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RIP Alan Arkin

Hornius Emeritus

By Hornius Emeritus
in Movies and TV

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YGIFS 19450

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What a wonderfully rich and storied career.  Character actor, stage thespian, could play the heavy, the straight man, deadpan humor, and the sweet old man.  

I don't make many movie recs. on here, we all like what we like in our older age.  But if you're looking for a movie to download for a flight this month, or are stuck inside sweating balls.  Check out maybe his furthest departure from his usual acting lanes.  "Simon" from late 70's/early 80's.  Don't want to give it away, but for an actor who nailed the eccentric and odd...this was maybe his most original and unique role.  It's a very dry sense of humor to the film, and he carries the whole thing (though a great supporting cast of relative unknowns at that point).  It's a very pleasant watch, you'll chuckle quietly dozens of times, and you'll look back 40 years and see what all he was capable of.  

RIP.

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Augustus

Augustus 3061

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1 hour ago, Michael Knight said:

He was great in every role

And this is it, right here.

The world's best character actors bring way more to the table than the world's best A-list actors, when we're talking about real talent. 

Doesn't matter the role, the setting, the period, or the nature of the character they're playing, they just become that guy in every aspect, and they steal every scene they're in.

Arkin was one of those guys.

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Captain Ron

Captain Ron 12883

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2 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Fuck. RIP. 
 

also great in kominsky method on Netflix with Michael Douglas…who was in the remake of the in-laws. 

RIP.

 

Man, this guy was gold in everything he did. But I was especially going to note this show, which was a gem. Him and Douglas were perfect in this role.

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Nice Guy Eddie

Nice Guy Eddie 13515

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2 hours ago, mdleast said:

SO many great performances.  Don't sleep on his work in Feeebie and the Bean and Glengarry Glen Ross.

Arkin was overshadowed in Glengarry because he was the invisible, sad sack, salesman but he played it to perfection. Pacino, Harris, Baldwin, Lemmon and even Spacey, to some extent, all had over the top characters. Arkin was needed as the guy you would forgot as soon as he walked out of the room.

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someguy

someguy 1508

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My brother and I were huge fans of So I Married an Axe Murderer growing up.  One day back in 2007, a few months after his Oscar win, my brother was at the airport waiting for his flight and noticed Arkin sitting, waiting for the same flight.  He started talking to Arkin, who could not have been any friendlier.  My brother told Arkin he loved him in So I Married an Axe Murdered, which made Arkin crack up.  He said he hadn't thought about that movie in a long time, and they spent the rest of their time together reminiscing about SIMAAM.  Arkin was amused my brother had no interest in talking about Little Miss Sunshine and the Oscar win.  Truth be told, to this day I doubt my brother has ever heard of Little Miss Sunshine.

So, in honor of that mildly (at best) amusing anecdote, let me post this:

 

Edited by someguy
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mdleast

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21 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Arkin was overshadowed in Glengarry because he was the invisible, sad sack, salesman but he played it to perfection. Pacino, Harris, Baldwin, Lemmon and even Spacey, to some extent, all had over the top characters. Arkin was needed as the guy you would forgot as soon as he walked out of the room.

Agreed as to the characters.  However, if you watch again, focus in on his subtle "yes" man acting and in particular his playing off Harris in that diner scene.  Subtle genius.

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Braff Zacklin

Braff Zacklin 13580

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No love for Yossarian? I know he didn't have the physical build for the role--at least as described by Heller--but he had the wisecracking cynicism down pat.

5 hours ago, Michael Knight said:

He was great in every role

Indeed. There was just something about the way he delivers his lines that makes you laugh, even when his character is serious. The reluctant psychiatrist in Grosse Pointe Blank, police detectives in Gattaca and So I Married an Axe Murderer. Shit, he even made The Jerky Boys movie watchable.

He will be missed.

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mdleast

mdleast 8295

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39 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

police detectives in Gattaca and So I Married an Axe Murderer. Shit, he even made The Jerky Boys movie watchable.

He will be missed.

