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Charlton Heston

Nymr83 Apr 05 2008 10:35 PM

Dead at 84.

AG/DC Apr 05 2008 10:39 PM

Wow, bigger than life. Who is going to have to guts to pry that rifle free?

Valadius Apr 05 2008 11:41 PM

"Guns don't kill people, apes with guns kill people."

Nymr83 Apr 06 2008 02:56 AM

hahaha

Frayed Knot Apr 06 2008 06:03 AM

Definitely had his share of notable exclamatory movie lines: - Get your paws off me you damn, dirty ape!' - 'Soylent Green is People!' - 'Let my people go!'

bmfc1 Apr 06 2008 07:28 AM

You may now pry his gun from his hands.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 06 2008 07:40 AM

Damn you. Damn you all to hell!

AG/DC Apr 06 2008 11:56 AM

bmfc1 wrote: You may now pry his gun from his hands. Beat you, brother.

bmfc1 Apr 06 2008 01:13 PM

Indeed you did, sir.

AG/DC Apr 06 2008 01:19 PM

The nuttiest film lines to fall from Heston's mouth have to be from The Omega Man.

metirish Apr 06 2008 02:10 PM

I remember watching the Michael Moore film where he went to visit Heston and feeling that Moore had ambushed an old guy that didn't seem to be of sound mind , never really cared all that much for Moore after that. BTW The Australian has him at 83 while others have him at 84, is that a time difference thing? http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23495906-601,00.html

AG/DC Apr 07 2008 09:28 AM

I never saw Bowling for Columbine, so I just YouTubed up his interview with Heston. Ugh.

AG/DC Apr 07 2008 09:41 AM

Rockin' Doc Apr 07 2008 10:51 AM

I will gladly add Omega Man to the list of movies that I have never seen and have been confirmed that I didn't miss out on anything worthwhile. I believe that avoidance continues to be the prudent policy regarding that movie.

Vic Sage Apr 07 2008 03:28 PM

I liked it better than I AM LEGEND. But I have a definite soft spot (the top of my head, perhaps?) for 70s-era SF films. I'll put together a 70s sf filmography.

Nymr83 Apr 07 2008 04:34 PM

i like paint drying more than "i am legend" but back to Heston, which is his most memorable or enduring role? to me its certainly Moses (i didnt just choose the picture at the top at random) but do others view his roles in El Cid, Ben-Hur, or another film as bigger?

Benjamin Grimm Apr 07 2008 05:40 PM

When I think of Heston (the actor) the first movie I think of is always Planet of the Apes.

MFS62 Apr 07 2008 06:32 PM

MMYF saw Heston walking in New York City a few years after he had played Moses. She tells me that he walked the same clomping way in shoes as he had wearing sandals in that role. Later

AG/DC Apr 07 2008 07:42 PM

Charlton Heston. You loved him. You feared him. There was no actor like him. And now you can have all of him with: Charlton Heston's Greatest Hits! Yes, thrill to the moments that moved us all like they're happening again for the first time. You'll get... Planet of the Apes! "Get your paws off me you damn, dirty ape!" And Omega Man! "Get your paws off me you damn, dirty zombie!" Yes, there's nobody like Charlton Heston. Best friend to Martin Luther King and Ted Nugent. Only one man can make such a claim. And that's why your collection won't be complete without Charlton Heston's Greatest Hits! Bring your family together and relive them all, from... The Ten Commandments! "Get your paws off me you damn, dirty Egyptian!" To Ben Hur! "Get your paws off me you damn, dirty... Roman!" No, you'll never tire of Charlton Heston's Greatest Hits! Supplies are limited, so order now and we'll express ship to you the first installment Earthquake! "Get your paws off me you damn, dirty... aftershock!" How much would you pay for such a collection? One hundred dollars? Two hundred dollars? How about $29.99? That's right $29.99. "Get your paws off me you damn, dirty... money!" Charleton Heston's Greatest Hits. Operators are standing by.

themetfairy Apr 07 2008 07:55 PM

Some simultaneous loving spoof and homage -

SteveJRogers Apr 07 2008 08:04 PM

Heston showing how to do effective cameos in Wanye's World

Nymr83 Apr 07 2008 08:13 PM

funny scene.

