Some notable passings
The last week and a half has seen the passings of a number of several greats in the world of film and television. I want to say just a few words about each of them.
The first person to leave the planet was the great German actor Ulrich Muhe. Muhe played the Stasi agent in the Oscar winning foreign film The Lives of Others. That was my pick for the best film of 2006 (although it was officially released in 2007) and Muhe was my pick for best actor. Muhe was actually spied on by his ex wife. His death was a shock because I had no idea that he was ill. He died of stomach cancer at the young age of 54. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
This past Monday saw the death of the greatest filmmaker of all time - Ingmar Bergman. There will never be anyone who could depict life, love, faith, death and all of the complications of being human like Bergman did. I have seen most of his films and there is not one that I didn't like. He used some amazing actors in his films (for example Live Ullman and Max von Sydow). His films were challenging and made you think. They kept you on your toes. When his last film Saraband was released the critic in the Village Voice commented that it was "minor Bergman." But even "minor Bergman" (if there is such a thing) was oh so much better than the majority of what is released these days. I would love to have the time to revisit all of his films. Perhaps one day I will be able to. Bergman was 89 and died peacefully in his sleep.
Another old time master died the same day as Bergman. I am speaking of Michaelangelo Antonioni. Antonioni had quite a varied career. He made a number of wonderful films in Italian but also made some popular English language film. He seemed quite comfortable in both languages. My favorite film of his is Blowup. There is no other film that captures swinging mod London in the 60s like this film does. In the last several years Antonioni suffered ill health due to a stroke. But he continued to work sporadically. His last work was a short film that was part of a three director film entitled Eros. He was 94 when he passed away.
From the world of television we lost Tom Snyder. Snyder was the host a several highly intelligent talk shows. The first one was before we ever heard of Charlie Rose (whom I like). Snyder didn't deal with nonsense or gossip. I always liked the way he handled his guests. For the last few years Snyder had been battling leukemia. He lost his battle earlier this week. He was 71.
I will surely miss all of these men. They certainly enriched the world with their gifts. May they all rest in peace.
The first person to leave the planet was the great German actor Ulrich Muhe. Muhe played the Stasi agent in the Oscar winning foreign film The Lives of Others. That was my pick for the best film of 2006 (although it was officially released in 2007) and Muhe was my pick for best actor. Muhe was actually spied on by his ex wife. His death was a shock because I had no idea that he was ill. He died of stomach cancer at the young age of 54. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
This past Monday saw the death of the greatest filmmaker of all time - Ingmar Bergman. There will never be anyone who could depict life, love, faith, death and all of the complications of being human like Bergman did. I have seen most of his films and there is not one that I didn't like. He used some amazing actors in his films (for example Live Ullman and Max von Sydow). His films were challenging and made you think. They kept you on your toes. When his last film Saraband was released the critic in the Village Voice commented that it was "minor Bergman." But even "minor Bergman" (if there is such a thing) was oh so much better than the majority of what is released these days. I would love to have the time to revisit all of his films. Perhaps one day I will be able to. Bergman was 89 and died peacefully in his sleep.
Another old time master died the same day as Bergman. I am speaking of Michaelangelo Antonioni. Antonioni had quite a varied career. He made a number of wonderful films in Italian but also made some popular English language film. He seemed quite comfortable in both languages. My favorite film of his is Blowup. There is no other film that captures swinging mod London in the 60s like this film does. In the last several years Antonioni suffered ill health due to a stroke. But he continued to work sporadically. His last work was a short film that was part of a three director film entitled Eros. He was 94 when he passed away.
From the world of television we lost Tom Snyder. Snyder was the host a several highly intelligent talk shows. The first one was before we ever heard of Charlie Rose (whom I like). Snyder didn't deal with nonsense or gossip. I always liked the way he handled his guests. For the last few years Snyder had been battling leukemia. He lost his battle earlier this week. He was 71.
I will surely miss all of these men. They certainly enriched the world with their gifts. May they all rest in peace.
posted by Film Fanatic | 6:15 PM
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