I love his scenes in So I Married an Axe Murderer

 

 

  • Police Chief : [noticing Tony is depressed]  Tony? I don't want to intrude, but you seem a little down.

    Tony Giardino : Well, Captain, it's about my job.

    Police Chief : Ah.

    [sits down with Tony] 

    Tony Giardino : I'm having doubts about being a cop. You know, it's not like how it is on TV. All I do all day is fill out forms and paperwork. I mean, this is what I do.

    Police Chief : [contemplates]  It's a point well taken, Tony. But you must understand, although it's not exciting, it's a very important part of our work.

    Tony Giardino : Yeah, but in all my times as a cop, I've never gotten to, like, chase a guy across a crowded city square. I've never... I've never hung on to that part of a helicopter. You know that part? Underneath the thing that it lands? Do you, do you know that part?

    Police Chief : Yes, I know that part.

    Tony Giardino : I've never hung onto that. I've never even commandeered a vehicle.

    Police Chief : Now *that* sounds like a lot of fun.

    Tony Giardino : And that's the other thing. You're too nice.

    Police Chief : I'm too nice?

    Tony Giardino : Yeah, you're too nice. Why can't you be like the Captain on "Starsky and Hutch"? You know, when you come in, and you haul me into your office, and you bawl me out because you're sick and tired of defending my screwball antics to the Commissioner? Why cant you do that?

    Police Chief : Well, the truth of the matter is, I don't report to a Commissioner. I report to a committee. Some of whom are appointed, some elected, and the rest co-opted on a bi-annual basis. It's a quorum, so to speak.

    Tony Giardino : A quorum?

    Police Chief : Yeah.

    Tony Giardino : Captain, when I joined the police force, I thought I was going to be Serpico. But instead, I'm like... Fish from Barney Miller.

    Police Chief : Hey. Somebody needs a hug!

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Nice Guy Eddie

Nice Guy Eddie 13515

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1 hour ago, mdleast said:

Agreed as to the characters.  However, if you watch again, focus in on his subtle "yes" man acting and in particular his playing off Harris in that diner scene.  Subtle genius.

True, Arkin and his character rile up Harris into stealing the leads. With a few words and yeses, he gives Harris the motivation and the moral high ground to steal. It's like not stealing them is immoral.

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Hornius Emeritus

Hornius Emeritus 12463

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3 hours ago, Hermanator said:

When was Alan Arkin in Barney Miller? I've seen most of the episodes I don't remember seeing him. 


Season 2, episode 7: the Grand Hotel. If you have Amazon Prime, it's there. I just watched it. Almost didn't recognize Arkin, who gets arrested as a young lover in the hotel in question. He completely disappeared into the role.

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89675

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41 minutes ago, burntorangebongos said:

???????????

Shit, I thought he was British, getting my Alans mixed up (but at least I didn't mix him up with Alda).

Arkin was definitely handsome in his younger years and still had that same intensity over 40 years later.

46779372b24290e98f8f5a45a09d998766081614

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Edit: Shit I'm getting my Alans mixed up with my Alfredos.  Guy on the bottom is Alan Arkin, guy above him is Alfredo Pacino.

Edited by atomheartbevo
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RPM

RPM 26322

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First saw him in "The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming" then Catch - 22. Been a fan ever since. He nailed every role and never failed to make me smile. He made some real gems toward the end of his career like Stand Up Guys with Christopher Walken and Morgan Freeman. He will be sorely missed. RIP

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Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 52504

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9 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Shit, I thought he was British, getting my Alans mixed up (but at least I didn't mix him up with Alda).

Arkin was definitely handsome in his younger years and still had that same intensity over 40 years later.

46779372b24290e98f8f5a45a09d998766081614

dcZF8NB4?format=jpg&name=medium

Edit: Shit I'm getting my Alans mixed up with my Alfredos.  Guy on the bottom is Alan Arkin, guy above him is Alfredo Pacino.

If you are going to keep up this little game, at least mix in an Alan Alda post. 

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