TODAY'S MEMORABLE MOVIE MOMENTS ~ QUOTES AND MUSINGS FROM "MY FAVORITE YEAR"
(The Classic 1982 Comedy starring Peter O'Toole and Mark Linn-Baker ~ A dissolute matinee idol is slated to appear on a live TV variety show.)
May I just say, I LOVE Peter O'Toole!
(The Classic 1982 Comedy starring Peter O'Toole and Mark Linn-Baker ~ A dissolute matinee idol is slated to appear on a live TV variety show.)
May I just say, I LOVE Peter O'Toole!
For me, both in his professional and personal life...he is a massive
ball of Light who came to this planet to shine...and surely the kind of
soul Jack Kerouac had in mind, when he wrote, "The only people for me
are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be
saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn
or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow
roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle
you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!”
And in this brilliant film, for me, it is the quintisential O'Toole...from the beginning to its glorious conclusion, watching the great finale -- Swann flying through the air and getting that hard-to-reach moment to shine. In a voice-over, Linn-Baker says: "This is the way I like to remember him," and that has always been it for me and O'Toole. He's an amazing actor, who has appeared in everything from the highest of critical achievements to the dregs of cinema, but he never shines brighter than the moments when he gets to unleash his devilish charm.
HERE ARE SOME CLASSIC MOMENTS FROM THIS FILM...
[Benjy Stone and a very drunken Alan Swann are up on a roof as Swann attempts to shimmy down the side of the building]
Benjy Stone: "Let's *not* do this - it's too dangerous!"
Alan Swann: "Nonsense! It worked perfectly well in "A Slight Case of Divorce"!"
Benjy Stone: "That was a movie! This is real life!"
Alan Swann: "What's the difference?"
Alan Swann: "Stone... I'm afraid. I'm afraid."
Benjy Stone: "Alan Swann, afraid? The Defender of the Crown? Captain from Tortuga? The Last Knight of the Round Table?"
Alan Swann: "Those are movies, damn you! Look at me! I'm flesh and blood, life-size, no larger! I'm not that silly God-damned hero! I never was!"
Benjy Stone: "To *me* you were! Whoever you were in those movies, those silly goddamn heroes meant a lot to *me*! What does it matter if it was an illusion? It worked! So don't tell me this is you life-size. I can't use you life-size. I need Alan Swanns as big as I can get them! And let me tell you something: you couldn't have convinced me the way you did unless somewhere in you you *had* that courage! Nobody's that good an actor! You *are* that silly goddamn hero!"
("He's plastered!")..."So are some of the finest erections in Europe."...
"Stone, you can watch me or you can join me. One of them is more fun. "...
"Ladies are unwell, Stone. Gentlemen vomit."...
"What's in a name? A rose by any other name would wither and die. "...
"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."...
"Stone, women love to be intrigued. They enjoy unraveling the mystery that is man, but you must allow them the freedom to discover you." ("Is that what you do?")
"No. I don't have that luxury. The women who are interested in me know exactly who I am and what they want, and nine times out of ten, they get it." ("That's some curse.")
"You'd be surprised. You see, no matter what I do, I can never fulfill their expectations."...
"I didn't marry any of them. They... married me."...
"I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!"...
~ (Peter O'Toole as Alan Swann)
("So Swanny")..."Ma, he's an actor, not a river."...
"Bring Allan Swann to Brooklyn?"...("Sure, what are you ashamed of?")..."Everything!"...
"Catherine, Jews know two things: suffering, and where to find great Chinese food."...
("Sanctuary! Sanctuary!")..."Sanctuary my ass!"
([Alan Swann, gazing deep into K.C's eyes] "These eyes. They're Merle Oberon's eyes.")..."Merle Oberon's! Oh, and what's Merle doing for eyes? Using Katharine Hepburn's?"
(End scene) "The way you see him here, like this, this is the way I like to remember him. I think if you had asked Alan Swann what was the single most gratifying moment in his life, he might have said this one, right here...Like Alfie says, 'With Swann you forgive a lot, you know?'...I Know"...
~ (Mark Linn-Baker as Benjy Stone)
And in this brilliant film, for me, it is the quintisential O'Toole...from the beginning to its glorious conclusion, watching the great finale -- Swann flying through the air and getting that hard-to-reach moment to shine. In a voice-over, Linn-Baker says: "This is the way I like to remember him," and that has always been it for me and O'Toole. He's an amazing actor, who has appeared in everything from the highest of critical achievements to the dregs of cinema, but he never shines brighter than the moments when he gets to unleash his devilish charm.
HERE ARE SOME CLASSIC MOMENTS FROM THIS FILM...
[Benjy Stone and a very drunken Alan Swann are up on a roof as Swann attempts to shimmy down the side of the building]
Benjy Stone: "Let's *not* do this - it's too dangerous!"
Alan Swann: "Nonsense! It worked perfectly well in "A Slight Case of Divorce"!"
Benjy Stone: "That was a movie! This is real life!"
Alan Swann: "What's the difference?"
Alan Swann: "Stone... I'm afraid. I'm afraid."
Benjy Stone: "Alan Swann, afraid? The Defender of the Crown? Captain from Tortuga? The Last Knight of the Round Table?"
Alan Swann: "Those are movies, damn you! Look at me! I'm flesh and blood, life-size, no larger! I'm not that silly God-damned hero! I never was!"
Benjy Stone: "To *me* you were! Whoever you were in those movies, those silly goddamn heroes meant a lot to *me*! What does it matter if it was an illusion? It worked! So don't tell me this is you life-size. I can't use you life-size. I need Alan Swanns as big as I can get them! And let me tell you something: you couldn't have convinced me the way you did unless somewhere in you you *had* that courage! Nobody's that good an actor! You *are* that silly goddamn hero!"
("He's plastered!")..."So are some of the finest erections in Europe."...
"Stone, you can watch me or you can join me. One of them is more fun. "...
"Ladies are unwell, Stone. Gentlemen vomit."...
"What's in a name? A rose by any other name would wither and die. "...
"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."...
"Stone, women love to be intrigued. They enjoy unraveling the mystery that is man, but you must allow them the freedom to discover you." ("Is that what you do?")
"No. I don't have that luxury. The women who are interested in me know exactly who I am and what they want, and nine times out of ten, they get it." ("That's some curse.")
"You'd be surprised. You see, no matter what I do, I can never fulfill their expectations."...
"I didn't marry any of them. They... married me."...
"I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!"...
~ (Peter O'Toole as Alan Swann)
("So Swanny")..."Ma, he's an actor, not a river."...
"Bring Allan Swann to Brooklyn?"...("Sure, what are you ashamed of?")..."Everything!"...
"Catherine, Jews know two things: suffering, and where to find great Chinese food."...
("Sanctuary! Sanctuary!")..."Sanctuary my ass!"
([Alan Swann, gazing deep into K.C's eyes] "These eyes. They're Merle Oberon's eyes.")..."Merle Oberon's! Oh, and what's Merle doing for eyes? Using Katharine Hepburn's?"
(End scene) "The way you see him here, like this, this is the way I like to remember him. I think if you had asked Alan Swann what was the single most gratifying moment in his life, he might have said this one, right here...Like Alfie says, 'With Swann you forgive a lot, you know?'...I Know"...
~ (Mark Linn-Baker as Benjy Stone)
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