Sydney Pollack 1934-2008
Because of his many, memorable appearances on screen, Sydney
Pollack, who just died at the age of 73, might
have the been the most familiar of contemporary directors to the average moviegoer. In
most roles (but not Stanley Kubrick’s "Eyes Wide Shut." Yikes!) he seemed that
hardbitten, savvy guy with a heart of gold whom you wouldn’t mind having a beer
with and whom you could rely on to help you out in a pinch. And so he was,
according to the many tributes in print and
on the internet.
As a filmmaker, Pollack made numerous passable films and the
occasional gem. Some of my favorites include “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?,”
“Three Days of the Condor,” “The Electric Horseman,” “Absence of Malice” and “Tootsie.” “Out of Africa,”
his Oscar winner, not so much. If he had any distinctive stylistic trait it was
coaxing the best performances out of the big name stars -- Robert Redford,
Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman, Al Pacino -- he
invariably worked with. What a Rolodex the man must have had. That, and the
ineffable generosity of spirit that was part of his character. He was the quintessential
Hollywood filmmaker, and probably better at
that than anyone else.