Gary Oldman
Oct 22nd, 2005 by Brian A. Thomas
Last post I said detailing Gary Oldman’s great movies would lead to a crazed link fest, well, here is that crazed link fest.
These are the movies I have seen and can recommend, I am leaving out ones I haven’t seen such as Sid & Nancy)
First up we have:
JFK (Director’s Cut Two-Disc Special Edition) in which Olman plays none other then Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone’s film about the assignation of John F. Kennedy. (Side story here. When I was in Dallas visiting my dad one time, it turned out to be the anniversary of the assignation, little did we know as we headed to the book depository museum, where we got a nice little lecture from somebody from the conspiracy museum… or some place to that effect). Next up is:
Bram Stoker’s Dracula where he played Dracula… okay perhaps not the best Vampire movie of all time, but one of the closest to the actual source material. Next:
Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version) where Oldman does one of his best roles to date as corrupt cop. Also staring in the movie is Jean Reno and a very young Natalie Portman. This movie was directed by Luc Besson, one of my favorite directors. Okay, onto our next film:
Immortal Beloved where he plays Ludwig van Beethoven. I admit, I remember little of the movie, but seem to recall it was fairly good giving its material. On to something I do remember:
Basquiat tells the story of Jean Michel Basquiat (played by Jeffrey Wright), a talented graffiti writer who raises to fame in the New York art world, making friends with Andy Warhol (played brilliantly by David Bowie) and many others. Oldman plays Albert Milo (who I don’t think was a real person in that circle at the time)… Anyhow it was a cool movie…or so I recall… Finally moving on to movies I loved:
The Fifth Element (Ultimate Edition) which is one of the coolest sci-fi romps ever. One could go on forever just about this movie alone… and Milla… but I will spare you for now and move on:
Air Force One despite some of its failings was in the end entertaining, and that is what a movie is supposed to do. Oldman is one of the things that are right about the movie, and is worth watching for him alone, but as I said, in the end the movie is entertaining, so hey have fun with it. Meanwhile:
Lost in Space (New Line Platinum Series) is well… Oldman plays Dr. Zachary Smith very well… and unfortunately he’s about the only one to do a really good job aside from a few of the kids… the robot is okay… but really… the movie lacked… something… anytime you need to add too many ellipses to a mini-review of a movie isn’t so good. On the other hand, it showed promise, and had the series gone on, it may have gotten better… maybe… We’ll skip a few of his movies again to land at:
Hannibal which I list here not as it was a good movie, it wasn’t. I am more a fan of the original The Silence of the Lambs (Widescreen Special Edition) then I am of any of the movies to follow… (and yes I know Man hunter (Director’s Cut, Limited Edition Set) came out long before Silence did, and stars CSI’s William L. Petersen, and all that jazz, and if we talking about the remake of Manhunter, I would agree, but I am talking of the Hopkins version of Lector here). Anyhow, the movie makes a change from the book in some respects, which may be for the good or the bad depending on whom you ask. Again I’ll skip a few movies, voice work and the like to get to:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2-Disc Widescreen Edition) (Harry Potter 3) Gary Oldman plays Sirrius Black, the main character outside of Harry and his gang… for those who haven’t been following the story I won’t give too much away. Anyhow, the Harry Potter movies are worth watching just to see Alan Rickman do his beyond amazing work as Professor Severus Snape, seriously, Rickman is that good in these. Which brings us to:
Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) which I already waxed nostalgic about. Oldman is truly one of the coolest actors around.
