Gene Hackman Movies

Gene Hackman in 1986's Hoosiers
Gene Hackman in 1986’s Hoosiers

Want to know the best Gene Hackman movies?  How about the worst Gene Hackman movies?  Curious about Gene Hackman’s box office grosses or which Gene Hackman movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Gene Hackman movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.

Do you realize that it has been sixteen years since we last saw a new Gene Hackman movie? Growing up it seemed like every movie either starred Hackman or Michael Caine. I find it sad that we might have seen the last new Gene Hackman movie. This page will look at all of Hackman’s 76 movies that he made over a forty year span….1964-2004.

Gene Hackman (1930-) he was nominated for five Oscars® for acting (winning twice) and eight Golden Globe® awards (winning three times). He first came to fame in 1967 with his Oscar® nominated performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde. He received his second Oscar® nomination for 1970’s I Never Sang for My Father. His role as Popeye Doyle, in The French Connection, won him his first Oscar® and solidified his status as a movie star. The rest of the 1970s would see him appear in the blockbuster hits…. The Poseidon Adventure, Young Frankenstein, A Bridge Too Far, and Superman. The 1980’s saw him return to his Lex Luthor role in Superman II, star in one of the best sports movie ever….. Hoosiers.  He earned his 4th Oscar® nomination for Mississippi Burning and play the bad guy in No Way Out.

By 1990 Hackman started appearing mostly in supporting roles. In 1992 he won his 2nd Oscar® for his role in Unforgiven. The rest of the 1990’s would see many box office hits for him, movies like…..The Firm, Crimson Tide, Get Shorty, The Birdcage and Enemy of the State. In 2001 he appeared in The Royal Tenenbaums which looks like his last great role. He won the Golden Globe® award for Best Actor for the role, yet somehow did not get an Oscar® nomination. To date his last performance was 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport.

His IMDb page shows 101 acting credits from 1961-2004. This page will rank 76 Gene Hackman movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in theaters were not included in the rankings.

Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman in 1995's Crimson Tide
Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman in 1995’s Crimson Tide

Gene Hackman Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.

Gene Hackman Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort Gene Hackman movies by his co-stars
  • Sort Gene Hackman movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Gene Hackman movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Gene Hackman movies how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Gene Hackman movie received.
  • Sort Gene Hackman movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.

 

Gene Hackman in 1971's The French Connection
Gene Hackman in 1971’s The French Connection

The Best of Gene Hackman:

Young Frankenstein (1974) Mel Brooks was on a roll in 1974, as he had two movies finish in the Top 3 in box office grosses. Young Frankenstein finished 3rd for the year, while Blazing Saddles finished 2nd for the year. Young Frankenstein was a parody of classic horror films. Gene Wilder played Dr. Frankenstein and Peter Boyle played the monster.  The highlight of the film has to be Hackman’s blind hermit interacting with Boyle’s monster. Young Frankenstein ranks No. 28 on Total Film magazine’s “List of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films of All Time”.

Superman (1978) Gene Hackman would play super criminal Lex Luther in three Superman movies. Superman 1 is his biggest box office hit with over 600 million in adjusted for inflation dollars. Superman 2 (best movie of the franchise) is his third biggest box office hit.  He would not appear in the third Superman movie, but he did come back for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Superman IV is probably the worst superhero movie ever made. But going back to Superman 1, it is also ranked as Hackman’s 6th highest rated movie according to critics and audiences.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Bonnie and Clyde was actually the second time Hackman worked with Warren Beatty. They first appeared in the 1964 movie Lilith. Bonnie and Clyde was a game changing movie. Its success motivated other filmmakers to be more forward about presenting sex and violence in their films. Bonnie and Clyde is Hackman’s 5th biggest box office hit, and earned him his first ever Oscar® nomination. Trivia….all five of the main actors in the movie would receive Oscar® nominations for their parts.  Those five were Warren Beatty, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard and Estelle Parsons (she won).

Unforgiven (1992) Unforgiven is ranked #97 on IMDB’s greatest movie poll. Hackman won his second Oscar® for playing Sheriff Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood’s classic western. Unforgiven was nominated for nine Oscars®, winning four times, including the Best Picture Oscar®.  Unforgiven is Hackman’s 10th biggest box office hit, but it is his highest rated film according to critics and audiences. Trivia…Hackman initially refused the part because he felt his character was too violent….Eastwood eventually talked him into playing the role, which turned out to be one of his best parts.  Gene Hackman and Clint Eastwood would work together again when they both starred in Absolute Power (1997).  Absolute Power was not as successful as Unforgiven but it is still a pretty good movie.

The French Connection (1971)  Gene Hackman won the Oscar® for Best Actor in The French Connection. His role as Popeye Doyle is one of his most memorable roles. The movie was also nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning 5 Oscars®, including the Best Picture Oscar®.  It is Hackman’s 7th biggest box office hit with over 248 million in adjusted for inflation dollars. The movie is well known for one of the most spectacular car chase scenes to ever be filmed. Hackman would return as Popeye Doyle in the very disappointing sequel, The French Connection 2.

Check out Gene Hackman’s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

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64 thoughts on “Gene Hackman Movies”

  1. I am a great admirer of his work and published a page recently mourning the loss of his presence on the Big Screen. (Gene Hackman, I Miss You!) Thank you for giving Gene his due

    Reply

    1. Hey KaisMom….thanks for checking out my Gene Hackman movie page….I have been surprised that this hub has not gotten much attention…I have done 217 pages and this one is my 212th most popular page….I thought it would do much better than that especially considering how awesome of a career he had….and I agree 100% with you…I miss Gene Hackman making movies….Thanks for such a nice compliment and I will be sure to check out your page on Hackman as well.

      Reply

  2. Clint Eastwood has said that he has tried to convince Hackman out of retirement to make a movie together, but Gene is firm.

    My favourite films of Gene’s in order:

    The Conversation-yes, I put this on top

    Bonnie and Clyde

    Young Frankenstein

    The French Connection

    Unforgiven

    Reply

    1. Hey Flora, I think if anybody could talk Hackman out of retirement it would be Eastwood….Eastwood talked him into both Unforgiven and Absolute Power…..you know Clint had a role for Hackman in the J. Edgar Hoover movie he just finished….or a part in the next version of A Star Is Born. I love The Conversation as well….I recently made my son watch The Conversation….he was bored out of his mind….I just do not understand the youth of today….lol.

      Reply

  3. Excellent article on Hackman, my favorite Hackman movie is Hoosiers, I can watch that movie over and over. Great information in a compact area.

    Reply

    1. Hey Dell, Hoosiers is a great movie, no matter how many times I see it……the final game is still exciting. Thanks for the comments.

      Reply

  4. ..the original choice for Popeye Doyle in The French Connection was Steve McQueen but he turned it down – Steve also turned down the role of the Sundance Kid beside Paul Newman ……. and yes I have always loved Gene Hackman – he can be a good good guy or a really good bad guy (spoken like the kid I am -lol) …I liked Gene Hackman in Coppola’s The Conversation – and my friend, kudos to you – you really know your movies and your hubs are like a labor of love …..

    Reply

    1. Hey epigramman…..McQueen turned down tons of roles…..besides the ones you mentioned…..he also turned down Close Encounters and Apocalypse Now. As for The Conversation….it sometimes gets forgotten as Coppola made it between Godfather I and Godfather II….but they all got nominated for Best Picture Oscars…..he is a great actor playing good good guy….or really bad guy….lol.

      Reply

    1. Hey ruffridyer…..he is a very talented actor….looking at his worst 5….the only that sticks out as a bad movie with a bad Hackman performance would be Superman IV….thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

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