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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNuVsitRqmI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H4NjylI0RI&NR=1
Marjorie, Click This Link And See For Yourself . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3R3OjZ4uGg
But don't watch anymore clips after that. Just rent "East Of Eden" and learn what the fuss has been about for the last 56 years.
Psst! Marjorie, check out the photo of me at upper left, drinking whiskey at the base of the Statue Of Liberty. If that doesn't strike you as me "doing my best James Dean", then you know nothing of my work! [My apologies to Woody Allen.]
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
"As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly."
~ Proverbs 26:11
YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
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James Dean was VERY handsome! I actually think Robert Pattinson looks a lot like him. I also think that Pattinson is really under appreciated as an actor because of his association with the Twilight franchise and the fact that he is a teen scream idol as well. Lots of a parallels. I will see EOE. I just have been having a heck of a time at home I just forgot.
ReplyDeleteMARJORIE ~
ReplyDeleteWhile doing some searches to find which videos I wanted to include on this for you, I came across some Internet site where someone wrote that they thought Pattinson is "today's James Dean", or words to that effect.
I've only seen a couple of pictures of him that you directed me to awhile back, because you thought he was hot. I've never seen him act, and I've already forgotten what he looked like.
Yeah, I suppose Dean was fairly good looking but, of course, that's not what it's about for me.
I'd watch his (3) movies and just be blown away by how creative and imaginative his performances were. You gotta watch for all the nuances and the subtle things he brings to a role.
Heck, I'll give you something right off the top of my head to watch for in EOE:
There's a scene in which he's talking to a man named Will Hamilton in a gymnasium locker room. At one point, when Will's looking the other way, Cal (Dean's character) sneaks a drag off of Will's cigarette that's lying on the top of the locker. I'll guarantee you that WAS NOT in the script! But Dean just so immersed himself in his characters that he was able to really "think" like them and imagine bits of business that seemed organic to the character he was playing.
Cal is a misunderstood "bad boy", and sneaking a puff from someone else's cigarette was EXACTLY the sort of thing that "Cal" would do.
In my opinion, there might only be two other actors that are even in Dean's league: Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman. But I like Dean the best; I think he was the most gifted and imaginative.
Another "real" actor I have a lot of respect for talent-wise is Johnny Depp. He really stretches himself by the variety of roles he plays, but I've never felt he was anywhere near as believable as Dean was.
Anyway, whenever you have a chance to see EOE (no rush, I was just bustin' yer chops a bit, for fun), please let me know what you thought of it.
I hope (and believe) you will like it, but if not, I want honest opinions ONLY. I'm a big boy, and I can handle it if you don't like it. (Mmmmaybe.)
;o)
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
McDogg-
ReplyDeleteI know this was a post for Marjorie, but I'm crashing your soiree here with my two bits!
I was never a huge JD fan, but may have to revisit as I saw those movies decades ago.
Wow-that really sucks that I am old enought to even say "decades ago."
I had forgotten that the David Essex song was either about, or at least references, JD.
As we've often discussed, DeNiro is my favorite. I knew you were a JD fan but didn't realize you liked Bobby D much.
I've watched Bronx Tale a zillion times, so I think that puts me and RDN on a first name basis.
LC
McDISCDUDE ~
ReplyDeleteYeah, on a more political level, I do not care for Robert DeNiro. I'd have to take a sharp "Left" turn and drive for miles just to get near his neighborhood.
But, I am able to separate his politics from his art and evaluate his acting talent fairly. And as an actor, he's tremendous. The same goes for Dustin Hoffman. These two are that rare breed of cat in America today: "actors" and not just "movie stars".
James Dean might well have been in a class all his own, in my opinion. He had an off-the-charts imagination and an ability to "become" the character he was portraying.
Even in my least favorite of Dean's movies - "Rebel Without A Cause" - there are great moments to watch for.
Two examples: In the early scene where he is brought into the police station and frisked, he portrays his character as being ticklish. Later, watch for the scene where the hoodlum leader punctures a tire on Dean's car with a switchblade knife. Right after the tire completely deflates, Dean softly expels the breath he's been holding - mirroring the "flat" tire personally.
That stuffs was not written into the script; they were things that Dean brought to the role through the full force of his imaginative powers.
In the movie "Giant", watch for the "rock 'n' rope" trick Dean uses to entertain himself. It was a little trick he had picked up from a genuine rancher on the set and incorporated into his part. Also, watch for the hand gesture he uses to signify "Goodbye". Again, a piece of memorable business that he simply invented for his charcter and which other young people across the country began emulating.
The actor who thinks he is going to mold himself into "the next James Dean" is sadly mistaken. As I eventually came to realize, there will never be more than just that one, and he was pretty much untouchable due to an amazing God-given "natural" talent.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
POSTSCRIPT: I owe you a DQ Blizzard.
"Jive Talkin'" -- 1975
"Saturday Night Fever" -- 1977
I win some, I lose some.
I can almost taste the blizzard (and I do not even know what one is)...
ReplyDeleteWhat surprised me about you and DeNiro is that often with musicians you will not separate the artist from their politics.
I understand the difference, though-an actor's politics have nothing to do with their craft, where a songwriter's politics cannot help creeping into theirs.
I am a little surprised that "Jive Talkin" was not earlier. When I said '74 or '75, I'd have picked '74 if I had to pick one.