There is so much to say about QBVII.
The cast was impeccable. Ben Gazarra was simply amazing, as was Anthony Hopkins.
Lee Remick - she just shone here.
Kristopher Tabori, as Abe Cady's son, was very watchable, and I also thought Lana Wood was very good, even though her role was quite small. She made it memorable, like the rest of them.
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I can't agree about Ben Gazzara.
His character evolves from being a bastard (or "a bum" as his father rightly puts it) to a man obsessed with justice once he has a cause. But the actor remains the same: during the trial, he should be focused upon getting justice, but he resorts to stage-whispered, deadpan, juvenile mockery of Kelno's testimony. He's still a creepy jerk, and I found that I was hoping the other guy turned out to be innocent. They should have used a better actor.
(Of course, the film may be trying to make the point that the guys who seem nice may not be.)
Still there should be no rules in hunting out Nazi collaborators. Once Kelno's guilt indeed came out, they should have prosecuted him.
I also think that Ben Gazzara has been over-praised and that his peformance was the least satisfactory one in the film (though the implausible overnight change from disregard for Jews to passionate commitment is of course more a problem in the writing). More broadly, every time I have seen Gazzara (eg Anatomy of a Murder, Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Capone, The Big Lebowski, Happiness), he has played his character in much the same way, which might suggest rather limited range. It may be that I have missed something, so I'd be interested to be pointed to any performances of his which prove his versatility. Hopkins, Caron, Stephens, Quayle, Remick and Mills all seemed perfectly fine to me, and Gielgud and Evans were their usual excellent selves, as was poor old Jack Hawkins. Glover's 'Polish' accent was inclined to wander towards Scotland, but still. In a small role, I thought the boy who played Kelo's young son (Michael-James Wixted) was excellent, I've no idea what's happened to him since.
I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken.
Gazzara was very one-note and gave a shallow performance. Hands down.
shareI'm glad to read this accurate assessment of Gazzara's "talent". Seeing him on-screen with Edith Evans or Anthony Hopkins is like watching Vanna White perform with Daniel Day-Lewis. I've rented it from Netflicks and find myself fast-forwarding through Gazzara's scenes in exasperation. He is utterly unsympathetic - one gives not a damn about his character.
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"Mork work"? That's Robin Williams, not Hopkins! ;)
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