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Post by Feologild Oakes on Dec 9, 2018 0:13:42 GMT
So what is your favorite Kirk Douglas movie?
Mine is Spartacus
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Post by BATouttaheck on Dec 9, 2018 0:16:48 GMT
 I read that this is his favorite performance as well.
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Post by bravomailer on Dec 9, 2018 0:30:57 GMT
So what is your favorite Kirk Douglas movie? Mine is Spartacus No! Mine is Spartacus! Couldn't help it. Paths of Glory is my pick. |
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Post by mikef6 on Dec 9, 2018 0:36:29 GMT
The quintessential Kirk Douglas movie, the one that has inspired all of his impressionists and his film image, the one that was ahead of its time, the one that is most uncompromising, is Billy Wilder's "Ace In The Hole" (1951).
That said, there are so many fine Douglas performances that narrowing down to one takes more than a little thought.
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Post by teleadm on Dec 9, 2018 0:53:26 GMT
Happy Birthday Kirk! When Tough was Tough and not an app.   |
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Post by petrolino on Dec 9, 2018 1:01:54 GMT
Wow, it is the 9th December now in some places. Happy Birthday, Kirk Douglas. 
As for picking a favourite, don't think I have one.
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Post by wmcclain on Dec 9, 2018 1:35:38 GMT
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Post by petrolino on Dec 9, 2018 1:43:58 GMT
"My favorite political thriller. Notice how important black & white has always been in this genre? Perhaps because it seems more serious than color, but I also think they are trying to evoke the 1950s television look, when most people started watching congressional hearings and presidential news conferences live."
- wmcclain
Interesting piece as always, thanks.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Dec 9, 2018 1:45:38 GMT
Difficult for me to pick "a" favorite in the singular; there are simply ones I'll watch most frequently, and for different reasons.
The Bad and the Beautiful - One of the few "movies about movies" that's at all honest about the process, and which imparts more philosophical wisdom about it than perhaps any other; a scene in which Jonathan Shields (Douglas) and James Lee Bartlow (Dick Powell) are hammering out a script together, for instance.
JAMES LEE: "Look, Jonathan, I don't think you understand. The boy's going away, probably to be killed! So when the mother speaks..."
JONATHAN: "She doesn't speak. We move the camera in close; she opens her mouth, but is too emotional to speak. What she feels, we'll let the audience imagine. They'll imagine it better than any words you and I could write."
And another, in which director Von Ellstein clashes with producer Jonathan:
VON ELLSTEIN: "I could make this scene a climax. I could make every scene a climax. If I did, I would be a bad director...A picture all climaxes is like a necklace without a string: it falls apart."
Douglas is ideal as the brash, confident and ambitiously self-serving Jonathan, but I enjoy the film equally for its episodic flashback structure providing different perspectives, Vincente Minnelli's sure-footed direction and Powell's acerbic James Lee, who sarcastically sums up Jonathan in a few words after a long distance call monitored by his wife:
ROSEMARY: "Say something charming before 'goodbye.'"
JAMES LEE: "Goodbye, Mr. Shields."
ROSEMARY: "James Lee, that was not charming."
JAMES LEE: "He has enough charm for all three of us."
Seven Days In May - Another of my "watch anytime" films. A gripping and frightening subject, taut yet methodical direction by John Frankenheimer and a knockout cast among which Douglas, at the center of the drama, exhibits admirable restraint and control that grounds the proceedings while the thespian pyrotechnics are handled by Burt Lancaster, Fredric March, Edmond O'Brien and other reliables.
The Devil's Disciple - Adapted from George Bernard Shaw's play, this earlier, English-made Douglas-Lancaster teaming about men whose principles are tested during the Revolutionary War is an untypical vehicle for both, and features the playwright's droll mischievousness. In this one, Lancaster has the more subdued role while Douglas displays roguish heroism, ultimately facing down no less than Laurence Olivier during a climactic encounter. A fun change of pace for the two Yanks.
The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers - It's only in retrospect that, with the perspective that the powerful screen persona he established over the years provides, Douglas might seem an ill fit for the role of ruthless Barbara Stanwyck's weak-willed and self-pitying husband, but I find this screen debut a refreshing and convincing look into another, rarely-seen side of the actor, and it's one I appreciate.
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biker1
Junior Member
@biker1
Posts: 1,804
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Post by biker1 on Dec 9, 2018 2:17:33 GMT
He was on TV the other day for his son's Hollywood Blvd Star ceremony. Blimey, he was barely recognizable. And of course, Michael Douglas is looking more and more like an old boy, these days.
