criterionforum.org

I'll remember him for four films in particular: The Master, Synecdoche, New York, Capote and Doubt, but he brought a gravitas to everything he appeared in. He'll be badly missed.

I'm still bummed out about this and probably will be for a long while.

Juggling two jobs and a baby I have limited time in front of the TV at the moment but I'm trying to rewatch as many of his works as I can. So far got though "The Master" and "Capote". I have another 21 of his films on DVD standing by ready to go.

I first took note of Phil in Boogie Nights like most everybody else did, though I actually saw "Leap of Faith" in the theater but didn't see it again for so long afterwards that I never realized he was even in it.

As strange as it sounds, the film where I finally stopped and realized Phil's genius was "Along Came Polly". Without Phil this is typical Ben Stiller rom-com tripe. But Phil takes his supporting character and runs with it. It's still one of my favorite performances by him and brings a smile to my face when I think of him announcing he has "sharted" and shooting hoops with such comic futility. I think he reminded me a little too much of myself maybe. At any rate, it was clear that this man could do just about anything on the screen.

So from that point on I went out of my way to see everything the man did, buying random pre-viewed DVDs with his name on them from Hollywood Video's sale table, and in just about every case I was rewarded with a pleasurable and meaningful experience.
"Before The Devil Knows Your Dead", "The Savages", "Owning Mahowny", "Love Liza".... it was awe-inspiring to watch this man work.

I will always cherish the performances he gave us and grieve for those poor children he's left behind. I wish he could have found a way to prevent this horrible ending.

Joe Buck wrote:As strange as it sounds, the film where I finally stopped and realized Phil's genius was "Along Came Polly". Without Phil this is typical Ben Stiller rom-com tripe. But Phil takes his supporting character and runs with it. It's still one of my favorite performances by him and brings a smile to my face when I think of him announcing he has "sharted" and shooting hoops with such comic futility. I think he reminded me a little too much of myself maybe. At any rate, it was clear that this man could do just about anything on the screen.

I had the same reaction to that movie. "Let it rain!"

I haven't seen or read the Hunger Games movies, but I read they're going to CGI the rest of his scenes, so I guess we'll see more Hoffman.

Hopefully it's better than that Jabba the Hut job Nancy Merchand got in the Sopranos.

bearcuborg wrote: ...Hopefully it's better than that Jabba the Hut job Nancy Merchand got in the Sopranos.

It'll probably be more like a "Bobba Fett" job where Hoffman's likeness will be relegated to the side of the frame just to remind you that his character is supposed to be present.