Charlton Heston, who's died aged 84, was a larger-than-life figure for me growing up, watching his films on TV, be it parting the Red Sea, riding a chariot, or battling apes. And yet, his whole career, his whole persona, his own being had, in recent years, been reduced to that one chilling moment in Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine when, as president of the NRA, he was shown holding aloft a rifle and proclaiming those immortal words: "From my cold dead hands." It was uncomfortable viewing, and forever changed the way I viewed Heston the man, and, I have to admit, Heston the screen legend. Still, his star quality and sheer presence can't be denied, even if one vehemently disagreed with his politics. If I weren't so busy today, I would have watched Touch Of Evil or the original Planet Of The Apes as my own kind of tribute to the man. As it is, I'll have to make do with this.
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