Gene Hackman, who passed away last month at the age of 95, was one of film’s most versatile and consistently great actors. Nominated for five Academy Awards and winner of two, Hackman masterfully adapted his gruff, hard-nosed persona into a variety of dramatic and comic characters, from the vulnerable (Harry Caul in The Conversation, Norman Dale in Hoosiers) to the villainous (Lex Luthor in Superman, “Little Bill” Daggett in Unforgiven) to everything in between (Harry Zimm in Get Shorty, Royal Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums). If you’d like to check out some of this iconic actor’s most memorable performances, here are some movies you can watch using your Livingston Library card. (Descriptions provided by the film studios.)
The French Connection (1971, directed by William Friedkin; available on DVD)
Hackman won his first Academy Award (Best Actor) for this film where he plays a New York City narcotics detective who, along with his partner (Roy Scheider), learns of a scheme to smuggle a large quantity of heroin inside an automobile being shipped from France.
The Conversation (1974, directed by Francis Ford Coppola; streaming on Kanopy)
Sound surveillance expert Harry Caul (Hackman) is hired to track a young couple, taping their conversation as they walk through San Francisco’s crowded Union Square. Knowing full well how technology can invade privacy, Harry obsessively keeps to himself, separating business from his personal life, even refusing to discuss what he does or where he lives with his girlfriend, Amy (Teri Garr). Harry’s work starts to trouble him, however, as he comes to believe that the conversation he pieced together reveals a plot by the mysterious corporate “Director” who hired him to murder the couple. After the tapes are stolen, Harry is all the more convinced that a killing will occur, and he can no longer separate his job from his conscience. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. Nominated for three Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound) and four Golden Globes (including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director).
Superman (1978, directed by Richard Donner; available on DVD)
A child from a dying planet is sent to Earth, where he is brought up by human parents and poses as a newspaper reporter, becoming Superman (Christopher Reeve) when necessary to use his special powers to save others from Lex Luthor (Hackman).
Hoosiers (1986, directed by David Anspaugh; available on DVD)
A basketball coach with a checkered past (Hackman) finds a last-chance position with a last-chance team.
Mississippi Burning (1988, directed by Alan Parker; streaming on Kanopy)
The real-life tale of three young Civil Rights workers murdered in deep-South Mississippi, focusing on the FBI agents (Hackman and Willem Dafoe) who arrive to investigate the crime. Also starring Frances McDormand and Brad Dourif, the film features a lacerating screenplay by Chris Gerolmo, Academy Award-winning cinematography by Peter Biziou and a score by Trevor Jones.
Unforgiven (1992, directed by Clint Eastwood; available on DVD)
Hackman won his second Academy Award (Best Supporting Actor) as a sadistic sheriff in this film that also won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. Retired Old West gunslinger Will Munny (Eastwood) reluctantly takes on one last job to avenge an injustice with the help of his old partner (Morgan Freeman) and a newer outlaw known simply as The Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett).
The Firm (1993, directed by Sydney Pollack; streaming on Kanopy)
Mitch (Tom Cruise) joins a prosperous Memphis firm that affords him and his wife (Jeanne Tripplehorn) an affluent lifestyle beyond their wildest dreams. But when FBI agents confront him with evidence of corruption and murder within the firm headed by his mentor (Hackman), Mitch sets out to find the truth.
Get Shorty (1995, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld; available on DVD)
In this hysterical comedy, a loan shark (John Travolta) heads to Hollywood to collect some debts, and tries to get into show business himself with the help of a B-movie director (Hackman).
The Birdcage (1996, directed by Mike Nichols; available on DVD)
The story of middle-aged gay couple Armand and Albert (Robin Williams, Nathan Lane) and their comic encounter with a self-righteously straight and conservative family (Hackman and Dianne Wiest). Armand and Albert reluctantly accept young Val’s (Dan Futterman) intention to marry the daughter (Calista Flockhart) of a conservative Senator, but when the fiancee’s family comes to visit, the whole household is turned upside down.
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001, directed by Wes Anderson; available on DVD)
Three grown prodigies (Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson), all with a unique genius of some kind, and their mother (Anjelica Huston) are staying at the family household. Their father, Royal (Hackman), had left them long ago, but now returns to make things right with his family. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
–Joe, Adult Services & Acquisitions