MovieChat Forums > Ripley Under Ground (2007) Discussion > Matt Damon was not the Original!!!!!!!

Matt Damon was not the Original!!!!!!!

posted 20 years ago by dougal69
85 replies | jump to latest

I'm fed up of people going on about he film and how Matt Damon should be the only one to play Ripley, and I'm also fed up of crediting him as staring in the original and being the original ripley. He was in fact the third person to play Ripley Alain Delon played him back in 1960 in Plein Soleil, followed by Dennis Hopper in Wim Wenders' The Americn Friend in 1977.
So Matt Damon was the third actor not the first and furthermore, it was in a remake of the 1960 original film, so in a nutshell...he wasn't either the original Ripley or in an original Ripley film, but a remake!!!!

[–] moosicgirl 20 years ago

Yes that's right! He wasn't the original. Everything dougal69 says is true, but Matt Damon is the first of the Ripley remakes and it's a shame he is not doing the second remake. There are so many different Ripleys that it is almost laughable.

[–] crazy_flamingo 20 years ago

Although, in a way, it sort of fits with the character...to change people in every movie.

[–] KinoLiebe 20 years ago

...and they still haven't found an actor who fills the role. Malkovich came close in the Italian version of Ripley's Game - but he is far too old for Ripley in that story. Still he is the closest to embody the sinister and the sympathetic simultaneously. Matt Damon stunk as Ripley. Too young, too cute, too gay and in the final moments too damn crazy. The only actors who made that movie anything worth watching were Jude Law as a ten times more vibrant Dickie and Cate Blanchette as Meredith (who doesn't even exist in the book). And now God help us - Barry Pepper - he of the annoying balloon lips. Patricia Highsmith is doing somersaults in her grave.

[–] XPrufrock 20 years ago

Hey, if Battlefield Earth taught us ANYTHING, it's that Barry Pepper is the action hero of the NEXT generation!

(Sorry, I couldn't say that with a straight face...)

[–] mail-924 20 years ago

You should see Barry Pepper in some other films - he's a great actor. Saving Private Ryan, the Green Mile, the 25th Hour, Snow Walker, etc.

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] HaukeIngmar 20 years ago

Matt Damon was a weak Ripley. But "too gay"? Hm.... read the book. There are strong homoerotic facets in it. The remake was just like telling a little bit of the plot without any of the depth of the book.

[–] filmguru7 20 years ago

A weak Ripley?!? What is wrong with people these days?!? "The Talented Mr. Ripley" was an unbelievable film, and Matt Damon's performance was incrdible. I challenge you to name another actor who could have slipped into that character (both physically and mentally) as well as Matt Damon did... and no, John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper don't count! Matt Damon might not have been the first Tom Ripley, but he sure as hell was the best.

[–] robertweston75 20 years ago

No. Dennis Hopper *is* Ripley. He has just that tinge of psychosis and charm that make him the most believable Ripley ever. He is too old for Ripley's Game but I think this new guy has a shot. I can see him running around killing people in his basement and then kissing his wife.

[–] craig_harmon 17 years ago

Highsmith herself disliked Hopper as Ripley. Hopper is completely wrong for the character. Read the damn book.

[–] mrgeetar-1 19 years ago

Dustin Hoffman easily could have. Al Pacino. (both of these actors when they were younger,s ince they're slightly too old to play the role now, but back in the day, they were excellent at melting away into any role. Watch Dustin Hoffman in the Graduate and then Death of a Salesman . Or Al Pacino in Serpico, And Justice for All, and Dog Day Afternoon. You could even watch his older stuff like Scent of a Woman, Carlito's Way. His part is Angels in America was amazing as well). Marlon Brando, pre-1980 could easily do the same. A Streetcar Named Desire vs. A tango in paris or the godfather, you can't recognize him. Barry Pepper (Watch him in any movie, then watch him portray roger maris and dale earnheart and tell me he can't dissolve into his roles). Sean Penn. Johnny Depp. and I will admit, Matt Damon could do a very good job of playing him.

[–] lyricaldon 19 years ago

Paddy Considine or Daniel Graig coul dbe an excellent Ripley

[–] scorsese8 19 years ago

why don't malkovich and hopper count? didn't they play ripley as well. it sounds like you are and idiot.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] repdetect-1 17 years ago

This old message still deserves the perfect response...

