William Holden
-
franzkabuki — 10 years ago(May 29, 2015 10:09 PM)
If anything, Lumet's underrated, in big part probably because he's usually not considered an auteur as he tended towards sort of an unobtrusive, "invisible" style, not making his presence obvious. However, how many directors are there who have, by my reckoning, up to 10 masterpieces or near-masterpieces on their resume? Well, Lumet has 12 Angry Men, The Pawnbroker, The Anderson Tapes, The Offence, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, Prince Of The City, The Verdict, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead bit hard to chalk this filmography up to coincidence. Also, even his lesser pictures tend to be worthwhile and interesting at least in some regards - just like with Robert Altman, there was always an alert intelligence and mature sensibility at work in his films (as someone noted, between 2006 and 2011, when Altman and Lumet died, Hollywood's collective IQ must have dropped by a half).
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan -
forever_swirl — 11 years ago(June 19, 2014 07:34 AM)
I agree that he does a really good job here. I just hated the whole faye dunaway romance. I thought they had no chemistry anyway.
I agree Finch should have been in the best supporting actor category and Holden would have won best actor then. It would have been something if they had won Oscars in all four categories. -
Harold_Robbins — 11 years ago(June 26, 2014 10:21 AM)
"This is one of William Holden's finest performances."
Just watched this for the first time since its theatrical release, and couldn't agree more. Finch may have had the more flamboyant, showy role, but Holden's quiet under-acting was rivetting. If you ask me, everyone who shares a scene with him is better in that scene because he's in it.
"In
my
case, self-absorption is
completely
justified." -
generalusgrant — 11 years ago(September 20, 2014 07:24 PM)
"Holden has always been a rather wooden and awkward actor with very limited range."
!?? Totally disagree. Perhaps he had a limited ranged, but so did many great actors, like Gable, Cooper, Cagney, Bogie, etc.
Holden was excellent in early roles like Sunset Blvd, Sabrina and The Country Girl. But this was his greatest performance. -
merryapril — 11 years ago(September 20, 2014 10:17 PM)
He's absolutely terrific in
Network- a much needed, soulful foil for just about every other character in the film (except for his wife Louise, portrayed by the beautiful and classy Beatrice Straight in her very brief but Oscar-winning performance). Max Schumacher was a great role that suited him to a t, and he played it to perfection.
William Holden was my favorite leading man when I was a little girl. Even today, I can't think of anyone I like better. In addition to the ones you mentioned generalusgrant,
Bridge On The River Kwai, Stalag 17, Picnic, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing and Born Yesterday
are all movies he starred in that I watch again and again.
His dance scene with Kim Novak in
Picnic
is pure magic.
- a much needed, soulful foil for just about every other character in the film (except for his wife Louise, portrayed by the beautiful and classy Beatrice Straight in her very brief but Oscar-winning performance). Max Schumacher was a great role that suited him to a t, and he played it to perfection.
-
merryapril — 11 years ago(September 21, 2014 04:53 PM)
Correct ecjones1951, I watched it last night!
I gather, after reading other threads on this board, that some people find
Network
too wordy and starkly moralistic. I can't disagree entirely, especially when it comes to William Holden's character Max as he's interacting with Faye Dunaway's Diana during their break up. Were it not for Dunaway's physical beauty and relative youth, it would be hard to believe a man like him would even be attracted to someone as manipulatively ambitious, shrill and amoral as she was. He knew she was all of those things, but I simply view him as an old fool who hoped he'd convince her to change. And such a vain hope required quite a bit of talking!
Still, I love the film and William Holden's portrayal of an over-the-hill newsman having a late-life crisis. -
ecjones1951 — 11 years ago(November 23, 2014 10:09 PM)
Excellent analysis of the Max/Diana relationship. Doesn't he tell his wife that (paraphrasing) he's been dead inside and Diana makes him feel alive? Pretty cruel thing to say to a wife who has remained loyal, (and most likely faithful) to him for 25 years, although he probably has had a number of affairs in that time.
-
merryapril — 11 years ago(October 07, 2014 09:49 PM)
Oh yeah pullman1881, I LOVE that film too even though I forgot to include it in my list!!! He was
just perfect
in it. There was a certain nasal(?) characteristic in his voice that really lent itself to cynical roles like Joe Gillis.