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RIP Alan Rickman, AKA Hans Gruber, Severus Snape (variety.com)

TigerPlish writes to note Variety's report on the death of actor Alan Rickman, who died after a short bout with cancer, and was surrounded by friends and family when he went. Rickman may be most familiar to you as Hans Gruber in Die Hard (especially in his final scene), or as Harry Potter's Snape, but his film career was long, crossing genre lines and extending into five decades.

33 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. By Grabthar's Hamme... by mrzaph0d · · Score: 5, Insightful

    By Grabthar's Hammer, by the suns of Warvan, you shall be avenged

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    this is just a placeholder till i send back my real sig from the future.
    1. Re:By Grabthar's Hamme... by srmalloy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Ten points to Slytherin.

    2. Re:By Grabthar's Hamme... by greenfruitsalad · · Score: 2

      crap, i've just realised this may have sealed the fate of galaxy quest 2. was the original cast supposed to be in the galaxy quest series amazon is developing?

    3. Re:By Grabthar's Hamme... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Galaxy Quest 3, The Search for Dr. Lazerus.

    4. Re:By Grabthar's Hamme... by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 4, Funny

      Relax...

      He's now on a beach somewhere, earning 20%.

    5. Re:By Grabthar's Hamme... by peragrin · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Wasn't galaxy quest supposed to be a spoof? Replacing a cast member using the same name but looks different and call him the same is exactly like the series it spoofs.

      Also the search for Lazarus has a nice ring to it.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    6. Re:By Grabthar's Hamme... by almitydave · · Score: 3, Informative

      SCREW your little wizard children, Rickman is LORD OF EVIL INCARNATE IN TIME BANDITS!

      No, that was David Warner, a.k.a. the Master Control Program and Chancellor Gorkon. Their voices have a similar quality, which is probably why you confused them.

      --
      my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their
      I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're
    7. Re:By Grabthar's Hamme... by reboot246 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I agree. To give you some idea of his talent, two of my favorite Alan Rickman movies were Love Actually and Dogma. That an actor could play such different roles in such different movies is testament to his talent. Only a few actors come close to playing such a wide range of characters.

  2. Condolences to Rima Horton by l2718 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Alan Rickman was also noted for his long-lasting partnership away from the limelight.

    1. Re:Condolences to Rima Horton by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I don't know about these other movies, I remember his performance the most from Dogma.

  3. No Dogma? by Nidi62 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Gotta love Rickman as the alcoholic Metatron in Dogma. Hopefully where he is now he's actually allowed to swallow the tequila.

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    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  4. By Grabthar's Hammer... by vanyel · · Score: 5, Informative

    ...Galaxy Quest ought to rate higher than Die Hard here...

    1. Re:By Grabthar's Hammer... by Nidi62 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ...Galaxy Quest ought to rate higher than Die Hard here...

      Hans Gruber was (I thought) one of the more interesting characters in Die Hard, and certainly one of the best acted. He and the black terrorist were definitely the most entertaining characters, too.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    2. Re:By Grabthar's Hammer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I didn't know kindling was capable of enjoyment

    3. Re:By Grabthar's Hammer... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 2

      I don't know, Die Hard was one of big films of its era, and it was Rickman's defining role because he made such a great villain. Galaxy Quest was also a great film, for us nerd types, but not so much for the regular people.
      Harry Potter was shit, and it felt like he was cast simply to cash in on his Gruber character again.

  5. "You my room 10:30. You 10:45..and bring a friend" by CaptnCrud · · Score: 2

    He was great as the sheriff of nottingham, 90's robinhood wouldn't have been nearly as good without him. RIP

  6. A Spoon? by puddingebola · · Score: 3, Funny

    So it will hurt more, stupid.

  7. Re:Snape, the true hero of Hogwarts by ClickOnThis · · Score: 2

    Harry Potter was the master of the Elder Wand, but he didn't use it to defeat Voldemort. It was Voldemort who possessed it during the duel with Harry Potter. Voldemort's killing curse backfired onto himself because he wasn't the wand's master.

    http://harrypotter.wikia.com/w...

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    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  8. Re:Snape, the true hero of Hogwarts by ClickOnThis · · Score: 2

    Oh, and I forgot to add: Dumbledore had intended for Snape to become the Elder Wand's master by having Snape kill him, but Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore (and unknowingly became the wand's master) before Snape could carry out the plan. Later, Harry Potter disarmed Malfoy and became the wand's master.

