Well, the real Spartacus was actually killed in battle and all they were trying to do is leave the empire in basically self-inflicted exile. It does make for some powerful Kubrick imagery, however, and was his first and last true studio film. He never wanted the movie bosses to have their thumbs on his projects again. Of course, imagine their dismay when they gave him carte blanche to make "2001" and he started sending back the first images of primates prancing around the desert -- they were ready to blow their brains out. "Spartacus" is still the best of the ancient Rome epics except for perhaps "The Fall of the Roman Empire." Christopher Plummer's death scene in that film was intense.
as was Leo Genn's in Quo Vadis, surpassed only by Peter Ustinov's apoplectic rage, worthy of a stroke.
Goodnight, parting is not sweet sorrow..
The best female death scene I have seen is Lillian Gish's Mimi in the 1926 silent and consequently non-operatic La Boheme. According to her autobiography, she studied for the part by observing dying patients in hospitals.
The most excruciating death scene in recent years to me is Michael Jeter's botched electrocution in The Green Mile.
The best acting in a fixin'-to-die segment, in fact the best acting I have ever seen on film, is Sean Penn's last moments on death row in Dead Man Walking.
Honorable mention for three water related deaths: the girl who was the first shark attack victim in Jaws, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in The Abyss (even though she is later revived, her drowning is graphic), and, finally, Gregory Peck in Moby Dick. The image of the lifeless body of Captain Ahab lashed to the side of the great white whale haunted my childhood dreams.
Many more come to mind, but I guess this will do.
Oh, yes, Greyfan, how could I have forgotten Sean Penn in Dead Man Walking? That was an incredible piece of acting!
Hey, greyfan. Welcome to A2K. Indeed Sean Penn was excellent, but the part that stunned me about that movie, was the horrible fact that the expression "Dead Man Walking" was used.
Wow! Yes! Gregory Peck in Moby Dick. "....oh, ye damn-ed whale"
uh oh, the first time I have to disagree with Letty
I thought that title was so appropriate and so tasteful, sort of "in your face" to the people who want the state to kill in our names . . .
ah, Sweetcomplications, People who agree on everything are either liars or quite mad
I totally understand your viewpoint, and I share it. The expression just brings home how barbaric the state has become, but you are right on target. You saw the irony, I was looking at the reality.
whew, Letty, now you've put your finger on it! I understand both ways of looking at it; and we still love each other - it can't get any better than that!
Mr. Peck as Ahab. Two snaps up.
tom hanks in saving pvt ryan
willem defoe in platoon
ditto in last temptation of christ
sean bean as boromir in fellowhip of the ring...my personal favorite
the younger sister and maugua both in last of the mohicans
Hey, Kuvasz, I always get Platoon and Full Metal Jacket sorta confused, but I totally agree with Tom Hanks' performance. He's good at dying.
The other movies you've mentioned, I can't quite recall.
In the Last of the Mohicans it should be the younger sister and Uncas. Uncas was son to Chingachgook and was the last of the Mohicans.
Wow, Bob. Exactly. Was the younger sister in love with Uncas? James Fenimore Cooper; he captured the imagination. Are we talking about the Daniel Day Lewis version?
It could be either version. Randolph Scott as Hawkeye in the 1936 version. Magua was the enemy Huron chief.
bobsmyth wrote:In the Last of the Mohicans it should be the younger sister and Uncas. Uncas was son to Chingachgook and was the last of the Mohicans.
no, i was actually referring to maugua's death. he took it as a fact of life and offered his body to his adversary, chingachgook. as the scene unfolds he just stands there waiting for the end. that was the point, acceptance of death as natural.
In the 1936 film Chingachgook killed Magua after he had killed Uncas. There was no acceptance of his fate in this film. In the book Hawkeye himself killed Magua as he was about to escape.
If you're mentioning Tom Hanks, "Philadelphia" is the longest death scene on record besides, perhaps, "Camille." The opera sequence is intense and heartbreaking.
Yes, complete agreement here; and, I mean, the opera sequence just gets me crying and shivering every time I watch "Philadelphia"!
