Celebrating the late Gene Hackman in The Screening Room

The great Gene Hackman—a consummate actor by any standard—passed away recently at age 95. We’re taking a weekend to say thanks by showing a couple of his most interesting films: a lesser-known early gem from his ‘70s golden age, and his last great performance in 2001.

Scarecrow

Friday, April 11 | 7 pm

The Screening Room

1973 | U.S. | 112 minutes

Director: Jerry Schatzberg

Hackman’s favorite of his considerable body of work, this downbeat buddies-on-the-road adventure, stars Hackman (Max) and Al Pacino (Lion) as two drifters slowly making their way to Pittsburgh with the dream of opening a car wash. This being the ‘70s, things don’t go particularly well.

These two phenomenal, Oscar-winning actors are at the top of their game and the chemistry is a joy to behold. Both were coming off huge money-making successes—Hackman in his Oscar-winning turn for The French Connection, Pacino in a little family drama called The Godfather—but this film has a deeply indie, ’70s vibe that allows both actors to dig deep for some really rich emotional payoffs.

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The Royal Tenenbaums

Saturday, April 12 | 7 pm

The Screening Room

2001 | U.S. | 109 minutes

Director: Wes Anderson

This wasn’t Hackman’s last film, and it was far from his own favorite, but it was his last great film. And for all the tales of on-set frustration and culture clash with director Wes Anderson, it’s a remarkably seamless work, anchored by yet another sensational Hackman performance as Royal Tenenbaum, the utterly untrustworthy, yet somehow incredibly charming scion of the troubled Tenenbaums. Some 20 years on, it remains one of Wes Anderson’s finest films.

Hackman’s huge presence dominates the movie in the best way and keeps it from being too precious. The whole affair is a hilarious, touching, brilliantly stylized, studiously soundtracked study of melancholy and redemption—a fitting send-off for Hackman, one of the great actors of his generation.

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