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Robert Duvall has died
- partiallypro 8mo agoHe has too many great films to list, but one I really like that is lesser by him known nowadays is "Secondhand Lions."
- robertcope 8mo agoAgreed, absolutely fantastic movie.
- markus_zhang 8mo agoJeez I thought he was long gone. The family will remember your service, Mr. Hagen.
- bdcravens 8mo agoHe's one of those actors that if you told me he was dead, I wouldn't have been surprised, but then you go to the theater and in some random role, there he is.
- hinkley 8mo agoIt really messes with me though when someone dies before their last film came out. I watched that Batman movie with a knot in my stomach the whole time. “He’s so good. But he’s gone. WTF.” I don’t recall who now but there was some actor whose last film came out more than a year after he died, and that felt messed up and I can’t articulate why.
- FreakLegion 8mo agoBrandon Lee and Paul Walker come to mind. A year delay or more isn't rare, I don't think.
- bdcravens 8mo agoRiver Phoenix had a role (Dark Blood) that he OD'd while filming, and it was put on hold, but then eventually finished and released 19 years later.
- hinkley 8mo agoEven without incident, many movies with heavy special effects can take up to a year to finish the final draft. I kinda suspect it's by design. Get the studio hooked and ask for more money to increase the production values to match the acting.
- Bender 8mo agoSpeaking of Brandon, some time watch Brandon speaking about The Crow. I watched that on a special edition of the DVD and I had to watch it twice. It was as if he knew something really bad was about to happen and he was rationalizing and coping with it. I can't watch any of the crow movies that came out after his death. I don't know if that monologue is on the internet anywhere.
- bdcravens 8mo agoPaul Walker is probably the most recent one to fall into that category. I believe his character will be in the next Fast and the Furious movie, but it'll be a CGI role (with family members standing in as the body/face they CG-enhance)
- tokyobreakfast 8mo agoHe was very underrated in Falling Down, a sleeper of a film everyone should see at least once.
- hearsathought 8mo agoIf we are talking underrated films he was in, my choice would be Deep Impact.
- detourdog 8mo agoThe Apostle is a great movie of his one doesn't hear mentioned a lot.
- StoneAndSky 8mo agoI don't remember it being a "sleeper"; I recall it stirring quite a bit of controversy at the time. It came out in the pre-Columbine "Going Postal" era. But agreed: it's worth a watch.
- browningstreet 8mo agoIt’s a smaller movie, given the talent involved, but very interesting. The controversy undermined the viability of its popular legacy. Kind of like Passengers (half kidding, but the controversy on this one always felt like an inadvertent bend of timeliness).
- ngcazz 8mo agoYou made me curious, but there are like 5 different films with that title - which one are you referring to?
- CharlesW 8mo agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falling_Down https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falling_Down. It was the #1 movie in the U.S. for a couple weeks after release, made for $25M and grossed $96M.
- toomuchtodo 8mo agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Duvall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Duvall https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000380/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000380/
- xqcgrek2 8mo agowhy do people venerate actors?
- curiousObject 8mo agoActors express the human condition, and that’s more difficult than you think. To pretend to be a person that you are not, on demand, for months on end, is hard and it demands great empathy and skill.
- Rooster61 8mo agoBecause the service they render brings joy and entertainment to a large multitude of people. It is a higher visibility job than most, and is largely an individual contribution in and of the service they provide
- paulcole 8mo agowhy do people venerate computer scientists?
- browningstreet 8mo agoBecause they became part of our stories through performance and iterations. We experienced their work.
- twoodfin 8mo agoAlso, stories and those who tell them have been kind of a big deal for us homo sapiens now north of 50,000 years.
- asveikau 8mo agoPeople see them on the screen so often they think they know them. I guess the term "parasocial relationship" has been common in the last few years to describe this. I guess for actors and other types of artist specifically, people relate strongly to the work. It can form the basis for life memories. You remember where you were when you heard a song or saw a movie.
- bdcravens 8mo ago
- 5555624 8mo ago"Atchley do you realize that several Marines were killed by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor while taking craps?" "No, sir." "A fighting man must be vigilant to surprise attack no matter where he is. The survival of our nation depends on the readiness of Marines all over the world. Also more importantly, you only wiped yourself twice - grossly insufficient. Right now, germs with names you can't even pronounce are preparing to launch a devastating attack that will render you helpless in the defense of your country... Do you read me?" (The Great Santini)
- pdonis 8mo agoClassic. I also love the scene where he tells the squadron of which he's just become CO that they should think of him as God.
