“Every artist makes what he does to find out whether he has something to hide or not.”
God, why can’t Orson Welles moderate our presidential debates?
Hopper/Welles is a portrait of two generations of filmmakers coming together to discuss everything from movies to religion to politics. The titular men clash on topics more than they bond, but never in an aggressive manner, and communicate their thoughts and feelings on subjects in a very real way. That should come as no surprise, since Hopper/Welles is essentially just an uncut 2-hour-plus conversation.
It’s not a delicate conversation either, the range of topics they discuss wide and “radical” (at least for the time), and Orson Welles pushes back against Hopper on a lot of what he says, not out of disagreement but out of a sincere desire to learn more about his guest.
I knew nothing about Dennis Hopper before this, but he has such a fascinating worldview that’s both optimistic and pessimistic at the same time, and makes me eager to watch Easy Rider and The Last Movie.
It’s truly fascinating and engaging, but you really need to want to watch this. If you have no interest in either men or the context of why this was shot, you can skip this one. Otherwise, this is a great supplement for most fans of moviemaking and the New Hollywood era.
Another thought: It’s so surreal that the moment Orson Welles heard of Bob Dylan for the first time was captured on film.
“Every artist makes what he does to find out whether he has something to hide or not.”
God, why can’t Orson Welles moderate our presidential debates?
Hopper/Welles is a portrait of two generations of filmmakers coming together to discuss everything from movies to religion to politics. The titular men clash on topics more than they bond, but never in an aggressive manner, and communicate their thoughts and feelings on subjects in a very real way. That should come as no surprise, since Hopper/Welles is essentially just an uncut 2-hour-plus conversation.
It’s not a delicate conversation either, the range of topics they discuss wide and “radical” (at least for the time), and Orson Welles pushes back against Hopper on a lot of what he says, not out of disagreement but out of a sincere desire to learn more about his guest.
I knew nothing about Dennis Hopper before this, but he has such a fascinating worldview that’s both optimistic and pessimistic at the same time, and makes me eager to watch Easy Rider and The Last Movie.
It’s truly fascinating and engaging, but you really need to want to watch this. If you have no interest in either men or the context of why this was shot, you can skip this one. Otherwise, this is a great supplement for most fans of moviemaking and the New Hollywood era.
Another thought: It’s so surreal that the moment Orson Welles heard of Bob Dylan for the first time was captured on film.