Rockin' Doc Apr 08 2008 10:52 AM

Vic Sage - "I liked it better than I AM LEGEND...." I AM LEGEND is on that same list of mine.

Vic Sage Apr 09 2008 11:47 AM Heston filmography Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Apr 09 2008 12:06 PM

Charlton Heston may have had to change his name from its original “John Carter”, but he was, like Burroughs' Warlord of Mars, an epic hero just the same. He was an international screen icon for over 50 years, who symbolized Hollywood’s “epic hero” for generations of filmgoers. His reputation suffered in recent years, when his politics outstripped his artistic output, and his alzheimers made him appear feeble and bereft. But his was a career of depth and duration, and his work is largely underrated, as he often worked in critically dismissed genres of the western, war, adventure and SF, and his performances were often deemed “over the top”. But his work survives today because of the larger-than-life aura with which he could dominate a 70mm Technicolor image, projected in Cinerama, and vibrating with Sensurround. He was also an actor more serious about his craft than he was often given credit for. His first films were low budget adaptations of Peer Gynt (1941) and Julius Ceasar (1950), before the studio system went and made him a movie star. He would return to classic roles throughout his life, and would often choose secondary roles to work with great actors and directors, and often championed directors with the studios. He would eventually direct a few films himself. But he started out as a contract player for Paramount in the 1950s, and its there we begin. 1950s: Under Contract • Dark City (1950) – William Dieterle’s little known noir was Heston’s 1st leading role. Not memorable, but not bad. • The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) – DeMille circus epic made Heston a movie star. As with most of DeMille’s output, it’s a bloated spectacle, and doesn’t really hold up. But Heston gives it whatever grit it has. • The Savage (1952) – A decent western, with its pro-Indian theme a precursor to BROKEN ARROW and DANCES WITH WOLVES. • The President's Lady (1953) – This dull biopic of Pres. Andy Jackson had nice visuals • Pony Express (1953) – Heston is 'Buffalo Bill' Cody in this mediocre western • Arrowhead (1953) – This nasty, tough, racist little western has Heston as an Indian-hating scout. Worth a look. • The Naked Jungle (1954) – Chuck and his mail-order bride save his jungle plantation from ants! Pretty good, actually. • Secret of the Incas (1954) – Another good jungle adventure, INDIANA JONES style, is definitely worth a look. • The Far Horizons (1955) - Fred MacMurray is Lewis… Heston is Clark… and Donna Reed is Sacajawea (!?) Say no more. • The Private War of Major Benson (1955) – A decent “military academy” comedy shows Heston’s lighter side. • The Ten Commandments (1956) – DeMille’s bible epic, with Heston as an iconic Moses. Like his earlier DeMille film, this one propels Heston’s career to superstardom. But today its elephantine style makes it laughable. Throughout these years, Heston was also starring on the best of the live TV dramas of the period: Studio One, Playhouse 90, Philco Playhouse. But at the end of the 1950s, Heston left his Paramount contract and went to work for himself. He would go on to make epics all over the world, transcending the limitations of Hollywood to become an international superstar. 1958 – 1968: International Superstar • Touch of Evil (1958) – Heston insisted that Unversal hire Orson Welles as director, but ultimately the final cut was taken away by the studio, over Heston’s objections. Heston was unpersuasive as a Mexican cop. Nonetheless, this is a classic noir on the Mexican border. See the recut restored version. • The Big Country (1958) - William Wyler’s epic western, starring Gregory Peck. Heston took the 4th lead because he wanted to work with Peck, whom he admired, and director Wyler. Smart move. Wyler ended up casting him in “Ben-Hur.” • The Buccaneer (1958) – Heston reprises his role as Gen. Andrew Jackson in this solid Technicolor epic about pirate Jean Lafitte (Yul Brynner) and the Battle of New Orleans. • The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959) – Heston plays 2nd fiddle to his screen idol, Gary Cooper, in this decent UK sea saga/courtroom thriller. • Ben-Hur (1959) - Chuck won his