Michael Caine -- Alive and Well. Almost 50 years of being our favorite British actor.

Amen.

“Can you forgive me for [spoilers omitted]?”
“That I can, and that I do. Full and free without let or hindrance.”
“Well, everything’s all right then.”

This is what comes to mind first and immediately whenever Michael Caine is mentioned.

Such a good movie. But I gotta say, what really stuck with me here is that Michel Caine is a great actor, and Sean Connery really isn’t, at least when put next to him.

I always kind of liked The Ipcress File

Kind of liked? It’s brilliant.

I also love the Ipcress File as an interesting visual history of 60s London: the buildings covered in coal soot, streets basically empty.

I heard Len Deighton played Caine’s hands in the egg cracking scene. Every man his limits.

Not a lot of people know that.

Speaking of which, if people here aren’t familiar with the magnificent Stella Street, they should try to find the episodes somewhere. Youtube may be your best bet in America.

I’ve always loved this one. Two heavyweights slugging it out:

If we’re just tossing out Michael Caine movies we like, then I feel obligated to mention Hannah and Her Sisters, which is one of the best middle-period efforts by he-who-shall-not-be-named.

Glad you did. One of my favorite movies ever. And slightly referenced in my Jaws: The Revenge post above.

I love the way that whole bookstore meetup is arranged, as if it were happenstance. And the awkwardness of the cab ride. That whole movie just knocks me out every time.

-xtien

“If Jesus came back and saw what’s going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.”

Bah, I should have caught that.

From Ebert’s Jaws The Revenge Review:

There is one other thing I can’t believe about “Jaws the Revenge,” and that is that on March 30, Michael Caine passed up his chance to accept his Academy Award in person because of his commitment to this movie. Maybe he was thinking the same thing as the marine biologist in the movie: that if you don’t go right back in the water after something terrible happens to you, you might be too afraid to ever go back in again.

One of my favorite written reviews of all time.

-xtien

This is a decent Death Wish type film in the dystopian UK

I think it is available on AMZN Prime, perhaps elsewhere.

He is a hard man to dislike

Speaking about his wife of 40 years…

“My wife is a Muslim and she does Muslim stuff; I’m a Christian and I do Christian stuff, and no questions ever come up. The media view of Muslims is different from mine, which is very benign and peaceful.”

And on roles
“I’m sitting here and I don’t have another film to do. If I don’t find a good script ever again I’ll be retired. There won’t be any fanfare or statement to the press. I’ll just be like an old solider - which I am - and fade away. I have no anxiety about it.”

Top bloke.

So he’s a Randian?

The book I return to is Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. My first daughter was named after its heroine, Dominique Francon.

Possibly, if he is he hides it well though. So can I can forgive him :)

edit, it seems he is a moderate conservative (which is actually possible in the UK) who voted for New Labour & Blair then switched back to Conservatives after. Also a mild Brexitter. I have no issues with that but ymmv.

I’m fine with people who are more conservative than me, especially if they come across as reasonable. I was just a bit surprised that he liked Rand so much.

Yeah, the media view of religions is completely fucked. They generally only cover the the most extreme elements because that is the only thing that is news worthy. So I suppose if you’re an atheist, and your only exposure to religion is through the media…well, it’s fucked! Also basically everything else.

Agree, also the bolded bit is pretty much me. Although I have been trying to be more open minded and trying to learn in recent years.

Qt3 has actually opened my eyes to a lot of perfectly reasonable people who happen to be Christian/Muslim whatever.