Charlton Heston's Impact On Sci-Fi

An anonymous reader writes "As you're probably already aware, Charlton Heston passed away yesterday. Wired has a piece looking back at Heston's extremely notable work in the sci-fi genre, with roles in films like "Planet of the Apes" and "Soylent Green". 'Heston also roared out some of sci-fi's greatest and most memorable lines, bringing his macho swagger and over-the-top intensity to the screen in movies like 1973's food freak-out flick Soylent Green and the Planet of the Apes series. In a pivotal scene from 1968's Planet of the Apes (see clip), Heston's character, time-traveling astronaut George Taylor, utters the first words spoken by a human to the simian rulers of a bizarro future Earth: "Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!'"

Comments

Let's not forget

[Anonymous Coward]

He also fought for our rights to carry phasers and other types of disintegrator rays.

Re:Let's not forget

[Anonymous Coward]

Dibs on prying the gun from his cold, dead hands.

Re:Let's not forget

[Grant_Watson]

Personally, I wouldnt mind it if muskets and Revolutionary War era arms are allowed, but nothing more recent.

You know, I won't dispute your right to distribute pamphlets printed on a hand-crank press using lead type, but nothing more recent.

Re:Yeah, Heston!

[Alan Partridge]

Yep, he was great. Let's not forget the chilling Omega Man, either - one of my all time faves.

Oblig.

[Ethanol-fueled]

*Pries the musket from his cold, dead hands*

Re:Oblig.

[Pseudonym]

When Alec Guinness died, we said that he's become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

When Douglas Adams died, we said that he's no doubt spending a year dead for tax reasons.

When Arthur C. Clarke died, we said that he's probably been reincarnated as a large orbiting fetus.

When Gary Gygax died, we said that he's lost his last saving throw.

No, it's never too early, especially if the deceased would have appreciated the joke. When Terry Gilliam dies, you bet we're going to say: "Well you're dead now, so shut up." When Neal Stephenson dies, you bet we're going to comment about how the ending was a bit abrupt.

Bite marks in the scenery

[rubies]

Heston seemed like he was an eternal presence. From watching the 10 commandments on TV as a kid, then seeming The Omega Man late one night when I was about 12 (back when broadcast TV used to show movies late at night). That eye rolling dialog delivery, jutting jaw, big flashing teeth and the fact they he couldn't keep his shirt on for more than the first 10 minutes of any film made him an icon.

Then again, you see him in the Orson Welles film "Touch of Evil" to see he could underplay it when he wanted to, he just chose not to. In honour of Chuck, I think The Omega Man is due a screening in my house this evening.

Re:Most famous quote.

[SargentDU]

But letting citizens defend themselves against people who have the guns anyway (Law or no law) just makes sense. He was right with the gun control issue as he was when he marched with MLK in the day.

Re:Finally...

[ArcherB]

Normally I wouldn't comment on such a sad occasion but for Charlton Heston I make an exception. Cold, Dead Hands ??? - Finally. One less extremist in the world. No RIP, I hope he turns in his grave. You call someone who marched with Martin Luther King and stands up for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights an extremist?

I'm not going to say what I hope happens to your grave!

Re:Finally...

[Martin Blank]

Extremist? Not really. Sure, he was against gun control in most forms, but he was also pro-union and pro-civil rights. He was not the right-wing nut that some people claim him to be.

One of my favorite stories from him was when, during the Rodney King riots, one or more fellow actors (he would not name them) called and asked if they could borrow one of his guns. He said, no, you can't, but you're welcome to come over to my place until things settle down.

Re:RIP

[joeytsai]

Speaking of which, his speech at Harvard Law is one of my favorite modern speeches:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/charltonhestonculturalwar.htm

Re:In the "Planet of the Apes" remake

[ScentCone]

It was the height of irony when Charlton Heston appeared as an ape in the "Planet of the Apes" remake...and gave an anti-gun speech.

No, it wasn't. He wasn't giving an anti-gun speech at all, in that role. He was showing (as an ape) the fear and loathing of the intellect that could make the guns...

Heston spent many years pointing out that people who fear the gun are too chickenshit to admit that it's really other people they fear. His ape character was a really good, (classically Heston!) over the top indictment of the irrational habit of blaming the tool and/or the symbol, rather than the person who uses them in a way you dislike. It was brilliant, and the only irony to be found is in the mis-comprehension of what he chose do with it by so many people who saw it.

Re:Republicans

[slamb]

For once, I'd like one of Moore's critics to address the points he makes rather than the techniques he uses to make them.

That's a bit hard to do because his most insidious, dishonest points are ones he denies making at all. His subtle edits and omissions of facts lead the viewer to an erroneous conclusion that was never explicitly stated.

It's been a long time since I looked into this, but iirc Moore manipulated Charlton Heston into saying something which could be seen as racist (neglecting to mention that the man actually marched with MLK Jr!), implied that Heston led a rally in Colorado in response to Columbine (it was planned well in advance), and that Heston used language which, given the situation, was quite inflammatory (those snippets were actually spliced together from several different rallies). He made many other, less topical, manipulations of fact.

I suspect it has something to do with his politics, since the ones who complain the loudest tend to be die-hard Republicans.

I am a Democrat, and I am disappointed that so few Democrats complain about Moore.