{"id":8,"date":"2008-04-06T09:26:36","date_gmt":"2008-04-06T09:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/squidink\/2008\/04\/06\/charlton-heston-1924-2008\/"},"modified":"2012-10-02T18:57:26","modified_gmt":"2012-10-03T01:57:26","slug":"charlton-heston-1924-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/squidink\/2008\/04\/06\/charlton-heston-1924-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlton Heston: 1924 – 2008"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a lot of great actors out there. Some become legendary. Even fewer become legitimate icons. Charlton Heston was one of them. He died today <\/a>at 84, and the world is a lot smaller because of it.<\/p>\n

Icon doesn’t even really seem to cover it. Charlton Heston was practically a force of nature that decided to be a man for a little while.<\/p>\n

Most actors would be happy to have done a single movie that had the impact of any one of Heston\u2019s films has had on the world. Films like Soylent Green<\/span>. The Omega Man<\/span>. Earthquake<\/span>. Touch of Evil<\/span>. Ben Hur<\/span>. El Cid<\/span>. The Greatest Show on Earth<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Not to mention The Ten Commandments<\/span>, which pretty much solidified Heston as the voice for God on Earth. When he intones to Yul Brenner, \u201cLet my people GO<\/span>\u201d you can\u2019t help but get a shiver from the power in his voice.<\/p>\n

And, of course, there\u2019s The Planet of the Apes<\/span>. His performance as Taylor, which he did with the perfect mix of serious and scene-chewing ham is one of the key elements of the film. From his snarled \u201cTake your paws off me, you damn dirty ape<\/span>!\u201d to the final (and oft parodied) twist of \u201cYou Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell<\/span>!\u201d Heston nails the role and made it the movie iconic. It would have crumbled and been a silly mess with a lessor actor, and couldn\u2019t really have been carried off by anyone else.<\/p>\n

Not only did his performance make that film, he was a heavy influence on the follow up Beneath the Planet of the Apes<\/span>, and that\u2019s with him only being in the opening and closing of the film! It’s the search for Taylor that drives the movie, and his presence is felt even with him not being there. <\/p>\n

It was also Heston’s idea to blow up the planet at the end of the film, so that a third movie couldn\u2019t be made. This resulted in the third flick sending Roddy back in time to the \u201cpresent.\u201d This set up the cycle of how the Apes became ascendant over man, so it was still a great idea.<\/p>\n

The addition of Heston to a movie as a cameo in his later years added an extra layer of cool. Just look at Tombstone<\/span>, Branagh’s Hamlet<\/span>, The Planet of the Apes <\/span>remake (his was the best scene in that movie<\/span>), and his Nick Fury-style general in True Lies<\/span>. <\/p>\n

Charlton Heston was a giant. He was an icon. He was a honest-to-god legend. There won\u2019t be anyone like him again, and he will be missed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are a lot of great actors out there. Some become legendary. Even fewer become legitimate icons. Charlton Heston was one of them. He died today at 84, and the world is a lot smaller because of it. Icon doesn’t … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n