R.i.p Alan Rickman

[webbo3]

Just on the news he passed away aged 69, I think I first saw him in Die Hard and thought he was a German actor.





Dave.

[retrocop]

Baths
when I saw the Guardian link of his demise I thought they had got the wrong photograph.
Glad I am not a big gambler. I would of lost a tidy sum of 1 1/2 d . I thought he was Michael Winner. I have only seen Alan Rickman in one film. :-)

[pastafreak]

I bawled my eyes out watching him in Truly,Madly,Deeply. So sad that another great has left us too,too young.

[bazwillrun]

One word uttered and you can tell it was him, such a distinctive voice...

And if you wanted menacing then he was your man, nobody did menacing better, even better than Anthony Hopkins, and he could do a mean menacing if needed

[-SharonA-]

I loved him in the Prince of Thieves and adored him as Hans Gruber. He will be missed.

[mikey4444]

So shocked ! I didn't know that he was that old. He was marvelous in "Truly, Madly Deeply"

RIP in Alan.

[New Judge]

“I got him mixed up with Rick Wakeman.”

Now, Rick Wakeman I know!

“I am surprised you didn't watch Michael Collins..”

I haven’t been to a cinema since 1979, retro. I’ve never been to a cinema with more than one screen. From reports I receive from acquaintances that do occasionally go it is unlikely in the extreme that I shall be going in the near future. This is for two reasons: firstly the reports of the behaviour of some members of the audiences during the performances that I have heard about (poncing about with phones, tablets and the like, eating and drinking all manner of stuff because they cannot last a couple of hours without fodder); but secondly it is very unlikely that I will be tempted by what’s on offer. I watch the occasional “new” film on the telly. I’m rarely impressed and certainly not enough to endure the sort of conditions I describe above and pay for the privilege.

I’m sure there is some half decent stuff about. Though how to judge if it is worth the bother is very difficult. I’ve seen two films that were showered with “Oscars” (A Passage to India and Ghandi). Both were extremely poor offerings and the latter was one of the most anti-British films it has ever been my misfortune to see. Had I been watching it in a cinema I'd have walked out. So anything nominated for Oscars is out and on balance I’d prefer to avoid the cinema altogether and just catch the occasional film on the telly (if I’m not busy washing me hair, that is ).

[jim360]

Well obviously Gandhi was going to be an "anti-British" film (if the whole "oh yeah, it's actually not OK to invade another country and subjugate its populace" is anti-British -- I'd have called it common-sense), what with Gandhi being the hero of the piece.

[New Judge]

Have a word with a few older Indian people, jim (those who still live there) and find out whether they preferred it pre or post 1947. And of course Mr Ghandi could not have been too incensed with the behaviour of those who "subjugated" his fellow countrymen. At least not incensed enough to turn down a decent education from them.

For my part Dickie Attenbore would have been in through Traitors' Gate never to emerge. :-)

However, we digress and we're in danger of hijacking webbo's question !!!

[jim360]

I'm not really sure whether a "preference" for pre- or post-colonialism is really the important bit (colonialism is unjustifiable by definition) but in view of the risks of hijacking I'll leave it there.

It's kind of sad for you to have missed out on most or all of the last 40-odd years' worth of entertainment. My own choices of film, I suspect, would not be to your taste (by and large, I prefer entertaining films to objectively "good" ones), but all the same it seems like you will have missed out to a large extent. Returning to the topic, Alan Rickman was a fine actor and made pretty much anything he was in automatically better.

[retrocop]

NJ
I totally agree about today's cinemas. The last multi screen cinema complex I went to was to see Jaws. The screen was too big and the viewing patrons were to close to it. I felt nauseus all the way through it and it strained my eyes. Agree about the picnics as well. I refuse to go to the cinema with my wife. I wait for the DVD and enjoy it in the comfort of my own home,pause for a toilet break, pour a drink etc. No distractions.

[Sipowicz]

That's one of the things I enjoy about retirement, go to the cinema off-peak, most of the time you have the place to yourself!

[Answerprancer]

"You broke the ship! YOU BROKE THE BLOODY SHIP!"
"Where are you going Alex?"
"TO SEE IF THERE'S A PUB!!"

...Indeed, a very sad loss, he was one of the greats - fantastic voice, looks and acting skills.

[Sipowicz]

.....and it's cheaper!

[yinyang]

To return to the original topic of the post, I was saddened to hear of the death of Alan Rickman, one of my favourite actors. My teenage children ,who have grown up knowing him as Severus Snape , both cried when I told them the news.

Perhaps the shortcomings of modern cinemas and films in general could be the topic of a new thread so this one is left for Alan Rickmans many fans.

[Togo]

He made Snape the only credible 'character' in the Harry Potter series of films, he acted some fine actors and actresses off the screen.

[Togo]

yinyang my son is 22, and he was actually sorry too. So we watched Deathly Hallows 1&2 this afternoon.

[Peter Pedant]

// and thought he was a German actor. //

nein he vaz an actor acting being Cherman
Hoot accent huh ?

n he wasnt a wizard either and couldnt fly a broom stick I am reliably told

[zebo]

"Assume nothing except an occasional air of intelligence", one of my all time favourite quotes, from Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, which he single handedly saved from extinction.

[Peter Pedant]

// He made Snape the only credible 'character' //

yeah like you expected his spells to work and no one else's coz the others were obvious frauds and er actors

[AlwaysConfused]

RIP Alan. In two of my fav's - Dogma and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.