James Caan's best Movie

Excluding the Godfather, what other James Caan movies do you think were his best.
I will have to go with "Brian's Song," and "Cinderella Liberty" as a close runner up.

Has anyone here ever seen Cinderella Liberty?


Don Cardi

Yup. And I agree, its one of his best.

I liked:
Mickey Blue Eyes
The Rain People
The Glory Guys
(the godfather movies, of course)
And I like him on Las Vegas too.

I was watching Irma La Douce the other day.. and I think I saw him in there.. not credited though..

Geez Cardi! You remember Cinderella Liberty??? Why you must have been knee high to a grasshopper when that came out. I did see it, but it's been years. Was it Marsha Mason who was his co-star??? I remember Brian's Song, but never saw the movie.

I really thought he was great in Misery. One of my favorite Stephen King films.


TIS

Two westerns get my nod:

Caan teamed with John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in "El Dorado" (basically the same movie as "Rio Bravo"). Caan, surprisingly, held his own against the two bigger stars, and he did quite well in this, his biggest movie to date.

The other, "Comes a Horseman", came a few years after "The Godfather". He played a cattle rancher who ended up fighting Jason Robards, and loving Jane Fonda.

Caan's career, IMHO, never lived up to its potential, and he's a better actor than his roles allowed.

SC, I didn't realize Caan was in that movie. I'm gonna have to go watch it now.

I also liked him in the movie "misery". Of course the Godfather.

Caan played the role that Ricky Nelson played in "Rio Bravo". He wore this funny hat, and since he wasn't much of a shot he carried around a sawed-off shotgun made especially for him.

This movie was actually on tv today. I watched about 10 minutes of it and I thought that looked like Caan, but wasn't sure. Sadly enough I didn't finish watching it.

TIS: knee high to a grasshopper? I love that expression!

Besides the films already mentioned, I love Caan in "This Thing of Ours."

Although of course, my absolute favorite is his Sonny.

I remember one where he is a celebrity, and a literally crazed fan keeps him prisoner in her house.

Misery.

I'm gonna have to rent that one.

Yup. And I agree, its one of his best.

I was watching Irma La Douce the other day.. and I think I saw him in there.. not credited though.. [/b][/quote]Yes, that is him. He was a young guy in that, I believe his first part in a movie. He is smoking a cigarette in that scene if memory serves me correctly. But it is definately him.


Don Cardi

Yes my lady, I was knee high to a grasshopper.
(Isn't a grasshopper a drink? Is it a blue drink?).
Actually I think that it came out right after The Godfather. But it was definatley one of my dad's favorite movies and I remember it very well. You are absolutely correct, the prostitute that he falls in love with was Marsha Mason.

TIS, waz a matta whitch chu mang? Chu neva saw Brian's song Mang? Chu don't know what chu are missing mang!

Sad movie , get the tissue box ready, but a great peice of acting by both James Caan and Billy Dee Williams.


Don Cardi

Tsk tsk....

Other good James Caan work include the pretty good but underrated Michael Mann-helmed feature THEIF. If you dig "The Mann"'s work like HEAT or INSIDER or the most recent COLLATERAL, take this sucker out for a spin!

One Caan-starring 70's flick that wasn't much really but I watched all of it when it was showed on cable the other day. I speak of THE KILLER ELITE, where he shared top billing with Robert Duvall. One other note of interest is that the film was directed by Sam Peckinpah of WILD BUNCH fame.

Finally, one other Caan-movie that I quite dug. Norman Jewison's ROLLERBALL.

Of all the non-STAR WARS sci-fi movies of the 1970's, the two best offerings are George Lucas' THX 1138 and ROLLERBALL. While ROLLERBALL indeed has dated 70's art direction and look, I still felt the story is still quite "solid!"(hehehe). Besides, the ending I felt was quite something. Its too bad that some a*sholes had to make a god-awful remake of ROLLERBALL with that whats-his-name AMERICAN PIE kid. Really crappy unlike the original.

"The Gambler" (1974)

One of his first roles after The Godfather, it's like watching Sonny Corleone all over again as he plays another "New York" character.

Also with Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas), James Woods (Casino, Once Upon A Time In America), and Burt Young (Rocky, Pope of Greenwich Village, The Sopranos).

Brian's Song

Misery is a top film with Kathy Bates Playing an obsessed pysco.

Besides from Misery, his cameo in the climax of Lars von Trier's controversial (though excellent!) 2003 film Dogville is one of the most impressive, haunting cameos of recent years. In it, he plays "The Big Man," a wonderful off-beat version of his typecast Mafia roles.

Mick

My favorite is probably Misery. I have seen that movie so many times and he plays the part perfectly, just as Bates plays her part.

Besides The Godfather I would have to say Misery and Brians Song. Comes a Horseman was a decent picture too.