A Tribute to Hopper Co-presented by The Cinefamily, MOCA & Cinespia
Various Venues – LA, CA
7/25/10

Blue Velvet – 6:00pm
“I am Frank Booth.” – Dennis Hopper, to David Lynch, 1986

When most modern moviegoers hear the name Dennis Hopper, one explosive and devastating performance immediately leaps to mind above all others: that of “Frank Booth”, easily David Lynch’s most memorable villainous creation in a filmography full of them. Ejaculating violence and profanity with a toddler’s joyous enthusiasm, Frank’s viral nihilism is an oil slick of spiritual poison you can’t take your eyes off, and in Blue Velvet, all pretense of Frank’s motivation is absent as David Lynch’s classic exploration of Manichean conflict, skinned in neo-noir mystery, blazes bare in the spotlight. Kyle McLachlan, playing the overly persistent schoolboy detective, seeks less to solve the “Mystery of the Severed Ear” than to eagerly sacrifice his small town innocence to the embrace of emotionally disintegrating nightclub singer Isabella Rosellini — and lurking in the shadows, omnipresent and gravitational, is Dennis Hopper as the arrhythmic heart of the film, with fearless, sulphuric monologues and a righteous presence that remains truly unforgettable, even twenty-five years on.

Dir. David Lynch, 1986, 35mm, 120 min.

Hoosiers – 8:30pm
This tale of redemption set in the world of Midwest high school basketball stars Gene Hackman at the height of his gruff powers as a disgraced coach who is given a second chance at life both on and off the court. Considered by many as the gold standard of basketball pictures, Hoosiers’ pastorial setting and abundance of earnest charm ably keep the “outsider inspirational teacher turns the kids around” plot from becoming “Backboard Jungle”. Eager to work after becoming newly sober, Dennis Hopper leapt straight from Blue Velvet’s Frank Booth into the part of Shooter, the alcoholic father of one of the team’s players who knows “everything there is to know about the greatest game ever invented”, whom Hackman appoints as his assistant coach. Garnering his only Oscar nomination for his role in this film, Hopper is great to watch, in a triumphant film that mirrors his triumphant return to an earned spotlight.

Dir. David Anspaugh, 1986, 35mm, 114 min.

River’s Edge – 11:00pm
“This is the best analytical film about a crime since The Onion Field and In Cold Blood.” – Roger Ebert

With River’s Edge, Dennis Hopper continued his streak of dead-on awesome post-Blue Velvet performances in his role as Feck, the emotionally shattered one-legged drug dealer who befriends a group of misfit kids in a terrible quandry. Set amongst a northern Californian high school milieu and expertly directed by Tim Hunter (writer of the ’70s teen angst masterpiece Over The Edge), a beautifully frantic Crispin Glover leads a cast of post-Brat Pack up-and-comers (including Keanu Reeves and Ione Skye) who must deal with the emotional fallout of their friend having just nonchalantly raped and strangled his girlfriend, gone for some smokes and casually started bragging about the whole thing. It’s all made seriously impactful by the cast’s multi-faceted and unpredictable response to the tragedy, made very real by their waffling teenage indecision over their allegiance to their boneheaded friend. In a supporting yet essential role, Hopper gives his hollowed-out ex-biker the meaty gravitas that only an actor who’s truly been to hell and back can convey, and he does so with surprising gentleness.

Dir. Tim Hunter, 1986, 35mm, 99 min.

Tickets – $12 general admission/$8 MOCA members/free for Cinefamily members

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Buy Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/117043