47 thoughts on “Russell Crowe Movies”

1. RUSSELL CROWE: PHILANTHROPY – WIKIPEDIA EXTRACTS
   During location filming of Cinderella Man, Crowe made a donation to a Jewish elementary school whose library had been damaged as a result of arson. The school’s building fund received donations from throughout Canada*** and the amount of Crowe’s donation was not disclosed.

   On another occasion, Crowe donated $200,000 to a struggling primary school near his home in rural Australia. The money went towards an $800,000 project to construct a swimming pool at the school. Crowe’s sympathies were sparked when a pupil drowned at the nearby Coffs Harbour beach in 2001, and he felt the pool would help students become better swimmers and improve their water safety.

   At the opening ceremony, he dived into the pool fully clothed as soon as it was declared open. Nana Glen principal Laurie Renshall said, “The many things he does up here, people just don’t know about. We’ve been trying to get a pool for 10 years.”

   ***Generous souls these Canucks!

   RELATED TRIVIA:
   Russell claims that HE was Marlon Brando’s favourite actor and when Marlon was friends with Michael Jackson the latter hired Brando to give a talk during the interval in one of Michael’s musical concerts. That interval occurred when all of the concert guests were eating a lavish high-priced dinner and Brando started to lecture them about world poverty; he was booed off the stage by an enraged audience!

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2. One night in the mid-1980s a fellow Brando fan and I traveled to a small village to watch a tiny local re-run of The Godfather [maybe a bit like your Bridge Too Far pilgrimage with I think your mum or aunt?]. In the cinema the movie was watched by just us two and “Kirk Douglas’ family” as Lancaster said about the audience attendances at his own 1980 Atlantic City.

   On the way home I commented to my friend that the few people watching the film with us contrasted strikingly with the size of the audiences that viewed it when it first came out and he replied “Well, we knew the writing on the wall was there even years ago when it was sold to television and you will recall that I said to you at the time: TV’s GOT IT now!”

   I chose that example because it dovetails neatly with the latest screen contribution from an actor who claims that HE was Brando’s favourite actor and that Marlon on his deathbed sent him a book of poetry called ‘There are Men too Gentle to Live among Wolves’: Russell Crowe.

   I have just recorded for viewing next week a recent 2019 TV miniseries called The Loudest Voice top-starring and co-produced by Russell. Over in your neck of the woods it was released on Showtime from 30 Jun-Aug 11. Here’s Wikipedia’s premise of it:

   “[The Loudest Voice tells the story of Roger Ailes [Crowe] who molded Fox News into one of the most powerful, influential media networks in history. The series focuses primarily on the past decade in which Ailes became one of the most prominent figures in modern American conservatism, while flashing back to defining events in Ailes’ life, including the 9/11 attacks, the 2008 and 2016 elections, and the sexual harassment accusations and settlements that ended his career.]”

   If Russell’s crowing [no pun!] about Marlon idolising him and sending him highbrow poetry is true, then maybe he has been trying to return the compliment by ballooning physically Brando-like for the part of Ailes. Indeed in the clips I’ve seen so far Crowe looks a bit like business tycoon Adam Steiffel whom Marlon played in the 1980 flop The Formula. BOTTOM line though: do you think that now that television’s “GOT” Russell his top star days on the big screen are behind him?

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3. HI BRUCE

   It is a great coincidence that you, Joel, George Englund and I have been exchanging views on bad behaviour among movies stars -ie “hell-raisiers” because

   1/ I had been thinking that two of the modern stars who would fall into that category are Depp and Crowe and

   2/My brother who lives in Australia is home here for a visit and he is a great film buff too and was telling me at lunch today about a story that had appeared in the papers a while ago about Russell Crowe beating the living daylights out of some guy in public in recent times.

   3/Before leaving Australia my brother had dinner with a friend of his whom he hadn’t seen for some time and – guess what? – the friend turned out to be the guy whom Crowe had attacked, and apparently Russell had made an out-of-court financial settlement in the matter. It seems like it can be costly to be a “hell-raiser” at times!

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   1. I agree with you …Russell Crowe and Johnny Depp would easily fall into that group. At least things have calmed down for Crowe…while Depp seems on the verge of a new incident every day. Interesting story about Crowe and how his behavior hits his wallet. Good feedback.

