Patterico's Pontifications

1/27/2017

John Hurt, RIP

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:35 pm



John Hurt has long been among my favorite actors. The last movie I watched was actually a movie I re-watched: V for Vendetta (I even blogged about it here, barely over a week ago.) I enjoyed Hurt in The Elephant Man, Alien, Midnight Express, and the Harry Potter movies. But one performance I doubt many will remember, but which sticks out in my head, is his performance in the three-part TV mini-series Crime and Punishment. I remember watching that with my family as an 11-year-old child in Fort Worth, sitting in front of the TV with my back against the ugly round bright orange footrest that sat in the middle of our family room floor, and watching Hurt as Raskolnikov. It was transfixing and it made me want to watch other movies with Hurt. (Old-timers will recall that it wasn’t so easy to do that in 1979 with a snap of your fingers.)

Rest in peace.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]

39 Responses to “John Hurt, RIP”

  1. Ding.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  2. Never saw that, bravo back when it cared about the arts, showed the 1984 version, which was one of Richard button’s last performances, it was too disturbingly authentic

    narciso (d1f714)

  3. Parts of it are Youtube, crime and punishment, that version of 1984 is as well.

    narciso (d1f714)

  4. I loved his role as Caligula in the Masterpiece Theatre’s “I, Claudius.

    Golden Eagle (0aed02)

  5. He was great in Scandal.

    scrutineer (e49623)

  6. Did the voice of the main character in Watership Down.

    Will never forget his role in Midnight Express.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  7. He did C&P twice: in the 2002 version he was Porfiry, the police detective.

    My main memory of him is as Caligula in I, Claudius.

    Kishnevi (1f8073)

  8. There’s at least two chapters on Youtube.

    narciso (d1f714)

  9. I will always remember him best for his performances in Rob Roy and Wild Bill.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  10. Not great movies perhaps. But he seemed to be having a lark, and thus turned in great performances.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chceChQAVjI

    Wild Bill Official Trailer #1 – John Hurt Movie (1995) HD

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  12. weren’t you just talking about V or was that someone else

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  13. He was playing the Burton role in v, essentially and want subtle about it.

    narciso (d1f714)

  14. I first saw him in The Naked Civil Servant.

    Wanna make something of it?

    nk (dbc370)

  15. Since I don’t know what “V” is, it must have been someone else.

    I’ll happily talk about rebuilding the flathead Ford or how to make Pere al Vino Rosso or how to reload .338 WinMag ammo. But “V?” What is that?

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  16. V for. Vendetta, the dystopia Alan Moore disavowed, although almost all his projects are unfilmable.

    narciso (d1f714)

  17. John Hurt holds the record for on screeen deaths, at 42.

    My favorite Hurt roles were Caligula in I, Claudius, Montrose in Rob Roy, Stephen Ward in Scandal, John Merrick in The Elephant Man and Bird in The Field.

    NC Mountain Girl (dce153)

  18. Clockwork Orange meets Hunger Games meets 1984 meets Death Race 2000, Steve. It’s for plump young with permanently Cheetos-stained fingers who think the judge who sentenced the Silk Road drug dealer should be put through a woodchipper. Or so I’ve heard.

    nk (dbc370)

  19. @4.Hurt’s portrayal of Caligula in I, Claudius was simply stellar. Motivated me to purchase the DVD set.

    1984
    Midnight Express
    Contact
    Scandal

    … the Potters, Indiana Jones… the list goes on and on… what range. A superb actor. And as British as they come.

    “Wanna take a ride?” – S.R. Hadden [John Hurt] ‘Contact’ 1997

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  20. Whistle and I’ll Come To You

    Made-for-tv-movie from 2010. Good low-key performance from Hurt here. (YouTube link)

    Icy (fa7502)

  21. Well lets crystal skull out of it, I think Sean bean is catching up in that criteria

    narciso (d1f714)

  22. Well kit preceded hunger games, it was part if the Blair derangement syndrome over there, also the ghost and David hare’s worricker series

    narciso (d1f714)

  23. I liked him in Doctor Who as ‘The War Doctor’.

    Mattsky (bc842f)

  24. Been a fan since viewing him in The Man For All Seasons, Sinful Davey, etc.

    But his Caligula in I, Claudius was something different. He made a member of the Roman ruling clan a combination that was at the same time hilarious, ridiculous and absolutely terrifying. I can’t imagine any other actor who could have pulled it off as well as Hurt.

    He said he turned down the role and only reconsidered after attending a pre-production party and after realizing the cast and crew was going to do something magical, he couldn’t miss out.

