Robert Duvall's Best Films

yesterday i was wondering though a second hand video store and i noticed a video which i recall watching as a child called colours .

I think its a b/c movie made in 1988 with Robert Duvell and Sean Pean. It,s about two L.A police Officers trying to get order in the district with about 600 gangs in town.

To say its a B/C grade movie, i thought its was a decent film, alot of action.

it dosn't compare to GF1,GF2,Apocolypse Now.

But What do you Think are his best film.

I think he is a very unapreciated star,who doent get the offers he should.

You should check out THX 1138. George Lucas's first major film. It was originally made to be a 15 minute final project for a class of his. Then he went back and made a full length film after school. A new edition just came out, and in true Lucas fashion, it has all been redone. Give it a look.

Doc

I haven't seen as many of his film's as I would like, but from what I have seen, I think "Apocalypse Now" was his best performance.

True Confessions
The Great Santini
Tender Mercies

Well Duvall got his Oscar for a great performance in TENDER MERCIES. My favorite Duvall performance has to be of course his work as the one and only legal advisor that any mob family wish to have that is Tom Hagen in the GODFATHER films.

I agree totally with DonFerro on THX 1138, which after finally seeing it recently, I feel its a lost "gem" of the 1970's. Unlike the "Greedo Shoots First" or any other CGI-created stuff in the SW trilogy, the CGI in THX 1138 didn't distract me.

Other good Duvall performances include his directorial work like ASSASINATION TANGO and the underrated THE APOSTLE(a project he funded from his own pockets) and of course his Oscar-nominated and legendary APOCALYPSE NOW. Other solid performances include FALLING DOWN, OPEN RANGE, THE NATURAL, NETWORK, MASH, and of course his film debut in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Great f*cking actor!

He can play insane men (Apocalypse Now), mysterious men (The Conversation), tough guys (The Outfit, True Confessions, Falling Down) and intelligent guys (The Godfather)) and even shy guys (To Kill a Mockingbird). He can even play small roles such as the taxi driver in Bullitt. I'd say his best performance was in The Godfather.

Brilliant actor indeed.

Mick

I don't know if they're the best films, but they're definately my favorite:

The Godfather films
Apocolypse Now
To Kill a Mockingbird
and i LOVED Open Range

i've had open range on dvd for about 6 months and still not watched it. i think i should

You're in very good comapny here.

Both Turnbull and I absolutely love "True Confessions"

I think you should too.

My favorites are Tender Mercies, Colors, and more of a Tom Cruise movie, but, Days of Thunder.

I liked COLORS as well. A solid directorial work by Dennis Hopper(yes, THAT Dennis Hopper. Too bad hes only directed two movies after EASY RIDER in the past 3 decades or so. Of course, from many accounts I've read, hes a pain in the ass to work with(as a director at least) so then again, that makes logical sense.)

TRUE CONFESSIONS is another Duvall-ian gem. I agree to anyone that hasn't seen it, rent it.

Really, OPEN RANGE is the best film in the western genre since UNFORGIVEN(though I quite enjoyed the action movie that was 1994's TOMBSTONE), and really I felt redeemed Kevin Costner "the director" since the disaster that was THE POSTMAN(which despite being flawed in many areas, I did enjoy as well).

Besides his role in The Godfather, I think that he was great in The Great Santini.

Another good movie with Duvall is a movie called "The Killer Elite." And his co-star in that movie is James Caan.


Don Cardi

Anybody seen Coppola's 1969 film The Rain People? Both Duvall and Caan are in it. I once stayed up one night with the intention of watching it, but I fell asleep halfway through the credits.

Mick

Apperently the Rain people is really good, but its a bitch to find. Was it any good Capo?

I'm with those who think his best role (other than as Tom Hagen) was "The Great Santini". He was a mean son-of-a-bitch, but Duvall's portrayal almost makes you like this guy.

His portrayal of Major Frank Burns in "M*A*S*H" was superb, and it showed Duvall's versatility as an actor.

One of his movies that hasn't been mentioned yet is a sleeper, and its kind of charming.... "A Family Thing" (with James Earl Jones) is worth seeing.

SC I had no idea he played Burns, that is unbelievable

Yup he did.

I really want to see RAIN PEOPLE, but I can't find it anywhere on DVD or VHS or whatever. However, with Coppola's once-again resurrected AMERICAN ZOETROPE making pretty good DVDs, I can see one being made in the future. Hell, they did a job for ONE FROM THE HEART...the banal-as-hell "love story" that was a huge bomb for the Coppola.....its possible.

Another movie that I thought he actually played a good role in was John Q.

Don Cardi

Yep. To those of you who have only seen the tv series "M*A*S*H" you should rent this movie. Its hilarious!

As great and as versatile as Duvall is, "True Confessions" is his masterpiece. Every one of the performances in "True Confessions" is great, too: DeNiro, Charles Durning, Rose Gregorio, Ed Flanders, Ken McMillan, Cyril Cusack. It's probably the most underrated great movie of modern times.

yeah that is a good film.

Apocalypse Now Redux

thats an excellant film, it was on British TV last night,the bomb scenes are amazing.

SC I had no idea he played Burns, that is unbelievable [/quote]You say he stared in MASH, i've not seen that,is that the film or the comedy seris.

I believe that's the film. Only Larry Linville played him in the tv series.

Again, no one mentions Duvall's very brief, but still a grand creepy introduction, cameo in INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS as the first to be taken over by the "Pods". Good Kaufman movie period. Honestly, its one of the few remakes that I feel actually surpasses the original(though the original is still a classic neverless).

i've had open range on dvd for about 6 months and still not watched it. i think i should [/b][/quote]Just thought i would bump this thread back up.

Ive just watch Open Range and thought it was a excellant film.

I really liked his performance in Second Hand Lions I really liked the film I watched Open Range the other night and thought the gunfight scene was great but the rest of it was a bit slow moving for my taste.