Dennis Hopper, 1936-2010: R.I.P, man

And so we say goodbye to Dennis Hopper .

Can I be the only film fan who is surprised that he lived this long? Hopper outlived most of the guys whom he broke into the business with. That list is long and varied and includes the likes of James Dean , Sal Mineo and Nick Adams .

If ever there was a candidate for dying young, it was Hopper. From his famous run-ins with Henry Hathaway , which derailed his Hollywood career for several years, to his legendary drug/alcohol binges in the ‘70s (another fallow period), Hopper came to be known as the classic Hollywood badboy and maverick. That he was able to survive his own bent for self-desturction and build an enduring career is a testament both to his survival instincts and to the opportunities that movieland offers to those who have something to offer.

And Hopper always did have something to offer. Not necessarily great acting, though he did manage to pull off a numner of impressive roles. But like others - Christopher Walken and James Woods among them - Hopper was always interesting to watch. Sometimes he remained in your mind long after much of the rest of the film had disappearedd into the mists of cinema memory.

Following, then, are a few of my favorite Hopper film performances. Not all of the films are great, nor would they work well for all audiences. But Hopper’s effect on them is inarguable:

“Apocalypse Now” (1979):As the unnamed journalist of Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War film, Hopper was less acting than channeling the coked-fueled person he had become. His wild, frenetic glorification of Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) is the perfect complement to Martin Sheen’s mostly stoic assassin.

“Blue Velvet” (1986): I’d quote some from David Lynch’s film, but I’d get bored typing the same four letter again and again and again and … you get the point. But that’s OK, because it’s not so much what Hopper says in the film that is important but the impression he makes. And his Frank Booth is … pure … evil.

“Easy Rider” (1969):Though nominated for Best Original Screenplay (Terry Southern was one of the authors), this Hopper-directed film always felt like an improvised production. And while Jack Nicholson almost stole the movie, earning his first Oscar nomination, Hopper’s sidekick role as Billy is one of the classic portrayals of the basic American rebel.

“Hoosiers” (1986):In a role that, just as the movie itself could have, fallen into melodrama, Hopper imbues his character both with a sense of desperation and dignity. He’s the town drunk, a man who knows the game of basketball. And while he can’t quite overcome his demons to take full advantage of the opportunity that Gene Hackman’s coach give him, he does manage a sort of redemption.

“True Romance” (1993): Though it would have been interesting to see what Quentin Tarantino could have done with his own script, Tony Scott was the one who got the directing job. The result is an overblown heist saga that has, at its heart, an amazing scene between Christopher Walken and Hopper in which Hopper’s character, knowing that he is going to die, goes out with a sense of style that is uncommon, even in the fantastic world of the movies. Yeah, the story he tells is racist. But that is the point: It’s his way of going out as his character Billy does in “Easy Rider” - with his middle finger fully extended.

Rest in peace, Hopper man. You lived life your own way. And those of us who loved movies benefitted from it. And will continue to do so.

Below : Dennis Hopper, man, from a great film, man.