Top 5 for Douglas..
champion
ace in the hole
young man with a horn
lonely are the brave
paths of glory
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Post by london777 on Dec 9, 2018 2:56:55 GMT
My Top Five:
1947 Out of the Past
1951 Ace in the Hole
1957 Paths of Glory
1956 Lust for Life
1952 The Bad and the Beautiful
Other Favorites:
1970 There Was a Crooked Man ...
1964 Seven Days in May
1962 Two Weeks in Another Town
1961 Town Without Pity
1960 Spartacus
1951 Detective Story
Note there is nothing later than 1970, A pity he did not retire after that one and spend his time writing and painting. Most of the films he appeared in as a senior are embarrassments. Not a criticism of Kirk's acting, just of his choice of vehicle.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Dec 9, 2018 3:02:19 GMT
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Post by Sulla on Dec 9, 2018 3:24:00 GMT
I have to go with Spartacus with Paths of Glory as a close second.
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Dec 9, 2018 3:32:19 GMT
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Post by timshelboy on Dec 9, 2018 18:07:40 GMT
I think SEVEN DAYS IN MAY just pips ACE IN THE HOLE.
Other good ones (chronologically)
OUT OF THE PAST
A LETTER TO 3 WIVES
CHAMPION
YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN
THE GLASS MENAGERIE
DETECTIVE STORY
THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA
LUST FOR LIFE
MAN WITHOUT A STAR
GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL
PATHS OF GLORY
THE VIKINGS
SPARTACUS
TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN
THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER
IN HARMS WAY
IS PARIS BURNING (underrated overall imho but Kirk only has negligible cameo)
THE ARRANGEMENT (Again, massively underrated and for me one of his best performances, displaying a rarely seen vulnerability as the Kazan figure having his mid life crisis. Great score as well and Deborah Kerr VG as neglected wife).
THE JUGGLER and TOWN WITHOUT PITY in my XMAS TO WATCH pile
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Post by timshelboy on Dec 9, 2018 18:22:40 GMT
My Top Five:1947 Out of the Past 1951 Ace in the Hole 1957 Paths of Glory 1956 Lust for Life 1952 The Bad and the Beautiful Other Favorites:1970 There Was a Crooked Man ... 1964 Seven Days in May 1962 Two Weeks in Another Town 1961 Town Without Pity 1960 Spartacus 1951 Detective Story Note there is nothing later than 1970, A pity he did not retire after that one and spend his time writing and painting. Most of the films he appeared in as a senior are embarrassments. Not a criticism of Kirk's acting, just of his choice of vehicle. Agree re the retirement comment - at least Burt got CONVERSATION PIECE, NOVECENTO and ATLANTIC CITY to add ballast to his post 1970 CV. There were lots of big classic era stars who foundered in the New Hollywood though... Liz & Dick, H Fonda, Olivier, Natalie, Holden, G Ford, Quinn, Novak, Jean Simmons, etc. And some that endured embarrassing post 1970 "comebacks" (BLOODLINE anyone? Audrey should definitely have left us wanting more after TWO FOR THE ROAD and WAIT UNTIL DARK). Maybe as much about right sort of vehicles not being made any more as about poor choices - but Kirk sure did choose some turkeys - saw MASTER THIEF last week - terrible - but surely he knew that at point he signed.... HOLOCAUST 2000 a particular stinker of his from that period. Some classic era stars (Cary, Doris, Deborah Kerr) saw the rot coming and retired from cinema in late 60s - and their reputations today all the better for it. |
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Post by OldAussie on Dec 9, 2018 20:20:06 GMT
Difficult for me to pick "a" favorite in the singular; there are simply ones I'll watch most frequently, and for different reasons. The Bad and the Beautiful - One of the few "movies about movies" that's at all honest about the process, and which imparts more philosophical wisdom about it than perhaps any other; a scene in which Jonathan Shields (Douglas) and James Lee Bartlow (Dick Powell) are hammering out a script together, for instance. JAMES LEE: "Look, Jonathan, I don't think you understand. The boy's going away, probably to be killed! So when the mother speaks..."JONATHAN: "She doesn't speak. We move the camera in close; she opens her mouth, but is too emotional to speak. What she feels, we'll let the audience imagine. They'll imagine it better than any words you and I could write." might be my favourite. And that piece of advice is the greatest insight into movie-making ever put in a movie. If only more movie-makers adhered to it - yes, you Mr Spielberg . |
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Post by movielover on Dec 9, 2018 20:21:57 GMT
Seven Days in May is my favorite.
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on Dec 9, 2018 23:16:11 GMT
Detective Story
and I don't want to live to be 102 years old
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Post by vegalyra on Dec 10, 2018 18:42:52 GMT
Seven Days in May
Spartacus
Ace in the Hole
The Vikings
Cast A Giant Shadow
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (criminal that there isn't a bluray for this one)
Lonely are the Brave
Two Weeks in Another Town
Paths of Glory
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