Saw that movie in the theater in my early teens. When he turns into a snake - watching that on a 30 feet high screen from the front row - scarred me for life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF0Z5g0Wjuk
I totally agree. He played a sadist, and the irony of this movie is that he rarely makes use of what people admire the most: his infamous voice. True uber-alpha in this movie, fantastic performance.
its my favorite movie of all time. the soundtrack alone is worth the price of admission. its got comedy, drama, love, hate, lust, fear, revenge, and all the other feelings a movie can envoke. hey...black lotus, stygian, the best...this better not be haga...I would sell Haga to a slayer such as you?
I saw "Conan" a year or two after I first saw him in "The Sandlot" and lost it when I realized that the same guy that was doing battle with The Terminator was responsible for saving Smalls from a lifetime of being grounded... his voice made him instantly recognizable in spite of the wig and crazy costumes he wore in the former. RIP.
a great movie with absolutely wholly innocent characters unknowingly contributing their own parts to the apocalypse -- I think about that a lot conceptually.
Even the motivations of Gen. Ripper are 'innocent' -- he just happens to have become a delusional psychotic.
I know everyone is talking about how he voiced Vader, but when I think of him, I think of Strangelove and Hunt for Red October. I didn't spend a lot of time in the fleet, but what I did was rather boring and/or annoying; the idea that something exciting would happen in the CIC is probably why I often think of the line "Now, understand, Commander, that torpedo did not self-destruct. You heard it hit the hull. And I was never here."
Just read on his Wikipedia page that he made it through Ranger school in the Korean War era. That's an accomplishment. Several readers here will know that's not really an easy thing to do. Overcame stuttering as a kid. Went to Ranger school (as an African American in the 50s.) Performed Shakespeare and contemporary plays and worked in film. A true dude. Lifting one in his honor this evening (though I'm old enough that it has to be a non-alcoholic one.)
wikipedia says "Jones was commissioned in mid-1953, after the Korean War's end, and reported to Fort Benning (now Fort Moore) to attend the Infantry Officers Basic Course. He attended Ranger School and received his Ranger Tab."
I love that movie too. It’s amazing how well it holds up for it being, in many ways, a tech-focused movie - I mean, yeah, the tech is very much dated and completely a product of its time, but it doesn’t look at all ridiculous. Undoubtedly probably helps that it was pre-WWW/popular internet.
I was told by an industry insider (taken at face value), that he almost never turned down a part, which drove his agent nuts. That's why he was in these kind of oddball movies. I suspect that Nicholas Cage is similar.
Probably, although it’s also well documented that Cage took a lot of roles to pay off his extensive debts after blowing through nine digits of his wealth.
Ah, the 'working actor'. Gary Oldman (who also calls himself a working actor) kinda tanked his career for a while by getting typecast as a villain. Playing Sirius Black was basically autobiographical, and kind of got him unstuck.
Rosencrantz and Stansfield made him my favorite actor for the first decade of my adulthood. Zorg is okay. That terrible Lost in Space movie lowered his trajectory for a while. He’s been hitting home runs a lot since.
But if you hear him in interviews he thinks of himself as a working actor. He’s doing the job. But the right people think he can do a good job so he’s getting better roles.
I'll never defend "Lost in Space" as a cinematic tour-de-force in the traditional sense but I'll be damned if it isn't one of the most quintessentially-90s films ever made. It has Silicon Graphics logos and bubble-shaped silver electronics everywhere. William Hurt managed to find time to slip away from the "Dark City" set to make an appearance. Pre-Felicity Shagwell/post-Rollergirl Heather Graham fends off advances from Joey Tribbiani while the crazy guy from "Leon: The Professional" makes a bunch of bizarre wisecracking non-sequiturs. A brash Big beat remix of the original TV theme blares over the credits immediately following a fight involving a giant CGI (SGI?) spider.
I disliked it intensely as a kid but enjoy it a lot in retrospect because of my high-resolution nostalgia goggles.