Oscar (the pic won 11) for William Wyler’s Christian epic. This one cemented Heston’s image as super-heroic star of epics, and is probably his greatest screen accomplishment. Heston denied the existence of the homoerotic subtext injected by screenwriter Gore Vidal. Around this time, Heston was asked to be in John Wayne’s first directorial effort, THE ALAMO (1960). But, after campaigning for Adlai Stevenson and JFK during the last decade, and after being apposed to the McCarthy witch hunts, Heston passed on this project because he didn’t want to be associated with Wayne’s politics or the cold war allegory that Wayne wanted to make of the story. Later, after his conversion to conservatism in the 1970s, Heston regretted the decision. • El Cid (1961) – Heston is once again in full “epic hero” mode in Anthony Mann’s biopic of the Spanish hero, shot in 70mm; every “mm” was needed to contain the prodigous talents of Sophia Loren. • The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962) – modest WWII comedy got Chuck a GG nomination. Why? I don’t know. • 55 Days at Peking (1963) – another of Heston’s epic heroes; this time he’s caught up in the Boxer Rebellion, directed by Nick Ray, in glorious 70mm. Meanwhile, this same year, he took time out to march for civil rights with Martin Luther King, in Washington DC. • The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) – Another bible epic, this one by George Stevens, with Heston in the supporting role of John the Baptist. • Major Dundee (1965) – Heston nearly came to blows with director Sam Peckinpah during the shooting of this famously failed civil war western. Still, as he did in TOUCH OF EVIL, he supported Peckinpah with the studio, offering to return his entire paycheck so that Peckinpah could film some scenes that were cut due to time and budget problems. The producers took Heston's money but still refused to let the scenes be filmed. The films is a mess, but still worth seeing, in the restored cut. • The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) - Heston is a strangely heterosexual Michelangelo, painting the Sistine chapel and fighting with the pope. Much acclaimed in its day, but it has dated badly. • The War Lord (1965) – A solid ‘knights vs. barbarians” adventure. • Khartoum (1966) – The last of his historical epics, Heston portrays Gen. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon in one of his best performances. Heston became president of the Screen Actor’s Guild (1966-71), and in 1968, in the wake of the King and Kennedy assassinations, supported restrictive gun laws. He had visited troops in Vietnam in 1966, but was opposed to the war and felt that Nixon would be bad for America. He was asked to run for congress as a Democrat in California in 1969, but he wanted to keep acting. In 1970, he provided the narration for a MLK documentary. But, after nearly 2 decades as one of the biggest movie stars in the world, he was starting to age, and so were his characters. He ended up writing a new chapter of his career by becoming an SF & disaster movie icon of the 1970s. 1968-1978: from “epic hero” to pop culture icon • Will Penny (1968) – Just as Heston was contemplating his own mortality, this quiet, contemplative western indie features perhaps Heston’s most subtle and moving screen performance. He considered it his best performance, and it’s hard to argue. • Planet of the Apes (1968) – Heston starred in this exciting SF blockbuster that spawned an “ape” empire... many sequels, tv shows, merchandise, comics, etc., that garnered him new generations of fans • Number One (1969) - “Will Penny” director Tom Gries stars Heston in another story about a tough guy getting old, this time a washed-up QB. But this one lacked authenticity as a sports movie. • Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) – Heston has a small role in this inferior sequel. • The Hawaiians (1970) – Heston’s 3rd film with Gries, this sequel to Michener’s “Hawaii” is bloated melodrama. • Julius Caesar (1970)- 2nd of 3 times Heston played Marc Antony; they were all terrible films, but Heston isn’t bad. • The Omega Man (1971) - Heston’s SF cult classic adaptation of Matheson’s I AM LEGEND. It’s very 70s. Whether that’s good or bad depends greatly on your point of view. • Antony and Cleopatra (1972) – Heston directed himself in this international co-production; perhaps the