The Best of Gene Hackman

                         

                                                                        Gene Hackman

                                                                            1930 - 2025

"I was trained to be an actor, not a star. I was trained to play roles, not to deal with fame and agents and lawyers and the press."

1)   Unforgiven                                      Clint Eastwood                              1992

2)   Night Moves                                    Arthur Penn                                   1975

3)   French Connection II                John Frankenheimer                           1975

4)   The Conversation                     Francis Ford Coppola                          1974

5)   The French Connection               William Friedkin                               1971

6)   Downhill Racer                              Michael Ritchie                               1969

7)   The Birdcage                                   Mike Nichols                                 1996

8)   No Way Out                                  Roger Donaldson                             1987

9)   The Royal Tenenbaums                 Wes Anderson                                2001

10) Scarecrow                                      Jerry Schatzberg                             1973

11) The Firm                                        Sydney Pollack                                1993

12) Bonnie and Clyde                            Arthur Penn                                   1967

He quit while he was ahead, but, still, the number of good to excellent performances he gave is astonishing. I could have easily added his performances in Young Frankenstein, Eureka, Enemy of the State, and Under Fire to the above list. His lack of a fixed image may have hindered him from vaulting into the stratosphere of superstardom, but he was always in demand and I don't think he gave a darn about the trappings of stardom. I also treasure his performances in Lilith, I Never Sang for My Father, Cisco Pike, The Poseidon Adventure, Bite the Bullet, Superman, Hoosiers, Postcards from the Edge, The Quick and the Dead, Crimson Tide, Get Shorty, Twilight, and Absolute Power.