was he good as roosevelt. that's one of the best performances by an actor playing a real person (right up there with david carradine as woody guthrie in "bound for glory" and bruno ganz as hitler in "downfall". sean connery did a good job i suppose but i just couldn't get over the fact that he was supposed to be playing an arab bandit, and well he's....scottish.
share> i just couldn't get over the fact that [Connery] was supposed to be playing an arab bandit, and well he's....scottish. <
Well, it is ACTING, after all.
And Raisuli was a Berber, not an Arab. The Berbers are a caucasian people who have lived in the northwest corner of Africa for centuries; they are generally Islamic in religion, but are not of Arabian ethnicity. There have been reports for almost that long of Berbers with fair skin and red hair, so a Scot portraying a Berber is not that far-fetched.
Question, Kilo--what language do the Berbers speak?
Carpe Noctem
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Get over it,pal !
shareDang I just rented this! Can't wait to see it! So Keith was good, huh?
shareI agree that Mr Keith delivered an incredible TR -- the best I've seen. As for Mr Connery, I recall discussing -- when I first saw the movie -- that it appeared this was the first Connery film in which he let his natural Scottish accent flow undisguised. We called it his "Berber Burr," back in those days when my friends and I spent inordinate amounts of time congratulating ourselves on our own cleverness.
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Brian Keith was top notch.
Connery too. He made 'Robin and Marian' the following year - another favourite of mine!
No doubt about it, Brian Keith delivers an astonishing performance. And best of all, he does it without ever once falling back on that old TR cliche, using the word "Bully!" This was an Oscar-caliber performance and the fact that he wasn't even nominated is a disgrace. Possibly a backlash against Milius' political views and the rampant enthusiasm for imperialism that so many of the characters express.
shareI think your points are exactly on target. Hollywood quite often misses the flavor and outlook of the people of the past. They think if they get the costumes and sets right, they can substitute current mindsets when in fact the people prior to WW1 would barely recognize the current Hollywood crowd as Earthlings!
shareIndeed, Wow. I adore Brian Keith. To see him playing another President (McKinely) check out the mini-series "The Rough Riders," shown on TNT. It was shown in Tampa (my town) a few years ago at the unique and wonderful, 1927 vintage Tampa Theatre. The special Tampa premiere, sponsored by a local renactment group, the Rough Riders, was held before the series was shown on TV. The showing occurred soon after Brian Keith's suicide, which was perhaps triggered by his daugther's suicide. When Keith first appeared on the screen I started a round of applause for him and others joined in. I thought it a nice tribute. When Keith died he was remembered mostly for his television series "Family Affair," but I like his turns in period pictures. In addition to real life characters her did well with fictional ones including Jonas Cord Sr., opposite Steve McQueen, in "Nevada Smith."
Others please post other period characters portrayed by Brian Keith.
Keith's last film role was as President McKinley in "Rough Riders" another Milius film. This makes him probably the only actor to play two Presidents one who succeeded the other except in reverse order. Milius also knew how to pick composers. Jerry Goldsmith for TWATL classic and later Peter and Elmer Bernstein for RRs.
shareWhen I first saw this film I had no idea who Brian Kieth was an little idea about what kind of president Roosevelt was (give me a break, I was 8). Nevertheless, I was totally blown away with his performance as TR and still love it to this day. I wish more actors would realize that you don't have to do a caraciture or impression when you're playing a real person. He really gives us a sense of this great man and he never relies on mimickry to do it.
Now, as for Sean Connery, I should point out that I'm an arab American. I've talked a lot with my relatives from the Middle East about this movie and we all agree that he's AWESOME in it. Yes, his accent is still Scottish but who cares? At least he's giving a heartfelt performance and portraying this man as serious an honorable (something rare in US films about arabs). Once again, good acting is a lot more than an accent.
I first saw this movie when I was 18 - it was definitely senior year of high school, I saw it on TCM after coming back from some class contest - and immediately loved it. Despite being a history buff I didn't really know that much about Roosevelt, at least compared to other Presidents (I've always been a Lincoln man), then I almost immediately read Theodore Rex and my love of the Colonel immediately took off. Heck, I did a scene from this movie for my senior high talent show that year.
Keith is an excellent Roosevelt, mixing humor and dignity, childish enthusiasm with thoughtful reverence. He's pretty much the perfect encapsulation of the public perception of TR, and it's a wonderful performance in the midst of what's, let's face it, a pretty silly movie. However, I might argue that Tom Berenger's performance in Milius's later Rough Riders is better - at least, it's more realistic.
Technically Raisuli is a Berber, not an Arab, but that's still cool you feel that way. Milius said something on the commentary about how Muslims seem to enjoy the movie, now we have at least anecdotal evidence that such is the case.
On that score, a few months back I read an article about the film by some pretentious historian which left open to question whether he'd actually seen the movie - he saw Raisuli as being portrayed as the villain (!), complained about how he wasn't a representation of the REAL Raisuli (who was by all accounts a thug, but apparently not in this guy's mind), went off on feminist readings about Raisuli's "sexual dominance" over Eden (huh?), and most amusingly, whined about the Bashaw's troops being killed by the Marines and cited some BS about a Hollywood stereotype of Muslims being cowardly fighters. Apparently he fell asleep during the scene where the Raisuli single-handedly rescued Eden and her children from the pirates! Anyway, that guy was a moron.
"Some men will say we are traitors. Some will say we're patriots. Both will be wrong."
Keith is my runner-up for best supporting actor that year, second only to the immortal Robert Shaw as Quint.
Ironically (and shamefully) enough, neither were nominated for oscars.
"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino
"Keith is my runner-up for best supporting actor that year, second only to the immortal Robert Shaw as Quint."
Good call. I guess I would have gone with Brad Dourif in Cuckoo's Nest, but Keith and Shaw would have been deserving nominees. Keith is a little mannered as TR, but very interesting on screen. Credit Milius, too - it's a well-written part.
BTW, Sentimental favorite George Burns won. Good for him, but, still.
I guess I would have gone with Brad Dourif in Cuckoo's Nest
Credit Milius, too - it's a well-written part.