Dennis Hopper (1936-2010)

Dennis Hopper, one of the most insanely brilliant (a lot of times those two didn’t go together) actors that Hollywood ever brought to our attention, died this morning at the age of 74. We knew his passing was imminent as he had been battling prostate cancer for quite a while. Still, the fact that he lived as long as he did is astonishing in retrospect. The man was known for being a massive drug abuser, and was not always the nicest person to people. From what I read about him in the past, you have to be amazed that he lived through what he did, let alone 4 ex-wives and one he was in the process of divorcing.

Rather than spending a whole article praising or demonizing this crazy actor, I’d rather spend the time looking at the moments Dennis gave us onscreen that will stay with me for an eternity. Despite his troubles, he had a career that spanned several decades and for good reason. The impression he left upon filmgoers will be everlasting and go far beyond his death.

Blue Velvet – as Frank Booth

No list would be complete without mentioning his balls out performance as one of the most despicable villains ever to be inflicted on unsuspecting audiences. Dennis talked about how he used sense memory in the scenes where Frank gets high on Nitrous Oxide. When he puts that oxygen mask to his face, you things are going to get even crazier than they typically get in any David Lynch movie. Hopper amazed us as much as he scared us stiff, and he never held anything back in his portrayal. Not even once did he even try to make Frank Booth the least bit redeemable as we watch him perform sadomasochistic acts to an alarming degree to where his climax would be a combination of both pleasure and pain; the pain coming out of an uncontrollable rage that would never disappear from his mind.

It would seem criminal that he never got an Oscar nomination for his performance in “Blue Velvet,” but he was nominated that same year for his supporting role in “Hoosiers.”

True Romance – as Clifford Worley

In the Quentin Tarantino penned, Tony Scott directed cult classic, Dennis had a small role in a movie where no part could ever be considered that small. As Clifford Worley, he got to share some nice scenes with Christian Slater (giving one of his best performances here) who plays his son Clarence. It brought out a tender side to the actor that we didn’t always get to see.

But of course, what he really will be remembered for most for this movie is that brilliant scene he has with Christopher Walken who plays a gangster looking for Clarence and some drugs he stole from them. When Dennis lights up that Chesterfield cigarette, he shows you with his face that he knows he is not getting out of his cruddy trailer home alive. From there, he goes into one of the best monologues ever written by anyone let alone Tarantino in how he talks about how he loves history, and that he learned Sicilians were spawned by… Well, see the movie for yourself. But what I loved about Hopper in that monologue is how he takes the bigotry of Walken’s character and throws it right back in his face. It’s his ever so subtle way of telling Walken that he will never give up his son for these gangsters, ever.

Oh, and he gets to share a nice kiss with Patricia Arquette who plays Alabama, Clarence’s new wife.

Flashblack – as Huey Walker

I’m not sure if many remember this movie of his or not. It came out back in 1990 to practically no audience, and which I later discovered with my brother and his then girlfriend on home video. It’s nothing spectacular, but it’s a lot of fun to watch all the same. In it, Hopper plays Huey Walker, a hippie and former New Left radical who is being taken to trial by FBI agent John Buckner (Kiefer Sutherland, long before his days as Jack Bauer). In the process, Walker tricks Buckner to where he assumes his identity and escapes his custody. From there, Hopper plays on his past with a lot of relish:

“It takes more than going down to your local video store and renting Easy Rider to become a rebel.”

Watching “Flashback” may have actually been the first time I became fully conscious of who Dennis Hopper was. Seeing him getting all tied up with the Christmas tree lights and his captors plugging them in had me laughing hysterically. His bemused expression was never upstaged by simple electricity.

Seriously, I still remember watching this movie from a long time ago. I need to rent it again sometime.

“Once we get out of the 80’s, the 90’s are gonna make the 60’s look like the 50’s!”

Apocalypse Now – as an American Photojournalist

Now Dennis may have been as far gone as his nameless character was in Francis Ford Coppola’s infamous Vietnam classic, but you could never say that he was boring. His live wire act around Martin Sheen’s Benjamin Willard as he tries to convince him just how crazy Col. Kurtz has become always gets my full attention because I kept waiting for him to have some sort of nervous breakdown.

