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I saw the headlines about director Arthur Hiller dying
earlier, but it wasn't until Mark Harris tweeted this...
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RIP Arthur Hiller. Nice man with a wonderfully up/down career. My faves: The Americanization of Emily, The In-Laws, Outrageous Fortune. 1/2— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) August 17, 2016
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... that I paid attention -- let's all watch Outrageous Fortune tonight in his honor! It's been several years since I've seen that movie, which was a favorite as a kid (as were all the Bette Midler movies), but my first memory is of how hot Peter Coyote was in it...
... and looking around now I see that it's difficult to find good pictures of him in it online. I should work on that, right? But it always seemed reasonable to me that Bette & Shelley would be fighting so hard over that piece. Claw each other's eyes out, ladies! (Sidenote: Oh my god there is a DVD set of Outrageous Fortune + Down & Out in Beverly Hills + Ruthless People, I MUST OWN IT)
Anyway in related "hot guys in movies Arthur Hiller directed" news he also directed the film Making Love, the gay landmark starring Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean -- can you believe that I have never seen it? Should I watch finally that?
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4 comments:
Making Love seems very dated now unsurprisingly but looked at from the time it came out it was at least a respectable try to examine its subject matter fairly. I've never been much for Harry Hamlin but Michael Ontkean was his puppy dog adorableness peak. Both of them do good work but the best performance in the whole film is by Kate Jackson as the wife stuck in a hell of a situation. It's a shame she wasn't offered (or at least wasn't at liberty to accept) better material throughout her career.
if nothing else, you'll have more fun screencapping michael ontkean and harry hamlin than peter coyote; but i agree with joel, it's a noble attempt and jackson is great in it [weirdly, the film seems more concerned about her reaction than ontkean's]
It's less a movie than a "statement", gently given, but yes, you should see it. And the title song by Roberta Flack is gorgeous. It's an important work of it's time.
I recall seeing "Making Love" in a movie theater in Boston when it first came out. I remember the following:
1. When the character slings the bottle of Johnny Walker over to Ontkean's character, there were gasps from the audience. Presumably everyone thought it would drop.
2. When the music swelled and the two kissed (huge screen, just like Hollywood oldies!) there was spontaneous applause. Really, it was a defining moment in film, and I'll never forget it.
I was early twenties, and went with a friend.
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