I know Dennis Hopper has passed and I haven't acknowledged it much, but its probably because he never affected me, hardly at all. I remember him most as the bad guy in 'Speed'. Dennis made so many random films with such little critical acclaim I think that is what tainted his name. The film he may be known best for, 'Easy Rider' has gone unseen by me. It is on the long list of must-see films and I anticipate it to be one of his better performances, but so far as the films that I know him from go, it just isn't good. "Super Mario Bros." tops the embarrassing list, but the bad list goes on and on.Even Heath Ledger's death made Charlton Heston a shadow at the award shows and in the media. Charlton Heston gave more to film than Heath's big toe. I am not one to celebrate or mourn deaths almost at all, especially from people in Hollywood, but what I am willing to do is honor the sweat of the men and women who paved the way for great cinema.
A name I would like to devote a moment to is Robert Duvall. In recent years I have watched countless films starring Duvall, and every time a camera captures a moment with him in it, the film becomes larger, and a more quality picture.
As an actor Duvall has taken part in well over a hundred characters on the screen. He is known as a late bloomer at the age of 31 in "To Kill a Mockingbird" (which has also gone unseen by me and on the long list as well). He has starred in "The Godfather" series, "Apocalypse Now", "The Apostle", the original "True Grit", "MASH", "THX 1138", "Joe Kidd" with Clint Eastwood, original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", "The Natural", "Falling Down", "Open Range". He also appeared in recent work such as: "The Road" and "Crazy Heart". Every time I see Duvall on the screen I become more interested in what will be said. I believe he will go down in my book as one of the greatest ever, as the man has only aged twice, once as a middle aged man and second as an old man. He is great, I intend to take a closer look at his work which I have not had the pleasure of taking the time to see yet.
