Hand Luke opposite George Kennedy (who won the best supporting actor Oscar). . he may have had arguably. . .his best performance!  In '67 he did the western, Hombre , where he played a half white, half Indian man. . had a great all star cast!  They were:  Martin Balsam, Richard Boone, and the great Frederick March!

In '69, he starred in Winning. . .a car racing film. . .which aroused his interest in the sport and eventually became his second love in life. . .next to Woodward.   In 1969 he played opposite Robert Redford in the very popular film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.    1973 brought us The Sting, about 2 Chicago con men. . .it won Best Picture of the year.  In 1974 came The Towering Inferno. . another all star cast. .William Holden, Fred Astaire, Jennifer Jones, Robert Wagner, Faye Dunaway, Robert Vaughn, O. J. Simpson. . and Steve McQueen. . in the only film that Newman and McQueen ever made together.  Absence of Malice came to us in 1981 with Sally Field. . .in 1982 he made The Verdict and in 1986. . he finally won for The Color of Money.  He did not deserve to win. . .but the Academy felt they needed to reward him. . .for his body of work.  They did this for John Wayne. . for True Grit.  I was very disappointed with  The Color of Money.  In 1990 he did Mr. And Mrs. Bridge with Woodward and in '94. . Nobody's  Fool.   Finally in '02 he did The Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks and Jude Law.   Obviously. . .Paul Newman will remain an icon. . .never to be forgotten. 

Now. .let's discuss The Express. . the story of Ernie Davis who was the first African American to win The Heisman Trophy.  I liked it!   I am usually very skeptical of sports films. . .because I "do" this for a living and capturing realism is NOT easily attained.  I thought the acting was superb.  The story telling was very effective.  Jim Brown. . who attended Syracuse University was persuaded by Coach Ben Swartzwalder to convince Davis to attend Syracuse.   There was incredible racism at this time.   Dennis Quaid gives a great performance as the storied Coach Swartzwalder.   Art Modell is also portrayed in this movie, as well as Brown. 

Shortly after he was drafted  he was diagnosed with leukemia. . and never able to play in the pros.  He only appeared in an "introduction" in the old Municipal Stadium.

Who knows?  With Jim Brown, these two men could have gone down as the greatest "1-2" punch in pro football history.

In particular. . .watch Quaid's performance. . .I appreciated it very much.

Finally. . .let me tell you my review of  Burn After Reading.  This is the Coen Brothers latest film. . .which actually had a lot of Fargo in it.  At first. . I must admit. . I didn't really care for this film.  After about 15 minutes. . .I chuckled. . .then I chuckled again. . and again. . .then another 20 minutes or so went by and I found myself laughing. . I laughed again and again. . .until by the end of the film. . I was laughing. . .constantly!   By the way. . the ending. . .in 2 words:  outright hilarious!  

More about Fargo. . .Fargo came out in 1996. . I feel it should have won the Oscar over The English Patient.    This film is similar in that it's a bizarre twisted story that at times doesn.t even make any sense. . but that's part of the beauty in the story telling of this movie.

Part of the film takes place in a physical fitness location. . .and the cast was very effective throughout.   Brad Pitt plays an instructor at the gym.  It's a role unlike any other he has played before. . .very out of character for him. . .and very good!

Frances McDormand also works at the gym and she is tremendously impactful.  I've always liked her. . .going back to the aforementioned Fargo. . in which she won for Best Actress.  She is quite zany. . trying to get the money throughout to beautify herself. . ..  The CIA is involved throughout. . .this twisted plot!  Speaking of the CIA, the guy who steals the show is John Malkovich, who plays a CIA agent.  He is absolutely hilarious in this film. . .without attempting to be that way!  Again. . it's the beauty of this movie.

George Clooney. . is the least effective but his name does add something to the noteworthy cast.

I highly recommend it.  I can see Malkovich getting a Best Supporting Actor nomination .. but because it is an ensemble cast,  that remains to be seen.  Also. . it is very early in the Oscar Season.

There are many possibilities. . .now being released.  Stay Tuned!

As always. . I love ya' Cleveland!