De Mented, De Ranged, De Ceptive, De Palma

im glad someone likes Brian De Palma, he is tops, from his generation of directors (spielberg, lucas, scorsese, coppola, i think he was the classiest. In storytelling coppola and scorsese outrank him, but for camera work and editing, nobody tops De Palma, Blow out, Dressed to Kill and The Body Double are prime examples of this, and not to mention SCARFACE, for which u can go on and on) and one of my favourite all time lines come from Raising Cain, "When Jenny cheated on her husband, he didn't just leave... He split."

Have seen most of his movies though I have not managed to see Black Dahlia yet... but loved his Femme Fatale... The movie did not do well at the box-office as it is extremely stylized and self conscious and surprisingly it was not as gory. In the Black Dahlia he recreates LA in the 1940s... am looking forward to enjoying that. The only other one I have missed I think is Snake Eyes...

JAMES STEWART ( May 20,1908 - July 2, 1997)

James Stewart was an iconic Academy award winning actor best known for his self effacing persona.Over
the course of his career he starred in many films widely considered to be Classics and was nominated for
five oscars winning one in competition and one life achievement...
James Stewart was arguably the most loved actor ever to have appeared on screen.Certainly, he ws the last of the Great men who captured audience hearts in the throes of Depression and became the most complete actor-personality in the American Cinema..
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Born in Indiana,Pensylvania near Pitteburgh, he studied Architecture t the Princeton University.After graduation he and fellow University player Henry Fonda went together to work on Broadway in 1932 and later on films in 1935, where he signed a contract with MGM.fter playing bit roles in everything from murder mystery to musicals...His first big films came in 1938 with two romantic comedies Vivacious Lady and the Oscar winning Best Picture of the Year You can't take it with you. The following year Stewart appeared in 5 films including the comedy western Destry Rides Again with Marlene Dietrich.(He had an affair with Marlene dietrich, who reportedly had an abortion after becoming pregnant by Stewart)
He received his first ever Oscar nomination for Best Actor for Mr. Smith Goes To Washington with Jean Arthur and Claude Rains....
In 1940 Stewart won the Oscar for his performance in Philadelphia Story starring Cary Grant and Catherine Hepburn...

With marlene Dietrich...
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With Catherine Hepburn and cary grant
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Stewart became so familiar to American audience that he was most often referred to as Jimmy Stewarts..
He was nominated three times for Oscar in the course of his career for his performance in It's a Wonderful Life (1946),Harvey (1950), and Anatomy of Murder (1959).
In 1941 James Stewart enlisted in the Army Air corp as a Bomber-Pilot,he led a number of air strikes against Germany during WorldWar 2 and rose the rank of Colonel. For his service he won both the Air Medal and the distinguished Flying Cross.
After his return to The Hollywood he acted in film like Call Northside 777, and Notable films like The Greatest Show On Earth, and Hitchcock's Rope, Vertigo,Rear Window...

Vertigo....with Kim Novak
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Rear window....with Grace kelly
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Mr Smith.....Jean Arthur
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With Doris Day in The Man who knew too much..
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He worked for a number of renowned directors in his career most notably Alfred Hitchcock,John Ford and Anthony Mann and left his mark on a wide range of films including comedies,westerns and suspense thrillers..Some notable Stewart- Mann westerns were Bend of the River(1952),The naked spur(1953),The far country(1954), and The man from Laramoe( 1955)
In 1949 Stewart married Gloria Hatrick Maclean, and had two daughters...He and Gloria were married almost 45 years ending with her death in 1994.
In the 1950' he shrewedly negotiated for a percentage of the profits of his films and became wealthy as a result..His career remained active through the 1970's, and appeared occassionaly in a film or two in the 80's...
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Notable films
The murder man
Next time we love
Small town girl
Speed
Seventh Heaven
Vivacious lady
Destry rides again
You can't take it with you
Mr Smith goes to Washington
The Philadelphia story
The shop round the corner
It's a wonderful life
Rope
Vertigo
Rear window
The man who knew too much
The Greatest show on Earth
Winchester73
Night passage
The Man who shot Liberty Valance
The rare breed
The Shootist
Airport......and many more....

After filmimg several telivision movies in the 1980's James Stewart retired from acting to spend time with his family.He suffered from many health problems including Heart disease, skin cancer and deafness..
Stewart died at the age of 89 on July 2, 1997 of cardiac arrest and pulmonary embolism following a long illness from respiratory problems...
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James stewart was the movie's Quinessential Everyman...projecting an uncommon sense of decency and goodness which made him immensely likeable and endearing to sucesive generations of moviegoers....He lacked the dashing sophistication and swashbuckling heroism endemic among the other major actors of that era...yet it is precisely the absence of affectations which made Stewart so popular...he never lost touch with Humanity and remained humble throughout his career..