One of my all time favorites, made in 1992, starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacy, Ed Harris, Jonathan Pryce, Alan Arkin, and Alec Baldwin (with small part).
It’s based on a play and is for those times when you are tired of watching mainstream action/adventure or comedies etc and want to watch something different and appreciative of movie art and performances.
Great performances by Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon. Jack Lemmon should have won an oscar for this one, or at least should have been nominated for one.
The plot is very strong and engaging and with excellent picturization of how people go through different phases of frustration, personal misery, and even turn up to commit crime to save their jobs in a sales industry related profession (I won’t say which one, you gotta watch it to enjoy it).
It’s a powerful drama with a touch of suspence and strong language (Rated R) and definitely way above an average movie in my opinion.
I enjoyed GGR also. It is very well done, Pulitzer Prize winning play. I not too long ago saw an off-Broadway production of “Speed the Plow” by Dave Mamet. This is about sex and ambition in show biz in Hollywood. I think Mamet is brilliant.
Wow, it's so nice to know that some other people around here have watched it and like it too.
Ahmadi, Yes, David Memet is good. I've been planning to watch another movie based on his play, American Buffalo (Starring Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Franz) but have't been in the mood lately. He's also credited with name Richard Weisz sometimes.
Remember seeing this flick a few, or come to think of it quite a few years ago.
Great seeing two of my favorites (Pacino, Lemmon) deliver outstanding performences.
Anyone other Pacino/Lemmon fans out there? the following films with them are must sees:
Lemmon - The Apartment, Days of Wine & roses
Some Like it Hot, The Odd Couple,
Mr. Roberts
Pacino - Obviously the Godfather trilogy tops
the list (I & II are two of my all
time favorites), Serpico, And
Justice for All, Scarface, Heat,
Dog Day Afternoon
Glengarry had a great supporting cast -Ed harris & Kevin Spacey were great, and even Alec Baldwin (who I ordinarily can't stand), was good.
Yeah, Al Pacino used to be one of my favorite actors (great performances in Dog Day Afternoon and Scent of a Woman - He won his Oscar in the later one) but Heat kinda give me bad taste.
Another great Lemmon movie I would recommend would be The China Cyndrome with Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda (It'a 70's movie). I believe he won an Oscar on his performances in that movie. Very good movie.
If I would to pick a third actor in GGR for performances, I would pick Jonathan Pryce. He has a relatively very small role in the movie, but his character development is great. absent minded, hesitant, overpowered by wife and despodent, trying to make decisions on his own in a timid way, and gets completely desperate over the whole deal in his last appearance. Very good character development with minimal amount of appearance in the movie.
Forgot about the CHina Syndrome completely - great film - loved the ending.
I liked Scent of a women, but I just felt that Pacino's oscer in that film was to make up for all of the times he was ripped off - not that he wasn't good - but he had far better performences in other films.
It's pretty much the same sitauation as Paul Newman who was absolutely ROBBED after unbelievable performences in "Hud" & "Cool Hand Luke". His performences in these two films my be among the finest ever. He also should have got an oscer for "THe Sting" or "The Verdict". To make up for past misses, they ended up giving him one for The color of money - again a good performence, but not even close to being his best. He'll probably be robbed again this year for his supporting performence in "Message in a Bottle" - he totally blew away Kevin Costner, and controlled every scene he was in.
As far as Jonathan Pryce goes, I can't remember who he is - all though I've probably seen him in a lot of films - I think he was in the second Pierce Bronson Bond flick. But I have no doubt that his performence must have been good, because, every performence in GGR was outstanding.
Yes, J Pryce was the bad guy in Tomorrow Never Dies.
Pual Newman, one of my all time favorites. Never watched his 'Hud' but you are absolutely right about Verdict (Directed by Sidney Lumet who also made Dog Day Afternoon. If you already haven't, watch Lumet's Murder on the Orient Express based on Agatha Christie's novel. Great movie.). I did not enjoy Sting as much as I was expecting, but still a good movie. Color of the Money was very good as well. It was the sequel to his The Hustler with Jackie Gleason. I haven't watched The Huslter but heard was pretty good.
Another movie I think he should have picked the award (was only nominated for it) was Nobody's Fool. How could you not give award on such performances? He was so much dominating in the movie that the whole movie was engaging solely due to his performances. Absolutely love that movie.
I haven't seen "Murder on the Orient Express" (was never much of an agatha Christie fan), or Nobody's fool - I guess I'll check them out next time I'm at the video store.
I actually liked "The Hustler" better than the sequel.
Three other Newman films I really liked that come to mind are - "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance kid", "The Young Philadalphians", and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
If you are not Agatha Christie fan then may be you won't like Murder on the Orient Express that much... but I don't think it will bore you at all though. It's got big cast and Lumet's direction is definitely good. Ingred Bergman got an Oscar for her performances of a very small part. Mainly it was a 3 minute scene.
I have not watched much of classics and so have missed a lot of great movies. That does include many of Paul Newman's as he's one of the actors I'm will start off with when I'll get into classics.