Liza Minelli presenting Gene Hackman with the Oscar® for Best Actor for his performance in "The French Connection" at the 44th Academy Awards® in 1972.
He has dominated the screen so many times with his ferocious bark of a voice that it's powerful and surprising to hear how gentle his natural speaking voice is. An incredible performer.
Trivia: Hackman had just started filming "The Poseidon Adventure" when he won this Oscar. In celebration, Shelley Winters, Jack Albertson, Red Buttons, Irwin Allen, and several crew members brought their Oscars to the set the next day and sang "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow."
I remember seeing the Poseidon Adventure when I was a 12 year old boy in Denver and I was so awestruck by that film. Wheww! I was completely absorbed in every character and to this day I'm a little afraid of large ships. Never been on a cruise in my life.
One of the best movies he's ever done, simply deserved the Oscar. I really miss Gene, but for me, it will always be an actor no matter if he has already retired
It was great to see Gene Hackman win his first Academy Award for Best Actor for "The French Connection" (1971) which is one of my all-time favorite of his films.
@@edkeaton Put that on your bucket list of movies to watch. Based on an actual case of a heroin smuggling ring that operated in the French Riviera. The actual city was Marseilles.
Mark Hazleton Yeah, I think it was definitely the 70's and early 80's NYC was bad. bad, bad. It looks nice now. Don't know about the crime rate though-it seems better from TV reports.
@@LittleB2007 I don't think "The French Connection II" was a bad film. What happens is that the original "The French Connection" set the bar far too high for any sequel to live up to expectations. Other than that, I saw the second film not long ago, and I thought it was actually a pretty decent thriller. Of course, the original defies comparison.
Every great actor has one great movie never duplicated again. Orson Welles had "Citizen Kane". Charlton Heston had "Ben Hur Story of the Christ". Russel Crowe had "Gladiator". George C. Scott had "Patton". Gene Hackman had "The French Connection". A friggin classic!!!
This is one of my favourite Oscar clips for so many reasons. Liza Minelli's engaging but spaced out presentation - an unforgettable snapshot of American showbiz in the 70s and of the actress herself as a person. Gene Hackman - so cool and casual when starting his speech, like this was just an everyday thing to him (probably not surprising since he had been receiving major awards all year for his performance). Then he starts to break down and it's clear he won't finish the speech. The band playing behind Hackman as he steps up to receive his award. They have that theme nailed. The theme itself, composed by Don Ellis, who died in 1978 and should have got an Academy Award. If you watch the film you can hear that it's based on the 6-note sound motif made by the tool used to finally reveal the whereabouts of the drugs.
Hackman was great, but Mcdowell should been nominated for a Clockwork orange imo. THat is one of the most powerful and crazy performances I have ever seen.:)
True, but Hollywood at that time wasn't prepared to honor a film like that. There was still a big divide between "old Hollywood" and "young Hollywood". Read the book "Easy Riders and Raging Bulls" for an even better explanation
l watched French Connection in 2013 and turned a total GH fan ever since. Forget Superman or Unforgiven or whatever else. One of my favorite badasses ever!
One of my first acting experiences was in George Morrison's incredible acting class with Gene Hackman. The perfect meeting of great teacher developing a great talent. George was the best acting teacher ever--quintessential teacher-fascinated by his students and the work, inspiring, always growing. I saw people who could barely speak become actors--real actors. I remember when Gene accepted that award and mentioned George . . . well deserved on both counts.
I met George Morrison once. For some reason, I was in a rehearsal studio in a building on West 31st St. An amiable man and I started talking about something or the other on the staircase. The subject turned to acting (I'm an indy filmmaker so I knew a bit about acting training). After a minute or two, he told me he was George Morrison, and he was happily surprised I knew who he was. He invited me to a class a few days later, which for some reason I could not attend (maybe it related to the reason I was in the building in the first place). But it remains a wonderful, low key experience that I haven't forgotten, and we are talking about something that happened 30 or more years ago.
One of the few times a sequel was just as good. Despite his major flaws you root for the extraordinary popeye in both movies. Powerhouse performances from Mr Hackman.
A deserved win. Gene was nervous as hell during the first week of filming but he came through in style to give a legendary performance. Now go pick your feet....
one of the Best Movies I've ever seen....The French Connection......I also own it on DVD....This movie gave Gene his Big push into the higher regions of Stardom.....
I'm a great fan of "The Poseidon Adventure". The movie was being filmed at the time Gene Hackman won the Oscar. I've seen a picture of him and other members of "The Poseidon Adventure", all with their Oscars. Gene joined the group that included Shelley Winters, Red Buttons and Ernest Borgnine. Also: if you like "The Poseidon Adventure", I highly recommend the little-known 1960 movie "The Last Voyage" starring Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone". Some of it is seen in YT video "Sinking of the Ile de France" which was partially sunnk for the movie.
