MovieChat Forums > A Bridge Too Far (1977) Discussion > Hackman: "I am a Pole"...

Hackman: "I am a Pole"...

posted 4 years ago by christomacin (4568)
8 replies | jump to latest

No, Gene, you're not. Sorry. We love ya, but no.

[–] whynotwriteme (7433) 4 years ago

Guess what else? Ian McKellen is not a wizard, Robert Downey Jr. is not a superhero, and Anthony Hopkins is not a genius serial killer.

[–] christomacin (4568) 4 years ago

The point is I didn't BUY him as a Pole. I wasn't literally saying he wasn't a Pole... that would be silly. Not really his fault.. he was miscast.

[–] BeaSouth (2945) 3 years ago

I got what you were saying the first time and you were exactly right. He wasn’t just miscast, it was laughable how bad he was in the role and his enthusiasm seemed to evaporate as he too realized it during the filming

[–] Rolltide (964) 3 years ago

It's a horrible role for him and his lines are moronic at times.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

Yes, I think the only performance by Hackman I've seen where he seemed completely wrong. He wasn't alone. Ryan O'Neal gave an even worse performance. The film itself is not bad, is often times quite good, but the problem is there is so much going on in so many places there is no way they could cram it into a feature film without turning into a mostly incoherent mess. It needs to be made into a mini-series, much like they did with Band of Brothers. One difference is the book A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan is much better than Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers. Not that it always works out that the better book becomes the better film.

[–] whynotwriteme (7433) 4 years ago

I HATED Ryan O'Neal's performance in this. First time I saw it, his mannerisms and delivery made me want to punch him in the face, and I was only twelve years old and had no idea who he was.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

LOL Yeah, it was just plain odd. I know he can be a good actor. I enjoy his performance in Barry Lyndon. But he is completely wrong in A Bridge Too Far.

[–] Rolltide (964) 3 years ago

O'Neal was an A list actor at that time. Obviously this is a 1977 attempt to fill the screen with the same kind of star power you saw in the Longest day.