Tag: sydney pollack

SLIFF 2019 – THEY SHOOT HORSES DON’T THEY? Golden Anniversary Screening at The St. Louis Public Library November 17th

” I may not know a winner when I see one, but I sure as hell can spot a loser. “

THEY SHOOT HORSES DON’t THEY? will be screening at the St. Louis Public Library (1301 Olive Street St. Louis) on November 17th at 1:30pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. THEY SHOOT HORSES DON’t THEY? is part of Cinema St. Louis’ Golden Anniversary of films made in 1969. This is a FREE event. With an intro and post-film discussion by We Are Movie Geeks’ own Tom Stockman. A Facebook invite can b found HERE

In Depression-era America, desperation spawned a bizarre fad: the dance marathon. Couples competed to stay on their feet for thousands of hours, and audiences flocked to watch. But Gloria (Jane Fonda, two-time Oscar winner for “Klute” and “Coming Home”) doesn’t think of herself as a spectacle. She is a fierce, unforgiving contestant in a battle she’s determined to win. At stake is much more than the $1,500 prize: The marathon is her only hope for dignity, accomplishment, and salvation. Based on a novel by hardboiled writer Horace McCoy, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Gig Young, who plays the marathon’s emcee, and was nominated for eight additional Academy Awards, including Best Director (Sydney Pollack), Best Actress (Fonda), and Best Supporting Actress (Susannah York). The remarkable cast also includes Michael Sarrazin (as Gloria’s dance partner), Red Buttons, Bruce Dern, and Bonnie Bedelia.

Director Sydney Pollack Dies at 73

Actor, Writer, Producer and Oscar-winning Director Sydney Pollack dies on Monday, May 26, 2008 (Memorial Day) at the age of 73. In 1986, Pollack won an Academy Award for Best Director for Out of Africa, which also won Best Picture. As a producer, Pollack was nominated in 2008 for Best Picture for Michael Clayton.

Pollack was also nominated in 1970 for Best Director for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? and in 1983 for Tootsie. His directorial legacy also includes: This Property is Condemned (1966), Castle Keep (1969), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Way We Were (1973), The Yakuza (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Electric Horseman (1979), Absence of Malice (1981), The Firm (1993), Random Hearts (1999), and The Interpreter (2005).

Review: ‘Michael Clayton’

Zac:

This is the kind of movie we need more of, intelligent thrillers, that keeps you guessing, constantly engages you in the picture, and doesn’t take the audiences knowledge for granted.
Tony Gilroy, writer of the Bourne movies, makes his directorial debut here and does a fantastic job and he made his job a lot easier by getting an amazing cast. George Clooney leads the way and is absolutely fantastic as the title character.
Clooney plays the character perfectly and we believe his struggles with all of the aspects of his life. The title character is such a breath of fresh air because he isn’t just a one note song, there are layers to this guy, and we don’t just deal with only one problem in his life, we see everything that is going on with his life over the course of the four days of the film and each story is equally engaging and Gilroy’s script weaves them all together so well.
Tilda Swinton also does some good work here as the executive that might be a bit in over her head but willing to do anything for the company from losing the class action law suit that the movie revolves around.
Sydney Pollack also has some great work, and a couple of good one liner’s, as the Firm CEO that is in the middle of all of the drama unfolding on all sides. For a director he is one pretty good actor as well.
Tom Wilkinson is also fantastic as the defense attorney that loses it and sets all of the events in the film into motion. He plays a great sympathetic crazy man that starts to seem not so crazy as the movie progresses.
I can’t reveal much without giving things away, but Gilroy’s script is deliberately paced and engaging, which weaves in and out of itself very easily while remaining clever and thought provoking. And the movie finishes on one of the best notes in a movie in a while, just a fantastic ending.
Anyways, if you’re looking for a great movie to go see, this is it. A great, adult drama that is well worth your 8 bucks for two hours.

[rating: 5/5]