Dennis Hopper’s five most underrated movies, according to Dennis Hopper
You have to give Dennis Hopper credit for truly fulfilling the demands of being a crazy Hollywood icon. He might have been an actor, but he embodied the hedonistic rock and roll spirit of the ‘60s and ‘70s to a tee, putting some of his guitar-playing contemporaries to shame.
When Hopper didn’t have his nose to the table or a bottle in his hand, he somehow found the time to write, direct, and star in some magnificent films, like the era-defining Easy Rider, which trod new ground for cinema at a transformative time for American culture. It was gritty and experimental, a bold imagining of America as a fertile land where the quest for freedom is bred, only to be viciously snatched away.
With unforgettable performances in everything from Apocalypse Now to Blue Velvet, Hopper’s career was pretty accomplished in spite of the challenges he faced in his life. Few could have survived the tumultuous years of addiction, but Hopper somehow emerged relatively unscathed (all things considered).
Yet, among his illustrious collection of career highlights are some films that he believed failed to get the credit they deserved, picking out the most underrated movies in an interview with Mustard. Of course, he had to mention Out of the Blue, which he directed and starred in after the original director, Leonard Yakir, needed to be replaced.
“Everyone hated the film, of course. Or, at least, everyone in America hated it. We got a pretty decent reception in Cannes. They’ve always been good to me there,” he said, explaining, “Incest’s the last great taboo, I think. You can make movies about more or less anything else, and no one will flinch, but you even suggest tackling that subject, and they’ll show you the door.”
Portraying the tragedy of a young girl’s life is exactly the kind of painful rhetoric that sits well under the branch of Hopper’s ability. It is certainly a difficult watch, though. There’s no hop here, but it is a beautiful and brutal movie, deserving its chance to be seen by so many more people.
The fact that it remains so underrated is perhaps because few people want to get cosy for a movie night then watch a tale of incest, but Out of the Blue explores this theme with grace and maturity, making for a complex and gut wrenching watch that delivers some incredible performances from Hopper and Linda Manz.
Hopper also wishes that more people appreciated Mad Dog Morgan from 1976. His memories of shooting the film are hazy, but he thinks it’s a fantastic piece of work. “I wasn’t in great shape back then – I’d wake up and start drinking rum and wouldn’t quit until I went to sleep. Things got so bad, I wound up being brought back to the hotel by the police most nights. The film’s great, though.”
Then there’s Acts of Love, or as Hopper puts it, “the movie where you get to see my junk!”, which was released to little fanfare in 1996. It was controversial in its exploration of an older man beginning an affair with a teenage sex addict, but Hopper thought it was boundary-pushing.
“So many films exist in a black-and-white world, but we were daring to say, hey, not every kid is innocent and not every dirty old man is that dirty. Okay, so it’s not the most popular message – the movie wasn’t a hit – but do you only go to see movies that uphold your world view, or those that challenge it? If you don’t go to the movies to think, you’re a prick,” Hopper said.
Another gem he believes to be underappreciated, although he admits it’s not one of the best films he has ever made, is Out of Season. The 2004 film allowed him to work with some actors he thought were great – Gina Gershon and Dominique Swain – but it didn’t find much success. It doesn’t even have its own Wikipedia page. Why did he do it? “When you’ve spent years sat on the sidelines, you’ll take every opportunity you can to get on to the field of play,” he explained.
Then there’s Tracks, which he called “a really strong picture.” The movie saw him star alongside Dean Stockwell, “who I’ve known since forever,” although Hopper’s role was initially written with Jack Nicholson in mind. “In 1977, Jack was one of the biggest stars on the planet,” he said, “Me? I was just a bum. But I’d put Tracks up against any film Jack made during that time – that’s how good it is.”
