Walter Hill

..and why not?
Sneelock

Walter Hill

Postby Sneelock » 14 Feb 2007, 20:31

best known for producing the Alien movies.
next best known for how good 48 Hours was.
next next best known for how godawful upchuckingly bad Another 48 Hours was.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001353/
this is the type of guy I LOVE to talk about. I think some of his work stands with the very best in his field. I think some of his work is the absolute bottom of the barrel.

this could get lively if anybody cares!

me, I'm a BIG fan of 'Hard Times' with maybe three others tied for second.

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Matt Wilson
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Postby Matt Wilson » 14 Feb 2007, 20:36

Never saw Hard Times.
Liked 48 Hours in high school.

Um, enjoyed his "production" on the Alien films?

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toomanyhatz
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Postby toomanyhatz » 14 Feb 2007, 20:41

My favorite thing about him is his fondness for hiring Ry Cooder to do soundtrack music. The incidental music for Trespass is one of the greatest soundtracks ever, though I never saw the movie. Brewster's Millions and the original 48 Hours are good (not great) movies. Crossroads, not so much...
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marios

Postby marios » 14 Feb 2007, 20:51

The Warriors is the one for me. Haven't seen Hard Times though.

And Last Man Standing, his version of Yojimbo set in the prohibition, is better than most people think. Not great, not even very good, but at least good enough to keep me watching for 100 minutes.

Sneelock

Postby Sneelock » 14 Feb 2007, 20:53

Willis just didn't cut it for me. he can be a very capable actor, I just didn't really connect with him in that one.

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Matt Wilson
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Postby Matt Wilson » 14 Feb 2007, 20:54

Sneelock wrote:Willis just didn't cut it for me. he can be a very capable actor, I just didn't really connect with him in that one.


True.
And I haven't connected with him in anything since the '90s.

The definition of "has-been."

The Modernist

Postby The Modernist » 14 Feb 2007, 21:20

I can't believe no one's mentioned The Driver yet. This is one of the best films of the seventies, an American cousin to La Samourai. It has wonderfully gritty and bleak tone refusing to romanticise its subject. Ryan O' Neal delivers the best performance of his career, as the getaway driver who strips everything in his life down to this one existential act. Great, great film.
I also love Southern Comfort, one of the best directors of his era.

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Ranking Ted
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Postby Ranking Ted » 14 Feb 2007, 21:34

The Warriors is a hoot and Southern Comfort is Deliverance's fun little brother. Anybody who casts Fred Ward and James Remar's a good un in my book.

Caaaaaaaaaaan yooooooooouuuuuuu diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitt???????

The Modernist

Postby The Modernist » 16 Feb 2007, 20:29

Surely I can't be the only one who rates The Driver so highly?

Sneelock

Postby Sneelock » 16 Feb 2007, 20:41

oh, it's great! I didn't really have anything to add. I agree that it's one of his best. a lot of his movies, even ones I like, can be kind of "lunk-headed" (I wish I could think of a better word. I tried)

I'm a sucker for a 'cat and mouse' thing especially when it's done this well. Ryan O'Neal is a weird actor for me. He's in so many films I rate and doesn't de-rail any of them. I think maybe I underestimate the guy and then I see something like 'The Main Event' and bite my tongue. He seems to be just fine when he has a strong director.

I like how much of a throwback 'The Driver' is. These procedural type movies had been pretty "Dirty Harry-ized" by that time so it was refreshing to see a good old fashioned hard boiled thing. also, I think Hill was ahead of the curve in a lot of ways. it really has a feel to it. a feel that doesn't really feel like the late 70's. the action aspect of it feels like later, the cop/robber dynamic like the heydey of American Crime Movies.

I won't knock 'The Driver', I love it. I prefer 'Hard Times' because I'm a sucker for a good "metaphor for the depression" movie. It and Robert Aldrich's "Emperor of the North" really hit the jackpot for me. I'm not sure why. older family members never really talked about the depression all that much. maybe it's just a setting that I enjoy for movies, I'm not sure.


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