worst of his Marc Antony performances. • Skyjacked (1972) - mediocre “disaster movie” with pilot Heston to play a similar role again in disastrous AIRPORT 75. • The Call of the Wild (1972) – Really bad adaptation of Jack London’s classic book. Heston considered it his worst movie, but my vote is for THE AWAKENING. • Soylent Green (1973) – The third of Heston’s classic 70s SF tryptich, it was also E.G. Robinson’s last movie. Good, solid SF movie. • The Three Musketeers (1973) / The Four Musketeers (1974) - Heston is a supporting player as villainous Cardinal Richelieu in these great Richard Lester adventure movies, shot back-to-back. • Airport 1975 (1974) – an awful disaster film, but not as bad as Airport77. • Earthquake (1974) – a slightly less awful disaster film, but featuring the new innovation of “Sensurround”! • The Last Hard Men (1976) – a solid western, with aging lawman Heston chasing after escaped con James Coburn and his gang. Tries to be a bit meaner but, after WILD BUNCH, most westerns seemed tame. Still, a decent flick with 2 legends banging heads… not great but probably his last decent movie. • Midway (1976) - Heston returns to historical epic mode (once again in “Sensurround”!) in this chintzy WWII naval battle movie that uses footage from TORA! TORA! TORA! • Two-Minute Warning (1976) – SWAT captain Heston chasing sniper at a football game…feh. • Crossed Swords (1977) – Richard Fleisher’s failed attempt to recapture spirit of recent MUSKETEER movies, with Heston in supporting role as Henry VIII • Gray Lady Down (1978) – This mediocre “U-boat” disaster movie was Chuck going through the motions. Heston had been at it for nearly 30 years at this point, and he was definitely on the back nine. And after the countercultural era of the 60s-70s, he started getting more involved with conservative political issues. In 1979, he rejected a role in Spielberg’s “1941” because he thought it mocked WWII veterans. He did the introduction for an anti-abortion documentary in 1980; in 1981, Reagan named him to his Arts commission. And his film career went down the drain. In decline • The Mountain Men (1980) – He co-starred with Brian Keith in this amiably mediocre western written by his son. • The Awakening (1980) – starring in crappy horror film = career in free fall. • Mother Lode (1982) – Another sign of a career in freefall is when you can’t get a studio to finance your movies anymore, so you have to go the “indie” route to direct your son’s script and feature yourself in “dual” roles. Heston worked exclusively in TV for the next decade, first in DYNASTY, and then its spinoff THE COLBYS. He directed himself in a tv-movie remake of A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS and his son wrote and directed his adaptation of TREASURE ISLAND and CRUCIFER OF BLOOD, where Chuck played Sherlock Holmes. However, Heston wasn’t seen on the big screen for over a decade, until he started doing voiceovers for documentaries and animated features, and cameos and small supporting roles in features, starting with "Wayne's World 2" (1993), through his last feature, playing Dr. Mengele in "My Father, Rua Alguem 5555" (2003). During these years, he supported Reagan, Bush and Dubya, got involved with Ralph Reed’s fringe conservative group, “Accuracy In Media”, and was president of the NRA for 12 years. His conversion to conservative Republicanism was similar to Reagan’s, with whom he had a lot in common. Both were former western stars who became SAG presidents before converting from liberal Democrats to conservative Republicans; and both died with Alzheimers. My personal view is that this latter condition had something to do with the former conversion. But that’s just my own view on the matter. Where Reagan and Heston diverged was in the impact on they had on the history of the American cinema. Heston not only had talent, he had a passion for the craft, and a love of those who practiced it. He took his work seriously, and had little patience for those who did not. As a result, Charlton Heston has left a legacy like that of Gary Cooper, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. These screen icons embodied the American heroic ideal… strong, stoic, principled and independent. You didn’t have to agree with them, but you knew were they stood. And they stood for a reason. So long, Chuck. And thanks for all the fish.