The answer to naming "one" actor who could have played it better than Matt Damon is easy, (drum roll) Jude Law himself would have been a hundred times better.

Before he hit his forties, Kevin Spacey could have pulled it off.

Let's see, how about Gary Oldman.

There's Julian Sands.

Hell, if you look back on some of his work, Christian Bale could play it better.

This was an easy question.

I bet filmguru7 is actually Matt Damon. Don't worry, Matt, you still have the Borne franchise.

When I think of Matt Damon, all I can see and hear is the marionette from "Team America", answering every question by only saying his own name.

[–] lamsaes 17 years ago

True.
Damon is a very weak actor. No charisma at all, no screen presence. His Ripley is a complete freak. The best Ripley still is Alain Delon.
But you're right about Bale and Law. They would have been fantastic in this role.

[–] dannydonni 16 years ago

Why dont those two count? Just because you say so? Lol..

Is it wrong to eat people?

[–] waldenpond88 11 years ago

Alain Delon was the best Ripley! No doubt about it.

[–] waldenpond88 11 years ago

Hi film guru 7,

If you never watched "Plein soleil" aka "Purple Noon" with Alain Delon, you don't know what you are missing. It's available at amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Purple-Criterion-Collection-Alain-Delon/dp/B009D004TA/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1375195079&sr=1-2&keywords=purple+noon

This original movie version from the first Ripley novel is every once in a while on TCM, usually twice per year.
Watch it and then tell me if Matt Damon is really better than Alain Delon.

On the other hand I can't deny that I'm biased, because I grew up in Germany watching "Plein soleil" many times on TV and thanks to this movie I discovered the Tom Ripley novels by Patricia Highsmith. The first 4 volumes are great (how can any author create so much atmosphere with so few words as Highsmith did?), the 5th novel was a poor attempt to cash in on the Ripley character once more.
I read the Highsmith biography "Beautiful Shadow" aka Belle Ombre (Belle Ombre was Tom Ripley's house) by Andrew Wilson in 2008 and got the impression that Highsmith was always having financial problems even though she published 22 mostly successful crime novels and lots of short stories.
For me that's the only explanation why she did bring back Ripley in "Ripley Under Water". Highsmith died 4 years later.

[–] paul1314 19 years ago

Spot on in deriding the earlier 'too gay'. If they ever get round to filming The Boy Who Followed Ripley, Tom spends a day in drag as a woman in Berlin. It also states that he could never have married Heloise if she had expected her conjugals off of him more regularly!

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] wooster42 18 years ago

Patricia Highsmith the author of the Ripley series loved Alain Delon's Ripley. She thought it was close to perfect.

[–] Pamela-5 17 years ago

Whoever you are, Wooster42, you are the ONLY person who writes the truth! I just finished Patricia Highsmith's bio, and, true, she did think Alain Delon's Ripley was close to perfect. Anyone else does not even come close. Come on, people, it doesn't have to be an American-financed film for you to be aware of it!!! Alain was the first, and, to me, the ONLY Ripley. I'm glad that the AUTHOR agrees with me!!!

[–] aally_v 11 years ago

she didnt get to see damon or malkowich, both of whom were brilliant as ripley.

[–] Kalamata 18 years ago

If you don't think Barry Pepper is good, see The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. You might change your mind.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kaduzy 16 years ago

Matt Damon stunk as Ripley. Too young, too cute, too gay and in the final moments too damn crazy.

The last two complaints you site are not Matt Damon's fault. He didn't write the movie. Anthony Minghella is to blame for screwing the character up in his adaptation.

I would also say that Matt's not really to blame for being young and cute, either . . .

[–] isaacrab 20 years ago

Matt Damon is the first of the Ripley remakes and it's a shame he is not doing the second remakes.

Whatever the merits of TTMR (and I must admit to being in the tiny minority that hated it) it's difficult to see how you can do a sequel that makes any sense. What more can you say about the character? He has self-esteem issues, he kills people, the end. There's certainly nothing in "Ripley Underground" to give anybody new ideas, since the Ripley in that book bears little resemblance to the Ripley in the first book -- and neither of them bear much resemblance to the Ripley in the first movie.

So Damon doesn't want to be part of a lame project whose only purpose is to cash in on a successful but shallow predecessor. Big suprise.

