Movies

I wasn’t that impressed with Laurence Olivier’s HAMLET (1948) when I saw it at Oberlin, and my greater appreciation for Shakespeare over the years hasn’t made me like it any better; in between flashes of power, Olivier’s Oedipal Dane (I must admit, the long kisses with his mother still shock) comes off too cerebral and philosophical without the underlying intense grief Kevin Kline’s prince showed. Still, it’s always a pleasure to listen to the dialog. “It cannot be love, for with age the heyday of the blood has cooled, and waits on reason.”
According to an interview in the book Past Imperfect (one of several by that name), John Sayles had always wanted to do a film about the Black Sox scandal but doubted he could afford the cast he wanted. When it turned out a friend with studio backing had the same dream cast, Sayles wound up directing EIGHT MEN OUT (1988) as one of his rare studio features. I can see why the story (concerning some of the White Sox throwing the World Series) appeals to Sayles, as the White Sox owner, the baseball commissioner (John Huston) and assorted gamblers (including Christopher Lloyd) exploit and cheat the team, which includes John Cusack, DB Sweeney, David Straitharn and coach John Mahoney. Sayles appears as sportswriter Ring Lardner. Very good. “I never made one dime off that game.”