sharpie Apr 09 2008 11:59 AM

Another excellent assessment, Vic. Have you actually seen all 40-odd movies you list?

John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 09 2008 12:02 PM

You should write a whole film guide, I'd read it.

Vic Sage Apr 09 2008 12:04 PM

I've seen about half of them. As for the rest, when i give any criticial assessment, its based on other sources. But i don't say "worth a look" or "feh", or other recommedation or dismissal if i haven't seen it. I'll just say "acclaimed" or "mediocre" or "forgotten", without further comment, based on my research.

Vic Sage Apr 09 2008 12:14 PM

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: You should write a whole film guide, I'd read it. get me a publisher, Jonny boy. There's probably a compendium worth of my stuff on this website alone.

AG/DC Apr 09 2008 12:25 PM

Yeah, I'm already publishing those under my own name.

MFS62 Apr 09 2008 06:27 PM

Nice job, Vic Thanks. Later

Vic Sage Apr 10 2008 08:47 AM

AG/DC wrote: Yeah, I'm already publishing those under my own name. where are my royalties?

Vic Sage Apr 10 2008 08:48 AM

this thread should probably go into the film sub-forum, no?

AG/DC Apr 10 2008 09:03 AM

And you are....? *************** No seriously, good work. My only editorial advice --- and not some I always follow, sadly --- is not let being comprehensive interfere with keeping a compelling narrative. Lining up ten movies in a row with one line critiques like "Terrible, but he wasn't bad; horribly miscast, bloated, and embarassing; brilliant, a tour de force" is interesting in the micro, but in the macro takes to the reader in too many different directtions so they are no longer with you when you return to the broader themes of your essay --- say that this period of the actor's career was dominated by films filled with libertarian allegoriy. This is also a balance that Mets by the Numbers wrestles with. At the end of the chapter on each number, they list the guys who don't fit easily into the narrative, placing them under the heading "Also:..." but it doesn't stop them from tossing off an interesting line or two about each player's legacy in a number. When you assemble the manuscript for 30 Filmographies or 50 Filmographies or 100 Filmographies or whatever, I recommend you try that. Good luck. If fora like this are good for anything, it's that they help writers find their voice again.

MFS62 Apr 11 2008 04:21 PM

I didn't want to hijack this thread, so I sent the following comments to vic. He said they were interesting enough to post, so here they are. ] The character Heston played in Khartoum - "Pasha Gordon" - is a distant relative of my wife. Her great grandmother's maiden name was Gordon and is from the area in Russia where Gordon was British ambassador before going to Africa. Not sure if all the paperwork was signed, if you know what I mean (wink). The second is about Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil". IMO the best example of Welles' genius is in a scene that does not involve Heston. In that scene, the herroine wakes up in a bed, and the neon sign outside is flashing "Hotel" .. "Hotel". She opens her eyes and sees a dead man, face down, draped over the headboard. The room goes dark, then the light comes back on, and THEN she screams. I realized that this was the exact reaction someone would have if they woke up to such a sight. They would close their eyes to see if they were still dreaming, then open them again. And then reality would sink in. Welles used the light of the sign to emulate that. The scene was gone in the blink of an eye. But it is one of those brief moments we see in films that are testaments to brilliance. Later

Willets Point Apr 11 2008 09:15 PM

metirish wrote: I remember watching the Michael Moore film where he went to visit Heston and feeling that Moore had ambushed an old guy that didn't seem to be of sound mind , never really cared all that much for Moore after that. BTW The Australian has him at 83 while others have him at 84, is that a time difference thing? http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23495906-601,00.html I disagree. In the film, Moore requests an interview and Heston invites Moore into his house knowing that Moore is going to ask him questions regarding gun violence because he was the President of the NRA. There was no ambush. If anything, Moore was very respectful and Heston looked rude and cowardly walking out on the interview when the questions got tough.

