Comments on: Sugar Water: Sydney Pollack (1934-2008)

By: Bottom Feeders: The Ass End of the ’80s, Part 63 | Popdose

Bottom Feeders: The Ass End of the ’80s, Part 63 | Popdose — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:31:37 +0000

[...] country may not be my thing, but this is a really nice song off his soundtrack to Sydney Pollackâ€™s The Electric Horseman. Gotta love it when Willie starts talking about picking up hookers in the [...]

By: Sugar Water: Jesus Saves (Money) | Popdose

Sugar Water: Jesus Saves (Money) | Popdose — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 07:03:03 +0000

[...] novel inspired by the current depression. Or see if the library’s video collection includes Sydney Pollack’s They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Or enter a dance marathon like the one in the movie! [...]

By: Sugar Water: Harrison Ford | Popdose

Sugar Water: Harrison Ford | Popdose — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:11:40 +0000

[...] it in second place at the year-end box office between Steven Spielbergâ€™s Jurassic Park and Sydney Pollackâ€™s The [...]

By: The Three Strike Rule: An Interview With Elvis Mitchell | Popdose

The Three Strike Rule: An Interview With Elvis Mitchell | Popdose — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:30:54 +0000

[...] first interview program. In the first installment, taped last year, Mitchell talks with the late Sydney Pollack, and in coming weeks he sits down with Bill Murray, Laurence Fishburne, and Quentin Tarantino, [...]

By: rwcass

rwcass — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:02:13 +0000

Some of Pollack's obituaries took shots at Grusin's “elevator muzak” for “Tootsie” and “Random Hearts.” Yes, the music in “Tootsie” can be syrupy, but it works, especially the main theme, “An Actor's Life,” which is on “Cinemagic.” It helps sustain the comic energy as well. I love his music for “Condor” too.

By: rwcass

rwcass — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:02:13 +0000

By: terje

terje — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:03:01 +0000

I really enjoyed this article, Robert. Thanks. For me, it was music who first introduced me to Sydney Pollack. I've been a fan ever since I rented most of his 1970s movies on VHS in 1987 after reading about the collaboration between Pollack and composer Dave Grusin in the liner notes of Grusin's soundtrack compilation “Cinemagic”. They collaborated on a number of films – in 1987 Grusin had scored six Pollack movies and they continued working together throughout the 1990s.

In more ways than one, Grusin is the music equivalent of Pollack. A multi-talented musician equally at home in jazz, pop and soundtracks – but always with a commercial flair, and always with the subdued, workmanlike approach to figure out what serves the movie best. “On Golden Pond” – protestant hymns, “The Firm” – solo piano blues, “The Champ” – opera, “The Fabulous Baker Boys” – jazz, “The Goonies” – faux classical and so on. And I probably went through the same thing you did when I defended Grusin's commercial (and often sentimental) approach against the prejudices and generalizations of the “taste mafia”.

By: rwcass

rwcass — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:44:23 +0000

That's interesting to hear about producers looking for a new “Condor,” because five years ago Pollack was interviewed for a book called “… What I Really Want to Do Is Produce: Top Producers Talk Movies and Money” by Helen de Winter, which was recently published. Here's a link to his interview:

http://www.filminfocus.com/faber-and-faber/sydn...

Pollack was asked if he thought a movie like “Condor” would be green-lit today, and he answered, “I don't know. The climate has changed. At the time that film was critical of the CIA in a certain way, because that was the political climate of the US in the 1970s. Back then, we were outraged as we were learning stuff that we had done. But that's not the feeling today.”

That interview was conducted in June of 2003, however, three months into the Iraq war. It wasn't until 2004 that it was confirmed there were never any WMDs stockpiled in Iraq, right? And now that we're five years into this war, not to mention the war in Afghanistan … But Pollack said last year that the prescience of “Condor” was completely by accident, of course, just something he cooked up with Redford and writer David Rayfiel when plotting out the movie (the source novel, “Six Days of the Condor,” centers on heroin smuggling, apparently).

In some ways “The Bourne Identity,” the first film in that series, bears the most resemblance to “Condor” because of the relationship between Jason and Marie, but I started hearing the comparisons more and more when “The Bourne Ultimatum” came out last year.

By: Malchus

Malchus — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:35:04 +0000

An outstanding analysis of Pollack, Robert. Pollack had a talent for allowing scenes to breath and for the drama to rise out of the performances of his actors and the story. His movies never felt manipulative. “Tootsie” will continue to be recognized as one of the greatest comedies for years to come. And it is no mistake that so many producers are looking for the next “Three Days of the Condor” (as I was told last year). That film was so ahead of its time, or maybe the state of our country has just gone backward.