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse – as himself

While we’re on the subject of “Apocalypse Now,” let’s not leave out the documentary on the making of it as it is one of the best of its kind. It didn’t even get an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary; that’s how brilliant it was.

There were many memorable moments to be a witness to with this one. But I’ll never forget just how far gone he was when he was being interviewed about what got him involved with the movie. Even he couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. Then we flash forward to him years later being interviewed about his experience, and it’s like you are looking at a completely different person. Seeing him all calm and collected is a sight that we rarely see when we think of Mr. Hopper.

Red Rock West – as “Lyle from Dallas”

This John Dahl noir classic was not released theatrically because the studio releasing it thought that audiences would find it “boring.” WTF?! You never knew which way this movie would go as it went along. Hopper’s performance as a hit man was a gas, and one of the best in a decade where he was constantly cast as the villain. Seeing him trying to reason with J.T. Walsh’s character and ending up driving him crazy at the same time just shows you how powerful a presence he was without even having to raise his voice.

Land of the Dead – as Paul Kaufman

In George Romero’s fourth “Dead” movie, Hopper plays a man living the life of luxury while everyone else beneath him lives in poverty. With the writer/director commenting on the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor, Hopper complimented his vision by showing a man so greedy that he will shoot one of his rich associates to death even when he doesn’t have to. His response to doing just that leads to one of the film’s most darkly inspired moments as he claims to have done something really stupid, but still doesn’t feel all that bad about it.

Backtrack (aka Catchfire) – as Director and Milo

Hopper once again plays a hit man in this one, but this time he keeps from doing his usual crazy act for something more subtle. The hit man he plays here, Milo, ends up falling for the woman he is paid to exterminate, Anne Benton (played by Jodie Foster). This emotion of love is something so foreign to Milo that he doesn’t know how to process it, and seeing Hopper portray this reminds of you of how original his work as an actor could be.

I know that Hopper took his name off of this movie and that Jodie Foster doesn’t think too much of it either, but I found it to be entertaining fun even when the story became increasingly illogical. Besides, I’m a big Jodie Foster fan, and she can get me to watch just about anything she does.

Speed – as Howard Payne

During his time as main villain/antagonist of choice in Hollywood, Hopper did some of his most entertaining work in this action fan’s dream which basically can be described as “Die Hard on a bus.” Never one to play a one-note villain, Dennis gives us one that never acts all too seriously about what he does, and he delights in the chaos he has created for which he looks to earn a handsome ransom. “Speed” was probably his best bad guy work of the 90’s. If there was another villain that he played which was better than this one, then I must have missed it.

Inside The Actor’s Studio – as himself

Seeing him more or less freaking out James Lipton, the long time host of the Bravo show, made this particular seminar one of the real highlights of the series. Dennis could not contain himself during the main presentation, and it was fun to see him doing those acting exercises as they were taught to him by Lee Strasberg, But my favorite moment came where he and James discussed the making of “Blue Velvet.” Hearing Dennis talk about David Lynch ended up putting a whole new spin on the guy. Describing Lynch as a “a very twisted Howdy Doody,” Dennis went off on how he would end a take by saying “that was Solid Gold man!” But the best moment was when Dennis talked about how the word f**k was right there in the screenplay, and then David would say:

“Now Dennis, when you say that word…”

Colors – as director

I do have to include one of Hopper’s directorial efforts, and “Colors” turned out to be a sign of things to come in Los Angeles. During the Q&A period of his “Inside The Actor’s Studio” appearance, he talked about how the movie was originally set in Chicago and how he felt it would be better to set it in Los Angeles, to which the studio executives at Orion Pictures asked him:

“There are gangs in Los Angeles?”

Keep in mind, “Colors” came out at a time where the gang problem in Southern California was now where it is today, and Hopper himself lived close to an area where gang violence was constantly erupting all around him. Regardless of what many might say, Hopper does nothing to glamorize gangs in the city, and he captures the realm of senseless violence that a lot of young people foolishly get caught up in. As a director, he also gets great performances from the always dependable Robert Duvall and Sean Penn as police officers working their beat.

Whatever you may have thought of Dennis Hopper as a person, there was no denying that he was one hell of an actor. Throughout his career, he never failed to entertain us or take us on a ride we usually would not go on.

RIP Dennis.

-reported by Ben Kenber