DISQUS

ANGRYBROOMSTICK · 6 months ago

:( so bittersweet..

Aleric · 6 months ago

As with all of Gilliams work, you never know how good the movie is till it is released. He has made a lot of good movies and several mediocre ones, so hopefully he won't tarnish Ledgers last moments on film.

RobertFure · 6 months ago

Not to be a dick, but seriously - Heath Ledger "had more talent than most of the inhabitants of his profession?" Ledger was in a couple of good movies, but most of his roles were just pretty standard. He was good in Brokeback and The Dark Knight, hardly enough to qualify him as one of the greatest actors of his generation, much less any. He was a cool dude, did some good movies, and it sucks that he died, but let's not cast him in gold and call him something he's not.

TheGreenMalice · 6 months ago

Are you saying that A Knight's Tale isn't the Citizen Kane of Knight movies?

Michael G. · 6 months ago

Heath Ledgers work was nothing short of monumental. I think what Robin Ruinsky meant was that the depth and charisma that Heath brought to his characters was un-matched by most of young Hollywood today. He was a true artist who held his success not in awards and teen magazine spreads, but in the final product of his work which will live on for years to come as we all look back and remember his many amazing performances. Need proof? Simply watch: Candy, Monster's Ball, The Four Feathers, Brokeback Mountain, Im Not There, even Casanova, Lords of Dogtown, Ned Kelley, and of course The Dark Knight. I am sure the list of fantastic performances given to us by Heath would have grown much longer and even more impressive as the years went on, but we must now wait to see where Heath will find his place in Hollywood's history. Immortalized as the next James Dean? Or simply forgotten as the years go on... I find it hard to believe that anyone will forget who Heath Ledger was anytime soon. I know I wont. And to answer the question, YES! I am very excited to see his last performance. It should prove to be another amazing addition to his list of inspiring credits.

RobertFure · 6 months ago

Sure, I'll keep playing the bad guy.
monumental: of outstanding significance; massive: imposing in size or bulk or solidity;

So actually, Ledger's career was short of monumental. Ledger was only 4 or 5 years younger than Christian Bale is now. Compare the two. Ledger was active for about 10 years. Check out what someone like Johnny Depp did, at the same age range, from 1988 to 1998. Heath Ledger was surely a great guy, but he is receiving praise mostly through the evolution of the media mass effect rather than anything he's actually done in his career.

HempKnight 757 · 6 months ago

Knights Tale was horrible, but I have friends who like it sadly. Any movie based in medevil time & plays current music or not anywhere near that time bugs the hell out of me. I just remember them chanting we will rock you and being like wtf? unless its a spoof it looks dumb.

Michael G. · 6 months ago

And I shall play The Defender.
First off, I never used the word "massive" as it does not apply. And Secondly, Heath Ledger's career was monumental in the sense that it was of great importance to many of the actors that looked up to him and also to his fans.
Notice how in my previous comment I said that he "was un-matched by most of young Hollywood today"? Notice the word MOST which is defined as a superlative of many, meaning that he was un-matched by MANY not ALL of young Hollywood.
I would without a doubt consider Christian Bale and Johnny Depp to be among some of the better actors working today.
And to call upon the early career of Johnny Depp in comparison to Heath's is a waste of time.
If Johnny Depp had died at the age of 29 like Heath did, then he would have passed in 1992.
Thus no Benny & Joon, no Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood, Donnie Brasco, Raoul Duke and certainly no Jack Sparrow! He would have been remembered as being Edward Scissorhands and the teen heart-throb from 21 Jump Street...
If you look at Heath's career, he received "praise" and critical acclaim for not only The Dark Knight and Brokeback Mountain, but also Candy, The Four Feather's and Monster's Ball.
In regards toward your comment of him "receiving praise mostly through the evolution of the media mass effect"; even if news only traveled by newspapers and telegrams still, his death would have been a tragic loss to the acting and film community as well as to his fans around the world... I am sure that the media played a major part in the publicity of Heath's death, but that is the reality of today. Where the internet supplies it users with instant news and the users are free to do with it what they will. But the "praise" that Heath received and is still receiving is due to the tremendous talent that he possessed, and the artistry he applied to his craft.

RobertFure · 6 months ago

Heath Ledger really hit the scene in 1999. His last movie was in 2009. In 1999 he was only 20. Depp didn't really hit the scene until 1990, when he was already 27. So from their first major role (10 Things I hate About You vs Cry Baby) and give them each 10 years, Johnny Depp's career is by far the more impressive. Look at Depp from 27 to 30 and he's got some great films.

And to clarify, "massive" is a synonym of "monumental." But I'll never convince you and you'll never convince me, so I'll leave it at that so I don't have to name 50 actors in the 20-30 range who have better careers than Ledger.

RobinRuinsky · 6 months ago

Thank you RF for the dictionary definition of monumental. I don't know that anyone would have understood the meaning of the word without your help.
Ledger could have only left his performances as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain and the Joker in The Dark Knight and still have been better than most of the inhabitants of his profession. Most actors never get a single great role.
If his career was short of monumental it was because his life was cut short.
But please don't insult people's intelligence by saying we're all just brainwashed
by a "media mass effect".

David G · 6 months ago

Whatever dudes. Ledger was a great actor. Whether or not the movies themselves were depicted terribly has nothing to do with his acting in the movie. Yes Knights Tale has a bad idea by adding music from this past century for centuries old time, but Ledger still did a great job on his part. Every movie he did for that matter. Depp is definitely a fav and one of the greatest actors of all time, regardless of what some may say of POTC series. But Depp is in his 40s and Ledger was just coming of age close to 30. He had a lot more to offer and was just becoming a great actor with his last few films. Depp is by no means slowing down but is choosing roles carefully as he always has. Just isnt a lot of good material out these days with all the garbage in Hollwood and the wannabe Hollywoods out there. Depp will continue giving great performances without doubt. Ledger left some great films before he left. Just wish the was still around to give more as well.

Michael · 6 months ago

Again, I am in agreement with you that Johnny Depp has had quite an amazing career.
If you want to argue about when the actors "hit the scene" as you call it, I suggest you re-watch 10 Things I Hate About You. Ledger's was a supporting role in that film and NOT the lead as Johnny was the lead in Cry Baby (Universal Studios)... Ledger wasn't a lead in a major studio feature film until A Knight's Tale (Columbia Pictures) in 2001. It is a matter of opinion as to who had the better career. Some might say Ledger's performances that earned him one Oscar nomination and one Oscar win by what would have been his 30th birthday is far more impressive than Johnny earning his first nomination at age 40 and sill not having won by age 46... I on the other hand, do not judge success by the merit of awards.
Johnny is one of my favorite working actors as was Heath. You CANNOT compare the two careers because they are SIGNIFICANTLY different! So I suggest you stop trying...
You can name a list of 800 actor's that you think have better careers than Ledger, but that is your opinion. And you are entitled to it, but do not belittle the success and talent of a great performer merely because you believe that the actor's well deserved praise is mainly due to the media's exploitation of his death. Again, the main point of this discussion for me is that Heath earned that praise long before his death. Weather you agree with it or not, it is the TRUTH! Accept it and move on with your life.