“Apocalypse Now” (1979)
“One through nine, no maybes, no supposes, no fractions. You can’t travel in space, you can’t go out into space, you know, without, like, you know, uh, with fractions — what are you going to land on — one-quarter, three-eighths? What are you going to do when you go from here to Venus or something? That’s dialectic physics.” A textbook case of art imitating life, Hopper captures the heart of darkness perfectly as a manically brainwashed photojournalist who dances on a tightrope of poetry and psychosis in Francis Ford Coppola‘s epic, out-of-control and meditative descent into madness cum war film. The photojournalist offers the perfect introduction for Colonel Kurtz, the barbaric war icon he idolizes. His performance, along with Martin Sheen‘s epic breakdown in the film’s opening moments, capture two of the most memorable performances inspired by mental decay.
“Blue Velvet” (1986)
David Lynch‘s strange, surreal work has always been known more for its visuals than its dialogue, but the director’s most quotable character is certainly Hopper’s Frank Booth in “Blue Velvet.” Part of the credit goes to Lynch for creating such an insane, indelible villain, but Frank is all Hopper. The actor infamously said, “I’ve got to play Frank. Because I am Frank!” to get the part, and he brings a frightening authenticity to one of the most disturbing characters in all of cinema, a man who would send Freddy, Jason, and Jigsaw a-running. His character’s dialogue might have sounded silly coming from any other actor, but from his opening line (“Shut up! It’s ‘Daddy,’ you shithead! Where’s my bourbon? Can’t you fucking remember anything?”), Frank is an undeniably evil, infinitely watchable character. We’ll certainly raise a glass in honor of Hopper and Frank, and it’d be an insult if it were filled with anything other than Pabst Blue Ribbon.
“River’s Edge” (1987)
Picking up where his cameo as a fallen-from-grace, alcoholic bum of a father in “Rumble Fish” left off, this dark tale of a group of teens’ passive reaction to the aftermath of a friend committing cold-blooded murder features Hopper once again playing a vaguely possessed ghost of a man. Hopper is Feck, a blow-up doll loving, hermitic drug-dealer and friend to the teens. Hopper’s character stands in stark contrast to the disconnected, desensitized teens — an emotional man, Feck is still disturbed by a similar incident that occurred years earlier in his own life. While the film’s message may seem a bit overwrought twenty years later (the kids aren’t just not alright, they’re seriously fucked up), Hopper provides a performance as heartbreaking as it is disturbing, and lends a gravity to the proceedings that grounds the story and characters in an uncompromising reality.
“True Romance” (1993)
Quentin Tarantino recently said that up until the opening of “Inglourious Basterds” the best scene he had ever written was the “Sicilian” scene in “True Romance.” While Tarantino is arguably correct in assessing his work, where he’s wrong is in the execution. Sure, ‘Basterds’ opening sequence has the great Christoph Waltz, but “True Romance” tops that with two all-time heavyweights going toe to toe: Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper. And no disrespect to Waltz, but there’s really no competition; the Sicilian scene in “True Romance,” is brilliant, doesn’t go on for an overwrought 25 minutes, and Hopper is at his best. In the scene, Walken, a professional gangster, tries to extract the whereabouts of Hopper’s son Clarence (Christian Slater) who has ran off with his boss’s cocaine. Beaten, bloody and knowing he won’t survive this ordeal, Hopper’s character makes a choice; asks for a (last) cigarette, and begins to regale the Italian-American gangsters with the tales about the Moors, who conquered Sicily and raped and pillaged its women. “They changed the whole blood line forever…Sicilians still carry that n*gger gene.” The comment is said in a state of grace, and it is tantamount to defecating on their mother’s dining table. Their whole show and tell game in this Hail Mary part of the conversation is unforgettable and Hopper’s final line, “Now you tell me, am I lying?” is just breathlessly delivered. It’s really one of the most beautiful tête-à-têtes in contemporary cinema, wonderfully written and made utterly iconic by the two virtuoso actors.
