Since I haven't updated in a long time, and inspired by Spacebeer's Secret Boyfriend Wednesday, I think I will institute a weekly feature: Favorite Actor Monday. It will be a welcome balance to the otherwise director-heavy focus of my rant-heavy movie blog. I can think of no one more appropriate to kick off this weekly feature than Harry Dean Stanton. I love character actors. He is one of the best. I was born on July 14. He was born on July 14. He plays guitar in a band. I like the rock and roll. He's been in a lot of good movies. I like movies. Harry Dean Stanton, you are one of Mr. Krauter's favorite actors.
Recommended Harry Dean Stanton performances:
Ride in the Whirlwind (Monte Hellman, 1965)
Two-Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 1971)
Cisco Pike (Bill L. Norton, 1972)
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (Sam Peckinpah, 1973)
Cockfighter (Monte Hellman, 1974)
Rancho Deluxe (Frank Perry, 1975)
Farewell, My Lovely (Dick Richards, 1975)
92 in the Shade (Thomas McGuane, 1975)
Straight Time (Ulu Grosbard, 1978)
Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)
Repo Man (Alex Cox, 1984)
Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984)
Pretty in Pink (Howard Deutch, 1986)
Wild at Heart (David Lynch, 1990)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (David Lynch, 1992)
She's So Lovely (Nick Cassavetes, 1997)
The Straight Story (David Lynch, 1999)
The Pledge (Sean Penn, 2001)
Even if some of these movies disappoint, and most of them don't, they work whenever Stanton is on the screen.
6 comments:
Excellent. Two movies I haven't seen yet because I didn't want to blow my Stanton wad too soon, but I will definitely get to those before I turn 35.
The Missouri Breaks is just bugfuck excellent all around; although, it is admittedly light on the Stanton. However, he all but steals away Escape fron New York from everyone else -- Adrienne Barbeau, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Plesasance, Isaac Hayes, and even Russell himself. Loving Carpenter these days is very much like admitting to loving KISS after your teens; as such, the film is admittedly a product of its time. I love her so, but I know she is a stunted whore.
I like favorite actor Monday. HDS is definitely underrated and deserves all of Will Smith's millions and most of Kevin Spacey's positive notoriety.
Harry Dean Stanton, like his Alien co-star Yaphet Kotto, have excellent names. While there is a band from San Francisco called Yaphet Kotto, one could easily form a noise rock band from Fargo, ND called Harry Dean Stanton.
The Yaphet Kotto/ Harry Dean Stanton tag team in Alien should have been an entire movie in itself. He also steals his short scenes Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me.
I left out the word "in" in my last sentence. Oops.
Have you seen Twister (the one made in 1990, not the one with Helen Hunt)? It isn't the greatest movie, as far as I remember. Although I haven't seen it in many years. But he's great in it. And it also features appearances by Crispin Glover and William Burroughs. And Tim Robbins and Ron Vawter (an incredible but little-known actor who was a hero of mine) in bit parts.
I also feel the need to point out that, while he is less of a superstar than Johnny Depp or George Clooney, he is also one of many well-known actors who hail from my home state of Kentucky.
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