Alan Rickman (1 Viewer)

[Imbi]

I like Rickman. But the way the film industry works, there is a depressing tendency for him to get type cast as comic Grand Guignol villains. As such, he is always equal to himself, (unforgettable as the Sheriff of Nottingham or the sleazy political spinmaster in BOB ROBERTS) but underused IMHO. He is capable of so many more dimensions, and is never so good as when he is cast against type.

My favorite performnace by him though is as the revenant cellist in Anthony Minghella's TRULY MADLY DEEPLY, we have a delightfully nuanced comic portrayal, seductive enough
to get called back from the dead by the grief of his distraught widow, but also sufficiently annoying, flimsy and full of ticks, as to teach her to dispense with his memory and get on with her life.


So what do you guys think, do you think there's more to him than just a villain?

 

[Cees Alons]

I'll move this thread to 'Movies", where it will have more potential for attracting discussions about this interesting actor.


Most people know him best from his character Hans Gruber in Die Hard and the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves or even perhaps Metatron in Dogma or Professor Severus Snape, but contrast these roles with for instance his Colonel Brandon in Sense and sensibility or the title character in Rasputin or his earlier Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet.

He's a very versatile performer, who is in fact also an excellent Shakespeare actor, known as such in his home country.


Cees

 

[Tino]

He was also excellent in Galaxy Quest.

 

[Ben_@]

He was great in that movie, but the Metatron and his character in Galaxy Quest are remarkably similar

 

[Qui-Gon John]

I love Metratron and Dr. Lazarus!!!

 

[JustinCleveland]

I just recently saw Sense and Sensibility for the first time, but found it impossible to shake the "Hans Gruber" from the Rickman performance. I grew up with Hans Gruber, and Die Hard is one of my favorite action films. For some reason, I simply couldn't shake that vision of him in that more serious piece. My girlfriend fell in love with Rickman from Sense and Sensibility, but I just couldn't see him.

Ironically, I've had no trouble accepting him in any other role, perhaps because of their cartoonish nature, like Galaxy Quest, Robin Hood, and Dogma.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Metatron was actually a surprisingly versatile role; he was at time whiney follower and at times wise and compassionate god teacher. Few others have made as dramatic transition as C-3PO to Obi-Wan Kenobi in one movie without stretching credibility (atleast beyond that inherent in angels with hoodies.)

And I'm convinced that no one else could play Snape so perfectly. You can fault Chris Columbus for alot of things, but casting Harry Potter wasn't one of them. Everyone in the first two films were pitch-perfect casting.

In OOTP especially but as early as POA, Snape gets really interesting and it will be fascinating to see how that works out.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

No, Linda Fiorentino (Bethany) is Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jay is Han Solo, Silent Bob is Chewie, and they're in that f***ed up bar!

According to IMDB, Rickman was hand-picked to play Snape by J.K. Rowling.

 

[JustinCleveland]

And I don't think I could see anyone else doing it so... perfectly. From the moment the casting was announced, I agreed.

 

[Leo Kerr]

too bad that they screwed up the Snape character...

anyway, what about a nice little known film, January Man, with Mary E. Mastrantonio and Kevin Kline?

He isn't a bad guy like in most other films of his; he's just... 'charmingly demented.'

Leo

 

[Jacinto]

I saw January man in the theater, and I thought that was the first time I'd ever seen Alan Rickman, and I thought he was great. It was on my home that I realized it was Hans from Die Hard, and I was blown away. I've tried to see all of his film work since then.

 

[Raasean Asaad]

He was great in Closetland as well

 

[Nate Anderson]

I don't think they screwed up Snape. He's one of my favorite characters in the films. Granted, he's different in the books, but I wasn't expecting a completely canon adaptation

 

[Leo Kerr]

oh, he spends his time snarling and muttering, but as a potentially major character, so far they could have just as easily hired a photograph of Rickman. Maybe they'll do something a little more interesting in the later films...

(To be utterly fair, I've been... disappointed by the two films so far. I realize that they have a daunting task, but I, for one, am glad that they're ditching CC as producer/director.)

Leo

 

[Imbi]

Thanks for the replies.

It's interesting how different the opinions about him can be sometimes.