Cool News
Clash Of The Cool Ones!! It's Tony Manero -VS- Denzel In THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123!!
Merrick here...
As PREVIOUSLY REPORTED, Tony Scott and Denzel Washington are together again - teaming up to remake THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123.
The original iteration of this is one of my favorite films. It's about the the madness surrounding the hijacking of a New York City subway train called Pelham 123 & deals with the all the crap that happens both on the subway & topside.
Pretty much all you need to know about the bad-assness of this film can be gleaned from David Shire's opening title music:
The film is pretty compelling...pretty smart.
Word now is that John Travolta will join the remake's cast.
Travolta will play the leader of a quartet that hijacks a Gotham subway train and threatens to kill the passengers unless a ransom is paid. The role was originated in the 1974 film by Robert Shaw. Washington plays the chief detective of security for the subway, a role originated by Walter Matthau in the Joseph Sargent-directed drama.
...says THIS ARTICLE in Variety.
Really curious to see how this plays out. While I usually abhor remakes, for some reason I don't hate this project yet. I don't think it needs to happen...a vast majority of reamkes don't...but hopefully Scott and company have actually seen the original, love the original, and can update it while remaining true to its well-defined spirit.
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The coolest ending of any movie! When Matthau gives Martin Balsam that look after he sneezes...classic!
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My suspension of disbelief while watching Travolta act as the crazy bad guy was finished after Face Off. He just doesnt have it, he is not a good crazy / bad person. He is Vincent, Tony, Chili, he's a flawed everyguy. He aint Dennis Hopper. Just my fugly opinion.
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hope this is his 1 good flick for this decade.
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I knew Robert Shaw. I worked with Robert Shaw. Mr. Travolta, you sir, are no Robert Shaw. Great... now I have Travolta in my head telling the Indianapolis story. Thanks so much Tony Scott!
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If that music were any cooler, I'd kill myself!!!! I really hope they use that title theme again.. That was cool as hell. Not sure about Travolta though. Robert Shaw could do no wrong and he was so damn good in everything. Travolta has a tendency to way over do bad guys. Hopefully they pull him back a little. I'm excited for this.
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Though I LOVE Man on Fire, so who knows? It just may not be the right material for him. And I gree that 'evil' Travolta is rarely a good thing - except Face/Off where he was the bad guy with the face of the good guy... and had to play him as if he was Nick Cage anyway. And can we call Vicent Vega a villain? He wasn't an angel that's for sure.
Oh and enough of remakes. ENOUGH!!! -
Man, how times have changed.
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Robert Shaw and Walter Matthau are untouchable.
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of course Shaw would have had the advantage of being straight. Zing!
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of great films? How about remake the ones that were shit, but showed some promise. Can any TB'ers remember a remake that was better than the original?
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better then original remakes Charltan Heston's Ben Hur, Charlton Heston's The 10 Commandments, Judy Garland Wizard of Oz, Kurt Russell in The Thing. That's just off the top of my head
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I'm not automatically opposed to remakes, but Travolta getting involved in this only puts another nail in the coffin - the guy is an overhyped ham. Even without him, I don't want to see this film: You just can't top the gritty combo of Shaw and Matthau, nor can you avoid the fact that "Pelham" is a time capsule of a film that will lose much of its original flavor by being updated. Tony Scott should just make a completely new heist film with an entirely different name and leave "Pelham" alone.
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Oct 26, 2007 10:36:15 AM CDT
So it's going to be a comedy, considering Travolta's voice?
by stalin vs predator
What's the cost of the larynx operation that would make him speak like an adult human being rather than squeak like Mortimer the Mouse during puberty? Too high for the Church of Xenu?
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Look to see David Shire's iconic score to the original replaced by generic techno noodling by Harry Gregson-Williams...
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...and The Punisher, and Battlefield Earth, and Broken Arrow, and Face/Off. I've never seen the original, now I feel I really need too before they release this. I hate Travolta's villains, it's never fresh or new or interesting. ugh...
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Travolta as bad guy. YAWN.