He really disappears into whatever character he is playing. Truly one of the exceptional actors of our time. That show in particular highlights this very well.
My wife's cousin worked the case where they forced Nic Cage to give back the dinosaur skull he bought for a quarter mil at an illegal auction to the Mongolian government. He had to take every role ever offered to him because he made some amazingly stupid financial decisions.
I also am one who thinks of The Hunt For Red October. You already listed the best quote in the movie from him, but the above also makes me giggle every time.
Also in that scene when he slightly moves his hand to get Jack to back off from interrogating the admiral about whether he’d ever met Ramius - just terrific non-verbal acting that speaks volumes.
The first thing that comes up for me when I hear his name (after Star Wars) is Field of Dreams. He made me laugh out loud more than once in that, my favorite baseball movie.
He was also Police Chief Thad Green in the Mathnet segments of Square One TV. He only appeared a few times, but was unmistakable when he did. He also participated in early test footage for what would become Sesame Street. Film footage of him reciting the alphabet, in trademark James Earl Jones diction, was one of the things they used to research young children's response to educational programming.
I loved Mathnet and Mathman segments. Still remember the episode where they figured out the hill a van drove up because of the tilt of the water in a glass.
I completely forgot about Mathnet for many years - I'm not sure where I even saw it; My family didn't even have a TV (and I was too young anyway) for it's run. It was a delight when I discovered that my fever dream of a dragnet parody was in fact real. Great show, very funny, and good education.
"You took an oath, if you recall, when you first came to work for me. And I don't mean to the National Security Advisor of the United States, I mean to his boss... and I don't mean the President. You gave your word to his boss: you gave your word to the people of the United States. Your word is who you are."
I doubt anyone could pull the gravitas that he brought to the role of Admiral Greer.
Man, what I’d do to have a theatre experience like that again.
I feel like I’ve already seen just about every movie I see these days. I watch them to just tune out occasionally, like a safer version of alcohol. I don’t watch them because it’ll be moving, insightful, exciting, etc. It’s just coarse stimulation.
I really miss movies that left me feeling like I had a significant experience. It happens occasionally, but I feel like it used to be more common. The lion king was amazing. The remake was a kick in the pants.
My aunt used to take me and my sister to the El Capitan theatre to every big Disney tentpole that premiered there in the late 80s and early 90s. I think Lion King is probably still the best movie-going experience I have ever had and ever will have. It was the first one where I was a teenager and that was probably the end of my true childhood and when I started losing interest in stuff like that. I don't think any scene will ever again touch me like James Earl Jones voice booming from the clouds telling Simba to remember who he is. The swell of that Hans Zimmer score still brings tears to my eyes instantly every time I hear it.
Because HN skews younger, I expect there are some out there who haven't seen "The Vader Sessions" from the early YouTube era, in which James Earl Jones dialog from his other films was spliced into Star Wars Vader scenes. I think it's a testament to his range:
In Clear and Present Danger (1994), James Earl Jones (as Admiral Greer) dies in the middle of the movie. For some reason, and maybe because I have a hard time telling the difference between art and reality, I was fairly certain, for a long time, that the actor himself had died, and I would be regularly surprised when he would appear in new movies.
James Earle Jones declined credit. It was his respect for Prowse. What world do you live in to say that the actor doesn't get to have a say in how he is billed?
The credits were changed for the special editions. He is not in the 'starring' section, but they did list him properly in the cast. https://youtu.be/sIPNormrPwg?t=2m30s
Such an iconic voice. And the fact he got to put voice to so many iconic lines that are hard to imagine coming from anyone else. His speech in Field of Dreams, obviously Vader's "I am your father". Basically all of his lines as Mufasa in Lion King.
I just can't think of any voice from the newer generations of actors/VAs that stands up to what he brought. And while his voice was incredible, he clearly mastered it and gave his lines the maximum impact they could have beyond the simple utterance.
