"By Grabthar's hammer, by the suns of Warvan, you shall be avenged!"<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Quest" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Quest</a>
I once watched a streak of Alan Rickman movies, and can certainly recommend some of the less popular ones.<p><i>Closet Land</i> - HN should love this one: a dystopian science fiction film approaching censorship, surveillance, and torture. It's a single setting with only 2 actors, and sometimes feels like a very intense play.<p><i>Truly Madly Deeply</i> - An oddly appropriate film about accepting death, where he plays a tired ghost who come back to haunt his significant other, which I found bittersweet but overall heart-warming.<p><i>Rasputin</i> (1996) - I actually watched this during a Rasputin streak, and think that his performance is possibly the best Rasputin on film - he breathes a lot of humanity and realness into the character (compare with, say, the great but completely monstrous version with Christopher Lee). Other aspects of the film are uneven, but it's still very much worth it.<p>I also remember being excited to learn that he was directing a movie recently (<i>A Little Chaos</i>). Haven't seen it, but the reviews are convincing - it's sad that he leaves us while he was still very much in a creative period.
Eight movies of "so much like your father" just so he could deliver the "you have your mother's eyes" line, that one time; and undo all Harry's doubts and fears in that one moment.
"Due to the Nakatomi Corporation's legacy of greed around the globe, they are about to be taught a lesson in the real use of power. You will be witnesses."
As a bad guy he was amazing, Hans Gruber, Sheriff of Nottingham and Snape are probably the finest examples of his work in this area but he was never limited to just the bad guy he just played them so well when he did.
Interesting fact: he got his actual career started remarkably late:<p><a href="http://www.cracked.com/article_19655_5-famous-late-bloomers.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.cracked.com/article_19655_5-famous-late-bloomers....</a>
Bowie on Monday, now Rickman on Thursday. Both were 69. Both were fighting cancer. And both were veritable giants both on and off stage. I feel like someone's gutted me of emotion and left me cold and numb — which is kind of funny considering I've never met or spoken to either. It's truly a wonder how much celebrities and great artists can shape us and shape our society.<p>Today has been a dark, dark week for the world of performance art. He will be missed.
Another Rickman favorite, Epic Tea Time, Portraits in Dramatic Time<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob7V_WtAVg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob7V_WtAVg</a>
Sigh.<p>It's time for tea. Epic tea.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob7V_WtAVg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob7V_WtAVg</a>
I guess my generation came to the age where we start losing our child-, teen-, and adulthood stars.<p>At least we still got the Kardashians and EDM. /s<p>RIP Hans Gruber :')
Not much to say here other than he will be missed. I see a lot of commentary here about cancer vs heart disease and why one is so much better treated than another, but that's something of a fallacy. Cancer and heart disease are pretty much matched for cause of death in baby boomers.<p><a href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/844382#vp_2" rel="nofollow">http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/844382#vp_2</a><p>We're still very far away from guaranteeing long lifespans. Bowie and Rickman pass away at 69, but Doris Day is still around at 91. Gene Wilder is 82. Mel Brooks is 89. Age Vigoda is 94. Longevity is still a crapshoot.
He played memorable roles, and his legacy will definitely live on as Professor Snape - my kids are starting through the Harry Potter series and love/hate seeing him every time on screen.
John Sessions does a fantastic imitation of Alan Rickman and tells a great anecdote about him on QI: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc3OyvbJkj4" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc3OyvbJkj4</a><p>(with Stephen Fry, David Mitchell, Emma Thompson and Alan Davies)
How sad.<p>This is a semi-dupe of this, btw: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10900974" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10900974</a> (different source but same real-world event).
Vale Alan Rickman.<p>Personal aside: When driving, my partner and I always refer to a certain town west of London as Alan Richmansworth, I think simply because it is nice to think about him. Sad news.
Besides the roles mentioned here, I will remember Alan Rickman for something else: as Master of Ceremonies, introducing the various instruments at the end of the first part of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells II" album [1]<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tubular_Bells_II#Master_of_Ceremonies" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tubular_Bells_II#Master_of_Cer...</a>
The first thing I remember seeing him in was Closet Land. It's been at least 20 years since I saw it, and thinking about his character still gives me chills.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101597/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_53" rel="nofollow">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101597/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_53</a>
<a href="http://themanyfacesof.com/alan-rickman/" rel="nofollow">http://themanyfacesof.com/alan-rickman/</a><p>Really loved this actor. Sad to see him go. He brought us so much enjoyment over the years. Thank you, Alan!
between david bowie and this, cancer seems to be the midlife killer of choice . Much process has been made in heart disease, but cancer? Not so much. Once it's spread, you're dead. (2 years usually)
I am very sad for this (I am a huge Harry Potter fan), but I can not let pass a curiosity of which this event is part of.<p>Aaron Ramsey (Footballer player for Arsenal, UK) has a reputation for apparently killing off famous people when he scores. Whenever he scores someone famous tends to pass away, of course it is a big coincidence, but he did score yesterday too.<p>Also scored last week, and David Bowie passed away.<p>If you google it, he scored the previous day of the deaths of Colonel Gaddafi, Steve Jobs Osama Bin Laden and Whitney Houston, among others.