With a career that spanned five decades and saw him feature in such timeless classics asThe French Connection,The Conversation, andMississippi Burning, the late greatGene Hackmanis nothing short of one of the biggest and most intriguing actors of the past 50 years. While he became known for his impact in searing dramas, his prowess extended to multiple genres, including comedies, legal thrillers, and major blockbusters. His commitment to Western movies is a defining component of his career as well.
Consisting of everything from Oscar-winning sensations to cult classics and even to misunderstood movies that were initially maligned upon release, Hackman appeared in a total of seven Western flicks throughout his career. Not all of them are bona fide masterpieces, but they are all worth seeing if only to acknowledge the enthralling gravitas Hackman brought to every single one of his performances.This list will rank every Gene Hackman Western moviebased on their quality, Hackman’s performance, and the importance they had on his overall career.
7’The Hunting Party' (1971)
Directed by Don Medford
The first Western that Gene Hackman ever appeared in,The Hunting Party, was released in 1971, a year after his major breakthrough with his Oscar-nominated performance inI Never Sang for My Father. While it was another step towards stardom for Hackman, especially given the popularity of Westerns at the time, the ill-fated genre flickdidn’t quite live up to expectations. However, it does still excel at showcasing Hackman’s talents in unsavory and violent roles.
It follows Frank Calder (Oliver Reed), a dashing outlaw who abducts Melissa Ruger (Candice Bergen) when he mistakes her for a schoolteacher and hopes she can help him learn how to read. Hackman co-stars as Brandt Ruger, Melissa’s vile and sexually abusive husband whose efforts to reclaim his wife turn brutally violent when he discovers she has fallen in love with her captor.The Hunting Partyistone-deaf and self-serious, mistaking graphic violence for thematic depth. That being said, it isa fine presentation of Hackman at his villainous best, and it could appeal to Western admirers who crave raw violence over all else in their genre forays.
The Hunting Party
6’Wyatt Earp' (1994)
Directed by Larence Kasdan
Despite its admirable ambition as a biographical epic based on the life of the famed titular lawman,Wyatt Earpproved to be anunwieldy misfire that was both a box office failure and a critical disaster.StarringKevin Costneras Earp, the monumental 190-minute Western follows the gunslinger’s journey from being a young farm boy in Iowa to becoming a renowned U.S. Marshall and eventually to his time in the town of Tombstone, Arizona, including the O.K. Corral shootout.
While the cast is impressive, and there are glimpses of directorial brilliance fromLawrence Kasdan, thefilm is simply too long-windedto immerse viewers for extended periods. Its faults were perhaps exacerbated by the popularity ofTombstone, which was released just six months prior and focused on many of the same characters and events. Regardless,Hackman still ensures that his time on screen is compellingthrough his performance as Nicholas Porter Earp, Wyatt’s father, who instilled in him his values of family and justice from an early age.
Wyatt Earp
5’Zandy’s Bride' (1974)
Directed by Joe Troell
Alongside such classics asThe ConversationandYoung Frankenstein,Zandy’s Bridewas the third film Hackman featured in 1974. It has perhaps understandably been somewhat forgotten compared to the other two films, but the Western drama still has something to offer fans of the genre. Hackman stars as Zandy Allan, a hard-working rancher whose desperate need for a hired hand sees him send away for a mail-order bride. While he is initially disappointed by Hanna Lund (Liv Ullmann), a Swedish woman who is notably older than she claimed to be, the pair soon learn how to cooperate amid the harsh working conditions.
Aconfined character study with an interest in gender politicsthat was well ahead of its time,Zandy’s Brideis a reserved yet intriguing Western that, in lieu of cowboys and shootouts, exploresthe hardships faced by ordinary people in the Old West. While it doesn’t quite contend as one of his greatest movies, it is stillan underrated, albeit flawed, gem of Hackman’s filmographythat lovers of the setting of Western stories would be well advised to seek out.
Zandy’s Bride
4’Geronimo: An American Legend' (1993)
Directed by Walter Hill
While a divisive film upon release,Geronimo: An American Legendhas gradually come to be held in higher regard overtime courtesy of its astonishing imagery, mindfulness, and the fact that it has beenwidely celebrated by Native Americansas an honest and thoughtful exploration of the famed Apache leader. The biographical Western dramatizes the Apache Wars, focusing on 1st Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood’s(Jason Patric) efforts to convinceGeronimo(Wes Studi) to surrender.
