Films/DVD Asylum

Movies from comedy to drama to your favorite Hollyweird Star.

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He was a "star" who could act.

Posted by Harmonia on August 13, 2008 at 00:15:57:
Newman was a charismatic, iconic actor whose ability went beyond his looks and sex appeal. He had the power to make us care about some fairly unpleasant and mixed up characters. He played his fair share of good guys and conventional heroes, and coasted though more than few roles. But given the chance to play somone more complex, Newman could project a sense of danger lurking behind those baby blues. You always got the feeling there was a lot going on behind those eyes than than Newman revealed. It was fascinating and it made him compusively watchable. If I'd met Hud in person I would've loathed him. But I couldn't take my eyes off Newman's Hud.

Yup, there were times when he could get hammy, especially if he wasn't engaged with the material. Sometimes he couldn't resist flashing those baby blues for effect. You could say Newman wasn't the most versatile actor and he didn't "disappear" into his roles the way a classical actor might, but he was damn fine at what he did. Newman was in his share of popcorn movies, but he was fairly adventurous when he felt like it, working with Robert Altman, the Coens and Sam Mendes.

Newman had the ability to affect audiences deeply through his roles. He dsiplayed a fine intensity and economy of means in his early films and brought an easy confidence and power to his late movie where "less' became way "more". Overall, that's not too shabby. I actually think Newman was underrated in his latter days.

My favorite Newman films are The Hustler, Hud (as much for Patricia Neal as for Newman), Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, Nobody's Fool and The Road to Perdition. I enjoy Cool Hand Luke, Slapshot and The Verdict. Butch and Sundance has not aged well for me. I avoid it.

I met Newman a couple times - he had a daughter who showed horses, and he and Joanne were very low key at shows. He could play "anonymous" very when he wanted, and you might not even know he was on the grounds unless you got a flash of those eyes a certain way. Newman was also an avid race car fan and regularly attended the Indy 500. He used to come into my friend's parent's French restaurant during May. He was a very classy guy - I always think a good barometer of class is how a celebrity treats the help. He was a good tipper too.

It doesn't seem right discussing him in the past tense :-(