A Tribute

tencommandments2-17[1]  On a somber note, we here would like to comment on the passing of cinema legend, Charlton Heston.  To me, he was the man who defined the epic movie actor.  To be sure, there have been others whom I have thought as great and emblematic of their time, but ol' Chuck stands above them all in my book.  I think growing up, I saw more of him than any of the others, with the many great dramatic must-see epics that were thankfully also quite family-friendly.  His accolades are many, staring from classic Biblical and historical roles as Moses and El Cid to the far reaches of Sci-Fi in films like Planet of the Apes.  Additionally, he brings to mind what I think is the greatest movie scene ever, namely, the chariot race from Ben-Hur.  He was the perfect man to play the larger than life hero, the star of a somewhat bygone age in history.  Truly quite the memorable star.  for you movie renters out there, you should really pick up a few of his movies and remember a true giant of film.  Here are some suggestions:

The Ten Commandments: Get your fill of Old Testament action, with Heston parting the Red Sea, and a great performance by Yul Brenner as Pharaoh. "Let my people go!"

Ben-Hur:  As I mentioned before, the chariot race is not to be missed, nor is the famous Roman galley sequence.  Despite its somewhat secondary nature to the main plot, I think this is my favorite movie portrayal of the gospel story.

Planet of the Apes:  Of course, I'm talking about the old one here, the one with Heston, the good one (man, do I hate remakes!).  Who could forget the memorable parting line..."Oh God...you finally really did it. You Maniacs! You blew it up! damn you all to hell!"

A Touch of Evil:  A young and, oddly enough, Mexican Heston shares the screen with that behemoth, Orson Welles.

Soylent Green:  "Soylent Green is PEOPLE!"

Julius Caesar:  "I come not to bury Caesar..." and you all know the rest.

The Omega Man:  For you misguided souls out there thinking of checking out Will Smith's I Am Legend, here is the best rendition of the story (one of the others being Vincent Price's Last Man on Earth.  This just goes to show you how derivative Hollywood has become-Smith's version is, to my knowledge, the forth movie to be made from the same book.  Unbelievable.).

 

For a more in-depth obituary, please follow the link below...

Appreciation: Charlton Heston - TIME

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cancertown

Image
Things are really starting to warm up in this part of the world, and that brings along all kinds of problems.  The air quality around these parts is already low, between the waste disposal methods, the lack emission standards, and all the sand swirling about.  The heat has begun to have an unpleasant greenhouse-like effect of trapping all kinds of pollutants and odors around the camp.  The last few days this has been especially problematic around our little living area of “Microtown.”  The sunny and dust storm-free weather has encouraged most folks to enjoy the outdoors more than usual.  Unfortunately, most of them have also used this opportunity to indulge in lighting up some variation of vile weed.  Walking up and down the rows, you can see groups of soldiers dangling cigarettes, lighting up Cuban cigars, trying out a hookah, and even one or two with a pipe.  The convergence of all these smokers and the heat of the evening was suffocating.  Ev...
Read more

A Trip to the Market

This morning I attached my little buddy (an amazingly small Sony RX0) to the old scooter to give you guys a look at a typical Saturday trip to the nearest legitimate supermarket. Relatively speaking, it isn't a long trip, and one that isn't difficult to accomplish by foot. I prefer to scoot there and back because carrying groceries over an extended distance is a pain. And then the return trip. Here I take the main road back, for comparison purposes. I do not enjoy this more direct route, though it is a bit quicker. It is also noisier, marginally more polluted, and obviously somewhat riskier. So...SUCCESS! Groceries were acquired, and now I have plenty of time to prepare my "famous" chicken curry.
Read more

Talking Hands

Just recently, I've had the privilege of reading through Margalit Fox's Talking Hands . I've read quite a few books while I've been over here, some good, some bad, and some that barely make the category of literature. Fox's book is, ostensibly, about her experience observing linguists decoding sign language in a Beduin town in Palestine. What makes the language unique is that unlike most other part of the world, almost everyone speaks sign language in this town. This sign language was born out of necessity; the incidence of deafness in this community is quite high, relative to the worldwide average. Now perhaps you are someone who considers linguistic and academic pursuits to be dull and useless to you; I would certainly encourage you to think again about this book. Because the beautiful thing about it is that Fox has actually created a book that is really three books in one, a rather impressive feat, if I may say so myself. This is, naturally, her description of th...
Read more