I'm not just talking still alive, I mean the younger generation. Like Morgan Freeman is also an iconic all-time voice. Is there even any actor in their 40s let alone 30s or 20s who have such an iconic voice dropping such powerful monologues?
If we're purely talking voice actors, there are SO many incredible talents to choose from: Mark Hamill as The Joker for sure, Kevin Conroy as Batman, Tara Strong as dozens of characters, etc.
I don't know. Mark Hamill is a voice acting chameleon. James Earl Jones was himself, which was great for many roles and impossible to improve upon for some. Their strengths lie on different axes.
Clancy is an incredible actor in his own right both voice and general. I'll always have a soft spot for him as Kurgan in the first Highlander movie. He was so... unsettling.
At a quarter of a century younger, Keith David has, for decades, expertly conveyed the weight of his characters' words in a wide range of genres.
> I just can't think of any voice from the newer generations of actors/VAs that stands up to what he brought.
Off the top of my head, there's Peter Cullen, Jeff Bennet, Frank Welker, Tim Curry, Tom Kane (prior to his stroke), Phil Lamarr, Mark Hamill, Clancy Brown, and John DiMaggio.
Tiberian Sun was the first computer game I owned, and his performance was practically the first thing I saw when I finished installing it. At the time, I didn't recognize him, despite being a huge Star Wars fan. https://youtu.be/LT6Y0EIMRiI
James narrating Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven in the very first Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode (2x03), to the backdrop of the quirky and artistic early-Simpsons animation, was such a wonderful union of beautiful cross-generational zeitgeist.
And still, for me, the best reading of that! There are many renditions out there by some very accomplished actors but I've never heard or seen a better one.
Here's a different reading by him of The Raven (not the one from The Simpsons): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXU3RfB7308 — he chooses to almost ignore the meaning and stick to a recitation, which is great: his voice perfectly brings out the poem's cadence and assonance.
Other readings of The Raven, for comparison: Christopher Walken [1], Vincent Price [2], Christopher Lee (build-up in intensity, unfortunately some background music) [3], Basil Rathbone (the opposite of James Earl Jones: in places almost like prose) [4]
My Simpsons memory of him is him coming up from the clouds as Mustafa, Darth Vader, and himself saying "This is CNN". But TIL it wasn't him but Harry Shearer doing an impression.
I have a vague memory of him reading books on some PBS show in the 80s. Am I misremembering this? I can’t find it in his filmography, though it may have been Fairytale Theater.
He's done a lot of great work. Selfishly, one of my favorites is narrating the University of Michigan (his alma mater) football hype videos and stadium announcements. Always felt unique and fun.
He was 93, and of course this kind of thing is expected and we shouldn't be surprised by news like this, but somehow this news hit hard. I guess after 40, when your own personal heroes pass, part of you dies with them.
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[ 1.9 ms ] story [ 226 ms ] threadRIP!
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSbPqin3L6E
a great movie with absolutely wholly innocent characters unknowingly contributing their own parts to the apocalypse -- I think about that a lot conceptually.
Even the motivations of Gen. Ripper are 'innocent' -- he just happens to have become a delusional psychotic.
I live right near that plaza in SF where Sydney Poitier yells at Martin "its your Mother" with the Car phone in his hand.
Great movie
"We'retheUS GOVERNment. We don't DO that SORT of THING."
What a loss. He is one of a kind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74ocbvwam7c
"I want a Winnebago" ... "WHAT?!!"
Robert Redford
Sidney Poitier
David Strathairn
River Phoenix
Ben Kingsley
Mary McDonnell
And In addition to those it had Dan Aykroyd and Stephen Toblowsky
I was told by an industry insider (taken at face value), that he almost never turned down a part, which drove his agent nuts. That's why he was in these kind of oddball movies. I suspect that Nicholas Cage is similar.
Probably, although it’s also well documented that Cage took a lot of roles to pay off his extensive debts after blowing through nine digits of his wealth.
Given his behavior there for a while I was trying to do the math on how you blow through $65 million worth of... well, blow.
