Screen Legend Heston Dies

[Newsbot]

Code: Select all

AP
Posted: 2008-04-06 13:08:21
Filed Under: Star Obituaries, Movie News
LOS ANGELES (April 6) - Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the '50s and '60s, has died. He was 84.

The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said. He declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details. Except to say that the Smith and Wesson held tighty gripped in his hands would have to pried out by the mortician.

Charlton Heston died in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia by his side. The two had been married for 64 years. Here, they are seen at a "90 Stars for 90 Years" party in 2002.
"Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played," Heston's family said in a statement. "No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country."

Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease, saying, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure."

With his large, muscular build, well-boned face and sonorous voice, Heston proved the ideal star during the period when Hollywood was filling movie screens with panoramas depicting the religious and historical past.

"I have a face that belongs in another century," he often remarked.

Publicist Michael Levine, who represented Heston for about 20 years, said the actor's passing represented the end of an iconic era for cinema. "If Hollywood had a Mt. Rushmore, Heston's face would be on it," Levine said.

[Ran]

Wonder why the Planet of the Apes movies aren't mentioned in the article. And nothing about his cameo in Wayne's World 2?

[vynsane]

well, at least now we can pry his guns away from him.

[Rollo Tomassi]

Wonder why the Planet of the Apes movies aren't mentioned in the article. And nothing about his cameo in Wayne's World 2?

That's because NewsSlut gave you the Cliff Note's version.

Here's the full story.

[Tom Foolery]

For the very first time ever, I watched the original Planet of the Apes last night.

I was trying to watch it objectively as if I didn’t know the ‘twist’ ending, but since it’s basically the only thing anyone remembers about the film, it’s baked in. The other thing is that the title of the movie is a dead giveaway, but if you didn’t know, the first 30 minutes are just three stranded astronauts exploring the planet they crashed on.

I completely lost it when these three supposedly intelligent astronauts all simultaneously strip naked to go skinny dipping on a strange planet they just landed on, and then all their clothes and supplies get stolen. These dumb fuckers give the scientists from Prometheus a run for their money. (Side thought, “Stupid Scientists in Movies” would make an excellent Inane Prattle topic).

There were a couple famous movie quotes in the film. Everybody knows “Get your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!”(which is often quoted incorrectly) but I often see “It’s a madhouse! A madhouse!” quoted and didn’t know it came from this movie.

The movie itself was an interesting, unique commentary on science vs faith. It’s weird to think about now, but sci-fi wasn’t a big draw pre-Star Wars, so Fox investing a big budget for the time in something like this is wild. And the fact it spawned FOUR sequels back then. Apart from 007, name one film franchise from that era? And it’ still going to this day. Wild.

I haven’t watched the Tim Burton/Wahlberg remake since it came out in 2001, but since it’s also on the streaming service, I might give that a rewatch also.

[Diabolical]

I appreciated the small nods to the original in 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, especially the TV headline stating the Icarus spacecraft had disappeared, implying PotA and RotPotA are connected.

[Tom Foolery]

I appreciated the small nods to the original in 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, especially the TV headline stating the Icarus spacecraft had disappeared, implying PotA and RotPotA are connected.

I feel like they planning to do the Rise prequel film closer to Burton film, but as always happen studios delay shit to the point that they lose momentum. I read somewhere that the twist in the 2001 film is closer to the book’s actual twist than the 1968 film.
Oh, and fun fact, the spacecraft was never named in the original. ‘Icarus’ is basically fan fiction that became canon thru repetition.

[anarky]

I read somewhere that the twist in the 2001 film is closer to the book’s actual twist than the 1968 film.

It is. Still not terribly close, but closer than the Statue of Liberty twist.

The original is a very quick read, and quite good. Typical 50s/60s sci-fi, but well-done. It's completely different from either film world (the new ones are the old ones, and who cares if there are massive continuity errors, since continuity was out the window from the beginning), and I'd love to see an adaptation that's faithful to the book, but it will never happen.

The apes in the original will not accept that humans were ever intelligent, until they actually find the talking doll, and even then the religious rulers want to keep it under wraps. Long story short, Charlton Heston blows up the world at the end of the second, but Cornelius and Zira end up escaping to the late 1960s/early 1970s. In the third movie, they continually tell the people of the (then) present day that every ape learns the history of how apes were pets to humans until one fateful day that an ape named Caesar spoke the word "no." If you're playing a drinking game based on plot holes, that's the point where you die of alcohol poisoning.

[vynsane]

i could have sworn i wrote a long post about watching the original PotA and how terrible it was, but all i can find is this post: viewtopic.php?p=87174#p87174

but, honestly, that's all that needs to be said about it anyway.

[Tom Foolery]

Watched the Tim Burton remake last week. Rick Baker did excellent work with the ape prosthetics. The plot is forgettable. Wahlberg is miscast; nobody would ever think that guy was an astronaut. The time travel stuff doesn’t make sense, especially the twist at the end. I saw Kevin Greivoux’s name in the credits as one of the ape soldiers.