BEST GENE HACKMAN MOVIES
“Bonnie & Clyde” (1967) Hackman made a big mark, and was Oscar-nominated, as the older brother and crime-spree colleague of gangster Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty, who also produced the film).
“The French Connection” (1971) Cementing his progression from supporting player to leading man with his first Oscar win, Hackman plays New York cop “Popeye” Doyle, determined to bring down a French drug kingpin’s (Fernando Rey) operation. “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972) Hackman leads the charge by survivors through a ship turned upside-down by a tidal wave in producer Irwin Allen’s adventure classic.
“The Conversation” (1974) Francis Ford Coppola’s intense drama casts Hackman as a surveillance expert who may have heard too much.
“Night Moves” (1975) Hackman reunited with “Bonnie and Clyde” director Arthur Penn for this fine, moody melodrama about a private detective seeking an actress’ missing daughter.
“Under Fire” (1983) Hackman, Nick Nolte and Joanna Cassidy all are excellent as journalists trying to do their jobs and stay alive in war-torn Nicaragua.
“Hoosiers” (1986) Hackman is outstanding as an Indiana high school basketball coach who faces his share of hurdles in trying to build a winning team. The drama leads a Hackman triple feature that Turner Classic Movies presents Friday, Feb. 25.
“No Way Out” (1987) A superb Hackman demonstrates strength and flaws as the U.S. Secretary of Defense, who tries to cover up a fatal encounter ... though his newest hire (Kevin Costner) also has ties to the victim.
“Mississippi Burning” (1988) The true story of several civil-rights workers murdered in the mid-1960s teams Hackman and Willem Dafoe as FBI agents trying to overcome their differences in working the case.
“Unforgiven” (1992) The Oscars finally recognized Clint Eastwood for his Western saga of an ex-gunman opposing a corrupt lawman (Hackman, earning his second Academy Award).
“The Firm” (1993) In the John Grisham story, a wonderfully sly Hackman plays the shady mentor to a law-firm newcomer (Tom Cruise), keeping an uncomfortably close eye on his protege’s wife (Jeanne Tripplehorn).
“Get Shorty” (1995) In a great role, Hackman plays a small-time movie producer who becomes a mentor of sorts to a mob thug (John Travolta) with Hollywood dreams. “Crimson Tide” (1995) Hackman is furiously good as an imperious nuclear submarine captain who clashes with his new second-in-command (Denzel Washington). “The Birdcage” (1996) Mike Nichols’ hilarious comedy inspired by “La Cage aux Folles” as a senator whose daughter (Calista Flockhart) is about to marry into a unique family. “The Chamber” (1996) Hackman returns to the tales of John Grisham to play the death-sentenced grandfather of a novice lawyer (Chris O’Donnell) trying to save him. “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001) Wes Anderson’s comedy-drama finds Hackman playing the patriarch of a family whose name may as well be “Dysfunction.” “Heist” (2001) A superb Hackman plays a veteran thief who isn’t sure who he can trust anymore as he staged one last robbery.