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say something to the effect that Pelham 123 would not work in today's society because of the changes in technology? Now the character was referring to the media's reaction, but if a whole subway was taken hostages in the seventies it was isolated and on its own. With laptops, and cell phones how would you pull it off today. Or I could just be rambling as, despite hearing so much about Pelham I've never gotten around to renting it.
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THAT'LL be the day!
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Before the studios shut his ass down? Don't get me wrong, I love early Tony Scott, but he's been making turdball after turdball since Crimson Tide. Look at this track record since CT - The Fan (shit), Enemy of the State (shit), Spy Game (passable shit), Man on Fire (shit), Agent Orange (was this even released?), Domino (shit), Deja Vu (shit).
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the end music was great.
the remaking of pelham 2 -
...I recall Denzel being interested in revisiting his Frazier character. Seems like a good fit. Just change the script to reflect it.
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well, they just do, but occasionally you see a re-make that works well. Of course I'm talking about Planet of the Apes, or better yet Bad News Bears. They were the greatest, oh wait, gotta stop before the lightning strikes. But seriously think about this - Ben Hur, one of the greatest movies of all time (since we're on a Heston kick as of late) was itself a re-make. It was actually the second re-make, but nobody remembers the first two Ben Hur movies. Not having seen the originals I can only speculate. Technology aside, (the first two were silent) did the acting and story work, or did they suck? There is no reason to re-make a movie just because technology has changed. Otherwise every single silent picture would have been re-made. In the same way we can't re-make every pre-CGI movie because the technology exists, but in some cases if the original movie was only so-so, and someone comes along with a way to improve the plot and the acting it should be given a chance. However, most of the time the result does not work. Ben Hur is one exception to the rule. I can't think of any others off the top of my head. Oh, and speaking of cool stuff, I was at Target today. Double feature DVD, The Terminator and Robocop for only $7.50. "I'd buy that for a dollar." They were out of Vincent Price's Last Man on Earth, but I already own a copy.
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I feel the same about remakes, but I think I can get a handle on this one. The original was pretty frikkin' cool.
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Was the original a comedy?
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..role of Travolta's?
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I hope it's still a million. That would be hilarious.
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Travolta was referencing Dog Day Afternoon, which is a real shame that that masterpiece is mentioned in a turd like Swordfish. I'll echo from above that Travolta just doesn't have the gravitas to play a true bad guy. His Vincent Vega sort of drifted through life, and his Get Shorty character was a good/bad guy who played everyone to his advantage.But a genuine bad ass villian? Haven't seen it in Travolta yet.
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Oct 26, 2007 11:36:36 AM CDT
Skimm, thanks for clearing that up. That aside,
by grammaton cleric binks
you gotta wonder if what he said wouldn't apply in the same way though. I thought his Broken Arrow was a great bad guy. Calm, cool, in control, and remorseless. He took crap calmly, then when the warden (whatever his name is, you know the actor) mouths off one time too many then whammo. My favorite line "Would you please not fire at the THERMONUCLEAR DEVICE," then Howie looks back at him sheepishly. Classic.
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"you had me at hello". 2007 gives us the catchphrase "you lost me at john travolta". Seriously, I was really jazzed about this movie until I read that.
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Remake From the Earth too the moon. With Samshing Poopcans doing the soundtrack. I think this site has moved from Re-makes blow donkey balls to re-makes may just tickle your balls because now it seems like for every 10 movies released at least 1 of them is a re-make. And it movie companies have their way, hopefully they can make that number 10 out of 10. Anyway I like John travolta back in Broken Arrow, OK. But that was when he was roughly the size of a line backer and could pull off looking mildly fit, now he has moved into fat tranny sized. Who the fuck does he think he is?? Marlon Brando, that he can just get as big as he wants and he is sooo good he doesn't have to have try to look decent? Man I like JT but since Battlefield he hasn't stared in anything worth seeing (unless you were gaying out for a remake of Hairspray). I guess I never realized how badly dredlocks could kill a career, some one should tell the Alien/Predetor Baby.