Mr Gene Hackman and his former roommate, Dustin Hoffman, both went on to win 2 Oscars. Hackman has given so many great performances like in the 1970 movie - “I Never Sang for My Father”. A movie about a middle aged man (Gene Hackman) trying to reconcile with his aging & strong minded Father, after the death of his Mother. I saw this movie @ 9 years old and immediately saw my relationship with my Dad up on that screen. A lot of us would relate to this Father/Son relationship. I would go on to recommend and revisit this movie many times over the last 50+ years. It’s my favorite Gene Hackman Oscar nominated performance.
Sad that Finch died in 1977 right before he won Best Actor for Network he was great in that movie I wish he had lived to go up on stage and get his Oscar for playing Howard Beale.
I like how Gene Hackman had a hell of a career and just walked away from Hollywood and changed his number from his colleagues and just quit. If that ain’t some walking away in the sunset move I don’t know what is.
The 70s were such a great decade for movies! Fine and great actorss like Jack, Warren, Gene, et al. Wonderful memories. The French Connection had me on the edge of my seat the minute it started. "Frog One" and all of that. Ironically, I'm certain Les Francais loved this movie as much as everyone else did.
Gene is one helluva actor! The French Connection, Crimson Tide, Get Shorty, Enemy of The State and so much more! He deserves more credit and acknowledgement than he gets.
It's a pretty well known fact that Gene Hackman didn't enjoy making The French Connection nearly as much as many other films. Firstly, he had a hard time identifying with the real-life person he was portraying, Eddie Egan. Gene is far more liberal than Eddie could have ever been, and some of the tactics Eddie used in real life, which Hackman employed as "Popeye Doyle." just didn't fit in at all with Hackman's personality or politics. Also, I don't think he was Friedkin's first choice. There are some other reasons I can't recall now, but when Hackman thanks William Friedkinfor "bringing me through this when I wanted to quit," he's not exaggerating at all.
Daniel Zanier Hackman never wanted to use the n-word or anything derogatory towards blacks which the character does on a couple of occasions. Bill Friedkin hence thought of angering hackman so that he would do what was required of him. That's why Hackman wanted to quit.
Very true. Hackman wouldn't have given the performance that he has managed to give on screen and therefore without the fuel that he had needed from Friedkin, wouldn't have earned his Best Oscar Academy Award for 1971.
Gene Hackman has played some of the most conservative/MAGA demographic guys ever to such conviction in entertainment history. That's why his personal politics will never bother me. Because Gene doesn't cut corners in exchange for personal vices. He was Bradley Cooper before there was a Bradley Cooper. And we haven't seen the best work of Bradley Cooper yet. Just like Gene after TFC. His best work was still in development. Love this guy. As an actor and as a human being.
I used to own a bar in the Florida Keys and he stopped in 3 or 4 times. He was a really nice guy, tipped huge, and he absolutely loved Reuben sandwiches.
Liza is the most effervescent woman I've come across. She oozes charm. I love her. Always have. Thank you Liza for being part of my life. Never mind that we've not met.
5. Walter Matthau in Kotch- This performance really is nothing but smiles, and sunshine. There is nothing to really note here except that he really is not particularly believable as an old man. (2.5/5) 4. George C. Scott in The Hospital- A lacking character, but Scott does show the emotions he has to quite well, even if it does not form a compelling character. (3.5/5) 3. Peter Finch in Sunday Bloody Sunday- Finch's performance is an effective enough performance, that gives a portrait of a repressed man who yearns for love. (3.5/5) 2. Topol in The Fiddler on The Roof- Topol gives a very good joyous performance, and puts his full heart into a delightful role. (4/5) 1. Gene Hackman in The French Connection- Hackman gives a commanding interesting memorable performance. I thoroughly enjoy every moment of Hackman's performance and I especially found his portrait of the obsession of the narcotics detective particularly powerful and effective. (4.5/5)
One of the Best ever. He is a working mans actor, who gives it his all to ever role. When I was a young boy growing up I couldn't wait to see what movie Gene would be in, it was like he did a couple of movies every year.
His Lex Luthor is so underrated! "We miss you Gene, please give us a call. I hope you see this, so you can show everyone how young and handsome you were"-Richard Donner Take care! /John-Henry
Such a humbled and great human being was able to brilliantly portray a rough and tough NYC Detective in real life international multi-million dollar heroin deal. The French Connection is in my top 5 movies of all time and if you knew me, that's really saying something.
Hackman totally deserved it, he absolutely owned the living fuck out of French Connection, he was like Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon, just totally owned every last inch of it, just insanely great acting, acting that went beyond anything seen before.
¡¡¡Que lindas que eran las entregas de los oscars en aquellos años!!!!, era algo muy esperado por todos los cinefilos del mundo!!, eran los tiempos en que ir al cine era un verdadero acontecimiento!!.Hoy, 2020, todos es bluray y para los adolecentes, lo mas importante son las redes sociales.En esos lugares transcurre sus vidas.Que decadencia, por dios!!!
I always wondered if Hackman's Instructor ever watched the night Gene won his Oscar. He was the one who told a young struggling Gene Hackman that he wouldn't amount to anything. For Gene, this was his night and middle finger to that instructor.
