Someone posted a HAAT on General Discussion. I always hope people would take these thoughts to the person's actual thread. He's known for Harold & Maude, Shampoo, The Last Detail, Coming Home, Bound For Glory. Just thought I'd bring his picture up here. Yesterday the musician / actor Steven Van Zandt didn't even have a photo available, although he has one on IMDb.
shareDefinitely like a 70's version of Wes Anderson, just with a drug habit, a bit of a hippy, a Oscar winning Editor and a guy ruined by Studios. Definitely someone like him wouldn't make it in Hollywood today. Stories of him going onto sets just as they filming without a script and doing things on the hop, could you imagine someone doing that today on a Hollywood film lol. But his films today are classic's of 70's Hollywood cinema.
The Landlord (1970) a early performance from Beau Bridges, one of the first films you seen on interracial relationships. And a white man having a child with a black woman, damn that was eye opening in cinema back then. Great performance from Diana Sands and young Louis Gossett Jr.. Probably Ashby's most underrated film for me.
Harold and Maude (1971) flopped on it's release. Now a Classic of 70's American cinema. Great Cat Stevens soundtrack. Also shocking of a relationship between a young man and older woman in her 70's (and not taken as a joke). Ruth gordon is excellent as is Bud Cort. Wes Anderson whole career is based on this film.
The Last Detail (1973) Ashby's true masterpiece, with I think Nicholson best performance. In a way Ashby most bleak film.
Shampoo (1975) Basically a Beatty pet project, to have got such a great film made with Beatty (know to be a tough taskmaster) is amazing. Julie Christie is great too.
Bound for Glory (1976) loose telling on Woody Guthrie's life, beautifully shot and acted. Gives The Landlord a run for Ashby's most underrated film.
Coming Home (1978) His most successful film, with Oscar wins. For me Bruce Dern steals the film. Great Soundtrack too.
Being There (1979) the last great Peter Sellers performance. Wonderful film. Ashby's last great film imo.
Second Hand Hearts, Lookin' To Get Out, The Slugger's Wife and 8 million ways to Die are poor films. Clear by this time Ashby drug problems were getting the best of him and studio's weren't taken his style of film making anymore sadly.
Thanks so much for mentioning one of my abso-favorites Being There. Since I'm not familiar with Mr Ashby, I didn't realize he directed this. I mean, I know his films, but I never lumped them all under Hal Ashby movies.
shareNo problem Snepts. It definitely feels like a Ashby film. It's off kilter and strange something Ashby was great with, look at Harold and Maude. But Being There I wouldn't disagree with anyone who say's it's Ashby's best film. Still with his 70's work and you see a talented and original filmmaker at his best.
shareI saw H&M on campus, I believe, when it was somewhat new-ish. It was really special. I think I saw both The Landlord and Last Detail on commercial late night TV years and years ago. Almost want to say I read The Landlord book as well, but that's too far back. Ashby is making me think of the slightly more successful (arguably) Robert Altman, and also the quirky Alan Rudolph.
shareAltman I admire but he was far more hit and miss during his career. Altman would do a classic film, then do one or two undervalued films then do a few stinkers. His best run was definitely the early 70's with M.A.S.H, McCabe and Mrs Miller, The Long Goodbye and Nashville. He had a bit of a comeback in the early 90's with The Player and Short Cuts. But he was far too miss then hit for me, although he was a massive influence on my Favorite living director today in Paul Thomas Anderson who for me has overshadowed and eclipsed Altman.
Rudolph, I only really seen The Moderns (which was fine) and Mrs. Parker And The Vicious Circle (1994), that film is worth it for Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance alone. I got the vibe he badly wanted to be Altman but he lacked that something that really makes him stand out.
I think Ashby reminds me more of a American version of Louis Malle really.
All very interesting. I'm thinking if we took RA's best films and stood them next to HA's, the results are similar. Altman just had the longer career. And some of us liked Prairie Home Companion and Gosford Park.
Mostly I like Rudolph for one movie in particular, Choose Me. It's light but serious in some ways. with Lesley Anne Warren, Keith Carradine and Genevieve Bujold. Even John Larroquette makes an appearance, and Rae Dawn Chong, in a role and movie where her limited acting skill doesn't really matter. She gets to be sexy and girlish and doesn't eat up too much screen time. I find KC to be fascinating, as I don't find his early acting work convincing, but he's always kept working and seems more comfortable as a middle-aged adult rather than callow and feckless.
The only Louis Malle I'm very familiar with is Atlantic City, with the always wonderful Burt Lancaster and the always luminous Susan Sarandon. I know he has others, but I won't claim to having seen many of them.
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