Now, Hackmans passing gives us a chance to remember all sides of his acting.
Rarely have a performersbest movie roles been as varied and far-reaching as Gene Hackmansare.
Hes also crude, racist, and prone to losing his temper.
Its Hackmans characterization of Popeye through the movie that makes themovies ambiguous endingso unsettling.
Caul starts the film as a wiretapper for private clients, before he turns detective on one of them.
Cue themost expensive movie ever madeup to that point, Richard DonnersSuperman.
Before long, Hackman was back to what he did best.
The movie rightly saw Hackman garner his fourth Academy Award nomination, but marked the end of an era.
24 years after its release, its clear that this movie was the Hollywood greats swansong.
