Christopher Walken dance sequence - Pennies from Heaven (1982) Discussion

[–] movieviewer1486 20 years ago

I haven't seen the movie, but I want to see it just for that! The only other thing I've seen him really dance in was the Fatboy Slim music video for "Weapon of Choice". It's fun watching such a serious-looking actor do something so lighthearted.

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[–] sueziq 20 years ago

You've got to see it!!! It's fantastic. I taped the dance sequence from the movie and watch it every once in a while. The actual movie is not so hot...but... Christopher's dance sequence is really something to see. I've never seen anything like it before or since!

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[–] pamelak50 17 years ago

Apparently you haven't seen many musicals!

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[–] jperg 10 years ago

Um, rude much?

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] The-Saltman 18 years ago

You can see the sequence here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnHLsDuleAs

Life is a garden, weed it and reap.

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[–] PhilSom 20 years ago

I agree wholeheartedly! It has to be the best dance number in any modern movie! I certainly want to rent the DVD just to watch this sequence.

I've also seen the Fatboy Slim video with Christopher Walken, and it, too, shows his dancing skills. In another time, I'm sure he would have been known more for his dancing than for his acting.

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[–] sueziq 20 years ago

I am so glad someone else agrees with me! Yes, I also agree with you about the Fatboy slim video. He is an amazing dancer!

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[–] mike-547 20 years ago

you need to get away from the movies and see some live theatre.
Christopher Walken's earliest "adult" roles on Broadway (he was fairly well known as a child/teen actor in live theatre) was in musicals like "High Spirits" and "Baker Street" and his most recent Broadway credit was for the musical "James Joyce's The Dead" I was lucky enough to see him in "Hamlet" at the Seattle Rep some years ago and believe me, he's even more powerful live than he is on screen.

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[–] sueziq 20 years ago

I love live theatre but I have never been fortunate enough to see Christopher Walken in live theatre. I desperately wanted to see him in James Joyce's "The Dead" when it was playing here a few years ago in Minnesota at The Guthrie Theatre. I am a huge Christopher Walken fan so I know his biography and have followed his work. One of my favorite roles of his is a very small not very well known movie/made for tv? production called "Who Am I this Time? It is really excellent and a "must" for Walken fans. I would love to read more about your experience seeing him in "Hamlet", my favorite Shakespeare play!

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[–] macbethp 20 years ago

sueziq--oh my gosh, somebody elso who loved Christopher Walken in that short film "Who am I this time?" !! It's based on a short story by Kurt Vonnegut. I saw it years ago on public TV, as part of a series about the American short story. I've looked for it on video and have never been able to find it. Susan Sarandon played the romantic interest, as I recall. It's good to know someone else remembers it! macbethp

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[–] sueziq 20 years ago

Hi macbethp! Wow, I thought I was the only person who even knew about that film! Yes, Susan Sarandon did play the love interest. I have been looking for this in video also , I can't find it anywhere. If I do, I will send you a message on where I found it. If you happen to find it please let me know! Thanks!

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[–] bryant52 20 years ago

sueziq...macbethp,
Yes, Who Am I this Time is available on VHS... Amazon. Great film; remarkable story. One of my favorites. Not yet on DVD.

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[–] avamac 17 years ago

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F9RLG2/ref=reg_hu-wl_list-recs/104-9477961-5984738

It is available at Amazon.

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[–] prenzie-1 17 years ago

I remember it too. It was excellent,one of the best of that series.

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[–] princesslms2002 17 years ago

Christopher Walken never disappoints. Another great dance sequence was the homeless guy in the diner who sang "Pennies from Heaven".

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[–] judith-mcgee1025 13 years ago

"Pennies from Heaven" is full of great moments; it's an exceptionally underrated film. There were a lot of talented dancers featured in the film, starting with its director, Herbert Ross. The film's producer was Mr. Ross' wife, Nora Kaye, a former prima ballerina. I believe that Tommy Rall was also in "Pennies from Heaven". Surrounded by all of that talent, Mr. Walken (not to mention Steve Martin) really did some wonderful work in the film.

Unless one knew that Mr. Walken began his career on Broadway as a dancer, it must have been quite a surprise to moviegoers to see this sequence in 1981. I still like to see him dance!

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[–] krasnegar 17 years ago

Having watched the clip on YouTube, it's a fairly typical number for musicals of the period, and Walken is an adequate dancer in it - he's not really called on to do anything fancy.

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[–] underscoregirl 17 years ago

I remember taping this film on VHS from cable, and watching this scene over and over when I was young (10ish). This is the only memory I have of it, and it is one of my favorite Walken scenes ever!

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[–] [email protected] 20 years ago

There is a part in the dance where Walken puts on a hat and goes into a more ballet/Jazz routine. The camera pulls away from him covering his face. Does anyone know if they used a double for this section. The dance was a bit more complicated at this section and the editing seems to suggest that they did use a double

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[–] sueziq 20 years ago

No, they did not use a double. Christopher Walken was a dancer before he was an actor. He has been dancing since a very young age. He also danced fantastically in the Fat Boy Slim Video.

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[–] insane_larry 20 years ago

I remember reading an interview with Walken where referred to himself as "a song and dance man"... this was, at the earliest, the late 90s. He just happened to fall into a career as a character actor, usually for menacing roles. He's also said that he likes to work a lot and loves to play a variety of roles in different movies. He's pretty much like Samuel L. Jackson in that respect... why haven't these two been teamed up in a movie?

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[–] sueziq 20 years ago

Larry, you should be a casting director! Christopher Walken and Samuel L. Jackson would be a fantastic combo imo also!