[–] kaduzy 16 years ago

You are focusing on the character as it was presented in Minghella's piss-poor adaptation. If you actually read Highsmith's book series, you'll see that there's A LOT more one can say about the character, hence the four additional books.

[–] Robert R Jackson 19 years ago

Stephen Ujlaki, who is one of the producers of Ripley's Game, teaches my Producing and Financing Films class at SFSU. He's screening the new film for us next week. He said in class that he had started trying to get his Ripley film made several years before the Matt Damon film was made. It's hard to really look at the chronology of the films just by the release date. Some projects are tied up in legal wrangling for years before they can be completed.

[–] mulhollandpsycho 14 years ago

Yes, laughable. There have been 6 James Bonds in film so far, and 7 others in television and radio.

[–] robertweston75 20 years ago

Yes I've read quite a few of Patricia Highsmith's books, including most of the Ripley series. Dennis Hopper is dark, sinister and complex, Matt Damon is not. If you didn't get why Ripley became his guardian, then I can see why you would like Matt Damon for Ripley.

These are existential characters, ones who act on their emotions. They aren't always logical, but they're reasonable and relatable.

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] silverballs80 19 years ago

InLikeFlint, are you serious about the Bond films being an improvement on the books? That formulaic "finish the last job, get a new job, go see Q, meet the girl, get the girl, save the world" crap that dominated most of them compared to the wonderfully flawed human character Fleming portrayed? The gadgets and crappy jokes taking over the narrative? I'm amazed, I've never met anyone who thought that way before.

your heartbeat is a countdown.

smile.

[–] robertrosado 20 years ago

Whatever. Matt Damon was amazing in the film, and wholeheartedly deserved an Oscar nomination. Anthony Minghella constantly talks about how he would not have done the film, unless he found a Ripley that he was fascinated by. And, I think he had a point...

These days, there's Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep. Before them... was Bette Davis.

[–] presidentoftheworld 20 years ago

I loved Damon as Ripley. He walked the line so well. You hated him for what he was doing, and were creeped out by how he acted, but you still wanted him to run off with Peter in the end and live happily ever after. He did a great job.

It didn't hurt that he's good looking either.

I <3 music that isn't hip-hop

[–] triplem33 19 years ago

Did anyone evry notice that Pepper, Malkovich and Dennis Hopper were all in the Knockabout Guys.

Interesting.

[–] kevvy 19 years ago

Sigourney Weaver is, and always will be, the best Ripley...
oh wait...
nevermind

[–] ketchlives 19 years ago

What's laughable is calling "The Talented Mr. Ripley" a "remake" -- simply because a movie version of the book has occurred more than once. It's kinda like calling "Passion of the Christ" a remake of "The Greatest Story Ever Told."

Before we go throwing the word "remake" around, let's put in it's proper perspective. A "remake" is when an original movie is "remade." All Ripley movies are "adaptations" of a five book series by Patricia Highsmith, and unless they attempt to adapt previous "screenplays" (which they don't), they really can't be considered "remakes."

[–] SuzLouA 19 years ago

ROTFL

[–] Mariana Cornejo 19 years ago

I agree with you.

There's only one Ripley: Sigourney Weaver.

She should've played in this Patricia Highsmith's movies...

LOL

[–] VoodooChicken 19 years ago

okay, I just got that.

I wasn't really paying attention as I was scrolling down

[–] Rod_Z 19 years ago

hehe...well it made me smile...

[–] genaro126 19 years ago

Don't forget John Malkovich in Ripley's Game. It is the same book as 'American Friend', just a bit closer to the way Highsmith wrote it. I agree with your point here, i think matt damon is the least of the Ripley's.

[–] tarismare 19 years ago

Hi!

I think the BEST Ripley is still Alain Delon in the old Plein Soleil. Delon was in his career alway remarkable with his ambigious roles of being a charming bad guy. His good looks were always mixed with his sinister, bisexual personality. A pretty face with cold, evil eyes. Besides, Ripley is supposed to be very sly and tough, something Matt Damon couldn't pull off. He just looks like a white bread WASP. Highsmith herself regarded Delon as THE IDEAL Ripley. Pepper is a good actor, but he has nothing of the kind of people who do betray for a living. He looks like a naive farmboy, who gets betrayed. Actually, right now I think Jonny Depp would make a good Ripley. He wouldn't appear like a displaced American traveling though Europe in desperate search for something familiar.