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Let's remake Lawrence of Arabia!
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Ridley's talentless little brother who makes pictures for those with ADD. Last good film he made was True Romance, and that's mainly down to the script, not what he did with it.
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One of the most brilliant lines in film, and so true.
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So sick of remakes. Original is fantastic, with great performances, a real classic...and as such should be left well alone. Go buy an original script Hollywood, they can't be that hard to find amongst the 1000s in the mailroom, show a little effort
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This is a joke, right?!
Jesus, I wonder if he'll come up with some cool way his character smokes a cigarette like every other movie he does. Travolta doesn't compare in any way shape or form to Shaw and the fact that Merrick's Spidey Sense isn't going crazy over this is sad.
Tony Scott AND John Travolta...can Shia LeBeouf be far behind? -
The joy in Pelham was the performances, Matteau bumbling and mistaking men for women, insulting the japanese and generally being the worst negotiator ever were all part of its cheesy 70's charm.
with Denzel on board it'll be all REAL AS HELL which is dumb, especially since he's already done this role in Inside Man. -
hire tim roth, ed norton, or matt damon instead. hell anyone else would be better than TRAVOLTA
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and levitate. was he in carrie? l ron would see carrie as the female tom cruise.
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someone put a bullet in my brain
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Actually I just watched the movie last week and yes it may have it's flaws HOWEVER a remake directed by Tony (what does this editing program do?) Scott and John Travolta does not begin to compare to Robert Shaw AND Walter Matthau. I'm not against a remake but a remake by these pompous hacks?! That I am against.
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Oct 26, 2007 2:40:10 PM CDT
Travolta in Robert Shaw's role officially killed my interest
by headgeek
I hope for the best, but I'm afraid in regards to TAKING OF PELHAM 123... I've already seen it. Travolta does not have the gravitas for the role. This is sad.
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was just you after a bad batch of nachos, and one too many Piel's right?
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is Pelham where Tarantino got the whole "using colors for names" thing he did in Reservoir Dogs? I always suspected it, but never got verification...
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Yes, Tarantino has mentioned being a fan of Pelham and that the name thing was a tip o the hat.
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I think we're in total agreement. I enjoy remakes if they are well thought out and bring something new to the table ie: The Fly, The Thing. I can't see that happening here being that I have such little interest in the players involved.
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thanks! I'm not sure about Denzel in Matthau's role. Part of what made it so great was the exhausted, cynical approach that Matthau brought to the part. I'm pretty dubious about this. And, seriously, at what point does H'wood start running out of movies to remake? Which ones are sacred? Can we expect a remake of The Apartment? Sunset Blvd? The Maltese Falcon or Treasure of Sierra Madre? Honestly, enough is enough, you studio assholes.
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He smothered it all over his mashed potatoes and turkey leg, the ham-fisted, fuckwad. (Mmmmm, hammm.)
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Anybody want to see a neat '70s thriller with Mr. Matthau, directed by Don Siegel, should check out Charlie Varrick....before it's remade.
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Oct 26, 2007 3:58:47 PM CDT
Why can't they remake something that was bad the first time and
by kizeesh
like The Keep.
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....so why remake it? It wasn't a HUGE hit, but a great movie. Fuck these guys if they fuck it up.
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Oct 26, 2007 4:39:15 PM CDT
travolta will ruin this. Jean Reno or Gabriel Byrne would be bet
by mansep
should be played by someone who can seem pissed off with life but looks like he knows what he's doing, not someone who looks pampered and well-fed and easy-going, which Travolta always does no matter what role he's in. NO one can replace Shaw... he was unique. But they could have tried!
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this film was already ruined when Denzel and Scott got involved.
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SHIT PISS FUCK
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Good point. Travolta had slipped away into obscurity as nature had probably intended and then Tarantino got involved. We can probably blame the current world situation on the shift this caused to the delicate balance.
