Passages

A subforum to discuss film culture and criticism.
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swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
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Re: Passages

#8051 Post by swo17 » Thu Jan 09, 2020 1:26 am

Oh man, he was so good in Taking Off

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Passages

#8052 Post by FrauBlucher » Thu Jan 09, 2020 7:12 am

Reverend Drewcifer wrote:Buck Henry
Wapo obit

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colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

Re: Passages

#8053 Post by colinr0380 » Thu Jan 09, 2020 6:13 pm

He's absolutely fantastic in The Man Who Fell To Earth (with his character even apologising to the thugs coming to kill him when they fail in their first attempt!) and the commentary track on that disc is well worth listening to for Henry's anecdotes, particularly how proud he was of blowing that spit bubble!

It seems that Buck Henry was in quite a few of the quirkier, rather satirical films as an actor, particularly a couple of Kurt Vonnegut adaptations: the ill fated Breakfast of Champions and the really rather good Canadian TV movie adaptation of Harrison Bergeron with a pre-Lord of the Rings Sean Astin!

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Buttery Jeb
Just in it for the game.
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:55 pm

Re: Passages

#8054 Post by Buttery Jeb » Thu Jan 09, 2020 6:34 pm


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Buttery Jeb
Just in it for the game.
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:55 pm

Re: Passages

#8055 Post by Buttery Jeb » Fri Jan 10, 2020 11:20 am


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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Passages

#8056 Post by hearthesilence » Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:58 pm

Buttery Jeb wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 11:20 am
Ivan Passer
Terribly sad. I just saw Cutter's Way projected in 35mm for the first time at Lincoln Center back in late August - it kicked off the program of double-features tied in with Jim Hoberman's book on American films in the age of Reagan, and it was an appropriate opener. It may have signaled the death of the '60s, but as Hoberman mentioned in his opening remarks, it feels like an apt reflection of today. Probably moreso - the sane part of the world feels encapsulated in that final shot.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Passages

#8057 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:00 pm

He was local to Los Angeles and had seem him speak numerous times. Intimate Lighting is one of those rare films I’ve never seen at home, but have seen at least three times in the theater. My personal favorite is his excellent shaggy comedy Law and Disorder which has some un-PC jokes that haven’t aged the best (like Alan Arbus’ scene on how to fight off rapists), but like Taking Off (another film I’ve never seen at home but have seen three times in the theater), has the right element of American seventies cinema and the carefree quality of the Czech New Wave. The cast is phenomenal and bring so much personality. It also feels like a transitional New York film that brings humor to criminality and vigilante groups before the seventies would run rampant with films critical of it (Taxi Driver) or embracing it (Death Wish). It also features an early score by Angelo Badalamenti (as Andy Badale) that features those gorgeous string harmonics you would similarly hear in Blue Velvet. It’s a personal favorite of mine that I’ve been lucky enough to see in the theater, but has been long out of print. It’s been up on YouTube now for many years and doubt the rights holder for the film care much about it, similarly to Passer’s Born to Win. I coincidentally watched the very funny opening montage of crimes two nights ago chuckling to myself.

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swo17
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Re: Passages

#8058 Post by swo17 » Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:13 pm

Law and Disorder sounds interesting. It was a Columbia film so I wonder if Indicator might have it on their radar

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Mr Sausage
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:02 pm
Location: Canada

Re: Passages

#8059 Post by Mr Sausage » Sun Jan 12, 2020 6:23 am

Neil Peart discussion moved here.

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MichaelB
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Passages

#8060 Post by MichaelB » Sun Jan 12, 2020 6:18 pm

Producer Tony Garnett, an incalculably important innovator in British television drama (especially via The Wednesday Play in the 1960s), who was also responsible for launching Ken Loach’s career - he produced much of Loach’s early work, including Cathy Come Home and Kes, and fought countless corporate battles on his behalf.

Garnett's output as a feature director was both comparatively late and distinctly lower-key, but both Prostitute (1980) and Handgun (1982) are worth seeking out.