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      1. Thanks for your response to my post about Russell Crowe NOTE: S o B = Sibling of Bob as B o B = Brother of Bob might become too confusing! S o B in Australia has told me in the past that he has two other friends who became involved with celebrities –

         1/I HAVE mentioned before that one of S o B’s friends is a lawyer who through his legal connections was handed down a commission to draw up a very minor contract for Brando years ago and the latter sent my brother’s friend a large basket of fruit on top of the fee. S o B himself got two or three of the apples from the basket and it struck me that if instead of residing here in Belfast I had lived beside S o B in Oz I possibly would have been given one of the apples and if you in turn had lived beside me I would have given you a bite of it. Think of it – being known as the Cogerson who got a bite of a Brando apple! It would be like Steve being loaned a hand-me-down Statham T shirt that he could wow all his female friends in Manchester with by taking it off in front of them!

         2/Years ago S o B had tennis elbow and he was able to pay for the services of an expensive surgeon with a great reputation for treating that particular affliction. The operation on S o B was duly a great success and at the end of it all the surgeon confided in S o B that he had once successfully treated John McEnroe for the same problem and that John had been so relieved and grateful that he kept in touch now and again [probably in case he needed that surgeon once more!].

         So you can boast to your students that if things had been more geographically favourable to you, you might have gotten bites of a Brando apple -an apple for Teacher!- or lived beside a S o B who knows somebody who knows John McEnroe, and indeed if the knot of acquaintanceship had become even tighter you may have been privileged to get beaten up by a notorious Hollywood bad boy and hell-raiser[though I’m sure there are many who could lay claim to that “reflected glory”!]

         As it is you CAN crow [no pun intended!] that on top of any celebs you already have first- or second-hand acquaintance with yourself, you do know ME the first link in the chain I have mentioned above, and therefore your pupils might associate you with the famous song written by Herbert Fargeon in 1927, when the future King Edward V111 of the United Kingdom [who ultimately abdicated to marry one of you Yanks, divorcee Mrs Wallis Simpson]was all the rage of English society as The Prince of Wales and a young lady boasted in the Fargeon song-

         Glory, Glory, Alleluia! I’m the luckiest of females
         For I’ve danced with a man, who’s danced with a girl, who’s danced with the Prince of Wales.

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         1. BRUCE

            Near the end of my last post I referred to Wallis Simpson as Wallace, which is the more common name over here, and caught out my error when it was too late to use the correction button. If you get a moment I would be grateful if you would do the needful. Many thanks.

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            1. Hey Bob…that error has been fixed. Sorry about Roger….as I just got an alert that he fell in the Final Four. His opponent is pretty stout at the French Open….a career record of 92-2.

         2. Hey Bob….well…I count myself a lucky man to be able to claim I know the great Bob Roy and all of his connections to famous people of today and famous people of yesteryear. Good behind the scenes info on McEnroe and the Brando apple (lol). Good stuff…as always.

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            1. HI BRUCE

               It has been said that a celeb/sportsman can “become great only by getting onto another Great’s shoulders” and if true that may make me a “triple decker” if I am indeed the Great Bob Roy-you have gotten onto Joel’s shoulders and I may well have gotten onto yours!

               Thanks for fixing the Wallis Simpson error for me and I appreciate your condolences about Roger. However “you can’t win ‘em all” – unless in a movie and you’re John Wayne or Clint Eastwood!

            2. Hey Bob…a Final Four appearance is still pretty impressive…maybe he does after all have another major title in him.

4. 1 STEVE I’ve mentioned already on this site that before he became a movie star Crowe released a pop record called “I Just want to be like Marlon Brando” and when Russell became a major star himself he was asked by an interviewer whether the song had represented idolatry on his part and sheepishly he replied that when he made the recording he didn’t know who Brando was and it was a name that he had coincidentally spotted in the press. In the 2013 Superman film Man of Steel Russell played Jor El and one wonders if that too was a coincidence because Brando had of course played Jor El in the 1978 Superman the Movie.

   2 And the coincidences continue because Crowe revealed to the Sydney Herald that on his deathbed in 2004 Marlon bequeathed him a book of poetry because Russell was apparently Marlon’s favourite actor. It was titled “There are Men Too Gentle to live among Wolves” and one is left to wonder how Brando saw that as being an appropriate book to gift the highly aggressive and volatile Crowe of all people! Perhaps it was Mr Mumbles’ way of saying “I just want to be like Russell Crowe”! Anyway certainly there seems to have been a Dan-like join-up running through all of the foregoing, and Russell says that he will always “treasure” the poetry volume.

