Lol Broadway and the the Set for a motion picture is much more intimate and two completely different styles of theatre…. Just as you see the crowd laugh in some of the most dramatic, intimate , inappropriate moments in some parts of this.
LOVED the journey Denzel took the character on! Very different to JEJ but definitely more recognisable in today’s day and age! Very charming, will pull you in close enough to deliver the gut punch
I saw the movie first and I knew immediately it was a play. For some reason this play and movie touched me deeply. I wonder what kind of man I would have been in 1940's America?
I know what you mean. But personally, they both did a great job. Can't take this amazing performance from Denzel and if people do, they have a problem.
sorry to tell you that , there is no right way of playing a character in a script...The actor interprets the character how he sees it. this is the reason as to why when two actors play the same role in diff productions ..u see two diff approaches . Therefore yes Denzel played the character as he saw it.
Dust Tra I know this message is three years late as I just discovered the play fences. I loved malcolm X for many reasons. But I feel antoine fischer had a message and since im an orphan also and grew up in an abusive foster home i could relate to that story. Anyone who foster kids I refer them to that movie, I liked the debators I liked flight and he got game. Anyways.
@disturbed157 denzel made a character choice, theres no 'proper' way to play a character....there isnt tragedy without comedy. I enjoy denzels choice, the message still gets through and overrall the play takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. I bet denzel had the audience in the palm of his hands the whole show
lovethestage I ordered the book from abebooks.com and just got it yesterday. Didnt know james earl jones did the play also. Hes another of my favorite male actors
August Wilson was a genius and I have loved his work for years. If you were fortunate enough to see Denzel and Viola on Broadway in Fences, you know what magic is. I saw it a few times, and every single time I got chills and the energy in the audience was powerful. Kenny Leon directed it and did a magnificent job. I will never ever forget it. You will read Fences and then find yourself ordering the other plays to read that August did.
At times I wish I live in nyc so I could see the kind of plays I like to see. I live in cali 300 miles either way in between san fran and los Angeles. Predominately white and hispanic. I get frustrated at times. Anyways thanks
so I read the book. and I've watched the movie twice already. very good. I see some of me in rose as I! a stay at home mom by choice. I also see myself in troy in the way he sometimes treat his sons. very powerful movie.
@KenyanSpear Agreed. Plus, the audiences who saw this version went ot see Denzel as much as the play. And they want the Denzel they know: Charming, sexy, powerful. Just as valid an interpretation. I might prefer Jonews's version, but that doesn't mean Denzel's is inferior, just DIFFERENT.
pls read fences!!! then you understand that August Wilson, wrote this part of the play to be as a comical and metaphor to explain the illness Troy had ..This scene is not meant to be serious..Even if you try to play the scene seriously the script doesnt allow it.
@Errrrrrrrrday while this may be true. most speculate that the character was made for James Earl Jones. basically a bigger than life character. so in a way playing JEJ as you put it could be seen as playing troy
@disturbed157 is right. i saw the play with denzel. he sets you up in the first act to knock you down in the second act. and the audience feels the betrayal. one theatergoer behind me said disappointingly, "oh, denzel".
@Errrrrrrrrday this play is full of emotion. it's meant to be a very serious play. this is a look at our character's ego in that he thinks he wrestled and defeated death. james earl jones was the original actor and he did such a good job that he made it appear denzel can't act
@superduperlouber because denzel can't play that character properly. james earl jones on the other hand performed it perfectly and I bet no one laughed during that performance
unfortunately I will agree with @dusttracks. People we like or find attractive can get a pass sometimes regarding their work. I also "see" Denzel acting the role but not being the role. Performance after performance, I see the same inflections used by him and also in interviews. These same inflections appear, which lead me to believe, he is always borrowing from his own point of view, BUT NOT from what the character might do. Denzel is cool and the gang with me but all craft needs a tune-up.
denzel's done it again! and by done it again, i mean leave me completely unengaged with the person he's supposed to be portraying. i don't see 'troy', i see denzel playing troy, which is something completely different. and save the 'leave denzel 'lone' replies for the next boring movie he makes. he hasn't done anything worth watching since 'x', and that was hugely due to spike lee's epic vision. please...
Sorry, but you're putting waaaay too much stock in awards. I love Denzel Washington. But if you compare this scene to the James Earl Jones version on here, he's just a mere mortal. You can feel Denzel, the star, wanting the audience to like him, landing his jokes. James Earl Jones is a force of nature, doesn't need to be liked and he is NOT joking.
denzels portrayal is ok its not great this particular scene is funny .For all the wrong reasons troy maxson is and insanely superstitious person and he's not very bright logically ..To him everything he's saying makes perfect sense its not meant to be said .Lightly like denzel is saying it here ,the joke is on him ,he's not telling jokes the funny is in ignorance .It's like listening to a child describe their adventures with a make believe friend.It's funny to you not to them.
