Barry Norman Rip

[fender62]

i always thought he was perfect for film etc on bbc, have not watched it since he left,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4656792/Film-critic-Barry-Norman-dies-aged-83.html

[mikey4444]

Fender....you and I posted at exactly the same moment !

[murraymints]

83...did not think he was that age..sad..a blast from the past

[Islay]

That's very sad, was a big fan.

[Arksided]

I used to watch Film...' when he presented it.

R.I.P Barry Norman

[Mamyalynne]

Always made you feel comfortable, a really good presenter and knowledgeable too.

RIP Barry.

[tiggerblue10]

In my opinion he was the best film critic ever.

RIP :(

[mikey4444]

I think he used to be known as one-take Norman, as he such a accomplished presenter, that only one take was ever needed.

[mikey4444]

Unlike me it seems....put WAS in between he and such !

[Barsel]

mikey, and an instead of a. :-) Yes, another one bites the dust. R.I.P Barry Norman.

[Patsy33]

Aww, he was the best guy for the job
RIP Barry...

[Barsel]

He was Patsy. Would rather watch him than Claudia Winklepicker.

[Lie-in King]

Sad news, he was an excellent, knowledgeable presenter.

RIP Barry.

[Khandro]

The trouble with Barry as a film critic was he seemed to think movies mostly began and ended in Hollywood, I don't think he ever watched 'foreign films' like Polish or Japanese etc.
Still, RIP Barry.

[vetuste_ennemi]

RIP, Mr Norman.

But I don't share the opinion of most posters.

I remember one program when Norman was talking about Robert Donat. He didn't want to appear in the film The Magic Box on (feigned according to Norman) grounds of ill health, but was cajoled into playing the part by his agent who said that Donat's refusal would be interpreted as funk (there was a short scene in the film when Donat would be acting opposite Laurence Olivier who was doing a small cameo as a policeman). Donat eventually agreed to the role and this is the scene with him and Olivier shown on Norman's show:



At about 3:30 mins into the video you'll see Donat starts to ape one of Olivier's mannerisms: mouth slightly open, tongue pressed slightly against the lower teeth (remember his Othello?). Very funny a very much younger VE thought. But the professional film critic didn't notice, or, if he did, didn't allude to the cheeky parody. (I'm sure it wasn't lost on Olivier).

On another occasion he was interviewing Peter Ustinov and was congratulating him for the Oscar he won for his supporting role in Spartacus. Norman was quite fulsome, comparing Ustinov's (admittedly amusing) performance with some of the "wooden" performances by other actors. I remember two great performances from that film. One was the aforementioned Olivier as Crassus. The other was one of the finest pieces of acting I've ever seen: Charles Laughton as Tiberius Gracchus. (He was assisted by the great script of a black-listed screen-writer). As these were two of the performances Norman thought wooden I rather last respect for him as a critic.

[vernonk]

Khandro, that is not true. He once said his favourite film ever was The Italian film Cinema Paradiso. It's mine too

[jourdain2]

I'm not much interested in films these days, but I was for a while and I would always watch him and find his programme entertaining and informative. He came over as a knowledgeable, friendly man. RIP

[Khandro]

veronk; //that is not true. He once said his favourite film ever was The Italian film Cinema Paradiso//
I love that film too and watch it often, but it doesn't feature in his 'Radio Times 100 Best Films' list;

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-01-31/barry-normans-100-greatest-films-of-all-time---in-full

[fender62]

vetuste_ennemi, thanks for that info, and mikey funny that timing

[chessington]

aww sad news, once when my daughter was young she saw him in the street and asked him how he got in the TV