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[–] TimmyAnn 20 years ago

They were in the same movie once. Unfortunately, they had no scenes together. (It was Pulp Fiction, BTW.)

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Oh, you can't do that with a ping-pong ball!!!

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[–] sueziq 20 years ago

TimmyAnn, that's right! They were in pulp fiction! I forgot about that. Yeah, too bad, no scenes together.

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[–] TheGrip 20 years ago

Walken is a trained tap dancer. I don't think he ever saught work as a dancer, though. Obviously he's danced in roles and tries to work in a dance in every production he's in. He met Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire at a screening of "PfH," and they both told him at the same time: "You're a Helluva Dancer." I'm pretty sure Walken's Baked Goods still exists (different owners, though) in Astoria/Long Island City Queens, NY. Way to go, Ronnie.

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[–] TheGrip 20 years ago

The reason I posted on 11/9 was that I knew I was going to meet him at a special event at NYC's Lincoln Center. It was the second time I met him. What a character. He considers himself a man of musical theater - where he started his adult career - and approaches every role as such. I double-checked and found that Walken's Bakery is no longer the name of the business at the location where Walken family used to live in Astoria, Queens, NYC. It isn't even a bakery any more. Whoever bought the business was smart to keep the name "Walken."

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[–] wikkid_gothbabe 20 years ago

So how did it go? i was lucky enough to meet him (for the first time) on October 25th when he was doing the performance for the Lorne Michaels Gala at the Kennedy Center...

& yep... i agree with the above comments... having seen movies, tv stuff & the WOC video... Mr. Walken is *quite* a great dancer!!!!

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[–] TheGrip 20 years ago

I wished there was more Q&A, but it was nice. Lorne Michaels was supposed to be there as I noticed a seat reserved for him. Meryl Streep, Paul Schrader, John Turturro and Julian Schnabel spoke - or should I say GUSHED about Ronnie (Christopher is his legal name which he took for show business) Walken. They showed a scene from a flick Turturro is directing with Chris in it - it was as funny as Hell. There was a dance sequence where he - among other things - stabs his cheating wife to a blaring Tom Jones soundtrack.

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] TimmyAnn 20 years ago

I had totally forgotten that Samuel L. Jackson was in that!

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What's with today today?...Lucas

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[–] Richard-Cardiff 20 years ago

I'm convinced they used a body double throughout the "Weapon" video. Walken's face is expression-less. Surely, even if broken up and filmed in stages, your mouth would widen to allow more air into your lungs, to allow performing to that level. This is the age of digital graphics, remember. I'm sure Walken is/was a cracking dancer, when he was younger. But being born in 1943, that makes him sixty-odd now. And how many years was the "Weapon" video? Only 2001. Now I'm not saying that Walken Did NOT dance at all, in the video, But I also don't think those dinosaurs were really there in Jurasic Park, And I don't really believe Neo can walk up walls in any Lobby.
It wouldn't surprise me if they've used LOTS of dancers in the video, and then super-imposed Walken's head on to each body.
One last word - I hope I'm wrong.

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[–] kattmcneil 20 years ago

I saw an interview with Walkin discussing the video. He actually did the bulk of the dancing himself, including the wire work. They did, however, use a stunt person for the back flips (which are shot at a distance so no CGI head is required). He said he took the project so as to get some of his dancing recorded on film while he was still able to do it. Looked good to me.

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[–] focuspullr 17 years ago

Absolutely did not use a stunt double.

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[–] romanceh 20 years ago

I agree with you Sueziq... I do like Christopher Walken and this dance sequence is terrific !!!! Love from France [email protected]

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[–] extrinsic-1 20 years ago

That is an AWESOME scene, but I have to say, my favorite was "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie". We've all had those moments. Right?

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[–] Deidra 19 years ago

love Walken too and agree about that sequence. Rent the
movie "Around the Bend" a great, little independent film
from Sundance with Walken as the star. Also a dark character
but still one you care deeply about - multidemsional,
and they gave him a little dance number in the middle. very funny.
you'll enjoy it.

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[–] jumpy0466 19 years ago

It made me want to see a full length musical with Walken in the lead!

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[–] Sunshineyness 19 years ago

He also does some ballroom dancing in a little film called "Roseland" and has a short dance sequance in "Wayne's World 2" both fabulous by the way. I love Christopher Walken and everything he does, lol, even the crappy movies. But it's his dancing and whatnot I love the most. I'd KILL to see him do something live! I've just never had the opportunity to see him in theater.

"I regret that I have but one life to give to rock and roll!"
- Rock and Roll High School

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[–] soyarra-1 19 years ago

You guys, go farther back -- he dances a little in two of his earliest films, "Next Stop Greenwich Village" and "The Deer Hunter." He was also miraculously handsome when he was young - blond and gorgeous, somewhat like James Spader. They both [had] the same sort of angelic, unearthly, spacey sort of beauty. He wasn't always the total psycho he often plays in films today.

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[–] LynchNut77 19 years ago

Yes, absolutely. Chris Walken is the man when it comes to unexpected dance numbers.
I dig him here and I dig him in that Fat Boy Slim video.

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[–] vince-volaju 16 years ago

Industry insiders recognize Walken's awesome talent. Of course he did 98% of the dancing in the Fatboy Slim Weapon of Choice video. I'm probably 12 or so years younger than Walken & I can dance & play basketball too. It's a matter of keeping in shape.

GEEZ, I just looked up Walken's BD on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000686/

1943! Wowza, he is getting along. Woohoooo. Older than i thought. Man is he cool or what?

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