Paul Newman

[beautifulduckweed]

The pang of grief I felt when I found out last week that Paul Newman had died surprised me. I haven't seen too many movies of his, but all three of the ones I've seen blew me away: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Hustler and Cool Hand Luke. The Hustler is my favorite of the bunch; I wept at the end of the movie.

It occurred to me then that all of Newman's roles I've seen so far have been anti-heroes. Given how good-looking he was (seriously: I almost expect space-time to warp around him from the sheer weight of his beauty), I respect the substance he brought to his roles, because it's so goddamn easy to coast on your good looks in Hollywood. (Halle Berry, I'm looking at you.)

Anyway, I'm determined to watch more Paul Newman films over the next few weeks. Here's a tentative list. Anyone who has suggestions to add, please feel free to chime in.

The Long, Hot Summer (Acquired)
The Young Philadelphians
Hud (Acquired)
The Secret War of Harry Frigg (apparently a crappy little WWII comedy, which is a sub-genre I have a soft spot for)
Sometimes a Great Notion (Jesus, I had no idea they made this into a movie; the book was one hot mess and I'm kind of afraid to see what the hell they did in the film adaptation)
The Sting (Acquired)
The Verdict (Acquired)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Acquired)
Torn Curtain
The Outrage (It features William Shatner! It's another Western adaptation of a Kurosawa movie! Yay!)
What a Way to Go! (More a Shirley Maclaine movie than anything else, but man, it sure features a lot of famous people. Also, an exclamation point in the title.)

Comments

reprazent

[li-kao.livejournal.com]

For a while there I thought I was all alone in my mourning.

Thanks, internet!

Re: reprazent

[misshepeshu.livejournal.com]

If you lived anywhere nearby, you'd be top on my list of invitees, dude.

[empty-fork.livejournal.com]

well? are you also determined to share your viewing with your undernewmaned friend public, perhaps with a step in which you give me access to the google calendar you probably will be using to schedule showings? mm-hm!

[misshepeshu.livejournal.com]

Oooh, a calendar! Hmmm. A good idea, but we'll see if I'm nearly that organized. I've put a bunch of movies on hold at the library, and I'll try to think of the best system--I think probably a combination of e-mail and Livejournal. I'm going to try and make Friday nights Newman Nights for the next few months. Food and Paul Newman movies! Yay!

[benefitz.livejournal.com]

And of course you'll have Newman's popcorn, right? RIGHT?!?

[misshepeshu.livejournal.com]

Dear dorklepantse: I will pour salad dressing all over your butt. Love, Candy.

[paraleipsis.livejournal.com]

I think Twilight was underrated; I don't remember whether the story was all that brilliant, but it's very much worth watching for the performances.

[misshepeshu.livejournal.com]

Excellent! Duly noted.

[incidentist.livejournal.com]

I need to see these too. Haven't even seen Cool Hand Luke. I need to re-watch The Sting, and devote full attention to it this time.

[misshepeshu.livejournal.com]

DUDE. Watch Cool Hand Luke. It's amaaaaaaazing.

You're another one of my far-away friends who, if you lived anywhere close to here, I'd totally strong-arm into attending Newman Fridays.