Monday, May 26, 2008

by Ari

Sydney Pollack has passed away at 73.

I admire Pollack's work as a director quite a bit, but it's really his presence as an actor that I'll remember most. His performances in Eyes Wide Shut and Husbands and Wives are great, wicked, classic works that any actor would be proud to have in his filmography.

As a director he was hit and miss, but what I enjoy about his career is that even some of the worst efforts demand to be seen. Movies like Castle Keep and The Yakuza are so gloriously awful that it becomes impossible to dislike. They're terrible movies, but I'd still recommend watching them. I'm sure a full crowd at the Egyptian or some other revival house would have a blast with a movie like The Yakuza.

That said, films like They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Jeremiah Johnson and Three Days of the Condor are considerable achievements. Pollack will probably be remembered for Tootsie and Out of Africa, but nothing for me reaches the emotional power of something like They Shoot Horses. It's tough to sit through, but still one of the great films of the late '60s that gave audiences a taste for the uncompromising edge that would define the next 10 years of American film.

Rest In Peace.