Stone's Film JFK-Greatest Cast Ever?

jeffyboyjeffyboy
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Watched this movie for the first time in a long time with some friends tonight.



I don't want to get into JFK conspiracy's, though it could make a good Fireside Chat.



But what really struck me was how many great actors are in this thing:



Kevin Costner

Tommy Lee Jones

Sissy Spacek

Gary Oldham

Joe Pecsi

Donald Sutherland

Kevin Bacon

John Candy

Ed Asner

Jack Lemmon

Walter Mathaeu



And lesser knowns who gave good performances

Wayne Knight

Lolita Davidovich

Sally Kirkland

Laurie Metcalf

Michael Rooker

Brian Doyle Murray



Some of the roles were somewhat small, but IMO, all the actors did a great job.



Can anyone think of more Hollywood talent assembled for one film?



Jeff

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    That's funny...I've always thought the same thing! The movie does have a neat look/style to it and the content/viewpoint is, I suppose, up for debate.



    But there is no denying that a pretty rocking list of actors appear in it!



    Kevin Bacon was, by far, my favorite: "It don't make a fück all to me, Mr. Garrison...I'm already IN jail!"







    That accent!



    Pesci, as usual, was a bit over the top. But I liked Oldman's role as Oswald.



    Lots of good character actors too. Garrison's staff had lots of those guys you see in movies a lot. Never leading men, but you've seen them all in quite a few movies over the years. There's one guy in particular that I like, but I don't know his name. He's slightly buck-toothed, with a Southern accent. He played Will's bigshot client on "Will and Grace" and he played a firefighter briefly in that "X Files" movie from a few years back.



    One of those "you'd know him if you saw him" guys.







    Overall, a pretty snazzy movie.



    "Back, and to the left...back and to the left..."



    [ 11-30-2002: Message edited by: pscates ]</p>
  • Reply 2 of 8
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Godfather II



    Taxi Driver



    Come on, this is too easy.
  • Reply 3 of 8
    jeffyboyjeffyboy Posts: 1,055member
    [quote]Lots of good character actors too. Garrison's staff had lots of those guys you see in movies a lot. Never leading men, but you've seen them all in quite a few movies over the years. There's one guy in particular that I like, but I don't know his name. <hr></blockquote>



    Yeah, I left a couple off because I didn't know their names. That guy is Gary Grubbs. On the directors commentary Stone says he loves his "Tennesse accent." Maybe that's why you dig him?





    Jay O. Sanders plays Lou Ivon, the guy who quit and came back for the trial.



    My favorite staffer is Michael Rooker as Bill Broussard, the guy who turns on Garrison. "This is Louisiana, chief...How the Hell do you know who your daddy is? Cause your mamma told you so!"





    Hey Scott, I'm ashamed to say I've never seen Taxi Driver. <img src="graemlins/embarrassed.gif" border="0" alt="[Embarrassed]" />



    I know DeNiro, Keitel and Foster. Who else was in that?



    Godfather II WAS loaded, though!



    Jeff



    [ 11-30-2002: Message edited by: jeffyboy ]</p>
  • Reply 4 of 8
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Taxi Driver had the three you listed, plus Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle, Cybill Shepherd and - in a cameo - Martin Scorcese himself.



    But that's about it, as far as "big names" go. "JFK" still trumps it.



    The Godfather (the complete trilogy) boasted quite a few heavyweights:

    Al Pacino

    Marlon Brando

    Robert Duvall

    James Caan

    John Cazale

    Talia Shire

    Lee Strasberg

    Danny Aiello

    Abe Vigoda (haha!)

    Joe Mantegna

    Andy Garcia

    Bridget Fonda

    Diane Keaton

    Bruno Kirby

    Joe Pantoliano

    George Hamilton



    But that's spread over three films. "JFK" STILL, in my opinion, beats that.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    bellebelle Posts: 1,574member
    Unfortunately a great cast isn't always a guarantee of a great movie.



    JFK is almost as dull as every other Oliver Stone movie.



    There were all those disaster epics in the '70s that had stellar casts, but were pretty awful. The Towering Inferno comes to mind.



    One of the best casts I've seen lately was for Red Dragon. It was a lousy film, but had Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, and Philip Seymour-Hoffman.



    I guess The Player doesn't count.



    I it doesn't have the best known stars out there, but I think Lord Of The Rings has been phenomenally cast.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    JFK has a great 10 minutes in the middle, the scene with Donald Sutherland as Mr. X. Not much else going on though.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    I don't know...I always liked the look of "JFK". Some black and white, some handheld, some color, some grainy, some documentary-style footage, the flashbacks, etc.



    If nothing else, a very enjoyable movie to watch, just on a visual level. But I think the story is kinda cool too, how they piece things together and all.



    I saw it once at the theater when it originally came out and I rented it once years ago. Then I've seen it on TV (USA, TNT, etc.) 2-3 times over the past 10 years, although mostly in bits and pieces and chunks here and there.



    Would be nice to rent the DVD and sit and watch it straight through, uncut, again.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    jeffyboyjeffyboy Posts: 1,055member
    I don't find it dull at all. If nothing else processing all the information thrown out pretty quickly keeps me on my toes.



    I watched it again today, and caught little things I missed last night.



    And to me, watching Pesci melt down under pressure, Tommy Lee Jones alternate between menace and flounce, Asner and Lemmon just playing off each other as drunks, Oldham being his sublime self (and on and on) is worth the time.



    Jeff
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