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Sunday, April 6, 2008
In his day, Charlton Heston was The Man
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the survivalist, nuclear-waste world of 1971’s “The Omega Man,” a little girl looks up at Charlton Heston and asks, “Are you God?”
Well, of course he wasn’t. But in Hollywood terms, he was about as close to that as any Hollywood actor could get.
In the 1950s and most of the 1960s, the guy ruled movies. Think of Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Harrison Ford. Now smush them all together and remold them into one charismatic actor.
Heston was our adventure king, our go-to guy when the world hit fourth down and 20 to go.
Here are my five favorite Charlton Heston movies. In order.
1. “Touch of Evil” (1958). Moody and perfectly rendered film noir from master Orson Welles, with Heston as a narcotics official in a viper-like Mexican border town.
2. “Planet of the Apes” (1968). He’s cynical, cocky and gritty as a space explorer who lands in a simian world.
3. “Ben-Hur” (1959). I could watch the chariot race over and over all day long. It’s probably the greatest action sequence ever filmed.
4. “The Omega Man” (1971). Very 1970s. And sort of a sci-fiploitation film with that little girl asking Heston, “Are you God?”
5. “The War Lord” (1965). The aura of a Heston film was usually so epic, so big (think “The Ten Commandments,” “El Cid,” “Khartoum”). I think I like the Medieval “War Lord” because it’s smaller, its story more compact. Heston, of course, is as big and over-the-top as ever.
What are your favorite Charlton Heston movies? Do you watch “The Ten Commandments” or “Ben-Hur” every year?
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Video tribute to Charlton Heston
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This Youtube video tribute honors Charlton Heston with clips from “The Omega Man,” “Planet of the Apes” and “Touch of Evil.”
In his day, Heston, who died Saturday, was Hollywood’s top mainstream actor.
Enjoy … and remember.
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