Posted By Dan Greenfield on Feb 27, 2025 | 6 comments

REEL RETRO CINEMA: Mr. Luthor! Mr. Luthor! An APPRECIATION of the great actor, who has died at 95…

By ROB KELLY

Growing up in the 1970s and 80s and seeing lots and lots of movies, Gene Hackman — who has died at the age of 95 — loomed large in my pop culture imagination. The movies he appeared in could be good or bad, but he never delivered anything than a memorable performance.

Fitting his on-screen persona, Hackman quietly retired without fanfare or superstar ego. It eventually just dawned on movie fans that, hey, we haven’t seen Gene Hackman in a movie in a while! By then, he had moved to New Mexico where, according to reports, he lived a quiet but quite active life with his family, away from the Hollywood limelight.

In tribute to his legendary career, here are 13 great performances by Gene Hackman — starting off with the one of most interest to 13th Dimension readers:

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Superman: The Movie/Superman II (1978/1981)

I’m counting two movies as one performance because, as everyone knows by now, Richard Donner shot a large chunk of II and every scene of Hackman as Luthor. While the film version of Luthor doesn’t bear much resemblance to the green-and-purple-suited mad scientist seen in the comics for decades, Hackman’s riotous performance is a perfect contrast to Christopher Reeve’s earnest take on the Man of Steel.

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I Never Sang For My Father (1970)

“Death ends a life, but it does not end a relationship.” Hackman is perfect in an early movie role as a man dealing with his elderly, difficult, emotionally distant father.

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Prime Cut (1972)

A tough, ugly little movie, but getting to see Gene Hackman square off against Lee Marvin makes it all worth it.

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The Conversation (1974)

Hackman could be big and loud, like he was in 1971’s The French Connection, but he could also turn those dials down to a whisper, like he did for Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece (in between his two other masterpieces, The Godfather and The Godfather Part II).

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Young Frankenstein (1974)

As the blind hermit who befriends The Monster, Hackman shows up for a few minutes, completely kills, and then departs. Maybe the greatest “cameo” of all time?

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Night Moves (1975)

A great, underseen crime thriller, anchored by Hackman, who looks aged and tired beyond his years, like a lot of classic film noir protagonists.

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The Domino Principle (1977)

Warning: This is not a great, or even very good, movie. One of a series of unfortunate late-career misfires by my all-time favorite director, Stanley Kramer, I put this movie on the list because, without a charming leading turn by Hackman, the movie would be entirely forgettable. It’s a testament to how reliably good Hackman was, in everything, that this is worth watching at all. It’s all on Hackman’s shoulders.

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Reds (1981)

A passion project if there ever was one, Warren Beatty’s three-hour epic about the Russian Revolution is an engaging, engrossing tale. Beatty the producer was smart enough to populate it with big stars in small roles, like Jack Nicholson, Maureen Stapleton, and Hackman, who isn’t in the film much, but sizzles when he is.

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Eureka (1983)

Confession: I have not seen his movie! But Gene Hackman working with the great, delightfully odd Nicolas Roeg, playing an eccentric Arctic prospector? One thing I can guarantee, sight unseen: This movie will not be boring.

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Crimson Tide (1995)

Great pulpy fun, with Hackman doing a modern take on Captain Queeg.

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The Birdcage (1996)

Hackman was such a consummate dramatic actor that it was so easy to forget how funny he could be. I can only imagine the risk he knew he was taking, ending the film in drag, but it works.

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Twilight (1998)

Some movies are worth seeing just for the cast, Luckily, Twilight is a delightful, low-key thriller, and you get to watch Hackman, Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, James Garner, and a young Reese Witherspoon mix it up.

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The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

In one of his final performances, Hackman is hilariously salty as the paterfamilias of the eccentric and troubled Tenenbaum family.

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There are, of course, many, many more great Hackman performances to enjoy (The French Connection! Bonnie and Clyde! Hoosiers! Unforgiven! Get Shorty!). He left behind a body of work nearly unmatched in Hollywood history.

Even though it seemed highly unlikely Hackman would come out of retirement to do another movie, I wasn’t the only one who held out hope that maybe, just maybe, the right script would land on his desk and he’d appear on the silver screen once again.

It’s sad to think that will never happen now, but as the above list shows, he already did so much.

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MORE

— SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE Turns 45: Celebrating the Ultimate MAN OF STEEL. Click here.

— 1981’s SUPERMAN II: A Euphoric, Enduring Classic. Click here.

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ROB KELLY is a podcaster, writer, illustrator, and film commentator. You can find his work at robkellycreative.com.