“Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.”
One of cinema’s greatest lines – not said by Jack Nicholson, but to him! It’s just one of the dozens of memorable movies starring cinema’s great Actor.
Time to celebrate the 87th birthday of Jack Nicholson!
Nicholson has an astonishing 12 Academy Award nominations, including three wins — his first for the 1975 Best Picture winner “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
He won Best Supporting Actor in 1984 for “Terms of Endearment” and Best Actor in 1998 for “As Good as It Gets.”
The number of awards he has received are too numerous to mention – and what a body of work! Here are just a few of his masterful performances over the years:
This film, directed by Alexander Payne, is a beautiful film – and gives Jack the opportunity to rein in his “outsized” movie personality for a role that allows him to act with emotion, not dramatics – and it’s a stunning performance….
“The Last Detail” is an incredible film – hilariously profane and gritty, what Nicholson became known for – oh, and did you know that prior to this, he wrote this screenplay?
That’s right, Jack was part of The Monkees movie “Head!”
See a look at both of these films by clicking here:
“Chinatown” is a masterpiece as well for the Actor, and a new book tells the story of how the film came tougher – it offers a lot of insight into Nicholson’s work ethic and life at the time. Click here to see more:
Mr. Oscar!
Nicholson holds the record for the most Oscar nominations – 12 – and he has created some of the most memorable characters of all time…from “The Shining” to “Batman” and more…and of course, he also said one of the most repeated Ines in movie history as well:
“Here’s JOHNNY!”
On the other end of the acting spectrum is one of Nicholson’s wildest efforts – for the legendary Director Stanley Kubrick – I am referring, of course, to one of the best horror films ever made:
“The Shining”!
“Some places are like people: some shine and some don’t.”
Legendary Director Stanley Kubrick had already blown our minds with “Dr. Strangelove”, “Lolita” and “2001: A Space Odyssey”, chilled us to core with the futuristic horror of “A Clockwork Orange”, and dazzled us with the lyrical beauty of “Barry Lyndon”…now he wanted us to spend a little time with his friend Jack Nicholson…
Based on a Stephen King novel, the plot is simple: A man, his son and wife become the winter caretakers of an isolated hotel. Six months of quiet desolation, a place for Danny to explore…
Unfortunately, Danny sees disturbing visions of the hotel’s past using a telepathic gift known as “The Shining”. Example? How about the twins he sees in the hallway…
And then of course, Danny sees more…
And there is no one for Danny to share this with…as the horrific images continue…
Jack Nicholson plays the father with an intense glee, from the beginning of the film seemingly on the edge of madness!
To announce this film, Warner Brothers released a teaser trailer that had just this one shot:
Stanley Kubrick, known for his compulsiveness and numerous retakes, got the shot of blood pouring from the elevators in only three takes. This would be remarkable if it weren’t for the fact that the shot took nine days to set up; every time the doors opened and the blood poured out, Kubrick would say, “It doesn’t look like blood.”
Shelley Duvall stars as Jack’s wife, who wants nothing more than to protect their child from evil…
Stanley Kubrick was a perfectionist, and according to IMDB, there is a great deal of confusion regarding the number of retakes of certain scenes. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the scene where Wendy is backing up the stairs swinging a baseball bat at her husband was shot 127 times, which is a record for the most takes of a single scene. However, both Steadicam operator Garrett Brown and assistant editor Gordon Stainforth say this is inaccurate – the scene was shot about 35-45 times. Brown does say however that the scene where Hallorann explains to Danny what shining is was shot 148 times, which is a world record.
Of course, when Jack finally snaps, he grabs a handy ax and heads for the bathroom….
This scene culminates in the classic movie line “Here’s Johnny!”
“Here’s Johnny!” was voted 36th best line of all time by Premiere in 2007.
And let’s not forget that he wasn’t afraid to chew the scenery:
He was a perfect Joker to Michael Keaton’s Batman in the early 80’s…he was fearless!
He also had a knack for quirky offbeat films as well – like his directorial debut:
This 1971 film is part of a great box set of early 70’s films – take a look:
A basketball star (William Tepper) beds a professor’s wife (Karen Black), while his anti-war roommate (Michael Margotta) goes mad.
Jack also liked to team up with other A listers as well:
Nicholson eased into the later years of his career with effortless romantic comedies like this one – and since it was shot in Paris, I ate at the iconic restaurant they filmed in!
Yes, they have a poster in the window – and the food is worth the trip – here’s what I ordered, along with a look at the film:
Jack had one more scenery-chewing performance still in him – the 2006 winner for Best Picture “The Departed”, directed by Martin Scorsese…brilliant stuff!
My Jack Nicholson Moment!
I got to work with a lot of celebs, but never had the chance to interview Jack…this is the closest I got…here is a picture I captured once – he passed me at the Cannes film festival, on his way to a press conference…I instinctively took a picture and got just a twinkle in the eye…
Happy 87th birthday to one of cinema’s greatest of all time…
If you enjoy these posts, why not subscribe and never miss out? It’s easy, and there are NO ads of any kind, just stuff I like to share…click on the main page and “follow” me on the upper right…
If you like this story, please share with friends on social media – thanks!
Categories: 70's Cinema, Academy Awards, Art, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Hollywood, Movies, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities
johnrieber 
Happy 87th birthday, Jack, So many movies and great talent.
LikeLike
I have seen almost all of Jack’s films, and for me, ‘Chinatown’ stands out. After all this time, it still impresses me as a ‘modern noir’.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really is Pete, and holds up as a beautiful acted and directed work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So many great movies. And the funny thing, he “stole the show” in most of them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes indeed – he can certainly overdo it sometimes – that’s why I included “About Schmidt” because it is such a restrained performance…he’s terrific in everything! Thanks for the comment, always great to hear from you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never been annoyed by his overdoing it. The Joker. Col Jessup. He turned the characters into his own. I’m sure it created problems for the other actors. If you’re acting with Jack, you better bring your A game.
LikeLike
That is true! I’m thinking of “The Departed” – that seemed to be one that raised the “hamming it up” issue…but I love that film and I say let him go!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Does he still attend Lakers games? I haven’t seen him on TV recently.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I saw him there earlier this year – he stopped going post-pandemic for awhile, but goes again, not sure how often
LikeLiked by 1 person
Even at 87, he has charisma!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed he does! Thanks for the comment!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi John, I love Jack Nicholson. One of my favourite of his movies, other than The Shining, is The Witches of Eastwick.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes that has a terrific cast!
LikeLike