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MichaelB
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Re: Passages

#8061 Post by MichaelB » Mon Jan 13, 2020 12:14 pm

...and here's a much more detailed overview of Garnett's career, which neatly encapsulates the qualities that a great producer needs to possess in order to get anywhere in a notoriously brutal business.
Great TV drama is often attributed to writers and directors, the role of producer being hard to see on screen. Garnett made huge artistic contributions to his projects – spending months on casting, to find actors with the desired level of realism – but a large part of his greatness was as a player of the TV system.

A calm and charming man, speaking softly in a voice that never lost the Brummie hum of his childhood, he was adept at operating on a “need to know” basis, tactically omitting information executives might later wish they had known. Garnett skilfully prevented his superiors from knowing quite how brave they were being. A particular trick was to take advantage of the holidays of bosses to find a slot for especially contentious shows.

Importantly, the rows over Garnett shows typically involved objection to stance – how dare they say that about the Queen/the government/a charity? – rather than accuracy. It is a measure of Garnett’s meticulousness that Days of Hope, The Spongers and The Price of Coal stood up to brutal fact-checking from detractors.

Garnett also had the vital skill of self-reinvention. After a relatively fallow 1980s, he set up World Productions in 1990. Garnett was among the first in Britain to understand what had long been seen as common sense in the US – a producer has more power as an outsider selling in than as an employee of networks.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
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Re: Passages

#8062 Post by L.A. » Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:00 pm

Steve Martin Caro of the The Left Banke.

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FigrinDan
The Immortal Dead
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Re: Passages

#8063 Post by FigrinDan » Thu Jan 16, 2020 10:58 pm

Son and literary executor of J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien.

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Lemmy Caution
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:26 am
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Re: Passages

#8064 Post by Lemmy Caution » Fri Jan 17, 2020 2:36 am

Wrestler Rocky Johnson, father of Dwayne The Rock Johnson.

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MichaelB
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Re: Passages

#8065 Post by MichaelB » Fri Jan 17, 2020 6:38 am

Derek Fowlds, who started out as the epitome of a jobbing actor (he began in traditional British theatrical rep, and his filmography goes back to 1960) but became a household name - at least in Britain - thanks to the triple whammy of being "Mr Derek" in The Basil Brush Show in the 1970s, Oscar Blaketon in Heartbeat in the 1990s/2000s, and, between those two, the sardonic civil servant Bernard Woolley in Yes, Minister in the 1980s, which is the part most likely to grant him immortality.

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Passages

#8066 Post by dwk » Tue Jan 21, 2020 11:17 am


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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Passages

#8067 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Jan 21, 2020 11:21 am

dwk wrote:
Tue Jan 21, 2020 11:17 am
Joe Shishido
RIP: The epitome of Japanese New Wave 'Cool.' Guess I'm watching A Colt is My Passport tonight.

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Lemmy Caution
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:26 am
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Re: Passages

#8068 Post by Lemmy Caution » Tue Jan 21, 2020 3:28 pm

Jazz Saxophonist Jimmy Heath, 93. He played with everyone, was sometimes called "Little Bird". His older brother Percy Heath was a famous bassist.
Not many of the old post-war jazz musicians left.

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mfunk9786
Under Chris' Protection
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Re: Passages

#8069 Post by mfunk9786 » Wed Jan 22, 2020 12:06 pm

Terry Jones discussion moved here

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MichaelB
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Re: Passages

#8070 Post by MichaelB » Wed Jan 22, 2020 4:43 pm


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Mr Sausage
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Re: Passages

#8071 Post by Mr Sausage » Wed Jan 22, 2020 4:53 pm

MichaelB wrote:Ringo Lam.
I thought he died a couple years ago.

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MichaelB
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Re: Passages

#8072 Post by MichaelB » Wed Jan 22, 2020 5:05 pm

You're absolutely right - someone flagged it up on Twitter without checking, and I did likewise.

Apologies.

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domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Passages

#8073 Post by domino harvey » Wed Jan 22, 2020 5:07 pm

Generalissimo Francisco Franco

flyonthewall2983
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Re: Passages

#8074 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Wed Jan 22, 2020 6:08 pm


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Reverend Drewcifer
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2013 5:16 pm
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Re: Passages

#8075 Post by Reverend Drewcifer » Thu Jan 23, 2020 10:50 am

Sonny Grosso

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