    .
    [Emperor] Tiberius: Your uncle has brought me evidence that my son was poisoned by his wife.

    Caligula: Aunt Livilla? Whew! I always knew that woman was no good.

    Tiberius: She poisoned him with the help of Sejanus. And now they plot to assassinate me.

    Caligula: People really are despicable.

    Tiberius: The point is, how to arrest him. He controls the Guard. Four thousand of them. All loyal to him… not to me. His loyal servants, not mine. Castor warned me. I wouldn’t listen to him.

    Claudius: Well, is there n-n-no one among them you can trust? No m-man of integrity?

    Tiberius: Not that I know of.

    Caligula: Isn’t that a terrible comment on our times, Uncle? On the other hand, if you can’t find a man of integrity, I always say look for a man of ambition. Find a dog who’ll eat a dog.

    Tiberius: Do you know of such a person?

    Caligula: Yes, I do. Sertorius Macro, Sejanus’ second-in-command. He’s very popular with the troops.

    Claudius: He arrested G-Gallus.

    Tiberius: Isn’t he loyal to Sejanus?

    Caligula: Oh, yes, of course, but he can’t move up while Sejanus is still there, can he? And he is very ambitious.

    Tiberius: Do you know him personally?

    Caligula: No, but I’ve slept with his wife several times.

    Tiberius: And is deception with the wife regarded these days as a sound introduction to the husband????

    Caligula: Oh, he knows about that. I told you. He’s ambitious.

    Tiberius: [looks at Caligula with newfound wonder] I shall make you my successor, Gaius Caligula!

    harkin (afc7a6)

  25. He was mighty good as the War Doctor in the Time War arc on Doctor Who.

    Captain Ned (d080c3)

  26. #22, Hurt was cast with Sean Bean in two movies very early in Bean’s career and Bean has called Hurt a significant influence on his career. Interestingly, one of those movies was The Field, in which Bean’s infamous “death by cow” scene takes place.

    NC Mountain Girl (dce153)

  27. NC Mountain Girl, last night you piqued other commenters’ interest by naming some films such as The Field. Perhaps people will seek out that film.
    So it would be helpful if you would refrain from spoiling major plot points, as in #26.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  28. Hey, Cruz Supporter, you know … in Citizen Kane? “Rosebud” was the name of Orsen Wells’ sled. And in Murder On The Orient Express, they all killed Richard Widmark.

    Trumpkini non corburundum
    , NC Mountain Girl.

    nk (dbc370)

  29. #28 nk, that analogy’s about as airtight as the Titanic — ever see that movie? There’s this allegedly infallible ship, see, and … (LOL)

    Come on, you’re being silly, everyone’s already seen Citizen Kane, and Murder on the Orient Express, and The Godfather, and Casablanca, and Gone With the Wind, et al, so the endings are common knowledge.

    On the other hand, nobody’s seen The Field.
    Most people probably hadn’t heard of the movie until she mentioned it.
    It also stars Richard Harris and Tom Berenger, so I am looking forward to watching it.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  30. Everyone knows the name of Kane’s first sled.

    Not so many the name of his second sled (The Crusader).

    Harkin (eda32e)

  31. His portrayal of Winston Smith in 1984’s “1984” is definitive. With Richard Burton playing O’Brien (his last role), “1984” gives a terribly chilling view of the totalitarian boot. Well worth seeing, but don’t expect a happy ending.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  32. Not so many the name of his second sled (The Crusader).

    Or the third one (Welle’s Ego). A toboggan, actually.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  33. Its got a real darkness at noon feel to it, but Koestler had some periouz behavioral issues so never mind.

    narciso (d1f714)

  34. nk (dbc370) — 1/28/2017 @ 8:42 am

    Heh! I count myself as damned fortunate to “get” you.

    felipe (023cc9)

  35. Was hurt ever so tortured, crime and punishment, finds him relatively hall.

    narciso (d1f714)

  36. He also played Kristofferson’s best friend at Harvard, who becomes a conflicted drunk in “Heaven’s Gate.” One of the few films to be on “100 Best” and “100 Worst” film lists.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  37. I’d rather watch The Field than Titanic, Contact or any of the LOTR/Potter stuff but it’s heavy going.

    Harkin (eda32e)

  38. Now I remember that stupid movie. It sucked. They should have called it “The Quiet Man 2: The Gay Version”.

    nk (dbc370)

  39. Totally a chick flick. The lady I was dating at the time wanted to see it. Proving further that the more stupid a thing a man does is, the more likely it is that there’s a woman behind it.

    nk (dbc370)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.0803 secs.