- ChrisArchitect 8mo agoNYT obit: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/movies/robert-duvall-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.MlA.5LIC.JbSiEGzihyVU&smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/movies/robert-duvall-dead...
- dang 8mo agoThanks - we've switched to that from https://www.newsweek.com/entertainment/hollywood-legend-robert-duvall-dead-at-95-11531295 https://www.newsweek.com/entertainment/hollywood-legend-robe... above.
- justin66 8mo agoPeculiar to think he was already forty when THX 1138 came out, 55 (!) years ago.
- brightball 8mo agoHe was a huge Clemson fan. https://www.tigernet.com/clemson-football/story/legendary-actor-robert-duvall-describes-memorable-time-at-clemson-with-dabo-swinney-20130 https://www.tigernet.com/clemson-football/story/legendary-ac...
- sgt 8mo agoRIP Duval - he inspired me, like he inspired many others. I can't explain why, but his demeanour and sensibility. Recently watched Open Range. Need to watch more of his westerns.
- ReptileMan 8mo agoRIP Duval - he inspired me too. Recently watched Apocalypse Now.
- seanalltogether 8mo agoMy dad was a big fan of westerns, so Lonesome Dove was a big deal in our house when I was a kid. Sometimes I think about showing them to my son, but I know there's no way he'll have the patience to sit through it all. I'm worried that I might not have the patience either anymore.
- Steve6 8mo agoI recently read the book for the first time. Fantastic story! The best western I've ever read. Then I watched the miniseries with my wife (also for the first time). Westerns aren't her favorite, but she loved it too. Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones were incredible, the whole cast did a great job, and the costumes and scenery were beautiful. We still make jokes about "We don't rent pigs." :) We only watched season 1 because that's the one based on the original Lonesome Dove book. They make some changes, but generally only one that makes the show easier to follow. I'd highly recommend anyone to watch it. If you stick with only season 1 it tells a complete story and it's not too long of a commitment. It has everything. RIP Duvall. You've had many roles, but this is the one I'll remember you for.
- garbawarb 8mo agoWould you recommend the book or series?
- ScotterC 8mo agoThe book will not let you down
- Steve6 8mo agoI recommend reading the book first, then watching the series. They're both great but the book has a lot more details and explains the events better than the series. It will make watching the series even better. The audiobook is great, but the sound quality for the first few chapters wasn't the best. That gets fixed though. If they ever do a "full cast" audiobook for this one I would definitely buy it.
- stephc_int13 8mo agoSad that even obituaries are written by AI these days...
- deleted 8mo ago[deleted]
- NickC25 8mo agoThank you for your work, Don Hagen.
- ZoomZoomZoom 8mo agoDon't know about the States, but across the pond from there, THX 1138 is not as well known as it probably deserves. I hope the public here can appreciate this Sci-Fi movie and Duvall is great there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/THX_1138 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/THX_1138
- jhbadger 8mo agoIt's known over here (to the degree that it is at all) for being the source of the THX name that Lucas later used for his digital sound system. But the movie is interesting in itself as an early pre-fame Lucas movie.
- mbowcut2 8mo agoLoved him in Secondhand Lions.
- michaelsbradley 8mo agoThe Apostle is worth watching and rewatching; written and directed by, and starring, and financed by, Duvall. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apostle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apostle
- pepa65 8mo agoI was going to say this, love The Apostle, very few people have seen it.
- jaybrendansmith 8mo agoAgree. That film really stuck with me.
- Rapzid 8mo ago> Life is short. Shorter for some than others. -Gus He had a good run.
- serf 8mo agoeveryone is mentioning a movie they remembered or liked his performance in, and the first one that sprang to mind for me, for whatever reason, was Gone in Sixty Seconds. It's a terrible corny movie (and an even worse remake), but i'm a car person and i'm from the city it takes place in, so it's hard not to like it. He plays the surrogate-father-figure/sorta-reformed-chop-shopper, and he's wholly authentic. He reminded me of every machine shop owner i've ever met.
- smallmouth 8mo ago"Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' d*k body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell? The whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Someday, this war's gonna end."
- fillmore 8mo agoRIP. I think the last thing I saw him in was Widows. I logged in to share this Robert Duvall-adjacent story, which got a chuckle from me at the time (read to the end): https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/08/65-year-old-woman-takes-out-drone-over-her-virginia-property-with-one-shot/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/08/65-year-old-woma...
- wolvoleo 8mo agoHe was so brilliant in apocalypse now <3 His character was so delightfully insane. The helicopters begging for his surfboard was so funny too. That was just his voice but it means he set up the character so well.