Wasn't it a thing 20 years ago, or thereabouts, that at any time of day you could find a movie starring either Gene Hackman or Michael Cain playing on at least one cable TV channel?
And even beyond that Hackman fact, we used to have a lot of interesting movies all the time. Great stories. Actors whose faces moved and aged and bodies were normal. And then something went horribly wrong.
What do you mean not romanticize? Those WERE the golden years! Stability, great economy, peace, a strong middle class, a functioning society, great cinema, that feeling that the future was just around the corner with the promise of greatness...
A greatness that was corrupted, then stolen from us.
He was so freaking good in that movie. I love how he would go from joking with the rednecks to threatening within a single line. He looks like an ordinary person, but he played these total badasses SO well. The scene where he shaves Brad Dourif? Omg. Epic. “You’ve got a stupid smile.”
I've always said that what makes a great comic actor is the ability to say or do something absurd with complete sincerity. Charlie Sheen is an example. He could say the most insane things with complete guilelessness. Hackman was a master of this. The Royal Tennenbaums really shows this off.
How could he not? Peter Boyle was absolutely flawless in his character and the way they played off each other was hilarious. You can almost hear the crew crack up when he shouts out the door in the last shot. I saw it in the theater and I think that was my favorite part.
Read how he, Dustin & Duvall all started out together as starving artists. Never know when you see what will become true greatness having a beer together.
I remember Hoffman, on Inside the Actors studio said back in the day, in the studio days, Haviman would get flack from teachers because he was too natural and never SEEMED like he was acting
I remember that. I hope that he and his wife and their dog simply fell asleep and then woke up over the Rainbow Bridge together.
I like the picture of your cat, Frank. One of my first two cats was a polydactyl who looked a lot like them.
There are so many movies of his to love. Even when he played the bad guy he was someone you couldn't look away from. His voice was as unique as his delivery.
He wasn't someone who you could say they don't make them like him anymore because they never made them like him. He was a true original.
It seemed like I was seeing Gene in everything & then suddenly I missed him. I didn't know what had happened to him. Found out he'd retired. It was a disappointment, but he had to take care of his heart & not get stressed out.
I kept hoping some director would be able to lure him back for a small role because I have always loved his work. But admire him for retiring with dignity.
I lived in Santa Fe for 15 years and would regularly see him and Robert Redford on their bikes (not together) cycling around town. He was a lovely guy. Salt of the earth.
And even if they stunk, he was always brilliant. He never phoned it in or treated the material like it was beneath him, any actor that can bring the same energy to The French Connection and Welcome to Mooseport is a rare gem.
The 1970’s was truly a golden age of cinema and Gene Hackman to me is the standard bearer for that kind of gritty realistic acting from that era. Sometimes it’s just speaking the truth to romanticize the past.
Yes may they both RIP. Saying that what has happened to the national news that they don’t even mention this ? Not a thing this morning. Luckily they had time for Musk and getting all their prescriptions drug commercials in.
Comments
A greatness that was corrupted, then stolen from us.
I like the picture of your cat, Frank. One of my first two cats was a polydactyl who looked a lot like them.
#RIPGeneHackman
An easily forgotten movie, I mean not a blockbuster, but he was brilliant in it.
He wasn't someone who you could say they don't make them like him anymore because they never made them like him. He was a true original.
DOGE’s rampage through institutions has parallels in China’s Cultural Revolution
Jianli Yang
I survived Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party’s purges. What's happening now reminds me of the CCP’s Central Cultural Revolution Group.
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/elon-musk-doge-china-cultural-revolution-mao-rcna193562
Take care of yourself, Sir Michael.