Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor, producer, director, philanthropist and author. After an impoverished childhood with immigrant parents and six sisters, he made his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Douglas soon developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1950s, known for serious dramas, including westerns and war films. During his career, he appeared in more than 90 films.
E.H. Ruddock wrote:
bada wrote:
LoathedVermin72 wrote:
bada wrote:
LoathedVermin72 wrote:My favorite actor of all time. Was starting to think he was never gonna go. Hell of a life.
Give us your top ten Kirk movies.
Not ranked:
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
The Arrangment
The Final Countdown
The Heroes of Telemark
The Indian Fighter
A Letter to Three Wives
Lonely are the Brave
Paths of Glory
The Story of Three Loves
The Vikings
I've only seen 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Paths of Glory and The Vikings. I have The Final Countdown, The Heroes of Telemark, The Indian Fighter and Lonely are the Brave. I almost watched the Telemark movie 10 times last year. I gotta get to them.
The Final Countdown was the first movie that I remember seeing that dealt with time travel and the consequences of it. I saw it when I was really young. I love it.
Anders wrote:1. Paths Of Glory
2. Spartacus
3. Lonely Are The Brave
4. Last Train From Gun Hill
5. In Harm’s Way
6. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
7. The War Wagon
8. Ace In The Hole
9. The Vikings
10. Heroes Of Telemark
On my shortlist:
Seven Days In May
Detective Story
The Bad And The Beautiful
There Was A Crooked Man
Man Without A Star
Just finished There Was A Crooked Man. Love me some Henry Fonda. Decent western. A bit low on fast action, lots of talking, some killing, Kirk is ruthless.
Detective Story is interesting and well acted. It’s a 1951 film noir directed by William Wyler that tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. It was nominated for four oscars, including for two female characters. Kirk still dominates the movie. The second movie today that will make it into my Kirk top ten.
True. I guess if only I am going to post, we could move this to «what movies are you watching.»
Kirk was great though. More than deserving of a thread. I’ve always watched his movies, but with his passing, I felt I needed to watch the movies of his I had waited to see.
At home with the baby this week, so more time than normal.
Last edited by Anders on Fri February 07, 2020 3:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I have the Man without a Star Blu-ray but I’ve never watched it. I should do that. I think I have a few others on DVD I’ve never gotten to, and I have the new Blu-ray of The Light at the End of the World preordered. I should try to watch a bunch of Kirk this month.
Watched the Indian Fighter. It was fun. Definitely more nuanced than most other westerns of the time. I really liked the score. Transfer was either iffy or the source was iffy. Follows in the old hollywood tradition of portraying the young leading man as a lovable scamp by having him force himself on some woman who resists but quickly falls in love. At least he wasn't as annoying as Tyrone Power or John Wayne when they get rapey. Doesn't help that Kirk looks like hungry shark when he smiles.
Of the 21 movies listed above, I’ve yet to see Seven Days In May and The Bad And The Beautiful. Including those I’ll be at 31 Kirk movies. He played in over 90 feature films, and had a leading role in more than 60.
Of the new movies I’ve seen, The Final Countdown and Detective Story were both very good. Top ten for me.
Last edited by Anders on Sat February 08, 2020 10:37 am, edited 2 times in total.
Filmed in a rich black-and-white by veteran cinematographer Robert Surtees, it could not possibly have looked better in color. Director Vincente Minnelli gives us a rare look into the film industry of its time. Like Sunset Boulevard, it’s Hollywood looking in on itself.
Kirk Douglas does one if his best roles as Jonathan Shields, a producer who pulls no stops in using others to get to the top. Three of these people tell of their dealings with him, and none of them have too many good things to say. A director played wonderfully by Barry Sullivan; an actress played by Lana Turner, in one of her signature roles (although her segment is very soapish), and a prize-winning novelist played by Dick Powell, who steals every scene he is in. Gloria Grahame won an oscar, for playing Powell’s wife.
I know Martin Scorsese is a fan of the movie. Especially the part between the producer and the director.
Hollywood film composer, David Raksin does some of his best work for this movie.
Douglas plays Shields with a mix of realism and exaggeration of a larger-than-life character, capturing the producer's boyish enthusiasm and exposing his inner fragility in a way that draws attention and lingers in the mind.
Excellent movie, a slow burner, and a bit of a soap opera, but the best kind.
I might have seen newer movies like The Fury, Tough Guys, It Runs In The Family and Greedy when I was younger, But I haven’t rated them, and there’s another ten or so classic movies I haven’t seen, that I wouldn’t mind seeing.
However, Seven Days In May is the movie I’ve been saving. Hopefully it lives up to its reputation.
Strong political thriller. Still relevant, but must have been amazing at the time it was made. Great acting from several (Kirk, Lancaster, March) of the key actors.
1. Paths Of Glory
2. Spartacus
3. Lonely Are The Brave
4. The Bad And The Beautiful
5. Last Train From Gun Hill
6. The Final Countdown
7. In Harm’s Way
8. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
9. Detective Story
10. Seven Days In May
