Want to know the best Gene Hackman movies? How about the worst Gene Hackman movies? Curious about Gene Hackman’s box office grosses or which Gene Hackman movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Gene Hackman movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Do you realize that it has been sixteen years since we last saw a new Gene Hackman movie? Growing up it seemed like every movie either starred Hackman or Michael Caine. I find it sad that we might have seen the last new Gene Hackman movie. This page will look at all of Hackman’s 76 movies that he made over a forty year span….1964-2004.
Gene Hackman (1930-) he was nominated for five Oscars® for acting (winning twice) and eight Golden Globe® awards (winning three times). He first came to fame in 1967 with his Oscar® nominated performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde. He received his second Oscar® nomination for 1970’s I Never Sang for My Father. His role as Popeye Doyle, in The French Connection, won him his first Oscar® and solidified his status as a movie star. The rest of the 1970s would see him appear in the blockbuster hits…. The Poseidon Adventure, Young Frankenstein, A Bridge Too Far, and Superman. The 1980’s saw him return to his Lex Luthor role in Superman II, star in one of the best sports movie ever….. Hoosiers. He earned his 4th Oscar® nomination for Mississippi Burning and play the bad guy in No Way Out.
By 1990 Hackman started appearing mostly in supporting roles. In 1992 he won his 2nd Oscar® for his role in Unforgiven. The rest of the 1990’s would see many box office hits for him, movies like…..The Firm, Crimson Tide, Get Shorty, The Birdcage and Enemy of the State. In 2001 he appeared in The Royal Tenenbaums which looks like his last great role. He won the Golden Globe® award for Best Actor for the role, yet somehow did not get an Oscar® nomination. To date his last performance was 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport.
His IMDb page shows 101 acting credits from 1961-2004. This page will rank 76 Gene Hackman movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in theaters were not included in the rankings.
Gene Hackman Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Gene Hackman Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort Gene Hackman movies by his co-stars
- Sort Gene Hackman movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Gene Hackman movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Gene Hackman movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Gene Hackman movie received.
- Sort Gene Hackman movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
The Best of Gene Hackman:
Young Frankenstein (1974) Mel Brooks was on a roll in 1974, as he had two movies finish in the Top 3 in box office grosses. Young Frankenstein finished 3rd for the year, while Blazing Saddles finished 2nd for the year. Young Frankenstein was a parody of classic horror films. Gene Wilder played Dr. Frankenstein and Peter Boyle played the monster. The highlight of the film has to be Hackman’s blind hermit interacting with Boyle’s monster. Young Frankenstein ranks No. 28 on Total Film magazine’s “List of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films of All Time”.
Superman (1978) Gene Hackman would play super criminal Lex Luther in three Superman movies. Superman 1 is his biggest box office hit with over 600 million in adjusted for inflation dollars. Superman 2 (best movie of the franchise) is his third biggest box office hit. He would not appear in the third Superman movie, but he did come back for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Superman IV is probably the worst superhero movie ever made. But going back to Superman 1, it is also ranked as Hackman’s 6th highest rated movie according to critics and audiences.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Bonnie and Clyde was actually the second time Hackman worked with Warren Beatty. They first appeared in the 1964 movie Lilith. Bonnie and Clyde was a game changing movie. Its success motivated other filmmakers to be more forward about presenting sex and violence in their films. Bonnie and Clyde is Hackman’s 5th biggest box office hit, and earned him his first ever Oscar® nomination. Trivia….all five of the main actors in the movie would receive Oscar® nominations for their parts. Those five were Warren Beatty, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard and Estelle Parsons (she won).
Unforgiven (1992) Unforgiven is ranked #97 on IMDB’s greatest movie poll. Hackman won his second Oscar® for playing Sheriff Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood’s classic western. Unforgiven was nominated for nine Oscars®, winning four times, including the Best Picture Oscar®. Unforgiven is Hackman’s 10th biggest box office hit, but it is his highest rated film according to critics and audiences. Trivia…Hackman initially refused the part because he felt his character was too violent….Eastwood eventually talked him into playing the role, which turned out to be one of his best parts. Gene Hackman and Clint Eastwood would work together again when they both starred in Absolute Power (1997). Absolute Power was not as successful as Unforgiven but it is still a pretty good movie.
The French Connection (1971) Gene Hackman won the Oscar® for Best Actor in The French Connection. His role as Popeye Doyle is one of his most memorable roles. The movie was also nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning 5 Oscars®, including the Best Picture Oscar®. It is Hackman’s 7th biggest box office hit with over 248 million in adjusted for inflation dollars. The movie is well known for one of the most spectacular car chase scenes to ever be filmed. Hackman would return as Popeye Doyle in the very disappointing sequel, The French Connection 2.
Check out Gene Hackman’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
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Our family loves Gene Hackman movies. No surprise that Superman is number 1. He was a great Lex Luther.
Hey Sinea Pines…thanks for visiting my Gene Hackman hub…he was one of my favorites growing up…and you are 100% correct he was awesome as Lex Luther.
Bruce… I’ve always enjoyed Gene Hackman. My favorite roles are Unforgiven and The Royal Tannenbaums. Good work!
Hye Justin/PDX…thanks for checking out my Hackman hub…I really enjoy both Unforgiven and Royal Tannenbaums myself…I think his role as Royal will go down as his last great role….I never understood how the Academy ignored that role…as he won a Golden Globe for the performance but nothing from the Oscar people.
One of my all-time favorite actors! Thanks for posting this nice recap of his terrific career.
Hey Marcy….thanks for checking out my Hackman page. It is sad that he decided to stop making movies as I miss seeing new Gene Hackman movies. Thanks for the compliment and the comment they are both greatly appreciated
As promised in my comment to your 100,000 Views page, I came over to read this one. (Not via the link there, though … that took my to your Sidney Poitier hub.) Hackman is a great actor and one of my favorites. So many good movies on his list … those I like best include The Conversation, French Connection, Bonnie and Clyde, and Night Moves. Thanks for this review of Hackman’s career. And I would like to see him return as Sean Connery did.
Hey brianlokker. Sorry I had the wrong link…but glad you found my Gene Hackman hub….my telethon has worked as he has seen a nice jump in view in the last couple of days. The Conversation is one of my favorites, I actually think his character in Enemy of the State was the same character…although I know he was playing a different character. I have only seen Night Moves once and that was many years ago, and I can not really remember it very well. As for a return to movies, I do not think it is going to happen. He seems to be enjoying life away from the movies and now he is over 80…but he had a great career…thanks for the comment.
Gene Hackman is a fantastic actor & appeared in some excellent movies. Most people know & love “The French Connection” & “Unforgiven” but i’ve always had a soft spot for “Hoosiers” – great movie. Excellent work again, Cogerson.
Thanks gunnarsrud17….thanks for checking out my Gene Hackman movie page…..I have always thought he was one of the best actors working in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s….but sadly this hub has not been viewed many times. I love all three movies you mentioned….especially Hoosiers and Unforgiven….thanks for the comment and the compliment.