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  • Film & TV Moderators: ghostfreak

Excellent casting

Pure_XTC said:
Jack Nicholson in the Shining

I don't actually think that was a very good casting choice at all. The plot is supposed to begin with a relatively benign man who becomes crazy as the movie progresses. Nicholson looks crazy all the time. Therefore, the mental deterioration isn't much of a deterioration at all.
 
alasdairm said:
i watched 'harry potter and the goblet of fire' last night and though tthat, in all those movies, the casting has been pitch perfect across the board.

alasdair

Even with the change in actors playing Dumbledore?
 
Sam Jackson - Pulp Fiction
Sean Penn - Carlito's Way
Christian Bale - American Psycho
Ian McShane - Deadwood
 
Benefit said:
Even with the change in actors playing Dumbledore?
absolutely. i felt richard harris was perfect and that, under the circumstances of having to step into the shoes of a performance like that - michael gambon has done a great job.

related reading (from: film: Harry Potter 3 ... and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

alasdairm said:
5, The new dumbledore was absolutely hopeless and I find it somewhat insulting that they just through in a relative look-alike and tried to disguise him with a long beard... That's lacking in respect, immensely in my opinion.


i agree with your comments about gary oldman. he's better than that.

your comments about dumbledore are interesting.

i don't think they cast michael gambon simply because he's a look-a-like (i don't think he looks like richard harris at all). i think he was cast because of his acting talent - his work in the cook, the thief.. and the singing detective was excellent.

the old dumbledore had a beard. i don't think it was a disguise - it's just continuity of character.

richard harris owned the part but how could the film makers have paid more respect? it would be hard for anybody to step into harris' shoes in that part but i feel that michael gambon had to find a compromise of carrying on the part of dumbledore as seamlessly as possible while leaving himself an opportunity to make the role more his own over the next 3 (or more) movies. under the circumstances, i think he did a fine job.

who else would you have considered casting?

alasdair
 
Last edited:
listening to too many DVD commentaries, I've started to get the picture that some big name actors like to rewrite dialogue, storylines, and even force a scene to center on them more than originally called for. that said, i like it when great actors are able to step back and let the rest of the cast shine. in this vein, i thought the casting in 12 Monkeys worked really well, even though Bruce Willis was a huge actor while Brad Pitt's star was still rising at that point.

more generally, Lawrence of Arabia comes to mind. Peter O'Toole was virtually unknown before this film. all of the leads and supporting actors give great performances. great casting.
 
alasdairm said:
absolutely. i felt richard harris was perfect and that, under the circumstances of having to step into the shoes of a performance like that - michael gambon has done a great job.

I haven't actually seen these movies in a while, but Michael Gambon can definitely act the socks of just about anybody.
 
The entire casting of The Shawshank Redemption.

Although in the novella on which it's based, the character of Red is actually a red-haired Irishman, I thought that Morgan Freeman made that part completely his own. Can you imagine anyone other than him, delivering both the parole speech or the voiceover at the end? An inspired piece of casting.

But as I said, I think the whole film is perfectly judged in this regard. From Tim Robbins' understated central performance, to the Head Warden, to the Chief Gaurd, to the old-timer Brooks, it's the film that immediately leapt to mind when I saw the title of this thread.
 
Originally Posted by Pure_XTC
Jack Nicholson in the Shining
posner said:
I don't actually think that was a very good casting choice at all. The plot is supposed to begin with a relatively benign man who becomes crazy as the movie progresses. Nicholson looks crazy all the time. Therefore, the mental deterioration isn't much of a deterioration at all.

i see your point... but no...
did you see the steven weber (of wings fame) and rebecca de mornay mini?
horrific. of course they weren't the best for the roles- but that is a four part lesson on why nicholson was right for the shining
 
PinholeStar said:
The entire casting of The Shawshank Redemption.

Although in the novella on which it's based, the character of Red is actually a red-haired Irishman, I thought that Morgan Freeman made that part completely his own. Can you imagine anyone other than him, delivering both the parole speech or the voiceover at the end? An inspired piece of casting.

But as I said, I think the whole film is perfectly judged in this regard. From Tim Robbins' understated central performance, to the Head Warden, to the Chief Gaurd, to the old-timer Brooks, it's the film that immediately leapt to mind when I saw the title of this thread.

wow. yes.

my favorite movie.
 
wanderlust said:
i see your point... but no...
did you see the steven weber (of wings fame) and rebecca de mornay mini?
horrific. of course they weren't the best for the roles- but that is a four part lesson on why nicholson was right for the shining

I doubt watching a shitty miniseries with two shitty actors (which I assume your comment references) conclusively proves that Jack Nicholson was the best possible actor to play Torrance.

I think people so easily and instantly associate Jack Nicholson with The Shining that he seems perfect in the role, but if you actually step back you can see that he at least wasn't the only person who could have played the role at a high level and probably (my argument) wasn't the right person to play the character at all.
 
so then, who would be right?


i think nicholson's edge kicked up the creepiness of the movie better than any amount of blood and gore could. he had the right stuff to make it more than a simple slasher or man goes crazy flick, he made it into people's heads.
 
Vincent d Onofrio as pooh bear in the Salton Sea.
l_1107925.jpg


Sissy Spacek as Carrie.
180px-Carrie_sissy_spacek.jpg
 
wanderlust said:
so then, who would be right?


i think nicholson's edge kicked up the creepiness of the movie better than any amount of blood and gore could. he had the right stuff to make it more than a simple slasher or man goes crazy flick, he made it into people's heads.

I'm not going to spend time thinking about it. All I know is that God did not come down and specifically designate Jack Nicholson for that role.
 
Oh....and Jack Nicholson as Randy Patrick Mc Murphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Fucking awesome.
cuckoo.gif


And Louise Fletcher as Nurse Mildred Ratched . OoOooooh
cuckonest4.jpeg


Oh....and Piper Laurie as Carrie's crazy Christian mother (man she still gives me the honest to goodness CREEPS when I watch her!)
miller125art3.jpg
 
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