RIP, Charlton Heston
It is a pity that Charlton Heston is going to be remembered either as the guy wearing the short robe in Ben-Hur or as the fiery NRA poster boy.
To be honest, I find Ben-Hur basically unbearable, aside from the chariot race, which is simply insane, in a good way.
As regards Heston's service as president of the NRA, any reader of his autobiography will quickly understand that guns were a big part of his life, so it is somewhat fitting that his last major role was as mouthpiece for the NRA. However, it should be remembered that he became president when he was 75 years old. Despite the endless number of wise old men portrayed in Hollywood movies, people don't always become open to new ideas as they grow older. Instead, they often become grumpy and inflexible. By the by, I find it strange that people criticize Michael Moore for making Heston look frail and old during the interview for Bowling for Columbine. Heston was president of the NRA and one would expect the president of an association to explain the policy and actions of that association. If you can not perform that simple task, then maybe you should retire. Anyway, whether he was used by the NRA or not is beside the point. I don't want to remember him clutching a musket and saying "from my cold, dead hands."
No, I want to remember him in his prime, when he was one of the top stars in Hollywood, and he decided to make movies without happy endings, movies that challenged people's perception of the established order. Let me make it clear, he was no rebel, but he was a smart man, and more important, he was not afraid to risk his image. Perhaps only Burt Lancaster was as willing to take chances.
Between 1965 and 1980, he played a villain (The Three Musketeers), an artist who lived only for his masterpiece (The Agony and the Ecstasy), a powerful noble whose fighting ability could not save him from his lust (The Warlord), a great British general beaten by an Arab rebel (Khartoum), a tough cowboy who was afraid to settle down (Will Penny), and a mountain man who could not adapt to changing times (Mountain Men). Khartoum in particular stands out, since his stunt double commented that he remembered when they used to win these things.
However, it is his three science fiction films that will prove to be his true monument. Planet of the Apes, Omega Man and Soylent Green all showed a future where mankind had failed in one way or another. Not even the alpha male Charlton Heston could win, at best he could survive a little bit longer than everyone else. Worse, he would come to feel that we deserved our fate. Omega Man and Soylent Green are just a little too bleak for repeated viewings but I never fail to become involved in Planet of the Apes, even though I know the story almost by heart.
In the end, Planet of the Apes is how I want to remember Charlton Heston. The actor who was not afraid to play the guy who tried hard but still lost.
To be honest, I find Ben-Hur basically unbearable, aside from the chariot race, which is simply insane, in a good way.
As regards Heston's service as president of the NRA, any reader of his autobiography will quickly understand that guns were a big part of his life, so it is somewhat fitting that his last major role was as mouthpiece for the NRA. However, it should be remembered that he became president when he was 75 years old. Despite the endless number of wise old men portrayed in Hollywood movies, people don't always become open to new ideas as they grow older. Instead, they often become grumpy and inflexible. By the by, I find it strange that people criticize Michael Moore for making Heston look frail and old during the interview for Bowling for Columbine. Heston was president of the NRA and one would expect the president of an association to explain the policy and actions of that association. If you can not perform that simple task, then maybe you should retire. Anyway, whether he was used by the NRA or not is beside the point. I don't want to remember him clutching a musket and saying "from my cold, dead hands."
No, I want to remember him in his prime, when he was one of the top stars in Hollywood, and he decided to make movies without happy endings, movies that challenged people's perception of the established order. Let me make it clear, he was no rebel, but he was a smart man, and more important, he was not afraid to risk his image. Perhaps only Burt Lancaster was as willing to take chances.
Between 1965 and 1980, he played a villain (The Three Musketeers), an artist who lived only for his masterpiece (The Agony and the Ecstasy), a powerful noble whose fighting ability could not save him from his lust (The Warlord), a great British general beaten by an Arab rebel (Khartoum), a tough cowboy who was afraid to settle down (Will Penny), and a mountain man who could not adapt to changing times (Mountain Men). Khartoum in particular stands out, since his stunt double commented that he remembered when they used to win these things.
However, it is his three science fiction films that will prove to be his true monument. Planet of the Apes, Omega Man and Soylent Green all showed a future where mankind had failed in one way or another. Not even the alpha male Charlton Heston could win, at best he could survive a little bit longer than everyone else. Worse, he would come to feel that we deserved our fate. Omega Man and Soylent Green are just a little too bleak for repeated viewings but I never fail to become involved in Planet of the Apes, even though I know the story almost by heart.
In the end, Planet of the Apes is how I want to remember Charlton Heston. The actor who was not afraid to play the guy who tried hard but still lost.
posted by History on Film at 3:40 PM
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