dedek Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 I saw some comments on one of the Heston flicks they showed tonight, Major Dundee, that referenced the relationship between these two, or at least Heston's opinion of Peckinpah. Tonight Bob told a humorous story about the making of Major Dundee: For awhile, Sam and Charlton shared an office so they could co-edit the script among other things. Both men would pace as they thought, and sometimes they would physically run into each other. Peckinpah eventually bisected the room with tape and they successfully each used their separate 'pacing areas' for the remainder. lol. ah, but now one of my favorite epics, Ben Hur (I'm hoping the 1925 version comes up soon, I've never seen it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaytonf Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 >dedek: >I'm hoping the 1925 version comes up soon, I've never seen it You're in luck! It will be shown this Thursday at 8:00 pm, eastern, as part of Ramon Novarro's day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyblonde7 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 I caught when TCM was talking about the 1925 version of Ben Hur. It's looks Great! I would love to see the entire movie. But I must say Charlton Heston was Great as Ben Hur! He was a great actor who doesn't get the respect he deserves these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedek Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share Posted August 6, 2013 crazyblonde, the discussion i referred to was concerning Heston's performance in Major Dundee (1965), which they showed tonight, and I agree Heston's performance in that was somewhat lacking. And I think he has played several roles better than he did judah ben-hur. however, i still watch ben hur every time it comes on lol. and as far as the 1925 version of ben hur showing on thursday, yay! i'm dogsitting at my mother's until tomorrow night but i'm going to go set my tivo to record it (can do it over the net)! i guess it makes sense they were going to show it since they've been showing that "trailer" (no, it's not a real trailer, it's more like a tcm-made trailer) for a couple weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorch Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Maybe Sam and Chuck bumped one too many times. While shooting in Mexico, Sam told Chuck to lead his cavalry down a hill at a trot toward him on a camera crane. Heston did so, and Sam berated him for coming too slow. Heston shouted back that he came at a trot, as ordered. Sam became enraged and called Chuck a liar and used several profanities. Heston wheeled his horse toward Sam and drew his saber. Peckinpah screamed for the camera operator to crank it up. It raised just high enough for Heston come thundering underneath and having his saber just miss Sam's bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 crazyblonde, I think a lot of that has to do with his association with the NRA late in his life. I'll admit I have no respect for the NRA, but it's unfair to Heston to dismiss his entire film career based on that late in life association. I couldn't care less about it. Heston WAS clearly over 21, and an American, and his personal choices in life were his to make. It's the same with my feelings about Ronald Reagan. I had no use for him as president, but I STILL enjoyed his old movies, and thought he was very capable as an actor. But once he became president, many of his POLITICAL detractors only brought up *Bedtime For Bonzo* , and dismissed his acting career as that of a third rate hack. Heston was great. I loved many of his movies, and never held his NRA connection against him. How COULD I? I loved my BROTHER, too. And HE was a member! Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyblonde7 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Nice post Sep! I still have the image in my head of Heston holding the rifle like he held the staff when he played Moses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaytonf Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Now that he's cold and dead, do you think there will be anyone to pry the gun from his hands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorch Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 The mocking of an actor's political beliefs should not enter the discussion of his craft, especially on this forum. Sure, Mr. Heston was a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment but I fail to understand how that permits some people with opposing views to post snarky remarks about his career and life. It sounds as if most of you are fans of Jim Carrey's disgraceful video - Cold Dead Hands - wherein he tries to diminish Heston's body of work and desecrate his grave by (badly) impersonating him and villifying his pro gun stance. Yet Carrey still appears in movies gleefully mowing down people with guns and employs squads of private armed security. Go figure. Please let's focus on the artist's screen legacy and not impose our own personal views on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeHolman Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 > {quote:title=darkblue wrote:}{quote}His screen legacy? He's one of the hammiest, yet one-noted, actors of all time and his movies suck because of it (with the exception of 'Touch of Evil' and I'm sure Orson Welles is the man to thank for that). Just your little opinion little boy blue. Jake in the Heartland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Wow, dark. Gotta say while I'm not the biggest Heston fan you'll ever meet, of all his many roles, I always found him MUCH more believable as Moses and Ben-Hur than I ever did a the Mexican police agent in that Orson Welles film. Yep, MUCH more. I just could never get past the "brown face" shtick he fails to pull off in that one. Nope, sorry, but he was totally miscast. (...and to tell ya the truth, in addition to his title role in "Will Penny", another of my favorite Heston roles was as the hard-azzed ranch boss in "The Big Country", 'cause he's well cast in that role, does an excellent job in it and is the perfect counterpoint to the Gregory Peck character) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorch Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 This is exactly my point. We should stick to a discussion of what's on the screen, not what politics are held by an individual when off screen. Sure, we aren't going to agree about every actor's professional capabilities - that's part of the fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyblonde7 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 In agree with you Gorch! I hate politics anyway. Heston was a Great actor. I rather watch him than Tom Cruise and George Clooney! Heck! He was even better looking than them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Hmmmm...isn't Heston a bit tall for your tastes, cb??? (...I thought you liked 'em a bit shorter and preferably with a "New York City street toughness" about 'em???) LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 In the Johhny Depp vehicle *Ed Wood* , actor VINCENT D'ONOFRIO plays Welles in a scene that has Welles himself dismiss "EVIL" as a stupid movie with a miscast Heston. Indeed, ANTHONY QUINN, an actual Mexican, was still young enough to have done that part, but ironically, Quinn had fewer film roles where he was Mexican than he did playing Italians and Greeks. Gotta love Hollywood! Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 MAJOR DUNDEE is just not a very good film. It had a good cast, but the basic story was boring. It might have been an interesting film at 1 hr and 15 mintues, but at more than 2 hours it is just boring. Similar situations happen over and over again. Most of the battle scenes were shot day for night and are not realistic, because we can't see any gunfire or cannon fire or camp fires. The battle scenes look like daytime scenes that are about 3 f. stops under exposed. A few years ago, Heston said in an interview that aired on TCM that he asked the studio not to stop the production, and he would take no pay if they continued it. He said they did continue it and he received no pay for making this film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorch Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Right on the money, Fred C. It was a troubled production from the beginning: there was no finished shooting script, the studio shortened the shooting schedule and the budget, the director despised the producer, the locations in Mexico were all over the map, Senta Berger's character was shoehorned into the mess, the director was a roaring drunk, the producer also barred the director from the editing room and foisted a jaunty Mitch Miller sing along song as the main title. Heston did work for free when the studio took him up on his offer to forego his salary in order to complete shooting. A reporter later asked Heston if he was starting a trend for other actors. He replied that he wasn't even starting a trend with himself. Yet the film does have a cult following (acknowledging that Charles Manson had one as well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeHolman Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 Charlton Heston's Resume: 1. *The Ten Commandments* 2. *El Cid* 3. *Ben Hur* 4. Planet of the Apes 1968 5. The Big Country 6. The Naked Jungle 7. Will Penny 8. Touch of Evil 9. 55 Days at Peking 10. The War Lord *Secret of the Incas Jake in the Heartland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyblonde7 Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 Dargo2, You forgot I like Blue Eyes, Red or Blonde hair. How tall or short a man is don't matter to me because most men are taller than me. I'm only 5'3". However 6'2" is too tall for me. How tall was Chuck. I'll have to look him up. No pun intended! :^0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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