7 Classic Gene Hackman Movies You Should Go Watch Right Now

Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman is not only the first modern-day superhero blockbuster; it’s one of the few enduringly great superhero movies, and that’s due in large part to its ebullience. It’s just a fun, joyful movie, radiating classic comic-book enthusiasm and energy from start to finish. And Gene Hackman’s portrayal of Superman’s archnemesis Lex Luthor is an essential part of that. Here’s the key to Hackman’s version of Luthor: he really seems to be enjoying himself. He’s constantly delighted by his own evil ingenuity, explaining his nefarious schemes to Superman with obvious glee while Christopher Reeve, as the Man of Steel, looks on disapprovingly with that wholesome, Boy Scout stare of his. If anything, Hackman’s Luthor is only more fascinating today than ever, as so many of us feel the ways in which we’re at the mercy of oligarchs who view the world as their own personal plaything, something to be manipulated and destroyed for their gain, no matter the cost to millions of others. — Carolyn Petit

Where to stream it: Max

The 1970s are when Hackman established himself as not just a great actor but a movie star capable of carrying a film on his own, with acclaimed performances like his Oscar-winning turn in The French Connection and his legendary work as surveillance expert Henry Caul in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation. But my favorite Hackman film from this period is Night Moves, a morally slippery, sun-dappled Hollywood neo-noir from Bonnie and Clyde director Arthur Penn. Hackman is at his most enjoyably complex here as Harry Moseby, a football player turned private eye who’s hired by an aging actress to find her missing teenage daughter Delly, played by Melanie Griffith. As his pursuit of Delly takes him into the shadowy underbelly of the film industry and beyond, Moseby is also coming apart at the seams due to problems in his marriage. Be warned, you won’t find a traditional whodunit and a conventionally satisfying conclusion here; Night Moves has other things on its mind. It’s a distinctly 1970s American film—disillusioned, ambiguous, rich with character and fantastic dialogue—and it demonstrates why Hackman was an ideal actor for this fascinating era in American cinema. — Carolyn Petit

Where to stream it: TCM

The Birdcage is a ‘90s comedy starring Nathan Lane and Robin Williams as a gay couple in Miami who pretend to be straight to deceive a conservative senator in order to help their son who is trying to marry the politician’s daughter. It’s a very funny movie that feels ahead of its time in a lot of ways for how it depicts LGBTQ people.

And here’s how good Gene Hackman is at acting and being funny: He’s able to stand out and deliver a memorable performance in a movie starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. That’s impressive. So many other actors playing (literally) the straight man in a wacky comedy like The Birdcage would have disappeared and been overshadowed completely by the zany leads and their incredible onscreen chemistry. But not Hackman, who plays Republican senator Kevin Keely perfectly as a believably grumpy conservative who’s put into a very uncomfortable situation and comes out the other side somewhat changed. And Hackman’s comedic chops are on full display, especially in scenes featuring Lane. Track this one down and watch it ASAP. — Zack Zwiezen

Where to stream it: Prime Video

Few things in cinema are as pleasurable as seeing two towering actors butt heads in a film with a whip-smart script that gives their clash real stakes. The actors have never been better, and the stakes never higher, than they are in Crimson Tide, Tony Scott’s 1995 submarine-set pressure cooker in which a commanding officer (Hackman) and his executive officer (Denzel Washington) clash, with a potential nuclear crisis hanging in the balance. Crimson Tide is irresistibly compelling for so many reasons: the complexity of its lead performances, the circumstances that drive these men to collide, and the intelligence with which it engages with the nuclear threat. As Washington’s character puts it at one point, “In the nuclear world, the true enemy can’t be destroyed…in my humble opinion, in the nuclear world, the true enemy is war itself.” Hackman is pitch-perfect as the cigar-chomping human embodiment of the opposition to this idea, an old-school navy officer with the capacity to kick off World War III. — Carolyn Petit

Where to stream it: Rent or buy it

I’m not a big sports movie guy, but I’m a big fan of Hoosiers, and a big reason for that is Gene Hackman’s powerful performance as high school basketball coach Norman Dale. What I particularly like about Hackman in Hoosiers is that he nails the power and ferocity that tough coaches in high school tend to have, but he never seems like a jerk. In fact, he’s someone you root for just as much as the team of misfits he’s leading. Even if you don’t watch basketball or like sports, check out Hoosiers to see Hackman doing what he does best and proving that he was one of the greats. — Zack Zwiezen

Where to stream it: Rent or buy it

Will Smith in his prime opposite a seasoned, paranoid Gene Hackman made Enemy of the State an instant classic. Hackman has always felt like an old actor, but he rarely got to play one. Enemy of the State let him school an electric Smith on the emerging surveillance state with grizzled wisdom and curmudgeonly charm. Plus the movie’s MacGuffin is a digital camera recording wedged into a Game Boy, because all technology is fun and whimsical until it accidentally implicates you in a conspiratorial coverup. — Ethan Gach

Where to stream it: Rent or buy it

The Royal Tenenbaums isn’t director Wes Andersen’s best movie but it’s certainly his most watchable, possibly because Hackman forced him to make it that way. It was his third-to-last movie appearance and one of his most charismatic, letting him seamlessly shift between humor and drama, dry, sardonic line deliveries and heartfelt admissions that land like an ocean liner. Hackman reportedly hated making the movie, which probably made it all the better. — Ethan Gach

Where to stream it: Rent or buy it