Caan Film Festival: An appreciation for an underrated actor

When people talk about the male acting giants of 1970s cinema, you normally hear names like Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and Robert Redford, but rarely do you hear the name James Caan.

Partially this is a problem of his own making. At the height of his career drug abuse and poor choices (he turned down leads in The French Connection, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, Superman and Close Encounters, just to name a few) sidetracked what should have been a dominant run as a leading man.

Today, he is probably still best known for his most iconic role, as the bombastic and temperamental Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, and perhaps by a younger generation of viewers as the cantankerous father of Will Ferrell's titular character in Elf.

A recent retrospective at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, NY took great pains to rectify the oversight of Caan, showing some of his best movies -- most from his reign as an A-list star in the 1970s. Last night I had the pleasure of watching one of his best performances (and films), the 1974 James Toback-penned drama The Gambler.

In the film, Caan plays an erudite professor who moonlights as an addictive gambler. The film is a fascinating character study -- you really are placed within the world of a man who is in the midst of a dark descent, and Caan never tries to make his character more sympathetic or soft.

Unlike a lot his acting peers of this era, Caan almost always played hyper-masculine, uncompromising characters, which shouldn't work but somehow does because of this honesty and intensity of his performances. It's part of what made his Sonny Corleone so striking, even though he enjoys far less screen time than Pacino's Michael Corleone.

James Caan in Thief

Sonny Corleone is an abusive, racist, ignorant and crude man -- but he has a good heart. That just comes across. He has a sense of humor, that comes across too. And he has the kind of sex appeal that you have to acknowledge, even if its begrudgingly.

In a way, Caan could never escape that role, even though he wasn't even Italian. And unfortunately, it's not even his greatest role -- that would be Michael Mann's Thief, which came nine years later. That film probably best exemplifies Caan's star appeal -- it's terse, efficient and thoroughly badass.

For Caan newbies, these are -- for my money -- the must see films.

Brian's Song (1971) - This TV movie, about the ill-fated Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo could have been just saccharine silliness, but Caan makes Piccolo such a warm and affable hero that you can't help but be moved when his life takes a tragic turn. Long hailed as men's favorite weepie, the movie works because of his believable work alongside Billy Dee Williams.

The Godfather (1972) - Caan also tested for Michael Corleone, but he would have been all wrong as a shy and quiet character who eventually develops his inner demon. Caan's Sonny is hot wired and ready for action from the very beginning. He's the movie's raging id -- his assault of the wife beating Carlo is an amazing case study in macabre audience wish fulfillment.

The Gambler (1974) - One of Caan's most intense and revelatory performances. He plays a totally reckless and hard man, he cuts and impressive figure even if it's a vicious one. I have never seen a film deal so effectively with this kind of addiction (with drugs and alcohol its easier to externalize, but with gambling its more internal). Caan should have been Oscar-nominated for this underrated treasure. And the ending shot is unforgettable.

Freebie and the Bean (1974) - An early prototype for the blockbuster mismatched buddy cop action movie, starring Caan as the loose cannon and Alan Arkin as his slightly more buttoned up partner. A raucous and proudly politically incorrect movie, full of car chases, elaborate crashes and cuss words. What makes it work is the unlikely chemistry between Caan and Arkin, who often improvised their dialogue throughout. Apparently, Stanley Kubrick was a big fan of this movie.

Rollerball (1975) - Caan was always a magnificent physical actor and he was uniquely authentic is action movie roles at a time when most star relied on easily spotted stunt men. This bizarre but entertaining sci-fi film -- which is set in a dystopian future where the whole world is captivated by an uber violent speed-skating version of rugby -- is a great vehicle to see Caan strut his stuff as a beefcake tough guy. I've never seen the remake but I can only assume it pales in comparison.

Thief (1981) - As I've said before this is the greatest part James Caan ever played. His character Frank feels like perhaps his most personal -- he's a desperate man, eager to make himself respectable with a normal family life. The real life Caan was fighting to reassert his dominance as a movie star in a period where his films had begun to over-perform and his reputation had suffered. The film unfortunately didn't prove to the comeback he needed, but it has since grown to be embraced as a classic.

Misery (1990) - That comeback finally came nine years later with his role opposite Kathy Bates in this critically acclaimed hit horror film. Ironically, Caan -- who spent a career passing on great roles -- got this part after much Hollywood's A-list turned it down. They figured that because his character (an author who's been crippled by a car accident and becomes captive by his number one fan) would be too passive, but they were wrong. Caan's athleticism and dry humor are used to devastating effect here and his clever underplaying works beautifully alongside Bates' broader work.

Bottle Rocket (1996) - In the last twenty years, Caan has moved into more supporting roles and the best of the early ones was a bit part in Wes Anderson's new film. His character, the avuncular and mysterious veteran criminal Mr. Henry feels like an homage to his performances as the consummate macho ideal in movies like Thief. He is relaxed, funny and smart -- something the real life Caan is supposed to be as well.