Take 245 - Sabrina, Air Force One, & What Lies Beneath - Harrison Ford In Review

Mostly Film – Take 245: Harrison Ford In Review — Episode 5

The persona episode. Jonathan and JP cover three films that each do something deliberately different with Harrison Ford's screen identity — and the results range from underseen gem to all-time blockbuster to one of the more quietly audacious casting decisions of the 1990s.

First, Sabrina. Sydney Pollack got Billy Wilder's blessing before he agreed to direct. Winona Ryder turned down the lead because she couldn't face Audrey Hepburn's shadow. Greg Kinnear stepped into his first starring role fresh from hosting Talk Soup on E! Paul Giamatti shows up in a small part. And Ford plays a romantic lead — gentle, comedic, slowly and reluctantly falling in love — in a genre he'd never really inhabited. It made $87 million. Ebert gave it four stars. Ford has called it underrated. The question: does Ford actually work as a romantic lead, or is he always slightly more interesting when he has something to push against?

Then Air Force One. Kevin Costner turned it down for The Postman. Ford called the White House himself to get access to the real plane. Randy Newman wrote the entire score, Petersen hated it, Jerry Goldsmith replaced him with twelve days to deliver something new — and part of Newman's rejected work was reportedly recycled into Toy Story 3. Ford insisted Gary Oldman actually punch him in the face. 'Egor Korshunov' is credited as 'Ivan Korshunov' in the end titles. $315 million worldwide. Ford's last film to cross $300 million. The Wall Street Journal ranked President Marshall the greatest fictional president in screen history. 'Get off my plane.' The question: is Air Force One a great film or a great movie — and is there a difference?

Then What Lies Beneath. Made by Robert Zemeckis during the production pause on Cast Away while Tom Hanks was losing weight and befriending a volleyball. Screenplay by Clark Gregg — later Agent Coulson. Ford and Pfeiffer together cost $35 million of the $100 million budget. Zemeckis's casting logic was simple: the twist only works if the audience cannot conceive of Harrison Ford as a killer. Pfeiffer is functionally the lead despite equal billing. The bathtub sequence is considered some of the finest technical suspense work Zemeckis has ever done. The question: does the central gambit — using Ford's trustworthiness against the audience — actually work?

Air Force One is the last time Ford was the biggest movie star in the world. What Lies Beneath is the last genuinely good original film he made before a long run of misfires.