It has been a long time since Gene Hackman burst onto the screen, but for Baby Boomers who grew up in the 70s, he was quite the man. Hackman’s exceptional work transcends all generations and should not be forgotten.
A self-professed Boomer, two of Hackman’s films stand out in my mind: a blockbuster (“The French Connection”) and a relatively obscure art house movie (“The Conversation”).
“The French Connection” was released in 1971. It resulted in Hackman’s first Academy Award for Best Actor. A sequel (French Connection II) was released 4 years later.
Directed by William Friedkin, “The French Connection” is a police drama based on a true story about the transatlantic pursuit of a suave French heroin smuggler by two tough NYC detectives in the Narcotics Bureau.
“(Shaking up all the confiscated drugs into a soggy mess in a pint glass before pouring it out on the bar) Anybody want a milkshake?” (Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle played by Gene Hackman, “The French Connection”)
The movie has a gritty visual style and a car chase sequence that is every bit as thrilling as Steve McQueen’s classic 1968 Mustang vs. Charger pursuit scene through the streets of San Francisco in “Bullitt”.
In these times, it is interesting to note that Friedkin’s parents emigrated to the United States from Ukraine. Billy, who barely graduated from high school, started his career in the mail room of a local Chicago TV station. “The French Connection” cost $1.8 million to make, and grossed $51.7 million.
“The Conversation” came out in 1974. Like “The French Connection”, its budget was small - $1.6 million; however, the film only ever brought in $4.8 million. Gene Hackman starred alongside relatively unknown actors at the time, including John Cazale, Frederic Forrest, Robert Duvall, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr and Cindy Williams – all of whom went on to develop amazing careers.
Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Hackman plays Harry Caul, an independent surveillance expert who is hired to record a seemingly mundane conversation, which turns out to be nothing but. In the end, Caul, a loner, becomes a victim of his own craft.
I love the jazz piano film score, written by David Shire, who was Coppola’s brother-in-law.
Some have described “The Conversation” as a palate cleanser after Coppola’s unexpected success co-writing and directing “The Godfather”, others view “The Conversation” as an art film. I don’t care what you call it: it’s a fantastic film.
Why was “The Conversation” a flop? Perhaps it was not adequately promoted. Could also be that the topic of spying on someone was simply not sufficiently exciting for action-crazed American audiences. “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (2011) suffered the same commercial disappointment domestically, despite being one of the best spy movies ever.
If you only have two Gene Hackman films to watch, these are the ones I recommend. In them you will be treated to “a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity”, as described in an Instagram post by Francis Ford Coppola after Hackman’s unexplained death last week.
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