Remembering Dennis Hopper

A blog about one of the true geniuses of cinema who passed away in 2010. In memory of one of the greats, ten films he either acted in or directed will be (concisely) under the spotlight spanning 5 decades.

The 50’s

Film and year: Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Director: Nicholas Ray

Co-actors: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo

In the early days Hopper was more trouble than he was worth. He managed to ruffle a few feathers and had to make do with this small part alongside his hero Jimmy Dean. Hopper thought he was untouchable as an actor until he met Dean, who , in turn, then mentored his huge fan schooling him in method acting, where he told Hopper that you just do something exactly as you would in reality rather than act it. Behind the scenes, Hopper had a relationship with Wood as did Ray; the two gents didn’t get on and Hopper was given no lines by the auteur. After Dean’s tragic death before the film was released and he became a huge star posthumously, Hopper’s faith in humanity was shattered. The young actor then took it on himself to join the actor’s studio under the legendary Lee Strasberg. It would take time for him to make his mark on cinema. He did manage to work with Dean once more on George Stevens' Giant (1956).

The 60’s

Film and year: Easy Rider (1969)

Director: Dennis Hopper

Co-stars: Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Karen Black

Hopper ingeniously impressed critics and audiences alike with this low-budget cult classic and revolutionised the film soundtrack, utilising the hits of the day and accentuating sensational scenes and the superb scenery with memorable music. In one fell swoop, he also spearheaded the arrival of independent film and really launched the road movie sub-genre. In truth, Roger Corman had beat him to it with Hells Angels on Wheels and such B movies paved the way for subsequent motorcycle pictures. Winning the Palm D’or at Cannes, Easy Rider gave Hopper the kind of success, where Universal pictures gave him carte blanche for his next movie.

The 70’s

Film and year: The Last Movie (1971)

Director Dennis Hopper

Co-stars: Peter Fonda, Sam Fuller, Kris Kristofferson, Dean Stockwell, Don Gordon

Paradoxically, Hopper’s art film that won the critics prize (CIDALC) at the Venice film festival was banned in Peru, where it was filmed, for blasphemy and Universal pictures, who helped make it, refused to distribute it. A mythical drama with incredible iconography and spectacular scenery. A film within a film, which uses on location filming to great effect in Chinchero, an Inca village in the sacred valley in Peru. A truly personal project that had already been written and lay on the shelf way back before Easy Rider was made. Extras (locals) were well paid and were oblivious to film methods, thinking all of the action was real such as when large amounts of cash were thrown on the ground, whereas, they were not real banknotes.

Film and year: Tracks (1976)

Director: Henry Jaglom

Co-star: Dean Stockwell

Without permission to film on a train, the star was rudely awoken in the middle of the night, asked to do scenes naked and enter restricted areas at the risk of getting shot. Hopper refers to this early Vietnam movie as ‘interesting’. He also mentioned that the director was crazy, (which, ironically, he has often been called by those whom he directed), and, despite having a very thick script, they improvised the whole film from start to finish. His partnership with Stockwell continued a decade later with ‘Blue Velvet’.

Film and year: The American Friend (1977)

Director: Wim Wenders

Co-Stars: Bruno Ganz, Sam Fuller, Nicholas Ray

Wenders’ neo noir contemporary classic is both highly original and utterly unpredictable. Hopper is on fine form as the freakish fraudster and cunning killer with a penchant for paintings, which is apt as the actor was a keen art collector and can also be seen in a biopic by Julian Schnabel (whose art he owned for real) about the artist Basquiat.

Film and year: Apocalypse Now (1979)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Co-stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall

Hopper plays a photojournalist 2nd in rank to Col Kurtz, who has lost the plot. As far as the second in command is concerned, the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. As a subservient spooked groupie who plays second fiddle to the man who utters ‘the horror, the horror’, madness rears its head deep in the jungle.

The 80’s

Film and year: Out of the Blue (1983)

Director: Dennis Hopper

Co-stars: Linda Manz, Don Gordon

Out of the Blue is bleak but beautiful, poetic yet powerful and punches above its weight. Hopper plays Don, an alcoholic, abusive criminal who is prone to acts of violence. Collectively, the excellent supporting cast as an ensemble goes above and beyond to deliver the goods. Issues such as failed parenting, incest, abuse and tapping into punk culture all make this a unique motion picture.

Film and year: Rumble Fish (1983)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Co-stars: Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Nicolas Cage

Once again, Hopper plays an alcoholic father. The artistry on display with black and white (and colour once) and the formidable cast make this one of his most enduring works.

Film and year: Blue Velvet (1986)

Director: David Lynch

Co-stars: Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern, Kyle MacLachlan, Dean Stockwell

Frank Booth is widely considered his best role. As a deranged, amyl nitrate (with mask) wielding addict who is obsessed with the lady in the pic above and a piece of blue velvet from her gown. Not to mention his fondness for Roy Orbison’s In Dreams, which features when Frank and Ben (Stockwell) lip sync the words as he goes through various intense emotions.

The 90’s

Film and year: Paris Trout, 1991

Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal

Co-stars: Barbara Hershey, Ed Harris

Trout is violent towards women. This is one of Hopper’s most realistic and disturbing portrayals. Made for television, Paris Trout, which is, at times, uncomfortable viewing, is nevertheless unmissable entertainment.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Incidentally, Hopper's last film is credited as being The Other Side of the Wind (2018) which had originally been an unfinished work by one of his great heroes: Orson Welles.