by Greg Mayer
Alan Rickman, the accomplished British actor of stage and screen, has died of cancer at age 69, as reported by the BBC, the NY Times, the Guardian, the Telegraph, and other media outlets. We have lost two London-born luminaries in the span of a week.
Tributes are pouring in from the many actors and directors with whom he worked, including Emma Thompson, Daniel Radcliffe, Helen Mirren, and Chris Columbus. He was one of my favorite actors, skilled at both comedy and drama, and unsurpassed as the comedic villain, such as Hans Gruber in Die Hard or, my favorite, the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It was in the latter that he uttered one of my favorite movie lines of all time (Paul Krugman has also shared his favorite Rickman line). Nottingham, having threatened to cut Robin’s heart out with a spoon, is queried by one of his dim minions as to why he would use a spoon, to which the Sheriff replies, “Because it’s dull you twit– it’ll hurt more!”
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was a pretty disastrous movie (it wasn’t supposed to be a comedy), but Rickman made it well worth viewing (or at least the scenes he was in). As the Guardian‘s Lanre Bakare put it, “Alan Rickman managed to polish one of 90s cinema’s biggest turds when he put in a brilliant turn as the ruthless Sheriff of Nottingham”. And, as a Star Trek fan, I loved his brilliant Dr. Lazarus in the equally brilliant ensemble sci-fi spoof, Galaxy Quest. I was surprised to learn that he had directed only two films—The Winter Guest, a drama set over the course of one day in a town in Scotland that I rather enjoyed, and last year’s A Little Chaos—which I will now have to see.
Although he died too young, he had a long and productive career, and I don’t know that he needs to be avenged, but if he did, I would pick up Grabthar’s Hammer and take up the quest.
Very good actor indeed. Agree with everything you said about the Robbin Hood flick.
Track down ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ with Rickman and Juliet Stevenson if you can . It’s great. Not sure if it’s available on DVD.
Currently $864 used on US Amazon …
$64 per VHS tape used, even!
I do not recall if I ever saw that particular Robin Hood movie. I am very fond of Galaxy Quest. It was one of those movies where I expected very little, and was pleased to find it charming and worth watching. I just saw it again recently on cable t.v. The Harry Potter series had its ups and downs, certainly, but Rickman was always one of the better parts of all of the movies.
If you happen to get the BBCA channel you could have a chance at that movie. They seem to play it every few weeks. Hopefully because of Rickman and not the rest.
Completely agree! G.Q. was a charming surprise.
I expected not to even be able to sit through Galaxy Quest but it turned out to be one of my favorite movies of all time. I loved Alan Rickman’s character in it. He and Tony Shalhoub’s really made the film for me.
by grabthars hammer… he will be missed…
sniff…
I always think that actors are ludicrously overpraised. There are shedloads of decent actors and performers out there, but only a handful of people able to write something that is worth performing in the first place.
However, Rickman was one of the few exceptions – an actor who really seemed to make a difference to anything he was in. Robin Hood Prince of Thieves is indeed the canonical example of a really dreadful film made watchable by one actor’s performance.
Same with The January Man.
I was just listening to samples of an interview of Alan Rickman on NPR. He was saying that when he was just starting out his instructor said that his voice was going to be a problem since it sounded like it was going thru the plumbing. They were simply wrong, of course. His voice was a tremendous asset.
I’ve always enjoyed Prince of Thieves. If you didn’t have Rickman in the scene, you usually had Freeman, and those -men together is enough to make just about anything great. 😉 Plus, even if he couldn’t do the accent, it’s one of Costner’s better works (low bar, I know). It’s simplistic and campy as hell, but damned if I don’t love it.
It has been some years since I saw it but I recall, whoever it was that played Maid Marian was awful.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. She also played the female lead character in the film The Abyss opposite Ed Harris.
