I can't stand people my age.
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davidwile — 14 years ago(October 17, 2011 10:39 PM)
Hey folks,
Sometime in 1964 or 1965 I read the "Sand Pebbles" novel which was not exactly a skinny fast read. I was absolutely captivated by it, and I read it again before the film came out a year or two later. The novel's author made the characters so real for me, and the story lacked nothing as far as I was concerned. I enjoyed McQueen and several other actors who were cast in the film, so I looked forward to seeing how this great story played out on film.
As great as I thought the book was, I also thought the film measured up in every way. The Jake Holman I read on the pages was the same Jake Holman I saw on the screen. I was not watching Steve McQueen; it was Jake Holman I was watching. My brother has a list of his "Top 10 Films" that does sometimes change over time, but I have never been able to come up with ten films to call my "Top 10 Films." I can assure you, however, that if you ask me to start on my "Top 10 Films," then "Sand Pebbles" would certainly be one of them.
The book just might also be one of my "Top 10 Books" if I had such a book list. "Sand Pebbles" is simply a great story whether it is read in print or seen on film.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile -
Clintessence — 14 years ago(October 18, 2011 05:12 PM)
Hey Dave,
Here we go again, being on the same page. I am a huge McQueen fan, and this has always been my favorite film of his. When it came out in 1967, my buddies and I were so impressed with it that I'll bet we saw it almost a half-dozen times. -
davidwile — 14 years ago(October 18, 2011 07:02 PM)
Hey Larry,
I really liked most of McQueen work on TV as well as the big screen, but I do have a problem with his personal lifestyle. Then again, I feel that way about a lot of actors - I like their work but would not care for their company. Some folks will say that McQueen simply was playing McQueen on the screen, but I would disagree with that. I would submit to you that McQueen was most definately Jake Holman in the Sand Pebbles. I would also submit that McQueen was pretty much the character he was playing in all his films as I recall. Especially his performance in the Sand Pebbles, he was my idea of Jake Holman which was based on the written story in the book as well as the screen play. Did I mention that I liked the Sand Pebbles?
Best wishes,
Dave Wile -
sanookdee — 14 years ago(February 14, 2012 05:15 PM)
Several years ago, a website had people vote for the 10 greatest films in history (sorry, don't remember the site). The results were broken down by age, teens to mid 20's, mid 20's to 40 and 40 and above. The results were interesting. The #1 movie for the young group was "The Matrix" and other, amazingly, included an Adam Sandler movie. The Oldest group had films like "Bridge over the River Kwai", "Lawrence of Arabia", "Dr Zhivago", "Gone with the Wind", etc. "The Sand Pebbles" is one of my top 10 movies but, after reading the book, I think the screen writers could have done a better job. But, to follow the book more closely, the movie would have to have been 4 or 5 hours long at least. If you have not read the book, may I suggest reading it. It's very, very good and give you more insight into many parts of the movie. Especially the Hoh-mang, Frenchy, Poh-han and Maily friendship.
Sadly, they don't make movies like this anymore. Movies like this would bomb at the box office today and be very expensive to make. The movie going public prefers movies full of CGI and special effects. -
nickm2 — 14 years ago(February 14, 2012 11:26 PM)
"Sadly, they don't make movies like this anymore. Movies like this would bomb at the box office today and be very expensive to make. The movie going public prefers movies full of CGI and special effects."
Well as movies probably they wouldbut as a cable miniseries? THAT might be worth making -
sanookdee — 14 years ago(February 15, 2012 05:44 PM)
Sadly, directors don't usually like to retell a story but have to make it "their own". Other movies like "Flight of the Phoenix" and "Star Trek" come to mind. If the Sand Pebbles were to be remade, it would be full of politically correct nonsense as well. Probably have a rap music sound track too. There would also be historical inaccuracies in a remake as well, I am sure and the swearing by the sailors would be full of the F word too. In the book, the sailors used the word "prong" instead of the F word. Richard Crenna, Steve McQueen and Mako would all be hard acts to follow.
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apache67 — 14 years ago(March 18, 2012 10:52 AM)
Hang in there. Stick to your guns. Be secure that you have a better and more sophisticated taste in films. Sad to say you are right when you talk about people your age and their attention span etc. Unfortunately its a generation that's been raised on reality TV and that has Kim Kardashian and Snooky as role models. The destruction of American youth. But once in a while you do come across young people like you that against all odds have been able to keep some prespective of what quality entertainment is. And that is very refreshing for us "older" folks. You are not alone and in the long run you'll be better off. My nephew is 20 and he sounds to be very much like you. He is able to think with his head and sort through all the crap that is thrown at him by today's entertainment industry. It also has to do I think with your environment and how you were raised and what you were exposed to by your parents. Hang in there. You're doing fine and keep watching good films.