Gene Hackman, one of the greatest American actors of last century, died under mysterious circumstances in his New Mexico home. The actor was 95 and had not been seen in public life for many years.
Hackman won two Academy Awards and was nominated for three more. He won three BAFTA Awards.
He had a long and rich career, playing leading and supporting roles in many Hollywood films.
Aseem Chhabra lists 10 of his must watch films.
Alas, one of his best films, The Conversation (1974), is not available on OTT but I would urge readers to seek out this brilliant political thriller by Francis Ford Coppola that examines secret surveillance and paranoia in our society.
The French Connection (1971)
Where to watch: Rent for Rs 119 on Amazon Prime.
IMAGE: Gene Hackman in The French Connection.
In his Best Actor Oscar-winning performance, Hackman plays a New York Police Department detective, who, during a routine investigation, stumbles upon a heroin smuggling ring from France.
Directed by William Friedkin, The French Connection received four other Oscars, including one for Best Picture. The film has one of the best car chase scenes shot in a Hollywood film.
Scarecrow (1973)
Where to watch: Rent for Rs 119 on Amazon Prime
IMAGE: Gene Hackman and Al Pacino in Scarecrow.
Starring a young Al Pacino (fresh out of The Godfather) and Hackman, Scarecrow has a feel of non-studio American indie films.
The two vagabonds (Pacino and Hackman) are on a road trip from California to Pennsylvania, with plans to start a car wash business in Pittsburgh.
They end up taking detours, as their personal tragic lives unravel.
Superman (1978)
Where to watch: Rent for Rs 119 on Amazon Prime
IMAGE: Gene Hackman in Superman.
In the first of the Superman films starring the late Christopher Reeves, Hackman played the villain Lex Luther, but with a comic tone. He would repeat the role in Superman II (1980) and Superman IV (1987).
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian had this to say about Hackman’s first turn as Lex Luther: ‘Gene Hackman is a tremendous Lex Luthor: the wisecracking villain and acting heavyweight that Superman deserved.’
Reds (1981)
Where to watch: Rent for Rs 99 on Amazon Prime
IMAGE: Gene Hackman in Reds.
Warren Beatty directed this epic ensemble drama about an American journalist John Reed who covered the October revolution and its aftermath in Russia.
The film won three Oscars, including one for Beatty as Best Director.
Hackman played Beatty’s New York-based editor Pete Van Wherry, who was unhappy that his young journalist had been influenced by the Russian communist propaganda.
No Way Out (1987)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
IMAGE: Gene Hackman and Kevin Costner in No Way Out.
No Way Out is a riveting thriller set in the confines of Washington DC’s political circles.
Hackman plays a US Senator who accidentally kills his mistress, who was also having an affair with a young naval intelligence office (Kevin Costner).
No Way Out had some amazing twists (the ending is shocking) and should definitely be watched for Hackman’s and Costner’s performances.
Mississippi Burning (1988)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
IMAGE: Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning.
In this powerful political drama Hackman and Willem Dafoe are FBI agents sent to Mississippi to investigate the killings of three civil rights workers who had gone there to register African American voters.
Hackman received a Best Actor Oscar nomination in an intense performance that puts him in direct confrontation with the Ku Klux Klan.
Unforgiven (1992)
Where to watch: Rent for Rs 119 on Amazon Prime
IMAGE: Gene Hackman in Unforgiven.
One of Clint Eastwood’s most celebrated westerns Unforgiven won four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and a Best Supporting Actor trophy for Hackman.
In an engaging drama, Hackman is Sheriff “Little” Bill Daggett in a town in Kansas where bounty hunters are looking for two cowboys who disfigured a prostitute’s face.
The Firm (1993)
Where to watch: Rent for Rs 99 on Amazon Prime
IMAGE: Gene Hackman and Tom Cruise in The Firm.
Based on a best-selling legal thriller by John Grisham, The Firm stars Tom Cruise as Mitch McDeere, a hotshot young lawyer who is his hired by a leading law firm.
Hackman plays Cruise’s conniving mentor Avery Tolar.
McDeere is offered major perks that leads him to discover that his firm’s top client is a Mafia family.
Birdcage (1996)
Where to watch: Rent for Rs 119 on Amazon Prime
IMAGE: Nathan Lane, Robin Williams, Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest in Birdcage.
In this hilarious remake of a hit French film, Hackman is cast as a conservative Republican senator whose daughter is engaged to marry an eligible bachelor from Miami.
But there is a problem.
The bridegroom-to-be has an openly gay father (Robin Williams in one of his best performances), who runs a drag club in Miami and lives with his flamboyant partner (Nathan Lane).
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Where to watch: Rent for Rs 119 on Amazon Prime
IMAGE: Gene Hackman in The Royal Tenenbaums.
In one of Wes Anderson’s finest, quirky, ensemble drama Hackman plays the role of Royal Tenenbaum, the eccentric patriarch of a family with three children (played by Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Gwyneth Paltrow).
In a supporting role, Anderson cast the late Indian American actor Kumar Pallana, as Tenenbaum’s butler, Pagoda.
My favourite scene in this wacky film is when Pallana stabs Hackman!
