Starring Terence Stamp

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The American Cinematheque is saddened by the loss of iconic English actor Terence Stamp and pays tribute to him with this retrospective highlighting some of his most fascinating and recognizable roles. Throughout his career, Stamp entranced audiences—and filmmakers—with his ability to convey a deep interiority through his restrained, subtle physical performances. By turns intense and enigmatic, his piercing eyes and a preternatural stillness made Stamp a magnetic presence on the screen.

From his early starring roles as the quietly terrifying villain of THE COLLECTOR or as the nigh-otherworldly object of desire in BILLY BUDD and TEOREMA to his later work in THE LIMEY and THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, Stamp’s performances have continued to engage moviegoers, with his careful distance inviting deeper attention and allowing for richer, more ambiguous characterization. Our retrospective begins with Stamp’s legendary turn in SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE and SUPERMAN II as the icily menacing General Zod.

Stamp described his performance in TOBY DAMMIT as his best work, saying of his experience with filmmaker Federico Fellini, “I was no longer acting. I was just being.” He would continue to refine the naturalistic-yet-embodied style he developed while working with Fellini, including in his late role as the lion-in-winter protagonist of Steven Soderberg’s neo-noir THE LIMEY. Told out-of-order with an impressionistic editing style, including long close-ups of Stamp’s face in thought, as well as footage of a younger Stamp from Ken Loach’s 1967 film POOR COW, THE LIMEY follows a cockney gangster recently released from prison, searching for answers about his daughter’s death.