R.I.P. Martin Landau

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Big Magilla
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Re: R.I.P. Martin Landau

Post by Big Magilla »

dws1982 wrote:As I tend to do when someone dies, I picked up my copy of David Thomson's The New Biographical Dictionary of Film to see what Thomson had to say. With Thomson you never know who he'll randomly love or hate. For Landau, he said this:
His Lugosi was, beyond dispute, a daunting recreation thrust into the midst of an eccentric movie. It was, as such, rather more assertion than acting. But Landau's Bela did have the side advantage of making one forget the sheer unlikability of Mr. Landau.
"Unlikable" is one of the last adjectives I would apply to Landau, but nothing is surprising from Thomson. Although I did laugh out loud when Thomson was doing one of those lists of Landau's 80's films, mentioned Tucker, ended the paragraph, and picked back up with "Paragraph break to mark a film you've heard of."
Thomson is a full of himself windbag. I much prefer Leslie Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies, last published in 2006. The British film critic and encyclopaedist died of esophageal cancer in January 1989 at 59, but this and his Filmgoer's Companion continued to be updated by others after his death. It was last published in 2006. You can still find near-mint copies of both on Amazon at very reasonable prices.

This is what Halliwell, who died before seeing him in Crimes and Misdemeanors and Ed Wood, had to say about Landau before listing his credits of which only Tucker: The Man and His Dream was highlighted before the release of the latter two:

"Gaunt American actor in sinister roles. Born in New York City, he began as a newspaper cartoonist before studying at the Actors Studio. Married actress Barbara Bain." Not much, but succinctly accurate as of Halliwell's passing. He might have had more to say had he lived to see him play Lugosi.
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Re: R.I.P. Martin Landau

Post by Big Magilla »

The Original BJ wrote: And as dws said, it seemed like he never stopped working.
He didn't. He had the starring role in The Last Poker Game which was shown at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, but lacks an official release date. He had the title role in Without Ward, which is in post-production. He was to have played Al in Nate and Al which was to have been directed by co-producer John G. Avildsen, but was delayed after Avildsen's death while they searched for a new director.
dws1982
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Re: R.I.P. Martin Landau

Post by dws1982 »

As I tend to do when someone dies, I picked up my copy of David Thomson's The New Biographical Dictionary of Film to see what Thomson had to say. With Thomson you never know who he'll randomly love or hate. For Landau, he said this:
His Lugosi was, beyond dispute, a daunting recreation thrust into the midst of an eccentric movie. It was, as such, rather more assertion than acting. But Landau's Bela did have the side advantage of making one forget the sheer unlikability of Mr. Landau.
"Unlikable" is one of the last adjectives I would apply to Landau, but nothing is surprising from Thomson. Although I did laugh out loud when Thomson was doing one of those lists of Landau's 80's films, mentioned Tucker, ended the paragraph, and picked back up with "Paragraph break to mark a film you've heard of."

---
I will say I'm one of those who's been around here (and other message boards) long enough to remember that brief period in late fall of 2001, when he was a sure-fire nominee for Supporting Actor for The Majestic, and we thought he might even win again.
The Original BJ
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Re: R.I.P. Martin Landau

Post by The Original BJ »

This might seem a strange thing to say for someone of my age, but this feels like a little piece of my childhood died.

I loved Mission: Impossible as a kid. LOVED it. Watched it in re-runs every single day after school in my later elementary school and junior high years. And Landau was my favorite actor on the show; I thought his mix of intelligence and sense of humor was just so cool.

Then, of course, once I started getting into Hitchcock movies, I discovered him in North by Northwest, and later went on to learn that he had this great run as a film actor with those wonderful Oscar-nominated roles. And as dws said, it seemed like he never stopped working -- he was always popping up in TV guest roles, and it always made me smile to see him onscreen every time.

But he'll always be Rollin Hand to me.
dws1982
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Re: R.I.P. Martin Landau

Post by dws1982 »

Copied from the other (now deleted) thread:

Martin Landau, Oscar Winner for 'Ed Wood,' Dies at 89

Plenty of people slow down and retire around the time they turn 60; Landau seemed to take it as a motivator to keep going at the same pace. And he managed to make that second act of his career truly impressive, with three Oscar nominations, one win, and a couple of popular recurring roles on TV. Glancing at IMDb, I don't know if he ever took a day off. It shows credits going back all the way to 1953, with multiple credits most years, and only a couple of years with no credits at all.
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R.I.P. Martin Landau

Post by Mister Tee »

Wow. Really tough day.

I was a fan of Landau in the Mission: Impossible days, and of course appreciated his Leonard in North by Northwest. But I'd never have anticipated the late run he achieved starting with Tucker: The Man and His Dreams and culminating in his Oscar performance in Ed Wood. He had one of the great second (or was it third?) acts in American screen acting.

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/marti ... 202497128/
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