MovieChat Forums > Anaconda (1997) Discussion > THE Jon Voight

THE Jon Voight

posted 12 years ago by vestdennis
15 replies | jump to latest

I love Jon Voight (in Heat for example) but he must have really been late on the house note to sign up for this crap. Seriously though, I watch it repeatedly as a guilty pleasure. To watch Voight's facial expressions is priceless! After "Gary" is killed and Voight says the little prayer and tosses the leaves into the water the "Baby Bird" character lashes out at him. Voight does this eye thing with Jennifer Lopez that is just hilarious. This is one of those movies I'll watch over and over, esp when nothing else is on, but not b/c it's great theater...

[–] Panthro44 12 years ago

Yeah, he did have that off-beat, yet well-played creepiness about him.

"Don't get me upset."

One thing I thought was insane and completely impossible was when he was tied up to the pole and he jumped up like 5 feet in the air to get his legs around Kari Wurher's neck to choke her. No way, shape, or form could he do that, not at his age. He probably couldn't do it even if he was 25, let alone 65 (at the time). All she had to do was roll over (I know, hard to think of when you're suddenly being choked out and not used to fighting).

[–] HelloCarol509 12 years ago

I don't know what caused Voight to have to sign up for this film whether it was a large debt, he was a friend of the director, he enjoys doing a B-movie now and then or a Christopher Walken like hunger that requires him to always be acting in SOMETHING no matter how terrible, or for that matter why the casting director said "Hmm, villainous spanish rogue, sounds like Jon Voight's our guy , but thank god (or "Thank the lord!" as his character would say) that it happened.

Yes the performance is completely absurd and over the top but I'd wager its the only actual performance in the movie. As far as acting goes there's nothing else going on in this picture, Jennifer Lopez has the screen presence of a piece of driftwood and frankly if it weren't for her name getting first billing you wouldn't even know she was supposed to be the star. Everybody else just seems apathetic towards the task at at hand to the point that Voight doesn't just chew the scenery, he towers over everything else in the film and he's great fun to watch just because he's the only person trying and he's trying so damn hard.

"Walk down the right back-alley in Sin City, and you can find anything...."

[–] Coconut_Kaasa 12 years ago

You have to admit Eric Stoltz put on a good performance for what he was in.

It was actually refreshing seeing him and Terri have an interest in each other. Especially considering her and Danny were the two who had to fight the final Anaconda and Serone together after all the others had been killed.

Clowns never laughed before, beanstalks never grew, ponies never ran before...

[–] lgwgn 9 years ago

He wasnt even 60 in this movie

[–] vcascio 11 years ago

You people don't know what you are talking about.
The Orphic and malevolent being know as "Paul Sarone" is one of the most compelling and fascinating antagonist characters to appear on screen in the past 20 years.
Look deeper into events and plot of this masterpiece and you will see much dramatic & entertaining achievement. Metaphor & symbolism is the key to both writer and Voght's performance.
I'll give you a coupe of hints and the rest of analysis is your enjoyable undertaking. Remember Sarone was a ex-priest. WHY WOULD A PRIEST TURN INTO A SNAKE HUNTER ? He is completely lying when he tells the crew that the capture of an Anaconda would be worth "MILLIONS." He says it with a straight face and not one person calls him on it? Millions? Possibly a hundred thousand, but a million? It should be obvious at this point that this deep character is motivated by many things, but MONEY is not one of them. I could go on and on, pointing out interesting things about this evil but compelling man. (And many other of the characters are profound metaphors as well) But I will stop now.
Many clever students of film and people who think they have developed a critical eye for good acting & cinematic writing have wrongly dismissed this film.
One more thing. The SEQUEL (I think in 2004) was a piece of *beep*
From Rekoa Cascio in Hollywood, CA

[–] Bluecher 11 years ago

Jon Voight OWNS this movie! One of the greatest performances ever!

"Oh, what have I drunk?" - Socrates

[–] dasterly2007 11 years ago

You know it's a bad movie when the Anaconda acts everyone off the screen,apart from Jon Voight that is.

[–] Good_Citizen 11 years ago

Serone was the ONLY one I liked on this movie. And they killed him... Therefore it's trash.

[–] Doc110894 10 years ago

His performance is campy, but it works for this movie.

[–] vestdennis 10 years ago

I'll update my comments as I'm watching this now on IFC. I LOVE Voight in this movie- I just can't figure out why he took the job. His absolutely over-the-top performance makes the movie. Other than him & the snake the other cast are mere spectators.

As someone else noted, maybe he likes to take a role like this every now & then just for fun.

[–] spookyrat1 10 years ago

Like others on this thread, I quite liked Jon Voight as the villainous Serone and feel he was very stiff to be nominated for a Razzie.

[–] koffeenkreame41-1 9 years ago

Like others on this thread, I quite liked Jon Voight as the villainous Serone and feel he was very stiff to be nominated for a Razzie.

Agreed, he was really good & menacing, I don't think his performance was Razzie worthy but then again, I said the same about The Rock in Doom and he was up for one for that role I believe. Again, which is odd because I thought he was quite good & believable as a sarge of that unit.

"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬

[–] tenantennae 9 years ago

The movie is a hilarious comedy and Voight steals the show

[–] Neuronhead 8 years ago

He was hilarious in this. One of my favourite John Voight performances.

I choose to believe what I was programmed to believe

[–] Burning_Sosobra 8 years ago

Agreed. And great sig by the way, Neuronhead.

There's a lady I know...If I didn't know her, she'd be the lady...I didn't know.