Norman Jewison, 98

Didn't know he did ROLLERBALL. Re-watched IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT when I heard he had died.

Beyond the amazing performances (which Jewison always seemed to get out of his actors), the thing that struck me is how real it all seemed. The late '60's and much of the '70's saw an explosion of great movies shot largely on location thanks to advancements in smaller cameras & lights, plus ever better film stock.

He went to the south and shot HEAT OF THE NIGHT on location during a hot ass summer - the results he got were miles better then any he could have achieved if he had shot on sets in LA. Jewison was at the forefront of directors taking advantage of the possibilities of location shooting.

But of course it was his choice of themes and examinations of society that made his films really special. HEAT OF THE NIGHT probably the best, most human, look at racism in the deep South during the '60's. ROLLERBALL eerily prescient about the rise of the corporation-state where sports become the dominant societal force.

He, perhaps, wasn't a great master of film technique, in the sense that technically his movies are fairly average (ROLLERBALL's costumes/sets were dated even as he filmed them), nothing close the mastery of the art in Spielberg, Coppola, Lucas, or Carpenter (or Welles before him) in terms of pushing what was physically possible in a movie.

Yet HEAT OF THE NIGHT is completely watchable today, as are most of his films. ROLLERBALL still the best film of it's kind (try watching the re-make if you have any doubts on that score). He - like other great directors - was able to get the most out of his actors, and he usually picked the best people to play the parts in his movies.

On a last note, there's another director who is also completely ignored but made some of the most important movies ever - Michael Curtiz. He directed over a 100 movies, including ROBIN HOOD, WHITE CHRISTMAS, CASABLANCA, THE SEA WOLF, MILDRED PIERCE, WAX MUSEUM, and Elvis's first movie KING CREOLE.

And no one remembers his name either. Maybe it's because neither had a scandal, or perhaps because both were capable of making any kind of genre of film. Looking at their resumes, it's hard to find any connection between any of them.

But Jewison (like Curtiz before him) could always find the human element of any story; could always put the audience exactly where he wanted them to be. Always got the best out of his actors and the script. What more could you ask for?