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Sam Neill has died

theguardian.com

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Re: Sam Neill has died

#91

Post by lopsotronic »

mulhoon wrote: post #23

I watched Possession (1981) a few weeks back. One of the weirdest films I’ve ever seen. His acting was so different from his later stuff.

One of my favorite horror films of the 1980s, Andrzej Żuławski's 1981 Possession.

One quote I heard about it, is that some movies are about madness, and other movies seem to be themselves mad, and Possession is one of those movies. It has this immediacy to it, and an unease that only grows in quantity and tenor. And you genuinely do not know where it is going. Believe me when I say this.

It might be Sam's most memorable performance, for me. The movie seemed to drive its entire cast and crew to exhaustion or worse.

Do not under any circumstances watch the old American cut, the initial release. It was re-edited with scenes out of order and has this bizarro solarization effect at random intervals. It's really really bad. The modern blu-ray and others have the actual movie.

Re: Sam Neill has died

#92

Post by saalweachter »

mindcrash wrote: post #36

Jurassic Park was the first movie I saw as a twelve year old boy at the cinema, and it not only made me a huge fan of the series but as a boy I was really into dinosaurs and it was really something to see them being "real" on a big screen for the first time. "I have a theory that there are two kinds of boys. There are those that want to be astronomers, and those that want to be astronauts[...]That's the difference be…

I really appreciate the attempt by Chris & Jack to make Julysixth Park a thing.

I enjoyed Star Wars, but I kind of feel like a lot of my feelings towards it are just reflected nostalgia from the writers and comedians who grew up a generation before me.

Jurassic Park may not have been the first movie I saw in theaters, but it was still one of the movies of my childhood. The magic of it, and the experience of where we saw it -- the Mesker Park amphitheatre, in an outdoor showing, and then walking back to the car in the dark, past the Mesker Park Zoo, looking into the dark foliage and imagining dinosaurs.

Re: Sam Neill has died

#93

Post by jhickok »

TrackerFF wrote: post #22

I’ve watched “In The Mouth of Madness” so many times. It is in my top 3 most re-watched horror movies list. Perfect Lovecraftian horror, and Sam Neill was perfect in it. Do you read Sutter Cane?

It's a great movie! One of the best attempts at capturing a Lovecraftian vibe, maybe only bested by The Thing or his excellent Event Horizon.

Re: Sam Neill has died

#94

Post by rconti »

1313ed01 wrote: post #34

RIP. Here in Sweden the headlines mention primarily his role in Ivanhoe, a movie that has aired on Swedish TV almost every New Years for over 40 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanhoe_(1982_film) He posted this video message to the Swedish people for New Years 2023: https://www.svt.se/kultur/ivanhoe-skadespelarens-nyarshalsni... Great movie.

That was mentioned in the Guardian piece as well-- can you help explain the particular appeal of this film in Sweden?

Re: Sam Neill has died

#95

Post by [deleted] »

wewewedxfgdf wrote: post #45
Findecanor wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a touchy subject. When you have it, you don't want to think about it all the time.

You misunderstand - the message is he was far more interested in living and what he could do with his life and genuinely found the cancer not interesting compared to other things. He wasn't just being touchy and trying to change the subject.

[deleted]

Re: Sam Neill has died

#96

Post by lysace »

rconti wrote: post #94
1313ed01 wrote: post #34

RIP. Here in Sweden the headlines mention primarily his role in Ivanhoe, a movie that has aired on Swedish TV almost every New Years for over 40 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanhoe_(1982_film) He posted this video message to the Swedish people for New Years 2023: https://www.svt.se/kultur/ivanhoe-skadespelarens-nyarshalsni... Great movie.

That was mentioned in the Guardian piece as well-- can you help explain the particular appeal of this film in Sweden?

Not them, but: It's a cozy/calm kind of movie. The cinematography is excellent.

Repeatedly being TV broadcast on jan 1st for many years turned it into a tradition for something to watch while being hung over.

It's also actually surprisingly good, as a whole.

Re: Sam Neill has died

#97

Post by symfoniq »

Besides his role in Jurassic Park, I will always appreciate Sam Neill’s understated but important role as Borodin, the reliable and loyal First Officer in The Hunt for Red October. His character’s death (a change from the book) added emotional weight to the story.

Re: Sam Neill has died

#98

Post by jawilson2 »

saalweachter wrote: post #92
mindcrash wrote: post #36

Jurassic Park was the first movie I saw as a twelve year old boy at the cinema, and it not only made me a huge fan of the series but as a boy I was really into dinosaurs and it was really something to see them being "real" on a big screen for the first time. "I have a theory that there are two kinds of boys. There are those that want to be astronomers, and those that want to be astronauts[...]That's the difference be…

I really appreciate the attempt by Chris & Jack to make Julysixth Park a thing. I enjoyed Star Wars, but I kind of feel like a lot of my feelings towards it are just reflected nostalgia from the writers and comedians who grew up a generation before me. Jurassic Park may not have been the first movie I saw in theaters, but it was still one of the movies of my childhood. The magic of it, and the experience of where we…

Same, I was born in '81, and JP is a cornerstone of my childhood, more-so than any other movie I can think of. I saw that movie at the theatre more than any other, at least 6 times that summer.

My favorite was at a drive-in in Kentucky. We used to rent boats at Lake Cumberland over the summer, and one night we watched JP at a drive-in. I remember the drive back to the dock late at night, driving through the woods, and imagining it was a Jurassic jungle. Then, back on the houseboat, going reading through my "Making of Jurassic Park" book with a battery operated book light.

Re: Sam Neill has died

#99

Post by frantathefranta »

rconti wrote: post #94
1313ed01 wrote: post #34

RIP. Here in Sweden the headlines mention primarily his role in Ivanhoe, a movie that has aired on Swedish TV almost every New Years for over 40 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanhoe_(1982_film) He posted this video message to the Swedish people for New Years 2023: https://www.svt.se/kultur/ivanhoe-skadespelarens-nyarshalsni... Great movie.

That was mentioned in the Guardian piece as well-- can you help explain the particular appeal of this film in Sweden?

The traditions are present in (probably) every European country. I think it's a combination of:

* One public broadcasting channel 40-50 years ago

* Someone decided to play a movie in the holiday period when most people sat around a TV

Norway has Tre nøtter til Askepott, Germany has Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel (they are the same Czech movie).

Re: Sam Neill has died

#100

Post by Lord-Jobo »

olivierestsage wrote: post #51

Rest in peace. Like many here, his performances were hugely influential on my childhood (and adulthood). One I haven’t seen mentioned here yet is Merlin.

The whole miniseries is (or was very recently) free on YouTube. I recommend it, it’s very unique and interesting
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