Another giant is gone--and I mean Giant with a capital G. When one casts a glance back, it shows that many of the best movies ever made had his hand in them. Not to mention that he worked in so many different genres. What a fun actor to watch and an awesome body of work to have in a library of film!
RIP.
(And a thank you to Dragon for starting this thread.)
Of all of his great roles the one line I most remember is from Young Frankenstein.....
"Where are you going? I was gonna make Espresso!"
Yeah Adam ...
Hackman took the role because he played tennis every week with Gene Wilder and Wilder was telling him about the project and Hackman said Got anything for me in it? So Wilder said "Funnily enough..." and asked him about the blind man and hackman said he would love to do it, and was happy to not have a credit.
• The French Connection • Prime Cut • The Poseidon Adventure • Scarecrow • The Conversation • Night Moves • Bite the Bullet • French Connection II • The Domino Principle • Superman
"After Ollie makes his second shot—and you will make your second shot—get back on defense right away. There may just be enough time for them to throw in a desperation toss. All right? Let's go."
The lowly player had had his share of bad moments in the season prior to this crucial moment in a huge playoff game. My discomfort and distraction went totally out the door after the timeout and terse but effective pep talk between coach and players. The way the coach pivoted, set his gaze upon the anxious kid and then said what he did with utter conviction about making the second shot before turning back to the rest of the players—oh whoever wrote the script had to have coached. As might have Hackman who turned in a most convincing performance.
What a tragic end to such a brilliant man. This news hit me like the same brick of hearing of David Lynch's passing. Both of these artists so influential to my tastes and relationship to cinema and the art of the moving image. Godspeed to one of the greatest to ever do it.
"Wow"... I just got home and saw this on TV... Sad, tragic news to start my evening... Gene Hackman is one of my all-time favorite actors... A Hollywood legend... And one that I had the honor of meeting once... I had to come on here tonight to pay my respects... But, now is NOT the time to" wildly speculate" as to what happened. All will be revealed in time. Now is the time to celebrate his life.
Hackman's very first impact on "MY" life?... Well, that would be Richard Donner's comic book classic... SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE... I'll NEVER forget seeing it in the theatre in 1978 when I was 12-years-old ... Richard Donner, John Williams, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Gene Hackman really gave me something very special and magical with that timeless and perfect film... I came out of that movie AWESTRUCK and ELATED, and all these decades later, I STILL haven't quite come down from that moment... Those memories are literally burned into my soul, and I cherish that masterpiece to this day... It's one of my all-time favorite films...
Growing up in the mid-1970's as I did, this film was ONE of the VERY FIRST FEW seminal cinematic moments of my movie-going youth that helped me SOLIDIFY my life-long love and passion for movies... Gene Hackman was, by association, obviously a big part of that happiness... Hackman's character, super-villain Lex Luthor, and his incredible performance... balancing an evil menace with, at the same time, a hilarious charm... Well, it absolutely captivated me as a child... For that, I will truly be forever thankful...
And so, my life-long journey into the films of Gene Hackman began... Everything that had proceeded SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE... and everything that would follow... And "What a journey" it was... "Good times!"
My 20 All-time favorite Gene Hackman offerings (in order) are...
#01. SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978) #02. SUPERMAN ll (1981) #03. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) #04. FRENCH CONNECTION ll (1975) #05. THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972) #06. THE CONVERSATION (1974) #07. NARROW MARGIN (1990) #08. MAROONED (1969) #09. PRIME CUT (1972) #10. NIGHT MOVES (1975) #11. THE HUNTING PARTY (1971) #12. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974) #13. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967) #14. A BRIDGE TOO FAR (1977) #15. MARCH OR DIE (1977) #16. HOOSIERS (1986) #17. BAT 21 (1988) #18. THE QUICK AND THE DEAD (1995) #19. LUCKY LADY (1977) #20. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
Followed by these 10 Runners-up...
#21. SCARECROW (1973) #22. UNCOMMON VALOR (1983) #23. MISSISSIPPI BURNING (1988) #24. THE PACKAGE (1989) #25. COMPANY BUSINESS (1991) #26. CRIMSON TIDE (1995) #27. UNDER FIRE (1983) #28. SUPERMAN lV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)... PS: I know it's a "HOT MESS"... BUT, it's a "Guilty Pleasure" of mine! #29. THE INVADERS - TV Series episode "The Spores" (1967) #30. I SPY - TV Series episode "Happy Birthday Everybody" (1968)
And out of ALL of these on my list, I regard the first six... SUPERMAN 1 & 2, THE FRENCH CONNECTION 1 & 2, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, and THE CONVERSATION... to be nothing short of cinematic juggernauts... Six of the greatest films EVER made!