Consider that Mr. Zorg, Winston Churchill, and George Smiley, are played by the same person, is amazing.
But if you hear him in interviews he thinks of himself as a working actor. He’s doing the job. But the right people think he can do a good job so he’s getting better roles.
I'll never defend "Lost in Space" as a cinematic tour-de-force in the traditional sense but I'll be damned if it isn't one of the most quintessentially-90s films ever made. It has Silicon Graphics logos and bubble-shaped silver electronics everywhere. William Hurt managed to find time to slip away from the "Dark City" set to make an appearance. Pre-Felicity Shagwell/post-Rollergirl Heather Graham fends off advances from Joey Tribbiani while the crazy guy from "Leon: The Professional" makes a bunch of bizarre wisecracking non-sequiturs. A brash Big beat remix of the original TV theme blares over the credits immediately following a fight involving a giant CGI (SGI?) spider.
I disliked it intensely as a kid but enjoy it a lot in retrospect because of my high-resolution nostalgia goggles.
Mine work in reverse, I guess.
I loved Space: 1999, when it was still being released.
I had occasion to revisit a syndicated episode, awhile back.
I stopped it after ten minutes.
I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXze55Z2GuY
I also am one who thinks of The Hunt For Red October. You already listed the best quote in the movie from him, but the above also makes me giggle every time.
This one is my go-to. Also The Sandlot
I doubt anyone could pull the gravitas that he brought to the role of Admiral Greer.
"Everything the light touches is our kingdom."
Still get shivers from that movie to this day. Nostalgia, sure, but it's truly a masterpiece.
R.I.P.
I feel like I’ve already seen just about every movie I see these days. I watch them to just tune out occasionally, like a safer version of alcohol. I don’t watch them because it’ll be moving, insightful, exciting, etc. It’s just coarse stimulation.
I really miss movies that left me feeling like I had a significant experience. It happens occasionally, but I feel like it used to be more common. The lion king was amazing. The remake was a kick in the pants.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6A0rwG39Jzk
The editing choices still seem really, really good after all these years. The radio scene is hilarious.
Edit: thanks for linking this and bringing back so many good memories.
He was a fine actor, and a fine man.
But, no, his best role (BR) is as GENERAL JAMES SOLOMON in the best video series ever, command and conquer!
Star Wars should have been changed to give James Earl Jones starring billing, instead of no credit at all.
"Luke, Oi am yer faaarther".
Ridiculous.
I just can't think of any voice from the newer generations of actors/VAs that stands up to what he brought. And while his voice was incredible, he clearly mastered it and gave his lines the maximum impact they could have beyond the simple utterance.
My opinion is that Dennis Haybert has surely 'risen to the occasion' quite well at the very least.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Haysbert
I wouldn't put him anywhere near the level of James Earl Jones.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000317/
> I just can't think of any voice from the newer generations of actors/VAs that stands up to what he brought.
Off the top of my head, there's Peter Cullen, Jeff Bennet, Frank Welker, Tim Curry, Tom Kane (prior to his stroke), Phil Lamarr, Mark Hamill, Clancy Brown, and John DiMaggio.
Other readings of The Raven, for comparison: Christopher Walken [1], Vincent Price [2], Christopher Lee (build-up in intensity, unfortunately some background music) [3], Basil Rathbone (the opposite of James Earl Jones: in places almost like prose) [4]
[1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wj1DRQs9AQ
[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuGZ_wp_i9w
[3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BefliMlEzZ8
[4]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jOS2FlLgic
https://youtu.be/gc25oAJrKbM?si=nkcdAukLnfbXmkuN
"What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?"
Such an accomplished and memorable individual. RIP.
Read the book by Alan Paton, and you may go down a rabbithole.
They did the story justice with that movie.
They did justice to the book. He was spectacular in his portrayal.
As a South African it resonates deeply with me and is more relevant now, than ever before.
The video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QN9npF9A3M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1PFH3w_b8g
R.I.P. Mr Abbott.