On Alternate Earth John Travolta is a homeless homosexual drifter who gets beaten in every town he enters. No, not beaten because he's homosexual but because of his horrific body odor (which comes from having sex with other homeless guys)...Not that there's anything wrong with that...I'm rambling. -
Why turn the memory of another great 70s movie into what we all know will be a so-so remake. Denzel is no Matthau and Travolta is just simply terrible as a baddie (Face-Off / Swordfish etc).
By the way, if you love the David Shire track, check out "The Plan" by the Sofa Surfers - a killer track which uses the main loop. -
That is Ben's dad talking to Walter Matthau on the phone, right?
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...might result in an anamorphic DVD reissue of the original film.
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...I'm sure that he's a nice guy, sure seems that way anyhow, but he's got to that "smug" place in his career where every performance reeks of cheese, as if people should be happy that he even showed up in their little film in the first place. He needs to be kicked back into dtv wilderness hell again, and rescued in another ten years when he's hungry enough to actually bother to act again when given a shot at a great character or role.
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Great stuff in the 70s.. well, Saturday Night Fever at least.. but then when he gets success, he either picks crap projects or puts in crap performances. So what happens? He falls off the map, until Tarantino rescues him. Then he does the exact same thing... picks shitty roles and phones in his performances. Hey, anyone notice that I am writing like Harry Knowles.. with all the ...?
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1) In this era, it is the official policy of all governments not to negotiate with terrorists, so the motive would be pointless. Also the miniscule number of hostages would make an engagement all the mroe feasible. 2) In the post 9/11 era it's going to be impossible to make a film of this nature as breezy and darkly funny as the orignal. 3) Denzel already made a PELHAM for this era. It was called INSIDE MAN.
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...between Tony and Ridley. Black Hawk Down and American Gangster seemed like Tony Scott movies to me and Spy Game seemed like Ridley.
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I see your point though.
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Up your nose with a rubber hose, Denzel! Mr. Epstien...shoot a hostage.
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a TV tray on the subway car to get all his shaky camera shots.
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didn't have John Travolta taking over the role of Robert Shaw. Enough Said.
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1.its a remake of a great movie that doesnt need to be remade - its not like remaking kong or superman - what can be brought to this remake besides huge stars a modern setting modern techy crap (iphones etc) and lots of busy tony scott shaky camera work - 2.barbarino and 'denzel' - over rated and over paid - this will be a star vehicle not a movie - if you really want to 're' make this get some good actors who arent such big stars that theyll overshadow the story itself - the reason the original worked was because mathau and shaw disappeared into their parts - they seemed real - it was gritty subtle and realistic - the last time washington did anythig close to that description was 'training day' - and travolta - is he still an actor - i guarantee if he is in this movie they will work in a dance scene
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Are you saying Kong NEEDED to be remade?! I'd agree on every point except that one.
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Not only does it not need to be made, but it needs to be not made. Better to hijack a subway train for real and shoot the entire event on DVX200s. Who wants to crew with me? Oh, DHS, if you've got your little bots crawling the web for terrorism, it's a fucking joke. Besides, don't you have some old ladies to arrest at the airport?
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no - kong didnt 'need' to be remade - but you gotta admit - like the movie or not - jackson made a kong movie that was a real reinvention - full of eye candy that we havent seen before - while attempting to be faithful to the period and spirit of the original - imo there was more incentive to remake kong (an fx laden monster action spectacle) than there is now to remake a small tightly woven action/thriller/character piece from the 1970s - someone brought up earlier here that at least with this being made we will get the original released on dvd with a proper transfer (hopefully)
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Gotcha. Your words have the ring of truth...and under different circumstances I would have been proud to call you...friend.
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i have a lovely bunch of coconuts - and a red pencil box
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...very fucking LAME. although if they do remake, i agree with MANSEP, gabriel byrne OR jean reno could make a great villain.
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contains another Tarantino "tip of the hat". The movie is about a crew who rob a small town bank that's really a front for mob money laundering. When Matthau realizes what's up, he tells another character something like "These are the kinds of guys who'll go at you with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch". Also, as a huge fan of the original Pelham 123, I actually have little problem with a remake, but fuck Travolta. Can't he retire already?