A few of my PERSONAL FAVORITE Gene Hackman moments are:
In SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, Hackman saying "Otis, feed the babies", and yelling "Miss Teschmacher!"... Great!
Hackman in the WH Oval Office with Zod, Ursa, and Non in SUPERMAN ll... "Revenge! Now we're cooking, huh?"... Hilarious!
OF COURSE... Hackman's CLASSIC car chase with the elevated train in THE FRENCH CONNECTION... Unbelievable!
Hackman blowing away "Frog 0ne" at the end of FRENCH CONNECTION ll ... BANG - DEAD - ROLL CREDITS ... Perfection!
In THE POSEIDEN ADVENTURE, Hackman cradling the deceased Mrs. Rosen... "Oh, God... Not this woman!"... Heart-breaking... Screaming out, just before he falls... "How many more sacrifices? How much more blood? How many more LIVES?"... Powerful!
Hackman's office scene with Harrison Ford's evil Mr. Stett in THE CONVERSATION and the "tug-of-war" over the tapes... Intense!
BONUS: Hackman's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN blind hermit cameo... "Wait! Where are you going? I was going to make espresso!" He may have only been in the film for 5 minutes, but it was 5 minutes of "Comedy Gold!"
And on a soundtrack-related note... Many of Gene Hackman's films had some amazing musical scores... 20 of my favorites are: SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE and THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (Williams)... UNDER FIRE and HOOSIERS (Goldsmith)... PRIME CUT (Schifrin)... HAWAII, THE GYPSY MOTHS and TWILIGHT (Bernstein)... UNCOMMON VALOR (Horner)... MARCH OR DIE (Jarre)... THE FRENCH CONNECTION and FRENCH CONNECTION ll (Ellis)... THE CONVERSATION (Shire)... A BRIDGE TOO FAR (Addison)... YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Morris)... THE HUNTING PARTY (Ortolani)... NIGHT MOVES (Small)... COMPANY BUSINESS (Kamen)... THE QUICK AND THE DEAD (Silvestri)... SUPERMAN lV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (Courage/Williams)... "Good stuff!"
In February 2000, I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Hackman (EXACTLY 25yrs ago... Where does the time go?). He was doing a local book signing in my town, along with co-author Daniel Lenihan, for their first collaborative novel "Wake of the the Perdido Star" when it first came out... I got to exchange a few brief, pleasant words with Hackman, and also get his autograph... He was very nice, and pretty "cool", too!... What a thrill that was... (Here is a CBS news segment I found on Hackman and Lenihan from that time) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKHmfvYY1pI&pp=ygUbZ2VuZSBoYWNrbWFuIHN1bmRheSBtb3JuaW5n
Gene Hackman was one of the greatest movie stars EVER, with SO MANY great films and performances over his stellar career... What a fiery actor and passionate man he was.. .He seemed to LIVE his roles, not just play them... His acting, and the characters he embodied, was wide and varied... HOWEVER, having said ALL of that... For ME personally... Gene Hackman will ALWAYS be... first and foremost... Super-villain Lex Luthor, criminal mastermind, the Man of Steel's #1 arch-enemy... "OTIS, FEED THE BABIES!"
Mr. Hackman, thank you for all the happiness over ALL these many years... And in particular, thank you for that glorious day in 1978 when you made a 12yr-old "me" so happy for the very FIRST time... I think it's SAFE to say a marathon of your best films is soon to be in my IMMEDIATE future... But TODAY, I will "pick my feet in Poughkeepsie" in your memory... R.I.P., sir, and R.I.P. to your wife.
Gene Hackman was one of several American actors who was at his peak in the 1970s. It was an incredible time! Along with Gene Hackman, there was Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Roy Scheider, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, and several others who made the '70s such a fascinating decade for American film.
Mississippi Burning and Crimson Tide are my favourites of his. Especially the latter... some GREAT drama there with Denzel Washington (and everybody else, honestly). One of Zimmer's best scores too.
Mr. Hackman always brought a ferocious intensity to dramatic moments.
