If you don’t remember who John Cazale was it’s time to brush up on your movie history since he played a couple of the most iconic roles in all of film. In the defense of those that don’t watch a lot of movies though he didn’t do a whole lot when it comes to the quantity of films he was in, but he did manage to create some very unforgettable characters for those that do enjoy the cinema. He also hung in there with some of the biggest heavyweights of his time and held his own in terms of acting, so it’s very easy to see why he might be worth remembering and even revering at times since he was an icon for a while.
Seriously, look him up and go watch a few of his films, you’ll be amazed.
6. The American Way
This gets rated a little bit on the low side largely because it was one of Cazale’s earliest appearances in film and it was a short film so there wasn’t a lot to go off of when it came to judging his acting talent. Also, it was a silent film so trying to deduce just how good he was became a little bit harder since without being able to gauge how he reacted to other people it was kind of hard to think of how good he could be.
5. The Conversation
Listening in to other people’s conversations can be kind of dangerous, especially if you happen to be hired on by someone that actually wants you to listen. The trick seems to be doing the job and steering clear of the details so as to keep to the shadows of society as much as possible, otherwise it would be possible to get involved and get in way too deep.
This is what an ill-fated, ill-planned bank robbery looks like, and Sal is the unstable guy that’s just crazy enough to make it even worse. Of course things tend to get worse all on their own when the plan, if there was one made in the heat of the moment, goes awry and people start messing up left and right. In the end Sal ends up dead and Sonny goes away for 20 years, making this one of the worst robberies ever put onto film. But the performance of the cast was great.
3. The Deer Hunter
It seems like it’s the guy with the biggest mouth that comes up as the biggest loser during the film. The Deer Hunter wasn’t about Stanley to be honest since he wasn’t a big part of the movie. He was there while the guys were still at home and everything was good. But he didn’t follow them into war and he sure as heck didn’t do much else for them throughout the movie.
2. The Godfather
Every one of Vito’s kids got a little bit of something, but Fredo seems like the only one that got left out when it came to respect, guts, and even self-respect. He lets people push him around, he lets them treat him poorly, and then he defends them. If this had been Sonny getting smacked around by Moe Green the Corleone family would have taken Green’s assets instead of asking to buy them.
1. The Godfather Part II
Even weak men can get greedy. Fredo wanted something so badly for himself that he ended betraying his brother Michael and then tried to justify it later on. From this point on Fredo knew that his days were numbered, and when their mother passed he knew he was a dead man.
John Cazale never played a very strong character, but what he did with the characters he played was amazing.
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