New school actors, old school looks.

[BellyTank]

No, he isn't alive and neither is Gable. That is why there is no living standard to live up to. They all seem to want to be Alan Alda or Woody Allen.

An old pentium may not be the best example. They are outmoded by faster and better chips. Older movies still have themes and ideas about the human condition that are timeless. That is why we see Its A Wonderful Life every Christmas over here. They are like Plato's Republic. It may be over a thousand years old but the ideas are still good enough to build a democratic republic today.

Regards to all,

J

I mean what WAS contemporary is replaced with what IS contemporary.
I don't see how you can compare the likes of Bogart with Crowe- apples and oranges... different worlds-

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[jamespowers]

I don't see how you can compare the likes of Bogart with Crowe

That's exactly what I was saying. I am glad you agree. :beer:

Regards to all,

J

 

[BellyTank]

I mean they're completely different entities- not good/bad.
Not necessarily that Bogart is better than Crowe, or vice versa-
just that it's impossible to compare-
Just clarifying-

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[jamespowers]

I mean they're completely different entities- not good/bad.
Not necessarily that Bogart is better than Crowe, or vice versa-
just that it's impossible to compare

Just imagine Crowe playing either Sam Spade or Rick from CasaBlanca and then compare.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Marlowe]

Well, actually, Crowe physically fits Hammett's description of Spade better than Bogart. Bogart did not look "rather pleasantly like a blond Satan." Also, Bogart looked a lot skinnier than the Spade in the book. Personally, I think Crowe could do a bang-up job of playing Sam Spade.

(I thought that Nick Nolte, in his younger days, could have made a great Sam Spade, too.)

Casablanca was a fluky, more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts kind of movie. I don't doubt that Crowe could do a great job of playing Rick Blaine, but it would be imperative that the rest of the cast did a wonderful job, too. The Maltese Falcon could be carried more by a strong leading man, sonce the story is basically all told from his character's point of view. Casablanca would be different because the mood and tone are generated by the other characters than the leading man to a greater degree.

 

[jamespowers]

I was referring more to the movies than the books. I know Hammet meant for Sam Spade to be a much bigger and bulkier character than Bogart was physically. That is for sure but Bogart managed to give life to the character in ways that transcended Hammett's characterization. It is much tougher to fill a part that was not quite suited to his stature. More to the point, what color is a blonde in a black and white movie anyway?
For some reason, I cannot imagine Crowe getting the vernacular down correctly for the Casablanca part. He is more a man of few words in his acting. That would figure into his being more suited for the Sam Spade role. I would like to see what he could do with such noir roles though.

Regards to all,

J

 

[BellyTank]

I think Bogart is fantastic-
-but he was 'Bogart' in every film he was acting in- that's the way it was then- different from today. Apples and Oranges...

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[jamespowers]

I think Bogart is fantastic-
-but he was 'Bogart' in every film he was acting in- that's the way it was then- different from today.

I don't think he was the same character in The Maltese Falcon as he was in The African Queen. Two completely different roles and not the same Bogart.

Regards to all,

J

 

[BellyTank]

He was a little goofier in The African Queen, I guess.
Not such a cool type at all. Still Bogey though.
Things were different then- I get the feeling that people wanted to see 'the new Bogart film', whereas nowadays, we just want to see the new film.
The actors, nowadays, in some ways play a smaller role than back in the day.
We now have realism and SFX, and on and on...
It used to be a much more hammed-up 'theatrical' experience, rather than the Hi'Tech we have now. The theatrical angle is what attracts me- e.g. 'Reservoir Dogs' has theatrical appeal for me- quite Shakespearean in my view.

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[jamespowers]

He was a little goofier in The African Queen, I guess.
Not such a cool type at all. Still Bogey though.
We now have realism and SFX, and on and on...
It used to be a much more hammed-up 'theatrical' experience, rather than the Hi'Tech we have now. The theatrical angle is what attracts me- e.g. 'Reservoir Dogs' has theatrical appeal for me- quite Shakespearean in my view.

I can agree with that.
Years ago, there was no such thing as having the special effects, in essence, take the place of actor. Old movies required more of the actors in the sense that they had more dialogue and real acting to do in order to create the atmosphere that was not there due to special effects.
It is now possible to create characters in CG instead of using real actors. Sin City is a good example of the computer taking over the movie. The characters utter a few lines then there is action with loud bangs, death and mayhem then the characters utter a few lines again. There really is no plot development based on the characters and their interaction with each other.
I suppose the producers give the people what they want and it seems they want about 80 dead characters before the end of the movie.
In the 40s era movies there was likely a charcter that you hated so much you wished someone would shoot him but you would have to go through the entire movie to see it happen at the end and it wasn't done with CG so that his head was severed but his eyes still moved and his mouth swore without words. War movies were a different item. There was a concrete theme of right and wrong--good and evil. Good and right always won. Now it is a matter of shades of gray and whoever wins wins.
Boy this thread is way off the original intent.

Regards to all,

J

 

[BellyTank]

Glad you agree with something-
Yeh- we been road hogging this thread-

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[Deleted member 259]

Or how about away from the camera? Old Hollywood Glamour seems to be making a small comeback.

 

[Canadave]

This pic would look good in B&W...can anyone make that happen? (Notice the dude in the hat "outside the ropes"?)

David

 

[scotrace]

My Little Friend, Mr. Photoshop

This pic would look good in B&W...can anyone make that happen?

Presto!

 

[Matt Deckard]

Sarah Michelle Geller, I believe this is just a composit, though I love it.

 

[Mycroft]

Sarah Michelle Geller, I believe this is just a composit, though I love it.

I agree it is very good. What do you mean by composit?

 

[BellyTank]

...and not Buffy...

The original one-
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[jamespowers]

The vintage one looks better.

Regards to all,

J

 

[HaraldTheSwede]

I don't recognize her.​

Alias. That's Jennifer Garner.

 

[Matt Deckard]