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He already did his campy badguy thing to death in Broken Arrow, Swordfish and the Punisher and when trying to act like Nic Cage in Face-Off was just embarassing, actually Nic Cage would be better, anyone would pretty much be better!
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...remake classic films that don't need remaking and bloody superhero films. Hollywood execs have an easy greenlighting job, huh?
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It's not even the FIRST remake of PELHAM, there was a dismal made-for-TV version with the Toronto subway standing in for the mighty 6 train. Fuck THAT shit... no offense to the Toronto folks, but the NY Subway is a universe all its own - it can't be duplicated convincingly. The original kicks all manner of ass not because it's timeless, but because it's DATED very well. As a time capsule of early-70s New York it's above reproach. It's obviously NOT contemporary. Some things are better off that way. If you'd change a single note of that score, there's something very wrong with you. Think I'll watch the original again.
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..the theme music. Or Timberlake to make it more pointless. Gag-o-rama.
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I dont know if he is right for this role but give the guy a break - he has done some great work - Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Get Shorty, Primary Colors, ans Pulp Fiction plus dont forget his real sleazy bad guy in Face Off.
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once they got it right (with the third one), they stopped.
Actually, wasn't this already remade as a TV movie with Edward James Olmos? It just seems kind of unneccessary. -
The original Kool Moe D song, not the travesty by Will Smith.
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of which Pelham is the epitome. I always took the mayor in the film as a direct reference to Koch however a friend of mine from NY says that the movie preceeded Koch by a few years and it was coincidental that they looked alike. Well Pelham was released in 1974 and Koch was mayor from 1978 on so it's looks to me like my friend was right. Anyone know the real story behind this? How is it that the mayor in the film was so uncannily like a person who was not to be mayor for another 4 years?!
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freaks everyone out. No one wants to admit being confused by Denzel as Walter Matthau. But as long as they get a 21 year old blonde Australian midget to play the Martin Balsam role, everything will be all right. My vote is, this movie just needs to be run on TNT a few times, not remade. It's perfect the way it is, and the book was pretty good too. Or how about a sci-fi superhero movie where the crooks hijack a subway car and actually fly it to Cuba? With Jared the Subway guy as the conductor, for product placement.
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But this? I don't think this is necessary. How I miss Robert Shaw. Cheek out THE DEEP (1977) with him and a young Nick Nolte and a hot Jacqueline Bisset. Great film! And some of the best underwater filming ever. Also, another great Shaw film, is Swashbuckler. Lots of fun, and a chance to see Shaw as a Pirate. It was the perfect role for him. Also has a young, and thin James Earl Jones and a crazy evil Peter Boyle among a fine cast of others. Cool film.
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How I miss Robert Shaw. Cheek out THE DEEP (1977) with him and a young Nick Nolte and a hot Jacqueline Bisset. Great film! And some of the best underwater filming ever. Also, another great Shaw film, is Swashbuckler. Lots of fun, and a chance to see Shaw as a Pirate. It was the perfect role for him. Also has a young, and thin James Earl Jones and a crazy evil Peter Boyle among a fine cast of others. Cool film.
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..to dishonor the genius gravitas of Robert Shaw's Mr. Blue..and Henry VIII and Col Hessler and Red Grant and Mallory, Skipper, Ned Lynch, Ginger Coffey, Lonnegan and Quint et al...ah, c'mon, man! Shaw is Iconic, Travolta is colonic.
Jeebus, if the PTB..if they really neeeed a fat woman in the villian's role, why skimp? Go get Kirstie Alley! Get the real deal, man!..the girl's gotsta eat too ya'll!
..I smell a lot of suck on this movie. -
Oct 28, 2007 10:06:00 PM CDT
As much as passing 30,000V through Travolta would amuse...
by mickey the idiot
Blue has gotta be some hard-arsed Blackwater-type/ex-SAS guy. This casting speaks volumes for the fact that actors like that just can't find work these days. Gary Oldman, maybe, or Paddy Considine. But, it's fucking hard still. And that's why this remake was always a bad idea.
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