so i had a debate with friends about how Anthony Hopkins was able to achieve the stroke patient effect in this movie
1) pure acting skills
2) he had a stroke
3) some sort of drugs were used to achieve this temporary effect
i thought it must've been pure skills, but my girlfriend insisted he used drugs
if anyone knows please reply.. thanks so much guys
The correct answer is "he is Anthony Hopkins."
We're your friends, we're not like the others man, really
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Wait a minute... who am I here?
one of the best performances ever! Don't know why he didn't get a best supporting actor academy award. He gives such a heartbreaking performance
shareI know this thread is old...but I actually came here to see if anyone (other than me) found Hopkins' stroke patient acting absolutely unbearable! He looked like he was trying to act like Popeye--one eye squinted up, twisting up his face, and talking out the side of his mouth. It was like he was trying to be a B-movie monster or Quasimodo or something. Wearing that big bearskin (buffalo skin?) coat didn't help. Sorry, I usually do like him, but he practically ruined this movie for me. TERRIBLE.
And I am very close to someone who had a stroke and has one-sided paralysis, and it looks NOTHING like that. I'm sure everyone's experience of a stroke is different, but Hopkins didn't look like a stroke patient to me.
The point was not to play a stroke victim realistically. The point was to portray a stroke victim, within the crazy, overheated, over-the-top environment of this film. Within that canon, I thought he did a good job.
shareCouldn't agree more, ginger51.
Hopkins is a first rate actor but this performance was OTT, ridiculous really. What was the director thinking about!!
Otherwise, yes, a great movie.
I found his stroke very distracting to the point of being humorous. Being a nurse, I have seen plenty of one sided paralysis & aphasia. He didn't come close to being realistic. That said, I liked him in the rest of the movie.
shareHe looked like he was trying to act like Popeye--one eye squinted up, twisting up his face, and talking out the side of his mouth. It was like he was trying to be a B-movie monster or Quasimodo or something. Wearing that big bearskin (buffalo skin?) coat didn't help.
Even though it's been a long time I have to reply too.
I saw him as a strong man who would not allow a stroke to weaken him.
He seemed to have accepted it and lived with it and at times tried to overpower it.
It was as if he was constantly fighting the effects of the stroke.
I loved his performance.
The man knows his craft...
Agree with you 110%.
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Wait a minute... who am I here?
His performance made me cringe it was so awful. Every scene with him was so poor the whole film became a joke.
shareI have to disagree with many who posted on this thread. I think Hopkins did an outstanding job. A stroke can impact arms, hands, legs, AND FACIAL muscles. The effects are going to change from person to person depending on their physical makeup and how the stroke affected them specifically.
We also have to realize that a movie can't always match life exactly. They had to alter the Colonels stroke characteristics slightly to allow for the movie to keep the plot. The movie only lasts 133 minutes and isn't a movie about strokes. Since a stroke can create a weakness in face muscles, I think Hopkins did this well since he needed to be able to do some communications. They also needed the Colonel to be able to shoot a double barrel shotgun. So he couldn't be completely disabled. I think people who were bothered by this were probably not enjoying the movie otherwise anyway.
It was the last thing on my mind when Tristan returned from Africa. It was exciting to see One Stab detect someone was coming. It was incredible to see Tristan arrive with all the horses. There was the emotion of Tristan seeing his father for the first time in ages. And the realization that his father was not doing well. It didn't matter whether it was a stroke or some new movie created disorder to me. This is one of the best scenes in the movie.
I also wasn't thinking of the stroke near the end of the movie when the bad guys show up. The horse got startled and the Colonel pulled out the double barrel shotgun. I also loved this scene in the movie. Doing it any different way to match a stroke victims true characteristics would have likely made the scene not work as well.
It was excellent acting by Mr Hopkins and this movie is a classic.
Your answer to previous posters was excellent--I've done home health care for years and cared for many stroke victims, and I was totally moved by Hopkins' portrayal. Strokes DO affect people differently, and I thought these scenes were very believable. Anthony Hopkins is WONDERFUL and should've won the Oscar that year. Anyone who finds these scenes amusing should NEVER visit a nursing home.
shareI loved his acting
share2) and 3) are the stupidest things ever said.
I thought the makeup department probably did something to his mouth--stuffing the inside of the lower lip or using some adhesive. But I think he was probably squinting his eye all by himself. I thought it was pretty strange, and I believe that facial paralysis would have the opposite effect, making the eye area droop instead of squint. The movie-makers probably wanted something more dramatic-looking.
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