Yes, but I didn’t feel that it detracted much from the movie. It wasn’t a serious movie – judging it by serious standards is the wrong way to look at it. It was a campy good guys vs bad guys movie dressed up in serious clothing because it had a decent budget. Come at it from that perspective, and there’s a lot of fun to be had – as well as some surprisingly anti-Christian (at least certainly not pro-Christian) commentary on the Crusades, if you listen for it.
I loved Rickman’s performance (wow!) but the rest of the movie … meh.
I enjoyed Prince of Thieves too, and Alan Rickman’s performance was a big reason. Like Greg, I loved and have always remembered the “spoon” line.
He improved everything I saw him in.
It’s not a good week to be a genius 69-year-old Londoner.
I first became aware of him in “Truly Madly Deeply” a wonderful film. I was hooked from then on, there wasn’t a Scene he didn’t steal or a Film he didn’t grace with his Talent, A great Actor and a great Human Being.
Yes, a terrible loss, IMO.
Greg, I am totally with you on his Sheriff of Nottingham performance! That was my first notice of him; and, still, my favorite performance of his. I continue to be amazed at how that performance has failed to be mentioned in the tributes to him. (Perhaps because the film overall was not very good; his performance stole the entire show.)
I’ve liked virtually every of his film performances; but that one is still my favorite, thanks for highlighting it.
In particular, I enjoyed his performance as Steve Spurrier in Bottle Shock (2008). He was great as Snape too, though I didn’t really care for the Potter movies.
The only role where, for me, he fell flat was in Perfume, otherwise an excellent adaptation of Patrick Susskind’s novel. Ben Whishaw is amazing.
In a calmer vein, I thought he was wonderful as Colonel Brandon with Emma Thompson in “Sense and sensibility”. They even almost managed to save the police file “Judas kiss”. Yes, he will be missed.
police FILM, of course
Oh damn. I too really enjoyed Alan Rickman, in just about anything. Much like I’ve said of Max von Sydow, Rickman made just about anything he was in worth watching.
I am pleased to see that Greg hilighted Rickman’s Robin Hood performance. That is also my favorite Rickman character and one of my favorite movie villains period. And the spoon scene was indeed funny as hell.
Regarding the Costner Robin Hood film in general, I have to agree with Pali. I’ve always enjoyed it. I thought several other actors did a fine job in it as well. Of all the Robin Hood movies I’ve seen it is easily the most enjoyable one to watch, for me. I find the classic Robin Hood movies boring.
‘And the spoon scene was indeed funny as hell.’
And then after he stabs Guy of Gisborne:
“Well at least I didn’t use a spoon” !!!
“Of all the Robin Hood movies I’ve seen it is easily the most enjoyable one to watch, for me.”
Agreed. My #2 Robin Hood movie is Men in Tights, which perhaps says a lot about the quality of Robin Hood movies. The relatively recent Russell Crowe one was simply awful, and I love Crowe. 🙁
I loved Alan Rickman in his role as the Voice of God Metatron in Kevin Smith’s film “Dogma”. A wonderful satirical presentation of religious dogmas and belief systems.
And Galaxy Quest with Alan Rickman as Alexander Dane was a wonderful spoof of the Star Trek franchise. Say’s the Strek Trek Fan 😏.
“I loved Alan Rickman in his role as the Voice of God Metatron in Kevin Smith’s film “Dogma”. A wonderful satirical presentation of religious dogmas and belief systems.”
A woefully underrated film, in my opinion. Only real misstep is that it falls for the belief-in-belief notion, but its take on organized religions is more than worth the flaws.
I went through his movie credits on imdb.com and I think the first film I ever saw him in was “Michael Collins”, where he played Eamon de Valera. But it will always be Dr Lazarus I remember him as.
Gotta admit, I liked him more as Hans Gruber than the Sheriff. But an excellent actor regardless. RIP Alan.
Rickman was enormously gifted and his evil persons were evil, I’ll never forget them. [Yes, Galaxy Quest was brilliant.]
But as many times he made the context human, it was alien. E.g. why would Rickman explain why a spoon as torture would hurt more!? For the absurdity of it?
