Gene
Hackman,
one
of
the
greatest
American
actors
of
last
century, died
under
mysterious
circumstances
in
his
New
Mexico
home.
The
actor
was
95
and
had
not
been
seen
in
public
life
for
many
years.
Hackman
won
two
Academy
Awards
and
was
nominated
for
three
more.
He
won
three
BAFTA
Awards.
He
had
a
long
and
rich
career,
playing
leading
and
supporting
roles
in
many
Hollywood
films.
Aseem
Chhabra
lists
10
of
his
must
watch
films.
Alas,
one
of
his
best
films, The
Conversation
(1974),
is
not
available
on
OTT
but
I
would
urge
readers
to
seek
out
this
brilliant
political
thriller
by
Francis
Ford
Coppola
that
examines
secret
surveillance
and
paranoia
in
our
society.
The
French
Connection
(1971)
Where
to
watch:
Rent
for
Rs
119
on
Amazon
Prime.
Gene
Hackman
in
The
French
Connection.
In
his
Best
Actor
Oscar-winning
performance,
Hackman
plays
a
New
York
Police
Department
detective,
who,
during
a
routine
investigation,
stumbles
upon
a
heroin
smuggling
ring
from
France.
Directed
by
William
Friedkin,
The
French
Connection
received
four
other
Oscars,
including
one
for
Best
Picture.
The
film
has
one
of
the
best
car
chase
scenes
shot
in
a
Hollywood
film.
Scarecrow (1973)
Where
to
watch: Rent
for
Rs
119
on
Amazon
Prime
Gene
Hackman
and Al
Pacino
in
Scarecrow.
Starring
a
young
Al
Pacino
(fresh
out
of The
Godfather)
and
Hackman, Scarecrow has
a
feel
of
non-studio
American
indie
films.
The
two
vagabonds
(Pacino
and
Hackman)
are
on
a
road
trip
from
California
to
Pennsylvania,
with
plans
to
start
a
car
wash
business
in
Pittsburgh.
They
end
up
taking
detours,
as
their
personal
tragic
lives
unravel.
Superman (1978)
Where
to
watch: Rent
for
Rs
119
on
Amazon
Prime
Gene
Hackman
in
Superman.
In
the
first
of
the
Superman
films
starring
the
late
Christopher
Reeves,
Hackman
played
the
villain
Lex
Luther,
but
with
a
comic
tone.
He
would
repeat
the
role
in Superman
II (1980)
and Superman
IV (1987).
Peter
Bradshaw
of The
Guardian had
this
to
say
about
Hackman’s
first
turn
as
Lex
Luther:
‘Gene
Hackman
is
a
tremendous
Lex
Luthor:
the
wisecracking
villain
and
acting
heavyweight
that
Superman
deserved.’
Reds (1981)
Where
to
watch: Rent
for
Rs
99
on
Amazon
Prime
Gene
Hackman
in
Reds.
Warren
Beatty
directed
this
epic
ensemble
drama
about
an
American
journalist
John
Reed
who
covered
the
October
revolution
and
its
aftermath
in
Russia.
The
film
won
three
Oscars,
including
one
for
Beatty
as
Best
Director.
Hackman
played
Beatty’s
New
York-based
editor
Pete
Van
Wherry,
who
was
unhappy
that
his
young
journalist
had
been
influenced
by
the
Russian
communist
propaganda.
No
Way
Out (1987)
Where
to
watch: Amazon
Prime
Gene
Hackman
and Kevin
Costner
in
No
Way
Out.
No
Way
Out is
a
riveting
thriller
set
in
the
confines
of
Washington
DC’s
political
circles.
Hackman
plays
a
US
Senator
who
accidentally
kills
his
mistress,
who
was
also
having
an
affair
with
a
young
naval
intelligence
office
(Kevin
Costner).
No
Way
Out had
some
amazing
twists
(the
ending
is
shocking)
and
should
definitely
be
watched
for
Hackman’s
and
Costner’s
performances.
Mississippi
Burning
(1988)
Where
to
watch: Amazon
Prime
Willem
Dafoe
and
Gene
Hackman
in
Mississippi
Burning.
In
this
powerful
political
drama
Hackman
and
Willem
Dafoe
are
FBI
agents
sent
to
Mississippi
to
investigate
the
killings
of
three
civil
rights
workers
who
had
gone
there
to
register
African
American
voters.
Hackman
received
a
Best
Actor
Oscar
nomination
in
an
intense
performance
that
puts
him
in
direct
confrontation
with
the
Ku
Klux
Klan.
Unforgiven (1992)
Where
to
watch: Rent
for
Rs
119
on
Amazon
Prime
Gene
Hackman
in
Unforgiven.
One
of
Clint
Eastwood’s
most
celebrated
westerns Unforgiven won
four
Oscars,
including
Best
Picture,
Best
Director
and
a
Best
Supporting
Actor
trophy
for
Hackman.
In
an
engaging
drama,
Hackman
is Sheriff
“Little”
Bill
Daggett
in
a
town
in
Kansas
where
bounty
hunters
are
looking
for
two
cowboys
who
disfigured
a
prostitute’s
face.
The
Firm
(1993)
Where
to
watch: Rent
for
Rs
99
on
Amazon
Prime
Gene
Hackman
and
Tom
Cruise
in
The
Firm.
Based
on
a
best-selling
legal
thriller
by
John
Grisham,
The
Firm
stars
Tom
Cruise
as
Mitch
McDeere,
a
hotshot
young
lawyer
who
is
his
hired
by
a
leading
law
firm.
Hackman
plays
Cruise’s
conniving
mentor
Avery
Tolar.
McDeere
is
offered
major
perks
that
leads
him
to
discover
that
his
firm’s
top
client
is
a
Mafia
family.
Birdcage (1996)
Where
to
watch: Rent
for
Rs
119
on
Amazon
Prime
Nathan
Lane,
Robin
Williams,
Gene
Hackman
and
Dianne
Wiest
in
Birdcage.
In
this
hilarious
remake
of
a
hit
French
film,
Hackman
is
cast
as
a
conservative
Republican
senator
whose
daughter
is
engaged
to
marry
an
eligible
bachelor
from
Miami.
But
there
is
a
problem.
The
bridegroom-to-be
has
an
openly
gay
father
(Robin
Williams
in
one
of
his
best
performances),
who
runs
a
drag
club
in
Miami
and
lives
with
his
flamboyant
partner
(Nathan
Lane).
The
Royal
Tenenbaums (2001)
Where
to
watch: Rent
for
Rs
119
on
Amazon
Prime
Gene
Hackman
in
The
Royal
Tenenbaums.
In
one
of
Wes
Anderson’s
finest,
quirky,
ensemble
drama
Hackman
plays
the
role
of
Royal
Tenenbaum,
the
eccentric
patriarch
of
a
family
with
three
children
(played
by
Ben
Stiller,
Owen
Wilson
and
Gwyneth
Paltrow).
In
a
supporting
role,
Anderson
cast
the
late
Indian
American
actor
Kumar
Pallana,
as
Tenenbaum’s
butler,
Pagoda.
My
favourite
scene
in
this
wacky
film
is
when
Pallana
stabs
Hackman!
