Agree. Jack was great in this. Check him in 'Save The Tiger' as well.
Toughest part of China Syndrome was reminding myself Michael Douglas WASN'T playing the lead singer of The Doors.
"What's wrong with a little good, clean violence?"
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I am used to seeing his hamming-it-up, so I was surprised at the power of his performance in the inital control room sequence. He was also good in glengary glen ross
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I'd rate him even better in DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES, SAVE THE TIGER, MISSING, and GLENGARY GLEN ROSS. But he was very good in this role too.
shareI've seen this for the 4th or 5th time now, and have been once again on the edge of my chair bursting with anxiety during the first "accidental" event, and I bet 10 to 1 it will still keep me clutching the armrests at the 500th time.
Why?
It's Jack Lemmon's fault. With the slightest change of expression, a look, a tiny gesture, he transports whole volumes straight into your bone marrow and takes over.
"Brilliant" is an understatement, and as one can see, words fail me...
Ah, Jack, you will always be remembered.
Lemmon was never brilliant!!! He was good at times, for example in The Prisoner Of Second Avenue.
You guys must have seen a totally different movie than I did,
Jack Lemmon in The China Syndrome was just plain Jack Lemmon he is in all the movies, he was just as good/usual as he was in Grumpy Old Men for example.
Finally watched this for the first time and was absolutely in awe over Lemmon's performance. The 15 minute incident at the beginning really showcased his amazing acting abilities. Man I miss the guy. Good job Jack!
shareAbsolutely--he certainly was one of the greatest actors of our time.
But I'm such a big fan of his and know most of his movies backwards, occasionally I'm reminded of his performances in other movies during his career.
In this case, his performance as Professor Fate in "The Great Race"(1965).
Throughout that movie, he was berating his offsider Max (played by Peter Falk), clobbering him and yelling "You Idiot!" at the top of his voice.
I went to see "The China Syndrome" as a kid with my little brother back in 1979 and when the climax of the movie is going full blast, with Jack pounding away at dials and leavers, trying to stop the nuclear plant from blowing up, he goes "No, no, no....you, you idiots!!" and I looked at my brother and we both said "Professor Fate!"
(For what it's worth, Walter Matthau's name in the "Grumpy Old Men" movies was Max--and Jack is always yelling throughout those movies "Maaaxx!" as he did in "The Great Race")
He was good in Save the Tiger too.
Overall, this is a better film, but if you’re talking just Jack Lemmon’s performance, you gotta have Save the Tiger over this film. He was the star in Save the Tiger whereas he is a supporting cast member in this one