This is so sad to hear! I always remember him in "The heart is a lonely hunter"--as an adaptation, it wasn't perfect, but the quiet dignity he gave to John Singer absolutely was.
I always remember him in "The heart is a lonely hunter"--as an adaptation, it wasn't perfect, but the quiet dignity he gave to John Singer absolutely was.
I haven't seen him in that role! I'll look for it. As we were volleying quotations from his movies back and forth, I was thinking that one of his most irreplaceable talents as an actor was his ability to play the screwloose or the straight man with equal conviction, the national sensation of a delusional messiah from the Crab Nebula or a mild-mannered dentist sucked into Central American CIA shenanigans; he could be the one sane person in the room or an engine of chaos and the narrative had better hang on to its hat either way.
Or a terrifying sociopath in Wait Until Dark. Kes and I re-watched this recently, and it struck me how Arkin's character in that is in some ways a direct ancestor of Michael Myers.
I did not grow up on the film, so I always forget he was Schmendrick, but he was right.
"I was born mortal, and I have been immortal for a long, foolish time, and one day I will be mortal again; so I know something that a unicorn cannot know. Whatever can die is beautiful—more beautiful than a unicorn, who lives forever, and who is the most beautiful creature in the world."
I still need to figure out a way to give you a chance to see him up against Christopher Lee in The Return of Captain Invincible.
The "40 years ago" bit in the trailer (and movie) makes it even more appropriate to watch the movie this year, since it was released (sort of - there were distribution issues having to do with the US distributor going bankrupt, IIRC) 40 years ago as well.
After doing a bit of looking, I found out that there's apparently been a three disc Blu-Ray release that includes the movie, several interviews, a director's cut(!!), and the soundtrack on CD. (Unfortunately, it also includes really terrible cover art but I'm hoping that's just the slipcover.)
It's even on sale right now.
If you're okay with me ordering a copy for you, send me a DM with a suitable shipping address. (ETA: yes, I've already ordered myself one. :-)
Edited (added note - also testing to see if email notifications work since I never got one for the original comment)) 2023-07-01 22:03 (UTC)
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I haven't seen him in that role! I'll look for it. As we were volleying quotations from his movies back and forth, I was thinking that one of his most irreplaceable talents as an actor was his ability to play the screwloose or the straight man with equal conviction, the national sensation of a delusional messiah from the Crab Nebula or a mild-mannered dentist sucked into Central American CIA shenanigans; he could be the one sane person in the room or an engine of chaos and the narrative had better hang on to its hat either way.
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That would have been the second place I saw him. (The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966) was the first.)
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https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jun/30/julian-sands-actor-gabriel-byrne
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That is lovely; thank you.
"The mountains were in him: the hidden path, the deception of cloud and mist and rock and shadow. Time and space and distance altered."
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(What's inappropriate? I knew he had good taste in reading, but I didn't know he could write!)
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Graham Greene claimed there was a splinter of ice in the heart of every writer; he forgot that in every reader's heart, there's a coal.
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Schmendrick the magician finally quit growing younger.
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"I was born mortal, and I have been immortal for a long, foolish time, and one day I will be mortal again; so I know something that a unicorn cannot know. Whatever can die is beautiful—more beautiful than a unicorn, who lives forever, and who is the most beautiful creature in the world."
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*hugs*
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I still need to figure out a way to give you a chance to see him up against Christopher Lee in The Return of Captain Invincible.
The "40 years ago" bit in the trailer (and movie) makes it even more appropriate to watch the movie this year, since it was released (sort of - there were distribution issues having to do with the US distributor going bankrupt, IIRC) 40 years ago as well.
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You did make it sound absolutely wild. The trailer doesn't change that impression.
it was released (sort of - there were distribution issues having to do with the US distributor going bankrupt, IIRC)
Of course.
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After doing a bit of looking, I found out that there's apparently been a three disc Blu-Ray release that includes the movie, several interviews, a director's cut(!!), and the soundtrack on CD. (Unfortunately, it also includes really terrible cover art but I'm hoping that's just the slipcover.)
It's even on sale right now.
If you're okay with me ordering a copy for you, send me a DM with a suitable shipping address. (ETA: yes, I've already ordered myself one. :-)
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Came through fine! That's an amazingly dedicated home release. Thank you for your offer; I am thinking about it.
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A comment on my FB post led me to an Internet Archive copy of the movie. so that's another option.