Movies starring Harry Dean Stanton
Prolific character actor with a drooping, weather-beaten appearance and superb acting talent that have been his ticket to appearing in over 100 films, and 50 TV episodes. Born in West Irvine, Kentucky, Stanton served in WW II, then returned to the University of Kentucky to appear in a production of "Pygmalion", before heading out to California and honing his craft at the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse. Stanton then toured around the US with a male choir, worked in children's theater, and then headed back to California. His first role onscreen was in the tepid Tomahawk Trail (1957), but he was ...
show all Prolific character actor with a drooping, weather-beaten appearance and superb acting talent that have been his ticket to appearing in over 100 films, and 50 TV episodes. Born in West Irvine, Kentucky, Stanton served in WW II, then returned to the University of Kentucky to appear in a production of "Pygmalion", before heading out to California and honing his craft at the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse. Stanton then toured around the US with a male choir, worked in children's theater, and then headed back to California. His first role onscreen was in the tepid Tomahawk Trail (1957), but he was quickly noticed and appeared regularly in minor roles as cowboys and soldiers through the late 1950s and early 1960s. His star continued to rise and he received better roles in which he could showcase his laid-back style, such as in Cool Hand Luke (1967), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Dillinger (1973), Godfather: Part II, The (1974), and in Alien (1979). It was around this time that Stanton came to the attention of director 'Wim Wenders' (qv), who cast him in his finest role yet as Travis in the moving Paris, Texas (1984). Next indie director 'Alex Cox (I)' (qv) gave Stanton a role that really brought him to the forefront, in the quirky cult film Repo Man (1984).
Stanton was now heavily in demand, and his unique look got him cast as everything from a suburban father in the mainstream Pretty in Pink (1986) to a soft-hearted, but ill-fated, private investigator in Wild at Heart (1990) and a crazy yet cunning scientist in Escape from New York (1981). Apart from his film performances, Stanton is also an accomplished musician, and "The Harry Dean Stanton Band" and their unique spin on mariachi music have been playing together for well over a decade. They have toured internationally to rave reviews. Stanton became a cult figure of cinema and music and when 'Deborah Harry (I)' (qv) sang the lyric "I want to dance with Harry Dean..." in her 1990s hit "I Want That Man", she was talking about him.
As he moved into the time in his life when most other people would be calling it a day, Harry Dean Stanton has remained consistently active onscreen, most recently appearing in films including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), Green Mile, The (1999) and Man Who Cried, The (2000). A true gem amongst character actors, and with an onscreen presence capable of adding that something extra to any production.
hide
|
|
Nicolas Cage’s New Orleans-set melodrama isn’t a bad directorial debut, it’s just a stale one. With echoes of Tennessee Williams, Wild at Heart and any other Deep South slow-burner you care to mention, the film’s competently constructed but clichéd. James Franco is a handsome former gigolo who returns from the army in 1981 hoping to go straight, much to his trashy madam mother Brenda Blethyn’s dismay. Though his performance is sympathetic, Blethyn wildly overacts, while Cage’s cameo as a gay pimp is probably his career worst. Visually, the tale has appeal, with its retro-style colouring particularly attractive. However the occasional arty shots are a big mistake.
|
|
|
One of theatre director Peter Hall’s spasmodic and invariably unsuccessful forays into the cinema, this rehash of Fatal Attraction stars Rebecca De Mornay as an ice-cool criminal psychologist whose self-possession leaves her when she meets Antonio Banderas in a supermarket. She quickly throws caution to the winds and they embark upon a torrid affair. But strange things start happening to De Mornay and her new beau is soon under suspicion. Boasting a butt-naked Banderas, this may make his army of female fans fearful of blinking, but the rest of us can safely nod off.
|
|
|
Small-screen favourites Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (aka Ant and Dec) make their movie-starring debut with this boisterous sci-fi comedy from the director of TV’s Phoenix Nights. Trading on their public personas rather than on any great acting skills, they play mismatched British buddies who stumble on a potential goldmine when they acquire genuine footage from a 1947 alien autopsy at Roswell, New Mexico. However, after promising the print to a psychotic drug dealer (Götz Otto), the duo discover the reel has corroded. It’s then that the feature reaches its high point, as they team up with mates to re-create the film, using a mannequin, sausages for intestines and a haggis for brains. Beyond this hilarious sequence, the tale is flimsy and long-winded, with only the boys’ hit-and-miss banter and petty rivalries to keep proceedings afloat. Existing Ant and Dec fans might lap it up, but few others will share their enthusiasm.
|
|
|
“In space, no one can hear you scream.” A close encounter of the third kind becomes a Jaws-style nightmare when an alien invades a spacecraft in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror classic. On the way home from a mission for the Company, the Nostromo’s crew is woken up from hibernation by the ship’s Mother computer to answer a distress signal from a nearby planet. Capt. Dallas’ (Tom Skerritt) rescue team discovers a bizarre pod field, but things get even stranger when a face-hugging creature bursts out of a pod and attaches itself to Kane (John Hurt). Over the objections of Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), science officer Ash (Ian Holm) lets Kane back on the ship. The acid-blooded incubus detaches itself from an apparently recovered Kane, but an alien erupts from Kane’s stomach and escapes. The alien starts stalking the humans, pitting Dallas and his crew (and cat) against a malevolent killing machine that also has a protector in the nefarious Company.
|
|
|
Clint Eastwood and Telly Savalas head the cast of this enjoyable if occasionally silly adventure yarn about a group of maverick GIs who decide to fill a lull in the Second World War by knocking off a hoard of German bullion in occupied France. Savalas and the eccentric Donald Sutherland set to their assignment with gusto, while Eastwood remains as cool and laconic as ever — even as half of Europe blows up around him. This was never destined to win prestigious prizes at international film festivals, but, despite its flaws, there are more than a few entertaining moments.
|
|
|
He may be a convert to saving the Earth, but Steven Seagal proves he is no tree-hugging peacenik in this eco-thriller. He is joined by Harry Dean Stanton and a grizzled Kris Kristofferson for a tale about environmental mayhem in rural Tennessee. Seagal plays a federal agent on a twin mission to track down the killer of a colleague and destroy the industrialist who has been poisoning the local water supply. As usual, Seagal’s fists and boots do most of the talking, but fans will enjoy an unexpected treat as their hero warbles a folk song over the credits.
|
|
|
Director David Lynch goes over the top, over people’s heads and somewhere over the psychedelic rainbow here in another ultra-violent and sleazily sexy pulp art attack. Forget the story; Lynch clearly has. Just follow convict and Elvis fan Nicolas Cage and his white trash girlfriend Laura Dern as they are pursued through the Deep South by her crazed mother’s gumshoe lover. Stuffed with the Sultan of Strange’s transfixing brand of deranged visuals, haunting weirdness and exuberant camp, it’s another hip and hypnotic rollercoaster ride through the twin peaks of pretentiousness and exhilaration.
|