I guess I’ll never become an accomplished British actor.
Yes a real loss.
Try to find a movie called CLOSET LAND, a future dystopian drama from 1991. He plays the Interrogator, a chilling portrait of pure evil.
And LOVE ACTUALLY, a romantic comedy from 2003. Rickman and Emma Thompson are brilliant.
For Alan Rickman, I would have broken my life-long, self-imposed ban of not asking famous people for their autograph. He was bigger than life but did not take up much room. Here’s my paraphrasing of his simple and consistent approach to acting: what did his character want, how did they go about to get it, and what did they do if they got it or didn’t. Therefore his ability to play characters of polar opposites was fluid and no problem for this profoundly gifted actor.
And he was social-brained; he gave and took in an astonishingly balanced manner, without trampling on others but not sacrificing his own needs and wants. He met the great love of his life, Rima Horton, when they were teenagers. She was with him at his death bed.
Only a few people inspire me, and he was one of them because he was in life for the long haul, and boy did he ever pulled that off. Kudos, Alan.
I first saw Alan Rickman as the oleaginous Obadiah Slope in the Barchester Chronicles. He was superb. Anthony Trollope would have approved I am sure. He was surrounded by so many other fine actors, most of them sadly gone. Nigel Hawthorne, Donald Pleasance, Geraldine Macewan. It is well worth watching.
Truly, Madly, Deeply seems to be priced out of reach. The lowest price on amazon.ca is CAD89.
Gotta love “Dogma”. Had George Carlin in it too.
Loved him in Truly, Madly, Deeply years ago, and also the currentish A Little Chaos, which I had forgotten that he directed. He will be missed
Anyone else like _Snow Cake_? (The *other* movie with Rickman and Signourney Weaver?)
I really liked Rickman’s performances in some of his less mainstream movies, including his turn as the Paris-based, expatriate Brit wine maven (speaking a toff’s self-consciously precise French) in Bottle Shock, and his turn as Hilly Kristal, the owner of CBGE, in the film of that name.
I first came across Rickman way back in the 80’s when he superbly played the oleaginous, vile, hypocritical, and monstrously ambitious curate Obadiah Slope in the BBC’s excellent adaptation of Trollope’s Barchester Chronicles. If you want to see Rickman in an early role
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehnSdG4HRPE
Just bought Barchestet from Amazon. Thanks for the tip. I have no self control when it comes to books and good DVDs. My library didn’t have it. It kept wanting to look for Bar cheater, whatever that might be…
How could you be anything but oleaginous with a name like Obadiah Slope??
Alan Rickman happens to be one of my favourite actors too. I loved The Barchester Chronicles and many of his movies. There is a TV adaptation of a poem called The Song of Lunch, featuring Alan and Emma Thompson, which is wonderful and is a must watch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Song_of_Lunch
I’ve seen that!! Forgot about it.
I’ll have to check out the Barchester Chronicles. And speaking of Alan and Emma, Sense and Sensibility!!
Am I right, ladies, that Alan’s performance as Colonel Brandon is perfect?
I am not quite a lady, but yes, perfect.
Well, I’m glad to hear it. I rarely encounter men who appreciate the genre enough to watch Sense and Sensibility, much less know how well Alan did in the role.
I’m very sad Alan is gone. I have, on occasion, searched Amazon by his name just to watch his films.
You’re absolutely right. His performance was perfection itself.
That was brilliant. Shall remember him for a long while.
Rickman was born in February ’46, nine months after VE Day, putting him at the very vanguard of the baby-boom generation.
I loved Alan Rickman. I first saw him in ‘An Awfully Big Adventure’, with Hugh Grant. I was obsessed with him for a while after that. Noone ever mentions this movie, but it was also notable for Hugh Grant’s portrayal of a very un-Hugh-Grant-like character.
Great actor he may have been but also a supporter of the BDS movement which damns him forever as a human being in my view.