Goodbye Sydney Pollack

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

I really loved some of his work and its a shame to see him pass...

Tootsie - Out of Africa -

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-pollack27-2008may27,0,1858192.story

RIP. :(

[innerSpaceman]

Nooooooooo! OMG. I hear he went out near the top of his game though, with 'Before the Devil Knows You're Dead." I had wanted to see it in theaters, but at least it's near the top of my netflix queue.


And Sidney was near the tops of filmmakers. Adieu, big talented guy!

[mousepod]

Wow. How sad. I had no idea he was sick. I loved his work on both sides of the camera. I think that his embrace of the "director's commentary" on the laserdisc of Tootsie was an important step in educating me and many others on the nature of movie-making. He will be missed.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

How sad - his work was always charming. (His recent performance in Michael Clayton was excellent - as were his others.)

[flippyshark]

I was always glad to see Sydney Pollack on screen, and loved many of the films he directed. Just a few days ago, I was watching his interview footage on the extras of the newest edition of Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, and I was thinking about how much Pollack's scenes grounded that film. There was something about his camera presence that made me feel like I was watching someone I knew personally. (Unlike the far-too-fabulous-for-you Tom and Nicole.) He'll be very much missed.

[Alex]

Wow, I hadn't even heard rumors he was sick.

Always liked him on screen. Usually very briefly but you always noticed him. Heck, I even liked his "turn off your cell phones" short that played before movies for a while.


iSm: You might want to wait on mourning when watching Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. That was directed by Sydney Lumet.

[blueerica]

I share the sentiments here. I didn't even know he was ill...

[Tom]

Always brought class to everything he did.

In looking back on his credits, what really astonishes is the number of high profile and/or quality films that he produced or exec produced that I, at least, never associate with him. Among others: Iris, The Quiet American, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain, Leatherheads, Catch a Fire, Sense and Sensibility, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Presumed Innocent, The Fabulous Baker Boys, and the new HBO film Recount. Amazing.

[Strangler Lewis]

Echoing a lot of the above. I loved a lot of the films he directed, and seeing him in a picture always made me happy. I saw him just the other night in a fluffy French film "Avenue Montaigne," playing an American director, and I brightened right up. He seemed to be living proof that you could have a great and varied career without being edgy with a capital E or coming off like an as*hole.

Damn.

[Snowflake]

I can't add to what anyone has said here, except echo my admiration for his work before and behind the camera. He produced many fine and favorite films and always seemed to be a totally class act. RIP Sydney, thanks for everything.

[Gemini Cricket]

I just watched him in Tootsie the other day. How sad.
RIP, Mr. Pollack.
:(

[innerSpaceman]

iSm: You might want to wait on mourning when watching Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. That was directed by Sydney Lumet.

OH THANK GOD SIDNEY LUMET STILL LIVES.


Who's this other Sidney? Oh, the hack that directed Tootsie and Out of Africa?? Good riddence!!






No, just kidding. But I liked him better as an actor than as a director.

[Tref]

Mr. Pollock had a welcoming presence on the screen. I was always happy to see him appear in a scene, no matter how small the part. Sometimes Pollock's role would be the only thing I remember, especially in films like Eye Wide Shut and Husbands and Wives -- there was a warmth and humanity to SP, that I can't even describe or put my finger on. Sydney was sort of like Bill Murray, you always enjoy the movie more because he's in it.

[Alex]

No, just kidding. But I liked him better as an actor than as a director.

I've been trying to decide what I feel about Pollack as a director. He was always good on screen but in that regard was just an occasional character actor. I hold an esteem for him that is too big for such a limited definition.

Three Days of the Condor is a fantastic political thriller. I love the fortitude it probably took to see The Way We Were to its appropriate conclusion (though I'm not a big fan of the movie overall). I love the beginning of The Electric Horseman. Tootsie is good but I've never thought it great. I like Out of Africa more than I think is the average.

Then he kind of stopped. Over the last 23 years he directed six movies, one of which is a documentary. One is a surprisingly solid piece of boilerplace (The Firm), three are outright mediocre or bad (Havana, Sabrina, Random Hearts) and I still haven't seen The Interpreter.

Looking over his resume I'm actually surprised to see how few films he directed over the years. But to me, even with the diminished output, I think he bridged a certain edginess from the '70s with '90s commercialism.

And if nothing else, even if he wasn't making it, he was a fantastic advocate and promoter of quality film.