The Gene Hackman 'Conversation': Why I miss this big screen giant

It seems weird to categorize Gene Hackman as just a character actor (not that there's anything wrong with that) because he was such a huge movie star.

Gene Hackman in The Conversation

But he excelled so much in supporting roles and had so much range (he was convincing in dramas, comedies, action) that it's hard to pin him down with a particular persona.

For instance, he is introverted and tragically sad in Francis Ford Coppola's brilliant 1974 movie The Conversation (which I revisited last night) and he is just as great as the boisterous, scheming patriarch in 2001's The Royal Tenenbaums.

Sadly, he abruptly retired from making movies exactly 10 years ago, his last film being a forgettable political comedy called Welcome to Mooseport which was ostensibly supposed to launch a big screen film career for Ray Romano

I believe Hackman now writes historical fiction and is well into his 80s. He's one of those actors who always seemed middle-aged and up, and indeed the role that made him an A-list superstar, Popeye Doyle in The French Connection, came when he was already 40. Still, he was always a very vital, intense presence in whatever movie he was in. You never will see a lazy Hackman performance.

I miss this guy because he made consistently great, not just good, movies and I think there is still great work to be seen from leading men from his era (I'm talking to you Hoffman, Pacino, De Niro, Nicholson et. al.). Of course, being the least flashy of his peers, Hackman often is overlooked when people site their acting idols, but not with me.

Here are my top 10 favorite performances of his:

10) Heist (2001): Probably the best David Mamet directed film I've seen. As I've said before I am a sucker for films about thieves and this one is very tightly written and constructed. Hackman takes a cliched role, the crook out for one last score, and really elevates it.

9) Get Shorty (1995): Hackman, who often plays the heavy in mainstream movies, is hilarious in this satire as a wimpy director of trashy B-movies who runs afoul of crooks. Hackman is an underrated comic actor as evidenced by his work here and in The Birdcage and Young Frankenstein.

8) Superman (1978): Ever superhero movie villain (even Jack Nicholson's The Joker) owes a little bit to Hackman's devilish performance as the supremely self-confident Lex Luthor. He brought a light comic touch but also a little menace to a part that could have been silly but totally worked opposite Christopher Reeve's iconic portrayal of the Man of Steel.

7) Crimson Tide (1995): Hackman faces off with Denzel Washington over control of a submarine in this thinking man's thriller. It's an excellent showcase from two legendary actors at the top of their game. Hackman could play this kind of stubborn villain in his sleep but there is a real tension and righteous anger in his performance that is unforgettable.

6) Night Moves (1975): One of those great, overlooked and dark noir films from the 70s golden age of film. Director Arthur Penn (who also cast Hackman in Bonnie and Clyde) crafts a top-notch mystery and Hackman is excellent as the grizzled private investigator Harry Moseby. Some nice, surprising twists in this one.

5) Mississippi Burning (1988): An excellent film about the civil rights era investigation of the murders of three activists (two white, one black) in the deep south. Hackman excels as a cynical Southern cop who has unorthodox methods but gets results. He has a monologue on what breeds racism which may be my favorite explanation on the psychology of that kind of prejudice -- it's about class, not color.

4) The Conversation (1974): His most subtle and heartbreaking work. Hackman plays a surveillance expert named Harry Caul who's driven nearly mad by paranoia and an obsession with a job that he fears might lead to someone's death. Dark, moody and thoughtful, this is the kind of character piece that can't get made anymore so we should cherish the fact that at one point they were.

Gene Hackman in Unforgiven

3) The French Connection (1971): This is the movie that won Hackman his first Oscar and made him an unlikely movie star. Oddly enough he plays a violent, racist and ultimately unhinged policeman in this riveting and realistic crime thriller. That Popeye Doyle is actually appealing is a testament to Hackman's warmth and charisma.

2) Unforgiven (1992): Hackman won his second Oscar for his brutal villain Little Bill in Clint Eastwood's classic western. He is both darkly funny and terrifying in this film. I like how his character thinks of himself as noble and principled yet engages in savage cruelty when he feels it suits his purposes. And I love the moment when he says "I don't deserve to die like this."

1) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001): Pure, unadulterated joy -- that's what this performance is for me. This remains my favorite Wes Anderson film (although I love them all except for The Darjeeling Limited). The lead role of the "real son of a bitch" Royal Tenenbaum was supposedly written for Hackman and it shows. it's a pleasure to watch the way he bites into the dialogue with relish. And he's positively buoyant in scenes with each member of the eclectic cast.

So in closing: Come back Gene Hackman, come back!