[–] Pamela-5 17 years ago

You are absolutely correct. Delon was and remains the best incarnation of the Ripley character. In the books, Ripley is charming, sly, beautiful, graceful, cat-like, sinister, seductive, intelligent, worldly, etc. Ony Delon fits those characteristics. Matt Damon? Oh, PLEASE! He's very WASPy and UNattractive, very American, very un-seductive, and just a naive boy. Delon has the stuff.

And I agree with you: I think Johnny Depp would be great in the role.

[–] senorjavi 19 years ago

Was Matt Damon even really Ripley? IIRC, someone had just called him Ripley because that was the name on his jacket, but he had borrowed the jacket from someone else. So wouldn't that mean that he wasn't even Ripley?

[–] DrPrunesquallor 19 years ago

I think he was really Ripley - as far as I remember, the jacket didn't have a name on it. But it was a Harvard jacket, and Dickie's father saw that as Tom was about the same age as Dickie, they might have been there at the same time.

Edit: No, the jacket definitely doesn't have a name on it. But my mistake, it was Princeton, not Harvard.

You see? I'm a steelworker. I kill what I eat. See?

[–] Charlie2008 19 years ago

You guys have all overlooked a major detail:

Gilbert Gottfried was actually the first performer to play Tom Ripley, in the 1908 film "Ripley's Ass."

[–] dracus13 19 years ago

Actually if you really think about it, Matt Damon did not play Ripley. I always thought this kicker was one of the things that made this movie so great. Especially since it's not that obvious, it's not something the movie goes "hey, realize this!" He is, for crediting purposes credited as Ripley, but remember that he was substituting for Fran's (the girl singing in the beginning) boyfriend. HE was the one who was suposed to be there playing the piano, HE was the one who the American detective turned up at Princeton the "Tom Ripley who was a piano tuner for the music department at Princeton." The detective never turned up a Tom Ripley who worked at a theatre maintaining the bathrooms. You never actually KNOW who Matt Damon reallly is. He's always lieing. Also, most of the times he lies, you can hear the marimba in the background serving as a small marker that he's up to something. Watch it over, and you'll see this.

[–] ketchlives 19 years ago

[[Was Matt Damon even really Ripley? IIRC, someone had just called him Ripley because that was the name on his jacket, but he had borrowed the jacket from someone else. So wouldn't that mean that he wasn't even Ripley?]]

Yes -- because this movie was adapted from a novel, in which the primary character IS Ripley, who incidently meets the old man at a questionable bar . . . in the book, he never even played a piano (all made up for the movie), and no "coat."

[–] rkrainak 19 years ago

And to add on to the many comments, Alain Delon was the best Tom Ripley, played just right in "purple Saturday" as it was called back in 1960.

The newer versions of these stories are a complete different throw on the books.

[–] fanaticita 19 years ago

It was Purple Noon, with Alain Delon. He was my favorite Ripley.

It appears that the character of Ripley was different in all of the films. I just saw Malcovich's Ripley's Game, and he was WAY sinister, so I imagine Hopper would be even more so. Alain Delon played Ripley mysterious, and light on the sinister. I can't really comment on Damon because I (sorry!) can't take him. But opportunist might be the right word?

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] houseofscorpio 19 years ago

Actually Matt Damon was the third person to play Ripley. A British show called "Studio One" did an episode based off "The Talented Mr. Ripley". And this was years before Purple Noon. Check it out under "Patricia Highsmith".

[–] cat59 18 years ago

I've studied Patricia Highsmith, read all the Ripley novels, and watched all the films. Minghella's version of TTMR is a great example of a new screen persona for a well loved character - it captured the mad heat of Italy, the depression of being isolated and made it a great will-he-won't-he get away with it all story for those who had never even heard of Ripley. All of the screen versions from the past have changed and developed elements of the character for the audiences they were filming for. I feel the worst was John Malkovich - totally wrong for the part and gave him none of the depth that you can find in the writing. I never like to walk out of a film but that was one I truly considered it in. And going from the first in the series of books to do book three and now doing book 2? Just doesn't work for me. Would have been great to see Minghella and Damon work together to get a series of the books and continuity of adaptation throughout. A move in time and change in focus from art to jazz has made it difficult for the following films to portray the story for those who haven't got the knowledge of the character from the books.