AG/DC Apr 11 2008 10:26 PM

The question was why there is so much gun violence in America, compared to Canada, which has a huge ratio of guns per capita. The implication of the disparity he pointed out would seem to support the NRA contention, that guns don't kill people, but rather people do. But the question was, why America? Heston bites, and comes up with an interesting, but hard-to-support answer about the bloody history of America. Moore starts barking incredulously about Germany having a bloody history, and England having a bloody history. But Germany and England weren't the comparison Heston was being asked to make. In fact, Moore explicity states in his pre-amble that it's hard to get a gun in Britain and Germany. Alzheimer's claims your short-term memory first, and Heston was cornered, unsure where the bait-and-switch happened, but that's a sandbagging in my book. Heston was interviewed in 2002. His illness was public, but he was still titular head of the NRA. That may make him fair game, but at least be a straight shooter in pursuing him. I don't think being on the side of the angels on this or any issue validates Moore's merry prankster act.

TheOldMole Apr 12 2008 07:41 AM

You underrate "The Naked Jungle," freely adapted from the short story "Leinengen vs. the Ants." Heston gives a very strange performance as a darkly obssessed man who's in control of his precarious jungle world and determined to stay that way, in the face of ants or women. But this is great stuff, Vic. I've never seen "55 Days in Peking." will have to put it on my list. Where's your website? Where can I see more?

Vic Sage Apr 14 2008 10:00 AM

TheOldMole wrote: You underrate "The Naked Jungle," freely adapted from the short story "Leinengen vs. the Ants." Heston gives a very strange performance as a darkly obssessed man who's in control of his precarious jungle world and determined to stay that way, in the face of ants or women. But this is great stuff, Vic. I've never seen "55 Days in Peking." will have to put it on my list. Where's your website? Where can I see more? i don't think "pretty good, actually" is necessarily underrating NAKED JUNGLE, but i do agree that it has a strange kind of psychological complexity that you don't normally see in movies about fighting ants. As far as my "website', this is the only one i have. Alot of my movie stuff is in the movie sub-forum. I've been thinking of putting one together, but i'm so bad with computer stuff that it just hasn't happened. I do think i have enough content, and i create new stuff constantly, that it would be worth trying. But somebody would have to create a site for me, and make it really easy for me to update it regularly. that hasn't happened yet.

TheOldMole Apr 14 2008 06:08 PM

You might think about a blog. They're really easy to create. Basically, a site like Blogger does it all for you.

Willets Point Apr 16 2008 02:05 PM

I prefer WordPress and agree that a blog would be great for Vic. I think Edgy would make a great blogger too as he's always introducing new topics and ideas here that should be seen by a wider audience. As for Charlton Heston, I neglected to mention that I loved Ben Hur as a child and went through a phase where I thought Heston was the best actor ever, although I don't think I've ever seen any other Heston movies. I should watch it again and see if it holds up. They don't make Biblical epics like they used to.

Willets Point Apr 16 2008 02:22 PM

AG/DC wrote: Heston was interviewed in 2002. His illness was public, but he was still titular head of the NRA. That may make him fair game, but at least be a straight shooter in pursuing him. I don't think being on the side of the angels on this or any issue validates Moore's merry prankster act. I think you misjudge me if you believe that because I favor gun control and Moore favors gun control that I'm down with whatever Moore does. I know he's a bully who ambushes people and is basically obnoxious in getting his point across. I meant what I said - this segment in this particular film was done correctly. With permission he respectfully interviewed the most prominent anti-gun control advocate in the country and asked him some important if difficult questions. For what it's worth I think the central thesis of the film - why is gun violence so exceptional in the United States compared to other countries (one not answered in the film incidentally) - is an important question to try to answer. I think it's very telling that the President of the NRA ran away from the question as its the type of thing that gun rights advocates are always trying to avoid.

AG/DC Apr 16 2008 02:39 PM

Thanks. But what of the bait on and switch on that question? Don't you think that was unfair?

TheOldMole Apr 16 2008 03:49 PM

Wordpress is fine too. The point is, they're all intuitive to use -- easy as posting here. And I'd certainly read blogs by both Edgy and Vic.