A tremendous actor, I never saw him give anything less than a captivating performance.
His cultural impact on UK cinema was immense, no one had seen the kind of raw performance he gave in Saturday Night, Sunday Morning before and it opened the door for a whole generation of working class actors ( Caine, Courteny, Harris etc). In many ways he was the British Brando.
Albert Finney RIP
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Re: Albert Finney RIP
I don't know if he has anything in common with Marlon, their styles aren't that similar, nor are the choices of roles - but yes, he was tremendous and the best of his films hold up nicely. I'm not sure he ever gave a better performance than Saturday Night & Sunday Morning, and Tom Jones is a much better picture than its current reputation suggests. Two for the Road is almost criminally overlooked, and his total immersion into something like Murder on the Orient Express was inspiring. I love his mid career triumphs with Under the Volcano and The Dresser and his gradual progression into a character actor when his looks faded was both natural and obvious. Memorable in such movies as Miller's Crossing and Erin Brockovich, he was always a joy to watch. I guess I last saw him in Skyfall - as good a Bond as has been seen since the early-to-mid sixties.
All of the British/Irish actors who blazed a path in the '60s are mostly gone now: Burton, Finney, O'toole, Harris (You want a British/Irish Brando? Check out This Sporting Life), etc. I guess we still have Terrance Stamp and Michael Caine. The kitchen sink school of Brit realism gave us many great films in that era and the Woodfall box set is a must-own.
All of the British/Irish actors who blazed a path in the '60s are mostly gone now: Burton, Finney, O'toole, Harris (You want a British/Irish Brando? Check out This Sporting Life), etc. I guess we still have Terrance Stamp and Michael Caine. The kitchen sink school of Brit realism gave us many great films in that era and the Woodfall box set is a must-own.
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Re: Albert Finney RIP
Nice post Matt. I made the Brando comparison because they both introduced a more visceral and naturalistic style of acting to their respective film cultues. Of course they didn't do it in isolation. I guess I was thinking of the parallels between Kowalski and Arthur Seaton in particular.
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Re: Albert Finney RIP
Have you seen this, G? It contains Look Back in Anger, The Entertainer, Saturday Night & Sunday Morning, A Taste of Honey, The Loneliness of the long Distance Runner, Tom Jones, The Girl with Green Eyes, and The Knack and How to Get It. Mostly all classics and probably the best single purchase of '60s British filmmaking which can be had for under a hundred pounds. Add in Billy Budd and This Sporting Life and you could teach a course in '60s Brit cinema.
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Re: Albert Finney RIP
I think thsoe kitchen sink dramas and New Cinema films of the 50s and 60s are the single greatest burst of creativity in British film. There has not been anything comparable since. Loach and Leigh are fine, but the actors they use don't have the same star quality, that ability to be a star and also socially signifcant at the same time.
"When the desert comes, people will be sad; just as Cannery Row was sad when all the pilchards were caught and canned and eaten." - John Steinbeck
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Re: Albert Finney RIP
Matt Wilson wrote:Have you seen this, G? It contains Look Back in Anger, The Entertainer, Saturday Night & Sunday Morning, A Taste of Honey, The Loneliness of the long Distance Runner, Tom Jones, The Girl with Green Eyes, and The Knack and How to Get It. Mostly all classics and probably the best single purchase of '60s British filmmaking which can be had for under a hundred pounds. Add in Billy Budd and This Sporting Life and you could teach a course in '60s Brit cinema.
Cheers, I'll look out for it. I've seen all the films you mention apart from The Girl With Green Eyes (..which I haven't heard of actually).
I'd like to mention Charlie Bubbles too. He's great in that.
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Re: Albert Finney RIP
The Modernist wrote:Matt Wilson wrote:Have you seen this, G? It contains Look Back in Anger, The Entertainer, Saturday Night & Sunday Morning, A Taste of Honey, The Loneliness of the long Distance Runner, Tom Jones, The Girl with Green Eyes, and The Knack and How to Get It. Mostly all classics and probably the best single purchase of '60s British filmmaking which can be had for under a hundred pounds. Add in Billy Budd and This Sporting Life and you could teach a course in '60s Brit cinema.
Cheers, I'll look out for it. I've seen all the films you mention apart from The Girl With Green Eyes (..which I haven't heard of actually).
I'd like to mention Charlie Bubbles too. He's great in that.
I saw this in Fopp yesterday, wasnt really out to buy anything but its on my list.
So Long Kid, Take A Bow.
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Re: Albert Finney RIP
I wish somebody would, so then we could discuss it. I've taken to not even posting in Now Playing anymore because no one seems to want to talk about old movies. Too busy pontificating on the merits of films in the Marvel Universe I guess.
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Re: Albert Finney RIP
I posted about seeing Glass last week, zero reaction. I also posted about watching Marathon Man. Again no replies.
One new one oldish. Same result.
One new one oldish. Same result.
So Long Kid, Take A Bow.
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Re: Albert Finney RIP
Jeemo wrote:I posted about seeing Glass last week, zero reaction. I also posted about watching Marathon Man. Again no replies.
One new one oldish. Same result.
My bad - I thought about commenting on Marathon Man but must've forgot. I'll do it now. I like that movie. It's just a '70s paranoid thriller like so many others, but the performances linger long after you're not watching the picture. Hoffman is predictably good, but that may be my fave late career Olivier performance after Sleuth. You believe every utterance and he even looks the part. Scheider is also quite good and his fight in the apartment and death scene stand out. Even Devane makes an impression.
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Re: Albert Finney RIP
i loved him. he was indeed tremendous. tom jones, my initiation, was phenomenal. just hearing his voice in a movie sucked me in. i have never seen woodfall, although i will correct that situation forthwith, posthaste and anon. he always had a mastery and a presence and whatever that is, reeking of charisma, talent, power on the screen.
i am the sick kinda fan that i even loved him in grade not-at-all-A movies (like wolfen and looker. yep, you heard me right.) he made every movie he was in better, just by virtue of being there.
r.i.p. to a fantastic actor and a fave symbolic foundling. sniff.
i am the sick kinda fan that i even loved him in grade not-at-all-A movies (like wolfen and looker. yep, you heard me right.) he made every movie he was in better, just by virtue of being there.
r.i.p. to a fantastic actor and a fave symbolic foundling. sniff.