Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Watch Geoffrey Rush die four times at once

My brother is an editor, which means he weaves reality from scraps of fantasy (or is it the other way around?). Either way, here is his latest mini project: a synchronized split-screen of Geoffrey Rush expiring in -- clockwise starting from top left -- Les Miserables (self-drowning), Quills (fatal madness), Pirates of the Caribbean (gunshot wound) and House on Haunted Hill (monster? falling ceiling tiles?). The contrast between the sequences works beautifully, as does the manipulation of sound levels to catch bits of dialogue and swells of music. Sometimes things aren't special until you put them side by side, or one after the other. Who would you want to see die four times at once? An obvious one is Meryl Streep: of cancer in One True Thing, of poison in Sophie's Choice, pushed down the stairs in Death Becomes Her, assassinated in The Manchurian Candidate. And isn't she run off the road in Silkwood, or does that happen off-screen? And I've never seen Ironweed, but I know her character overdoses in the novel. My brother thinks Demi Moore might be next on his list, but hopefully Meryl will be soon after.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Uh, thanks for ruining Sophie's Choice for me.

J.J. said...

Also, Bruce Willis is a ghost.

Middento said...

How about Humphrey Bogart? I know that in three movies he is shot by Jimmy Cagney; certainly there has to be an appropriate fourth film where he dies of consumption or something.

Mike z said...

Humphrey Bogart is "shot to death" in 95% of the movies he dies in.

Mike z said...

p.s. are you back from CR? How was it? Are they still married?

Anonymous said...

JJ, I'm a poor, busy grad student who doesn't have the money or time to go to the movies. I live vicariously through you. Please do some more movie reviews. I live for them. Thanks.