Hackman delivers a striking supporting performance as Brigadier General George Crook, a superior officer of Gatewood who has nothing but admiration for Geronimo and the Apaches and even ends up being the man Geronimo initially surrenders to. Despite bombing at the box office upon release,Geronimo: An American Legendhas endured asa thought-provoking historical Western. It marries its sweeping visuals and arresting grandiosity with arich thematic focus on the mistreatment of Native Americansto deliver a mature and meaningful viewing experience that was too hastily dismissed by both audiences and critics.
Geronimo: An American Legend
Directed by Sam Raimi
While it may be a jarring Western, particularly for lovers of traditionalism within the genre,The Quick and the Deadis wildly entertainingand undeniably compelling. Imbued with directorSam Raimi’s eccentric stylistic flourishes and boisterous camera movements, it isa high-octane display of unconventional cowboy funthat brings a refreshing air of spontaneity to what is a largely familiar revenge story. It follows female gunslinger Ellen “The Lady” McKenzie (Sharon Stone) as she arrives in Redemption to avenge her father by killing John Herod (Hackman), a once ruthless outlaw who is now the town’s mayor. Her vendetta sees her enlist in a deadly shooting contest against several other notorious gunfighters.
There is a certain vibrancy nestled withinThe Quick and the Dead’s stylized lunacy, one that soars through Raimi’s genre-bending flamboyance and his obvious inspiration from theSergio Leonespaghetti Westerns.Hackman’s villainy is a gleefully wickedexpansion of this. Even within such a star-studded cast, his presence in the role of Herod marks an eye-catching highlight of the quirky Western gem.The Quick and the Deadwould bethe last of Hackman’s performances in Western cinema.
The Quick and the Dead
2’Bite the Bullet' (1975)
Directed by Richard Brooks
A Western drama with an undertone of sports drama that actually thrives as a celebration of diversity and philosophical freedom in America,Bite the Bulletisa criminally underrated treat of Western cinemain the ’70s and anoverlooked gem of Hackman’s filmography. Based on true events, it focuses on a 700-mile cross-country horse race with a winner-take-all prize of $2,000 that occurred in 1906. While the fifteen participants—including two Rough Riders, a retired prostitute, a sickly cowboy, a gritty kid, a sporting English gentleman, and a Mexican with a toothache—start as spiteful rivals, the course of the race sees many of them forming unlikely bonds as their prejudices and beliefs are challenged.
While visually astounding and equipped with the usual miscreants that populate many Western stories,Bite the Bulletrecontextualizes the genre’s tropesby focusing on such themes as racism, sportsmanship, media misinformation, and camaraderie, all at a time when the Wild West was coming to an end.Hackman is typically brilliantas he shares the screen withJames Coburn, with the actors co-starring as two Rough Riders having to balance their friendship against their desire to win the race and claim the prize.
Bite the Bullet
1’Unforgiven' (1990)
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Not only the best Western Gene Hackman ever appeared in but also one of the greatest pictures the genre has ever seen,Unforgivenis ascathing revisionist Western that deconstructs the myth the genre propelswith both brutality and brilliance. It follows theonce-notorious outlaw Will Munny (Clint Eastwood)as he teams up with an old ally and a boastful young gunslinger to hunt down a bounty placed on a cowboy who slashed a prostitute’s face. Disapproving of vigilantism, Sheriff Daggett (Hackman) uses violence to deter gunslingers from pursuing the bounty, much to the chagrin of the town’s prostitutes, who want to see justice served.
In addition to being a captivating story of morality,Unforgivenalso thrives asa dissection of the glorification of violence in America. It is a bleak yet utterly arresting exploration of the legend that arises from the fascination of such violence and the brutal truths that are often evicted in the expansion and evolution of these tales of heroism. It sees Eastwood as both director and star at his absolute best, but he is exceptionally supported by every member of the ensemble cast.Hackman is particularly outstanding as the misguided and callous sheriffwhose aspirations for stability and lawfulness result in brutality and intimidation.Unforgivenstands among Hackman’s finest movies, earning him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and claiming Best Picture at the 1993 Oscars.
