I just saw the fourth Indiana Jones movie and in it is a line I will not forget. "We've reached that point where life takes things away from us, where life gave to us." I think Jim Brodbent said it, but it was unforgettably true. One of those "things" is the person Sydney Pollack, who was one of my favorite actor / directors,
But I remember Pollack most as an actor, and my first introduction to him was in the Woody Allen movie "Husbands and Wives" where he played a producer who was having marriage problems such that he separated and took up an unhappy, brief, and turbulent relationship with his personal trainer.
What got me about Sydney's performance was the power of his personality shining through. A kind of approach that I associated with New York City's style and that shown through all of his movies from Husbands to "Eyes Wide Shut."
I did not know this was the same person who directed "Out Of Africa" nor did I know that I would have the pleasure of watching movies in the same Berkeley offices of the Sal Zantz Film Center that Pollack certainly walked through during the making of that film.
I never knew Mr. Pollack, but I thought I did. He was a person I looked up to and hoped -- and still hope -- that I can have even part of the impact on life that he has had. I think what bothers me the most is that he was 73 and my Mom's the same age. It makes me wonder how much time I have with her, and all the more determined to spend as much time with her -- and pay attention to what she tells me to do -- as I can.
He passed of cancer. What also bothers me is that he had been diagnosed with it -- I don't know what kind -- nine months ago. For my Mom's it's been three years. I think my Mom's success is due to early capture of the problem. She's very focused on taking her medication daily.
Now I understand that it was stomach cancer. According to the article in Best Syndication, Nine months ago he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. On September 8th the National Enquirer reported that Pollack’s cancer had metastasized. Stomach cancer represents roughly 2% of all cancers in the US. There are 25,500 new cases each year in the US alone, but it is more common in Korea, Japan, Great Britain, South America, and Iceland. The risk for the cancer is associated with a high salt intake, smoking and low consumption of fruits and vegetables. About 12,000 people die in the US each year from stomach cancer.
That's rare in America. The bottom line is don't smoke, use salt, and eat fruits and veggies consistently. My Mom has followed that path for all her life. Well, Ok, there was that time in the 70s that she flirted with smoking but I talked her out of it!
Keep making good works in Heaven, Sydney. I will miss you.
This interview with Charlie Rose best captures Sydney, in this case talking about his documentary on Frank Gehry.
This video was made in the 80s after the release of Tootsie, which Pollack both acted in and directed:
The Times Online presents this video interview created last year, June 29, 2007, and to talk about Pollack's then new documentary on Frank Gehry:
Here below, Sydney explains why he swiched from a widescreen filming approach to "pan and scan" where a much smaller "square" frame is used by directors and the camera pans using it, then back to widescreen eventually. Pollack tells why widescreen is a more desirable format to tell a story.
