What a terrible remake of "The Great Imposter (1960)" starring Tony Curtis.
Posted on 12/24/2004 8:26:14 AM PST by hiho hiho
This appears in this morning's Dallas Morning News. Have a very blessed Nativity.
*** In this corner, ladies and gentlemen, we have Leonardo DiCaprio, adorable star of "Titanic," "Catch Me If You Can," and now, "The Aviator." In the other, we have - oh, pick a name. Clark Gable, Cary Grant, even Jimmy Stewart, for cryin' out loud. Notice any difference?
Such comparisons are prompted by DiCaprio's newest release, "The Aviator," in which he portrays aeronautics engineer, Hollywood mogul, and big-time player Howard Hughes. As Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman puts it, DiCaprio is "a dynamo of an actor" but "at first looks and sounds disquietingly boyish, like a 16-year-old in a high school production." The Village Voice's Michael Atkinson observes that it's hard to see a masterful figure in DiCaprio. "The conscious contrast between baby-faced, teen-voiced toddler-men movie actors and the golden age's grownups is unavoidable, and though DiCaprio is the same age here as Hughes was in 1934, he may not be convincing as a 30-year-old until he's 50."
That helps me answer something I've been wondering about. I like to watch old movies, the black-and-whites from the 30's and 40's. I often find myself wondering, How old *are* these people? Claudette Colbert moves through "Imitation of Life" (1934) portraying a widow who builds a successful business. She's poised and elegant, with a lustrous deep voice. Yet it's hard to figure out what age she is. Today, even people who are much older don't have that kind of presence. A quick check of her bio reveals that this beauty was only 31.
There are plenty of other examples. Clark Gable already had Rhett Butler's authoritative smolder when he portrayed a plantation owner in "Red Dust" (1932). He was 31 at the time. Fast-talking, forceful Hildy Johnson drove the plot of "His Girl Friday" (1940) when Rosalind Russell was only 33. The year that "The Philadelphia Story" (1940) came out, Katharine Hepburn was 33, Cary Grant was 36, and Jimmy Stewart was the baby at 32. Yet don't they all look a lot more grownup than actors do today?
It's not just actors, of course, it's all of us. Characters in these older movies appear to be an age nobody is today. Instead, we're surrounded by toddler-men and women with squeaky, uncertain voices. (Think of Renee Zellwegger's voice, and then of Bette Davis'.) Nobody has that old-style confident authority. We forgot how to grow up.
"Forgot" isn't the right word; Baby Boomers fought adulthood every step of the way. About the time we should have been taking on grownup responsibilities we made a fetish of resisting the Establishment. We turned blue jeans and t-shirts into the generational uniform; grownups dress like they're headed to a playdate. We stopped following world politics and started following movie-star feuds. We stopped wearing wingtips and started playing video games. We identified so strongly with being "the younger generation" that now, paunchy and gray, we're bewildered. We have no idea how to be the older generation. We'll just have to go on being a cranky, creaky appendix to the younger one.
But when all authorities have been trashed the world doesn't feel very secure. No wonder we can believe Zellwegger, at 35, as a nervous little girl. No wonder Hugh Grant could sell himself as a floppy-haired hesitator right up to his 40th birthday. No wonder that we can believe Thomas Haden Church as Jack, a boyish, lustful monument to immaturity, in "Sideways." Church is great in the role, but he's 43. Do you know the wonderful film, "All About Eve" (1950)? In it, Bette Davis portrayed a grand old dame of Broadway who is undermined by an upstart. When she made it she was 42.
In "Sideways" Jack defends a particularly despicable deed to his friend Miles: "I know you disapprove of what I'm doing. And I can respect that. But you just don't understand my plight." Future historians will have to sort out our plight, how a whole generation could forget to grow up, and still attempt to lead a nation through war and terror. Being kittenish, obscene, or adorably perplexed-we can do that. But gathering the gravity and confidence that signals full maturity, the kind of presence we see in these old films, is beyond our capabilities. It's not youth, but age, that has passed us by.
******** Frederica Mathewes-Green www.frederica.com
I just found this on Google search:
So What's a Boomer, Anyhow?
Glad you asked. Stated very simply, the sociologists and the media define baby boomers as those born between (and including) 1946 and 1964.
I agree it sure is good reading!
I believe actors and actresses in the old days were men and women (used to be called ladies and gentlemen) who were somehow more sophisticated and had the nuances that made them awesome. The men's clothing was so cool and the women seemed so natural in their gowns and they sure knew how to wear wonderful hats. I love the old movies.
Just watch Leno or Letterman. Today's icons come out and sit - men dressed like they live under a bridge. Absolutely no effort for dressing up to be on TV. And the women with their legs open and nipples all other the place. It's a hoot but indicates something has been lost.
"No wonder that we can believe Thomas Haden Church as Jack, a boyish, lustful monument to immaturity, in "Sideways." Church is great in the role, but he's 43. "
Really? Huh. I thought he was around 40 over a decade ago when he was on "Wings".
Times change and you gotta change with them. You're only as old as you feel.
"No wonder that we can believe Thomas Haden Church as Jack, a boyish, lustful monument to immaturity, in "Sideways." Church is great in the role, but he's 43. "
Really? Huh. I thought he was around 40 over a decade ago when he was on "Wings".
____________________________________________________________
He's got that seamed, leathery look. Think Nick Nolte or Tommy Lee Jones. Those guys never looked young even when they were.
What a terrible remake of "The Great Imposter (1960)" starring Tony Curtis.
Yeah, what I wrote was a broad brushstroke, no doubt boomers here at FR are less characteristic.
Merry Christmas ya whipper snapper!
I find many Boomer characteristics objectionable. I call them the Generation that discovered everything and learned nothing.
....This is a stupid article........
I can't disagree.
The assignment was 600 words or so...... he had to write something. And these were those that came out.
He omitted one important visual. All thoe oldtime movies depict men wearing ties, and generally suits. Even the cowboy movies have men in suits and ties. The same is true of women. They are dressed in an almost formal manner.
This mild foremality translates visually as looking older.
Speaking for boomers.....who gives a flying **** what you think.
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
I think that DiCaprio is a poor example to use...
He gives me that creep michael jackson feeling.. he has been in the spotlight so long that he doesn't know what his true age is, he has been protected from the real world. All you need to do is refer to some of the press he has gotten outside of his movie roles.. acting like a prima donna...
1) None of the actors the author named are boomers, they're all Xers.
2) She picks on things like Zellweger's voice and DiCaprio's infamous boyish looks. Both physical attributes that have absolutely nothing to do with growing up. Love Leo or hate him, admit that he can't help looking like that.
I do believe you're correct.
Ahh, I'm guessing you mean "twit"
Merry Christmas.
"Heh heh. He said 'twit.'"
Merry Christmas to you too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.