   3 Whatever Brando’s thoughts I’ve been a Crowe admirer ever since his portrayal of Bud White in LA Confidential and I have therefore very much enjoyed your video. My favourite POSTERS were Virtuosity, The Water Diviner, The Nice Guys and especially the two for Noah. There seemed to be an even greater number of excellent STILLS than usual in this one and I loved the following: LA Confidential, Robin Hood, Man of Steel, Gladiator, Master and Commander and Cinderella Man. Russell was nominated for Golden Globes for his performances in all of the latter 3 flicks. Overall Crowe was nominated 5 times for Golden Globes, winning on one of those occasions for A Beautiful Mind on top of his Oscar successes which Bruce covers above. Your video is therefore a fine profile of an excellent actor. Bruce and you agree on 3 of the Top 5. My rating of the video is 95%

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   1. Hi Bob, thanks for the review, rating, comment, info, trivia, comparison, observation, appraisal and evaluation, much appreciated. Glad you liked the photos and posters.

      Like you it must have been the volatile Bud White in LA Confidential that made me a fan of Crowe. I’d seen him earlier in the sci-fi film Virtuosity but I never suspected then that this would be a future Oscar-calibre actor.

      Looking at my files only 3 Russell Crowe films managed a 10 out of 10 score from my sources – Gladiator, The Insider and LA Confidential. While other high scorers like A Beautiful Mind and American Gangster only managed an 8.

      Good to see Gladiator and LA Confidential topping Bruce’s charts.

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5. 1 Russell played Jor El in the 2015 Man of Steel and that was of course Brando’s overpaid role in the 1978 Superman. Watching Crowe in Man of Steel it struck me that in private life his conduct and character were more like that of Stanley Kowalski than Superman’s father. I see in fact that Russ was in another ruckus recently involving the manhandling of a young female singer and the trading of racial slurs.

   2 He also seems to be a bit of a Walter Mitty figure at times and for example in an interview after he became famous it was pointed out to him that before getting into movies he had tried his hand at pop singing and had released a song called “I Want to be Like Marlon Brando”. The interviewer asked him why he had singled out Brando from other movie stars. It was clear to me that now that he was a big star himself Crowe was embarrassed at the possibility of being seen as an idolater so he told the interviewer that he had no idea who Marlon was when that recording was made and it was a name that he had merely remembered seeing somewhere and he fancied using it! The interviewer should have replied “Now tell me the one about the Three Bears.”

   3 Anyway amusing, interesting and even annoying though the private words and actions of movie performers can be at times my main concern is always with their on-screen contribution and in that respect I have always been fascinated by Russell and very much enjoy his movies when he gets a good script so I warmly welcome this update and hope to see Russell’s career do well in the future.

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   1. Hey Bob.
      1. I think the dimming of his star…is one of the reasons his latest issue has barely registered in the public eye….15 years ago….it would have been major major news.
      2. Good stuff from his interview…yeah…I am thinking any film actor is at least aware of Marlon Brando….so I agree with your assessment on that matter.
      3. His next movie looks like it will be a big hit (The Mummy) but it will be with him riding the coattails of special effects and Tom Cruise.
      4. Happy Day….crossed the 90% mark on the updates……332 done of the 366 listed on this page….https://www.ultimatemovierankings.com/100-million-movies-1930-2015/ granted I am ignoring my pages that did not make this table….I will worry about those later.
      *If you look at this table…you can figure out the method I have been using the last few months…I take the first one in ABC order….and the last one in ABC order…as the pages to update….as I squeeze out the last remaining pages.
      Good feedback as always.

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      1. Yes. Cagney who detested Brando as much for political reasons as anything else I always thought when asked once what he thought of Brando’s movies replied “Have never looked at one. Never intend to!” For me that was a stretch too far as he is bound to have at the very least peeked in to see what all the fuss was about especially as Bud was a key ‘competitor’ in the last full decade of Jimmy’s career

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         1. I agree….I am not a George Clooney fan yet I have seen almost all of his movies. No way Cagney avoided movies like Streetcar and Waterfront.

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