Two Cinematic Giants Take Their Last Bow

Two giants of the acting profession have recently announced their plans to retire. First, Paul Newman made the rather candid admission that he felt he was too old to continue acting -- remarkable considering his is a profession in which it is almost a cardinal sin to acknowledge getting old and being unable to deliver the goods any longer. Then, today, Sean Connery, in discussing his decision not to be part of the fourth Indiana Jones movie, said that he had decided to retire as well. (Though since Harrison Ford is now old enough to play his own father, Indy 4 may not suffer too greatly.)

Newman and Connery were both considered sex symbols during and even after their prime. Both are considered icons of cool by male moviegoers, with Newman best remembered for roles like those in The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke and Slap Shot. Connery, of course, was the first James Bond (many would argue the only James Bond who matters).

Both had long careers in which they were able to parlay advancing middle age into a second act that brought them critical acclaim from taking on grittier roles that showed other sides of their personas. Connery won an Oscar for his role as world-weary cop Jimmy Malone in The Untouchables, which was a far cry from the James Bond character. Newman delivered memorable character turns in films like Nobody's Fool and Road to Perdition.

They'll be missed for all kinds of reasons, but a big one is: Who is there today to carry on in their tradition? There are not very many contemporary actors I can think of who have the charisma or the class that these two brought to the screen so many times over. In terms of James Bond, Connery finally has a successor of consequence in the person of Daniel Craig, the current 007. But other than that, so many of today's younger actors are just pretty boys who flash in the pan for a while and then fade. Connery and Newman were real men, not flavors of the month or adolescent pretenders.

In the next decade, we will begin to lose other greats, like Nicholson, Hoffman, De Niro, Pacino -- no doubt all wealthy enough many times over to retire already but who obviously still enjoy their craft even in a time when there is very little craftsmanship that goes into the making of movies anymore. (Though I wish De Niro would be a little more discerning and stop doing every damn script that gets thrown his way.) The 1970s were a watershed decade for the movies because of all these guys. Back then, you didn't have to have an explosion every 10 minutes, or flashy camerawork that draws attention to itself, or wall to wall special effects. Back then, two guys having a conversation on a city street could be the stuff of high drama and masterful storytelling.

I miss those days, even though I was not old enough to appreciate them then. Thanks to home video, I've seen great movies of a kind that never get made anymore. Take Midnight Cowboy, for instance -- every frame is jam-packed with detail as Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight trek through the city streets. Watch it and try to take in all that is going on around them. Movies then had a literary quality that they have not had for years. (Could this have coincided perhaps with the decline of literacy in our society?)

Newman and Connery also had an aura of mystery about them -- we did not know much about their personal lives and both were very guarding of their privacy. Today, you know more than you'd ever want to about most of the buffoons we call "celebrities" or even "actors". We knew them only through the roles they played, which is as it should be.

Newman's last role was in Road to Perdition (unless you count his voice work in the animated Cars). Connery, sadly, will have The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as the final title in his filmography. They leave us with a wealth of wonderful memories and the movies are far better for them having graced the silver screen.