Ciao, Peter O’Toole

Once stood next to him at the Closerie des Lilas in Montparnasse on the shoot of What’s New Pussycat, still one of my favorite silly movies. A tall, lanky lad he was. Impressed me no end. Here are two clips, or rather one clip from Pussycat & the full version of 1972 film The Ruling Class (O’Toole appears first exactly 20 minutes in) — though I doubt I will ever watch Lawrence of Arabia again…


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5 Responses

  1. Poo says:

    “The common denominator of all my friends is that they’re dead.”…Peter O’Toole

    Now he has sadly for us but happily for him joined them at long last. His 2 favorite movies were My Favorite Year (one of my all time favorite movies) and The Ruling Class as he made it with all his “chums.”

    Do see ‘Lawrence’ again sometime. It is a brilliant movie. The subject matter it no way detracts from his and others skill on the screen. As he himself said of his craft, “I’m a working stiff, baby, just like everybody else.”

    If there is such a thing as resting in peace, he is one I hope gets it.

    Thanks for putting this up.

  2. Ian Keenan says:

    As to whether there’s a certain amount of exposure to Arab and Turkish culture that makes it impossible to watch Lawrence again, the sweeping cultural generalizations provide more of a potential obstacle than its colonial heroism, as Bolt’s screenplay delivers layers of deconstruction and critique of such heroism and colonialism as well as focusing on Lawrence’s own megalomania and his naivite about the intentions of what he was participating in. Whether or not Bolt sufficiently undermines his own cultural generalizations I will watch the damn thing over and over and relish it. The way it plays fast and loose with historical fact makes for a lot of interesting research also.. the film is a cultural myth more akin to the great myths than most.

  3. Poo says:

    …and in the end…it is just a movie!

  4. Pierre Joris says:

    Ian — actually, I do tend to agree with you — true, indeed, the movie has its fascinating critical layers (used to speak to that when teaching post-colonial matters) — & no doubt at some point I’ll watch the whole thing again too. With relish, probably…

  5. Poo says:

    “Until Lions write their own history, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

    I can’t remember who said it but it seems appropriate.

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