Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 29, 1994 TAG: 9411010026
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In his early films, he was the muscular, athletic glamour boy, famous for his big toothy smile. He then grew out of that image and became a mature leading man in serious dramas. And finally he took more difficult character roles and made them memorable. The transitions always seemed natural and unforced.
When he died last week at age 80, he was, as the Museum of the Moving Image called him, "a thinking man's tough guy." A lot of thinking women have appreciated his work, too. He was always popular with moviegoers, though relatively few of his films were huge commercial hits. The best of them are well worth a second or third viewing. So, here is a list of personal favorites and a complete videography.
"The Crimson Pirate" is a lively pirate spoof - perfect for kids - that displays the young Burt Lancaster at his acrobatic best. His co-star Nick Cravat was his partner in their circus days.
Three of Lancaster's most memorable roles are as soldiers. First, of course, there's Sgt. Milt Warden in "From Here to Eternity." Author James Jones might have written the character with him in mind, and the famous beach scene between him and Deborah Kerr is one of Hollywood's defining images.
Lancaster put on a uniform again as a treacherous general plotting against the president in "Seven Days in May," still one of the best political thrillers of the 1960s. In 1978, he played an officer who comes to realize the complex truth about Vietnam in "Go Tell the Spartans," one of the best though often overlooked films about that war.
Lancaster added just the right touch of cynicism to the ensemble cast of "The Professionals," a top-notch adventure movie that stands up well to another look. But of all the films on this list, the one that I'd most like to see again is "The Swimmer." If memory serves, this adaptation of a John Cheever story is a moody, atmospheric piece, partly realistic and partly allegorical. Lancaster plays a man making his way back home by swimming from pool to pool through an exclusive neighborhood.
Playing a gossip columnist in "The Sweet Smell of Success," Lancaster had some of his sharpest dialogue. But the scenes people remember from "The Birdman of Alcatraz" tend to be Lancaster's moments of stillness.
Many Western fans, including this one, consider Lancaster's portrayal of Wyatt Earp in "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" to be one of the best.
Late in his career, Lancaster turned in three of his finest performances. In "Field of Dreams," he's "Moonlight" Graham, a baseball player turned doctor. In "Local Hero" he's the industrialist who fell in love with a Scottish village. But most critics and moviegoers agree that Lancaster was at his peak in Louis Malle's "Atlantic City." He's completely winning as an aging numbers runner who finds one last chance for redemption in a drug deal and a May-December romance with Susan Sarandon.
It remains one of the most intelligent and moving performances in a career that was filled with them.
NEW RELEASES:
Black Beauty ***
Starring David Thewlis, Sean Bean. Directed by Caroline Thompson. Warner Home Video. 89 min. Rated G, but does contains some strong scenes.
Like the novel it's based on, this is the story of a horse, told from the horse's point of view. In first-person voice-over narration (by Alan Cumming), Black Beauty looks back over his life and tells the audience what it was like to be a working horse in late 19th-century England. First-time writer/director Thompson was taking a big chance with that approach. Some viewers may not be able to make the initial suspension of disbelief that's necessary to appreciate the story. Those who do - both kids and grown-ups - will be richly rewarded.
Brainscan ** 1/2
Starring Edward Furlong, Frank Langella. Directed by John Flynn. Columbia TriStar. 94 minutes. Rated R for violence, strong language, passing nudity.
The business of computer-generated "virtual reality" has become a popular subject for s-f horror films in recent years. This one follows "Lawnmower Man" and "Ghost In the Machine" as a variation on the same theme - the game that becomes real. Furlong is the lonely teen who gets caught up in video homicide. So-so effects.
BURT LANCASTER VIDEOGRAPHY
Airport (1977)
America at the Movies ('76)
Apache ('54)
Atlantic City ('81)
Barnum ('87)
Birdman of Alcatraz ('62)
Buffalo Bill and the Indians ('76)
The Cassandra Crossing ('76)
A Child Is Waiting ('63)
Come Back, Little Sheba ('52)
Control ('87)
Conversation Piece ('74)
The Crimson Pirate ('52)
Criss Cross ('48)
The Devil's Disciple ('59)
Elmer Gantry ('60)
Executive Action ('73)
Field of Dreams ('89)
The Flame and the Arrow ('50)
From Here to Eternity ('53)
Go Tell the Spartans ('78)
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral ('57)
The Hallelujah Trail ('65)
His Majesty O'Keefe ('53)
The Island of Dr. Moreau ('77)
The Jeweller's Shop ('90)
Jim Thorpe - All American ('51)
Judgment at Nuremburg ('61)
The Kentuckian ('55)
The List of Adrian Messenger ('63)
Little Treasure ('85)
Local Hero ('83)
Moses ('75)
1900 ('77)
On Wings of Eagles ('86)
The Osterman Weekend ('83)
The Professionals ('66)
The Rainmaker ('56)
Rocket Gibraltar ('88)
The Rose Tattoo ('55)
Run Silent, Run Deep ('58)
The Scalphunters ('68)
Separate But Equal ('91)
Separate Tables ('58)
Seven Days in May ('64)
Sorry, Wrong Number ('48)
The Sweet Smell of Success ('57)
The Swimmer ('68)
Tough Guys ('86)
The Train ('65)
Trapeze ('56)
Twilight's Last Gleaming ('77)
Ulzana's Raid ('72)
Valdez Is Coming ('71)
Vengeance Valley ('51)
Vera Cruz ('54)
Voyage of Terror - The Achille Lauro Affair ('90)
Zulu Dawn ('79)
by CNB