LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� It鈥檚 a tall task to try to whittle down to five notable films.
One of the 20th century鈥檚 greatest actors, Hackman鈥檚 career spanned more than 40 years and a variety of roles, from tough-guy parts to comedic turns, playing heroes, villains and in ways that captivated audiences.
The two-time Oscar winner in his New Mexico home, authorities said Thursday. He was 95.
Any selection is inevitably going to be missing whether it鈥檚 as Lex Luthor in 鈥淪uperman,鈥� the private eye in 鈥淣ight Moves,鈥� or the sadistic sheriff in 鈥淯nforgiven.鈥� But everyone鈥檚 got to start somewhere 鈥� here are a range of his can鈥檛-miss performances, whether you鈥檙e revisiting as a fan, or lucky enough to just be discovering them.
鈥淭he French Connection鈥� (1971)
Jimmy 鈥淧opeye鈥� Doyle, the narcotics detective at the center of is perhaps Hackman鈥檚 most defining performance. Cold, amoral, relentless and obsessed, he鈥檚 a bad good cop, and you can鈥檛 take your eyes off him. The characterization 鈥渧irtually defines the attitude of 鈥楾he French Connection,鈥欌�� Roger Greenspun wrote in 1971 for the New York Times. 鈥淗ard-nosed, pork-pie-hatted, vulgar, a tough cop in the latest measure of a fine tradition, he exists neither to rise nor to fall, to excite neither pity nor terror 鈥� but to function.鈥�
WHERE TO WATCH: Available to rent on video on demand
鈥淭he Conversation鈥� (1974)
Just three years after 鈥淭he French Connection,鈥� and in the post-Watergate haze, gave audiences in 鈥淭he Conversation.鈥� Hackman is Harry Caul, an audio-surveillance expert in San Francisco who stumbles upon a murder plot. Consumed with guilt, trauma and suspicion, Harry, and the movie, are a product of the time, where neither God nor technology seems equipped to save us from ourselves. It鈥檚 also, as Roger Ebert wrote in 2001, simply 鈥渁 taut, intelligent thriller.鈥�
WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on The Criterion Channel and on VOD
鈥淗oosiers鈥� (1986)
In David Anspaugh鈥檚 鈥淗oosiers,鈥� Hackman plays Norman Dale, a basketball coach who failed at the college level and gets another shot at a It鈥檚 a movie about second chances and starting over, and it鈥檚 widely considered one of the , perhaps best remembered for that inspirational speech. But it works because Hackman gives Dale the complexity of a lived life, where failure and hope don鈥檛 have to be at odds.
WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Prime Video
鈥淭he Birdcage鈥� (1996)
of the 1978 French farce, 鈥淟a Cage aux Folles,鈥� is not a Hackman-centric movie, but it does show another great side of him as part of a comedic ensemble. He plays a conservative senator unhappy about his daughter鈥檚 choice of partner (and gay in-laws) in the aftermath of a scandal, when he鈥檚 trying to appease his right-wing supporters with a so-called family values agenda that does not include humanizing queer relationships. He and Dianne Wiest make a feast out of
WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Max until Feb. 28, and on Prime Video
鈥淭he Royal Tenenbaums鈥� (2001)
There are few more delightful sequences than watching Hackman as Royal Tenenbaum, the disbarred lawyer trying to reconnect with his estranged children through an elaborate lie, taking his grandsons out for a day of mischief 鈥� riding on the back of a trash truck, go-karting through New York, crossing the street on a don鈥檛-walk sign, shoplifting milk at the bodega, throwing water balloons at passing taxis 鈥� set to 鈥淢e and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.鈥� Well, that, and his chosen epitaph in this 鈥淒ied Tragically Rescuing His Family From the Wreckage of a Destroyed Sinking Battleship.鈥�
WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Prime Video
More notable Hackman films:
1961: 鈥淢ad Dog Coll鈥� (debut)
1964: 鈥淟ilith鈥�
1966: 鈥淗awaii鈥�
1967: 鈥淏onnie and Clyde鈥� (Oscar nomination, supporting actor)
1969: 鈥淭he Gypsy Moths,鈥� 鈥淒ownhill Racer,鈥� 鈥淚 Never Sang for My Father鈥� (Oscar nomination, supporting actor)
(asterisk)1971: 鈥淭he French Connection鈥� (Oscar win, best actor)
1972: 鈥淧rime Cut,鈥� 鈥淐isco Pike,鈥� 鈥淭he Poseidon Adventure鈥�
(asterisk)1974: 鈥淭he Conversation,鈥� 鈥淵oung Frankenstein鈥� (cameo)
1975: 鈥淭he French Connection II,鈥� 鈥淟ucky Lady鈥�
1978: 鈥淪uperman鈥�
1980: 鈥淪uperman II鈥�
1981: 鈥淩eds鈥�
1983: 鈥淪uperman III鈥�
(asterisk)1986: 鈥淗oosiers鈥�
1987: 鈥淣o Way Out,鈥� 鈥淪uperman IV鈥�
1988: 鈥淢ississippi Burning鈥� (Oscar nomination, actor)
1992: 鈥淯nforgiven鈥� (Oscar win, supporting actor)
1993: 鈥淭he Firm鈥�
1995: 鈥淐rimson Tide,鈥� 鈥淕et Shorty鈥�
(asterisk)1996: 鈥淭he Birdcage,鈥� 鈥淭he Chamber,鈥� 鈥淓xtreme Measures鈥�
1997: 鈥淎bsolute Power鈥�
1998: 鈥淭wilight,鈥� 鈥淓nemy of the State鈥�
2000: 鈥淯nder Suspicion,鈥� 鈥淭he Replacements鈥�
(asterisk)2001: 鈥淭he Mexican,鈥� 鈥淗eist,鈥� 鈥淭he Royal Tenenbaums,鈥� 鈥淏ehind Enemy Lines鈥�
2003: 鈥淩unaway Jury鈥�
2004: 鈥淲elcome to Mooseport鈥�
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