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    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  9. Re:Dweeb Culture is not Nerd Culture. by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 5, Funny

    You made this all up. What a dweeb!

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    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  10. A lot of deaths lately by KlomDark · · Score: 2

    We've lost Lemmy, Angus Scrimm (The Tall Man from Phantasm), David Bowie, and now Alan Rickman.

    The world is changing, quickly.

    Be afraid, be very afraid!

  11. Re:Dweeb Culture is not Nerd Culture. by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For chrissakes, he just alienated about 85% of all the Geeks I know. Galaxy Quest is one of the best Star Trek movies ever made, and in no small part because Rickman's ability to deliver cutting dialogue was second to none. Only Kevin Spacey could rival Rickman for the heart-stopping put down.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  12. Closet Land by J053 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I first became aware of/noticed Rickman in Closet Land, a very dark psychological thriller in which he played a good-guy sadistic interrogator. Thought he was brilliant. RIP.

  13. Re:What no mention of galaxy quest? by MightyMartian · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There are certain actors whose ability to deliver their lines transcends the lines themselves. Rickman was one. It didn't really matter what he was playing, the voice alone was worth the price of admission. Christopher Walken is another one. I've seen him in the shittiest little films, but whenever he's on screen, somehow it just works. I'd put Samuel L. Jackson up there as well. Only he could make a movie as awful as Snakes On A Plain interesting.

    Rickman will be missed. Most of us know him from Harry Potter and Galaxy Quest, but he was more renowned in Britain for his theater work.

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    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  14. Re:Dweeb Culture is not Nerd Culture. by trytoguess · · Score: 2

    Yea, but don't you see? This mean he's a better, more pure geek/nerd than the rest of us posers.

  15. Another in a series of deaths by Chas · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Dropped off a building.
    Stabbed by Robin Hood.
    He played Rasputin (we all know how that went...)
    Bitten by a snake.

    Now cancer...

    Poor dude just couldn't win!

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    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
  16. Re:"You my room 10:30. You 10:45..and bring a frie by Marginal+Coward · · Score: 2

    Now, let's not forget Kevin Costner's mullet: what would 90's robinhood been without that...?

  17. Re:Dweeb Culture is not Nerd Culture. by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Indeed ... "I see you've managed to get your shirt off" is one of the best lines imaginable.

    And if Sigourney Weaver saying "I mean, this is unreal. They're gonna start eating each other out there." isn't a brilliant send-up of rabid Trekkies, I have no idea what is.

    Galaxy Quest is a brilliant movie, and Rickman was about the most perfect for that character you could imagine.

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    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  18. Met him in NYC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A friend of mine was with the audio crew for Galaxy Quest and when some of the stars were touring and in NYC he invited me to go with him to see them at a party. Met Rickman (and the others) - nice guy. And he lit up when I mentioned that I'd remembered him from one of the early episodes of Smiley's People (1982).

    Said everybody wanted to talk about Galaxy Quest & the Die Hards & Sense and Sensibility &c, but "NObody EVER talks about Smiley's People, and I LOVED doing that episode and working with Sir Alec Guinness (who had then recently passed away)!". I liked him.

    _I_ met Snape BEFORE he was Snape!

  19. Re:Alan Rickman is like Sean Connery by tnk1 · · Score: 2

    Presumably you've never seen Zardoz. Even Connery couldn't make that watchable. Admittedly, it says more about just how bad the movie was than anything Connery did in it. Although, that costume....

  20. Re:Yeah, sad, but what does this do here? by JBMcB · · Score: 2

    Die Hard. Galaxy Quest. Harry Potter. Dogma. Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy?

    News for *nerds* ?

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    My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
  21. Lord of the Rings by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Lord of the Rings is literature -- high art, by a distinguished scholar. It is not just a great work of the English language, it is a great work by any standard in any language. Like all literature, you are free to find it boring. However, one must respect his creation of thousands of years' worth of history, legend, and myth, three to five languages (depending on how you count them), and the personal struggles of a few dozen principal characters in the backdrop of an epic war. As a feat of world-building it may never be equaled. As a narrative it has few flaws.

    It is extremely foolish to disdain art because it is popular, or to say it is worthless simply because you deem it so. The entire rest of the world disagrees with you, which should be enough of an argument for any purpose.

  22. Re:He added something special to every role by spire3661 · · Score: 2

    Remember back in the day before the Star Wars prequels, when Darth Vader was unquestionably the baddest movie villain ever?

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    Good-bye