Metallo
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Post by Metallo on Oct 9, 2015 20:12:31 GMT -5
I remember the Jack London story and the Edward G Robinson film but I'd never seen the Charles Bronson/Reeve version. GOOD cast. I was surprised at how many faminliar faces were in it. Cool to see Superman and The Beastmaster working together. I always knew Marc Singer was in good shape but he was a big guy too. It was funny to see Reeve at the bottom of the food chain on the Ghost. He's literally the biggest guy on the ship. So big he had to duck to go through the doorways/portals. When Bronson wasn't doing yet another Death Wish he really showed he could do something different. Wolf Larsen could be unbending but he had a keen mind and I thought Bronson was very credible in getting that across. Reeve's performance was better than expected too. Reeve could be stiff acting wise at times but here he was pretty interesting. His character had a good arc and I think these types of roles suited him. You could tell there was something about the production he enjoyed wether it was the literary material or shooting a sea faring story. I felt his acting got a little stagey near the end when he and Catherine Mary Stewart were in the raft trying to escape but overall he was good in this flick. Speaking of Stewart man she was a a fox back in the day from Last Starfighter to Night of the Comet to Weekend at Bernies. heck she looks good for her age now. I wouldn't peg her for mid 50s anyway. But yeah of some of you guys have see if I'd love to hear your opinions. If not check it out.
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dejan
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Post by dejan on Oct 15, 2015 2:12:25 GMT -5
I have only ever seen the beginning of this film. I remember Marc Singer getting beaten up by Bronson(lol)
As for Reeve.....his only problem was that everything he ever did would be calibrated against (or by) Superman because he did supes first(if you exclude his role in Gray Lady Down).
But I often wonder how differently we would have looked at Reeve's ability had he done films like Death trap, Monsignor, The Bostonians and Street Smart BEFORE doing Superman. Had that happened people would have talked about Reeve in DeNiro proportions(I am not exaggerating).
Heck....hypothetically(!)...... had DeNiro done something like Superman as his first role(and nailed it like Reeve)......DeNiro would have been affiliated to Supes no matter what DeNiro did next.
Superman is such an otherworldly potent symbol/icon......the danger for an actor is that if you do perform the character perfectly and especially if you do it as your first leading role.....you will not be able to shake it off.
Again hypothetically , Reeve could have recited roles like Corleone in the Godfather II,Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver or Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull after doing something like Superman....and even if he had nailed those iconoclastic roles(as DeNiro eventually did)......Reeve would have still been identified with Superman because of the all encompassing symbolic power that a character like Supes has.
My theory anyways!
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atp
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Post by atp on Oct 15, 2015 8:28:17 GMT -5
I agree Reeve would have been great in other roles.
Problem is, if he had done those before Superman, it would have possibly ruined Superman! He was an unknown then, which was part of the reason he worked so well.
Incidentally, I would have loved to see him in The Thorn Birds. I think he could have ben even better than Richard Chamberlain.
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Metallo
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Post by Metallo on Oct 15, 2015 15:29:34 GMT -5
Well I've never held Reeve's other work up to what he did as Superman. I've always been able to view each part on its own. I'll watch Noises off and never think of Superman. But I do think that he's impressive against other more seasoned comedians and holds his own against John Ritter when it comes to physical comedy. That's one thing I think he's underrated for. But he was better at certain roles than he was at others. There were times when he did stretch and it worked out great. Sometimes not. Sometimes he didn't have the edge to pull off seedier characters. He tended to excel at roles that matched him or sent up his leading man image and old Hollywood good looks. It's one thing that made him great as Clark Kent. It's also why he did better in films like Noises Off. There's a reason he gravitated towards certain roles. It's what he was good at. Then there were roles where he could have been more diverse but turned them down. As much as a loved the guys work I've never thought he was on a DeNiro level. Then again DeNiro isn't on that same level now but much like Reeve even DeNiro had certain types of roles he exceeded at more than others.
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atp
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Post by atp on Oct 15, 2015 15:31:06 GMT -5
Well I've never held Reeve's other work up to what he did as Superman. I've always been able to view each part on its own. I'll watch Noises off and never think of Superman. But I do think that he's impressive against other more seasoned comedians and holds his own against John Ritter when it comes to physical comedy. That's one thing I think he's underrated for. But he was better at certain roles than he was at others. There were times when he did stretch and it worked out great. Sometimes not. Sometimes he didn't have the edge to pull off seedier characters. He tended to excel at roles that matched him or sent up his leading man image and old Hollywood good looks. It's one thing that made him great as Clark Kent. It's also why he did better in films like Noises Off. There's a reason he gravitated towards certain roles. It's what he was good at. Then there were roles where he could have been more diverse but turned them down. As much as a loved the guys work I've never thought he was on a DeNiro level. Then again DeNiro isn't on that same level now but much like Reeve even DeNiro had certain types of roles he exceeded at more than others. Did you see him in The Remains of the Day?
