Subject: The Man Inside
gets the distinction of being the most normal movie I've seen Prochnow in so far. It's not an action film, but it was interesting. It's a true story about a German reporter who infiltrated a corrupt newspaper whose strings were being pulled by a politician... So it's partly intrigue, partly character study. The fun of it is that this guy was not only well-known to the newspaper, but had been targeted by them before; so he had to disguise himself to get a job there, and got away with it for three months. He was also being sought by the German security service who wanted to arrest him for espionage.
Trivia: He wore glasses (okay, it's just one of those things - I happened to be thinking the other day that in all these movies I've seen he's never once had glasses on; he's blown his streak now); he looks real good with a goatee; and early in the film when the newspaper is planning to defame his character with a manufactured story, you see several old photos of him which are more fun than a barrel of monkeys. One is a high-school yearbook picture. A couple are when he was in his 20's and had long hair. And one (I love this) is a shot taken off the set of Das Boot around the time they were filming the dinner scene during which the Captain goes off on what he thinks of the German high command. Oh, shut up - you could all pinpoint it just as easily, and you know it.
I know this isn't a funny review, sorry. Here, I'll throw you a bone... Peter Coyote was also in the movie... and at one point when they're both drunk Coyote slaps Prochnow for no reason whatsoever and then comes on to him. At least, if that's not what he was doing, he was doing whatever he WAS doing really badly. To be honest, Prochnow didn't seem to be sure about it either. Considerably later Coyote told Prochnow, in front of Prochnow's girlfriend, "you fascinate me." Nothing ever came of this, unfortunately. For a moment there I thought Prochnow was finally going to get that stretch we've all been waiting for.
Where's Willem Dafoe when you need him?
Subject: Re: The Man Inside
Oh, dear God.
The Man Inside
Peter Coyote comes on to him
You fascinate me
I thought Prochnow was going to get that stretch we've all been waiting for
Where's Willem Dafoe when you need him
I need another drink after that email. A good, stiff
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Subject: Re: The Man Inside
I swear to god it didn't occur to me until after I sent that review off that my "stretch" comment might cause more giggles than I meant it to... The expression has come up a couple of times in comms between Linda and me meaning "stretch as an actor," and that's how I meant it when I wrote it. That's ALL I meant.
One of these days I'll have to learn how to edit myself.
Yeah, yeah, yeah... now write back and claim you don't know what on earth I'm talking about. I'll kill you!
Subject: This is your fault
because you made me laugh too hard too close to bedtime, so now I can't sleep... and it suddenly hit me that my answer to your first msg should have been, "Aw, don't take it so hard."
Hey, enjoy yourself now, because after I get KILL CRUISE we're going to have to stop talking to each other altogether. I've read the description of that one.
Subject: And I didn't even mention
the extremely tight pants Prochnow was wearing much of the time, the numerous bed scenes (none of which were any fun, but I could make something out of them if I had to), or the times he was wearing shorts (great legs, no kidding) or the part where he and his girlfriend are naked in the bathtub.
Should I just review this movie all over again, d'you think? I'll do it for $5. For another $3 i'll throw in a good description of his nude scene in Killing Cars.
[For a good movie, this ones lends itself to jokes a little too easily. We waffled over the Movie Rating on it for a long time; even though it's hardly one of the greatest movies ever made I keep getting the urge to change "4" to "5" because it's such a satisfying film for Prochnow fans. The only legitimate complaint I can find to make about it is the use of "Franz Messer's" boss as an evil comic-relief figure; Dieter Laser was over the top and beyond in his acting. On the other hand maybe the real-life man he portrayed pretty much behaved that way. I wouldn't know.
I also had a minor guilt attack when we put the "Best of Jürgen Prochnow" page together because the reviews praise his performance in some other movies just as much or more, but it's awfully easy to find "favorites" in THE MAN INSIDE, not so easy in others - such as KILL CRUISE, in which Jürgen gave a stellar performance. I could pick several favorite scenes out of that easily, but I can't describe them without sounding like I'm kidding, so I gave up (and just did one, which will probably get me in trouble all by itself). You just have to see the thing.
THE MAN INSIDE has a suspense/thriller story line but its approach is mainly character study. It's an excellent vehicle for Jürgen because Wallraff has so much to contend with emotionally; Jürgen's performance is both understated and highly effective. You really feel for the guy. We recommend this movie very highly to anyone who's content with drama, because it's not an action film. You won't get explosions and car crashes, but you will get a good solid story and some real swell stuff from Jürgen Prochnow. -ed.]