What could have been with Terence Stamp

Do you ever watch a film and think 'I wish so-and-so had been in this'? Or maybe you're favourite actor/actress was originally cast in a film and was then re-cast? Ah, what could have been!
I find myself thinking about this a lot in relation to Terence Stamp-rightly or wrongly I seem to want him in everything!
But here are three films he was almost in, and I really wish he had been!

1. Blow-Up (1966)

Stamp was originally cast in this famous sixties film, but for reasons unknown, Antonioni re-cast his role with David Hemmings instead. Hemmings does a good job in the film but the entire time I was watching it I couldn't help but think what Stamp would have brought to the role. To make matters worse Hemmings is a kind of not-so-good-looking version of Terence Stamp! (ha!)

2. Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

Whilst watching this film for the first time I kept thinking over and over that I wished Terence Stamp had played Montag, but I tried to remind myself that I want him in everything, so that was ridiculous. But then I watched the bonus features on my DVD and discovered that Stamp had originally been cast as Montag! Allegedly he put forward Julie Christie for a part and then dropped out because she ended up playing a dual role and he felt he'd be overshadowed! I felt that Montag's gradual change of heart would have been better portrayed by Stamp, since he really is the master of emotions with no dialogue (see Blue, Far From the Madding Crowd and The Mind of Mr Soames).

3. James Bond

Did you know Stamp was asked to play the famous spy when Sean Connery announced his retirement from the role? He met with directors and said he was willing to do the role, but suggested in order for the audience to get used to him not being Connery, he should wear a disguise for at least half of the film. Apparently this idea was not met with approval and he was never called back. Instead they chose Roger Moore. It's generally agreed upon that when Moore took over the Bond role the films took a turn for the worst (or at least a turn for the silly!) So imagine a young Terence Stamp instead! He probably would have made the films more believable and gritty but instead I'll just have to content myself by watching him in my favourite spy flick Modesty Blaise!!

 Do you have any actors/actresses you wish had been cast in certain films? Let me know in the comments!
And I mean really who wouldn't want this face in everything?

Blow-Up (1966)

Blow-Up tells the story of Thomas (David Hemmings) a busy photographer in swinging London. Despite being surrounded by beautiful women Thomas seems to be bored with his life until he unknowingly witnesses a murder and captures it on film.

Director Michelangelo Antonioni had originally intended to use Terence Stamp in the title role before settling on David Hemmings. The film was noted for it's numerous cameos including The Yardbirds, Jane Birkin, Veruschka and an uncredited Peggy Moffitt. It also featured performances from popular actresses Vanessa Redgrave and Sarah Miles and featured a score by jazz musician Herbie Hancock. The film was such a success, despite what was considered sexually explicit scenes by the standard of the day, that it contributed to the eventual collapse of the production code.

Today Blow-Up is best known for it's sexual nature, particularly the infamous scene with Jane Birkin (although by today's standards it's relatively harmless). The film however is also a fascinating look at Swinging London, and blurs the lines between surrealism and understated naturalism. There are two worlds in Blow-Up, the glamorous world of models and clothes seen through Thomas' camera, and the seedy underbelly that Thomas both lives and works in. It's interesting that despite his lucrative job as a fashion photographer Thomas is most excited about a book he is working on that displays the lives of everyday Londoners.

The start and end of the film are bookended by the appearance of a group of mime artists. They seem to reflect the quality of illusion in Thomas' own life as well as the false world of the models, how they appear before the camera isn't necessarily how they are in real life. The eerie quality of the film is heightened when the mime artists are playing an imaginary game of tennis, but when the camera focuses on Thomas, we can hear a real ball being hit. Is it an amusing touch? Or does it force us, as an audience, to question Thomas's memories of the murder. Did it happen at all? Is the world we see throughout the film the real world?

The cinematography is stunning, using light and darkness to highlight the characters emotions. Characters are frequently seen with their backs towards the camera, their expressions and emotions obscured from view. Thomas' camera is an intrusion into lives, and yet it also cannot reveal enough. The world in Blow-Up is torn between an intense openness and a secretive privacy, two oppositions displayed by both Thomas and Vanessa Redgrave's character, Jane. 

The final shot highlights Thomas' alienation, his inability to make a meaningful connection with anyone and his confusion with the world he lives in. 

4/5 

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