The Jodie Foster movie Dennis Hopper hated
There are few figures in the film industry that have had half the career that Dennis Hopper was afforded. His early career saw him feature in the likes of Rebel Without a Cause and Giant before further appearances in Cool Hand Luke, Hang ‘Em High and True Grit cemented his position in Hollywood and beyond.
In 1968, Hopper made his directorial debut with Easy Rider, which remains one of the most significant movies to ever explore the nature of the counterculture movement of the 1960s. His acting continued in features such as The American Friend and Apocalypse Now, and he also directed The Last Movie and Colors.
However, for every triumph undoubtedly comes a loss, and Hopper suffered a big one in 1990 with one of his movies. In fact, he ended up hating the film so much that he distanced himself from it by releasing it under the pseudonym Alan Smithee, the name used by several directors when they want their names erased from the credits.
The film is Catchfire, starring Jodie Foster, Fred Ward and Vincent Price, with cameos from Charlie Sheen, Joe Pesci and Bob Dylan. It sees a mob assassination witness run for her life from town to town, all the while being chased down by a killer sent out to find and silence her for good.
Catchfire performed awfully at the box office and received terrible reviews from critics at the time. Two years after its release, it was re-released as a director’s cut with 18 extra minutes under the new name Backtrack. It was better received, and Hopper’s name was restored to the credits.
The original screenwriter, Anne Louise Bardach, once discussed working with Hopper on Catchfire and suggested that the director was “completely insane”. “[Dennis] directed me to make a really tight, taut thriller, and in the end, what he shot was a… vaudevillian caper,” she told The Express. “Working with Dennis was completely insane.”
However, the writer also admitted that Hopper had his talents, noting, “He had a beautiful eye. Dennis was not a narrative artist; he was a visual artist.” One person who did not see Hopper in such a balanced light, though, was Foster, who said that he was incredibly “difficult” to work with.
“I worked with an actor-director who was a major pain,” she said. “It was very difficult for me. Very difficult.” The film always looked to be destined for the VHS bargain bin, from the problematic production to the poor narrative and even worse delivery. When a movie’s director hates their own film, you can also see it’s not worth a watch.