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Metallo
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Post by Metallo on Oct 15, 2015 15:42:16 GMT -5
I saw that movie when it came out. Like I said he gravitated towards certain roles and that's one of the ones. It's obvious that was the kind of work he wanted more except he also wanted to be a lead as well as a supporting player. He was good in it because it was something he was able to put a lot of his own self into.
93-95 was when he was attempting something of a comback as a theatrical lead. Between the late 80s and then I think he was doing more tv work and TV movies. Maybe if he'd kept going and not gotten injured it would have worked out well for him. That's the big "what if" to me. What cut his career short there wasn't his choice.
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dejan
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Post by dejan on Oct 22, 2015 17:11:23 GMT -5
Well I've never held Reeve's other work up to what he did as Superman. I've always been able to view each part on its own. I'll watch Noises off and never think of Superman. But I do think that he's impressive against other more seasoned comedians and holds his own against John Ritter when it comes to physical comedy. That's one thing I think he's underrated for. But he was better at certain roles than he was at others. There were times when he did stretch and it worked out great. Sometimes not. Sometimes he didn't have the edge to pull off seedier characters. He tended to excel at roles that matched him or sent up his leading man image and old Hollywood good looks. It's one thing that made him great as Clark Kent. It's also why he did better in films like Noises Off. There's a reason he gravitated towards certain roles. It's what he was good at. Then there were roles where he could have been more diverse but turned them down. As much as a loved the guys work I've never thought he was on a DeNiro level. Then again DeNiro isn't on that same level now but much like Reeve even DeNiro had certain types of roles he exceeded at more than others.
Of course DeNiro had Scorsese as back up! Di Caprio has fed of Scorsese's ability as a director in more recent years. As for Reeve I think his performances are subtle and distinct from role to role. I actually like his performance in street smart which has officially gone down as Freeman's show. But in my opinion, Reeve held his own against Freeman and played the timid ,out of his depth journalist quite convincingly until the final act where he takes charge and wins the day.
I also like the Aviator where he plays the loner postal pilot who is burdened with the guilt of his dead comrade from the war. As for seedier characters, I think he was fantastic in Deathtrap and should have gained an Oscar nomination. Had DeathTrap come out BEFORE Superman I and II, I think the comic book fandom would have had a tough time reconciling whether the actor depicting a sociopathic killer would be convincing playing the role of Supes (even before the internet).
Even in Monsignor, which was weighed down by some cumbersome editing, I thought his portrayal as the Priest who is engaged in a moral quagmire was eclectic. Something which is the complete opposite to Supes.
Ironically Reeve's accident kind of deflected attention away from his other roles.
But even the likes of Robert Downey Jr are impressed with Reeves output:
Christopher Reeve went on and did a bunch of other great movies, and his notoriety from the “Superman” franchise helped that, and nobody held it against him. But the other thing is, everybody knows Chris Reeve was a really good guy. A lot of it has to do with personality. Are you the type of person who incurs ill will? variety.com/2014/film/news/robert-downey-jr-tells-variety-what-its-like-to-be-iron-man-1201144706/
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Metallo
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Post by Metallo on Oct 23, 2015 23:50:52 GMT -5
I rewatched the Black Fox TV movies a while back and while he wasn't bad I never totally bought Reeve as a cowboy in that. Maybe the plains farmer part of it but not when Johnson is riding with this gang of thieves. Tony Todd however owned those movies and his part far more. Go figure. He was good in Deathtrap but that role also played into his strengths. His role in Above Suspicion was ok but then he started as a decent guy in that story.
The Aviator and Street Smart are films where he was more in his element. His mother was a journalist and Reeve was a pilot himself. I think his role in the Aviator was closer to himself just with more guilt and depression.
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Oct 30, 2015 3:02:49 GMT -5
I rewatched the Black Fox TV movies a while back and while he wasn't bad I never totally bought Reeve as a cowboy in that. Maybe the plains farmer part of it but not when Johnson is riding with this gang of thieves. Tony Todd however owned those movies and his part far more. Go figure. He was good in Deathtrap but that role also played into his strengths. His role in Above Suspicion was ok but then he started as a decent guy in that story. The Aviator and Street Smart are films where he was more in his element. His mother was a journalist and Reeve was a pilot himself. I think his role in the Aviator was closer to himself just with more guilt and depression. Part of the problem of casting Reeve, I think, was partly due to his size and looks. I think he did have tremendous acting chops- but for him to really shine, he needed parts that would also fit. With someone like DeNiro, DeNiro didn't look like a male model and also looked like he could be dangerous. With someone like Michael Keaton, Keaton had such an extreme energy, he was always watchable as a funny guy and personality. He was also great as an 'everyman' in "Clean and Sober", but he always had those intense eyes. Reeve had two great fits with "Somewhere in Time" and Superman. I thought he was good in other things, but I guess really great matches in actors and roles are a hard find.
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