The actor Christopher Plummer dies at 91

Started by vandermolen, February 05, 2021, 11:05:51 AM

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vandermolen

https://www.aol.co.uk/news/sound-music-star-christopher-plummer-181505825-190344042.html

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/feb/05/christopher-plummer-sound-of-music-star-and-oldest-actor-to-win-an-oscar-dies-aged-91

I never knew that he was Canadian! I always liked his performances in 'Battle of Britain' and much else besides. I will play my excellent Chandos CD with him narrating Henry V to Walton's accompanying music:
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: vandermolen on February 05, 2021, 11:05:51 AM
https://www.aol.co.uk/news/sound-music-star-christopher-plummer-181505825-190344042.html

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/feb/05/christopher-plummer-sound-of-music-star-and-oldest-actor-to-win-an-oscar-dies-aged-91

I never knew that he was Canadian! I always liked his performances in 'Battle of Britain' and much else besides. I will play my excellent Chandos CD with him narrating Henry V to Walton's accompanying music:

So sorry to hear of yet another of our legendary actors passing away.  Did any of the articles mention what he died of?
Pohjolas Daughter

vandermolen

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on February 05, 2021, 11:24:15 AM
So sorry to hear of yet another of our legendary actors passing away.  Did any of the articles mention what he died of?

They just say that he died 'peacefully at home'. I never knew that he turned down playing Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy - something that he later regretted.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: vandermolen on February 05, 2021, 11:33:35 AM
They just say that he died 'peacefully at home'. I never knew that he turned down playing Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy - something that he later regretted.
Thanks.  And oh interesting re Gandolf!  I suspect that his grandchildren (if he had any) would have been rolling their eyes at him when he told them that!  ;)
Pohjolas Daughter

André

I never really liked him, mostly on account of him playing unlikeable characters. But I did come to admire him a lot. And I don't think I'm wrong if I say he actually improved with age. Not every actor ages gracefully and retains the versatility of his younger years. But Plummer certainly did.

Yes, Plummer was Canadian. He actually grew up here, in Montreal. Apparently he loathed the film that made him famous (The Sound of Music), always referring to it as S&M or The Sound of Mucus  ::).

I read that his death was caused by a fall. He had no known illness. RIP Mr. Plummer.

DavidW

I think I liked him best in Return of the Pink Panther.  I also recently liked his brief role in Knives Out which was the last time I went to the cinema before the pandemic.

vandermolen

Quote from: André on February 05, 2021, 11:43:13 AM
I never really liked him, mostly on account of him playing unlikeable characters. But I did come to admire him a lot. And I don't think I'm wrong if I say he actually improved with age. Not every actor ages gracefully and retains the versatility of his younger years. But Plummer certainly did.

Yes, Plummer was Canadian. He actually grew up here, in Montreal. Apparently he loathed the film that made him famous (The Sound of Music), always referring to it as S&M or The Sound of Mucus  ::).

I read that his death was caused by a fall. He had no known illness. RIP Mr. Plummer.

I'm inclined to agree about 'Sound of Mucus' and 'S&M' - I never could stand that film. I think that you're right about him improving with age. I forgot about him being in the Return of the Pink Panther - one of the best in that series.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

Here he is in 'Battle of Britain':
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

SimonNZ

#8
By chance the film I have out from the library to watch tonight is Ridley Scott's All The Money In The World in which he plays J Paul Getty:




I also now see there's a couple of Stratford Festival productions released on dvd I hadn't been aware of:




And hadn't been aware of this before:


Pohjolas Daughter

Sorry, but I love(d )The Sound of Music.  Always have a soft spot for it.

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

vandermolen

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on February 06, 2021, 03:02:31 PM
Sorry, but I love(d )The Sound of Music.  Always have a soft spot for it.

PD

And why not?  :)

To be honest PD I'm not sure that I've ever sat through the whole film.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

SimonNZ

It doesn't justify its three hour running time. It could have been a whole hour shorter and kept all the songs and all the story.

geralmar