The Last Movie (1971)

Directed by

Dennis Hopper

Genre

drama film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 48m

Rated

R

Rating

5.7 of 10 from 65 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A stuntman working on a movie set in Peru decides to stay behind after the crew leaves. He becomes involved with the local community and starts a filmmaking cult inspired by the cameras and equipment left behind.

experimentalfragmentedunconventionalcontemplativesurrealunsettlingabstractmeandering

What happens

The Last Movie is a 1971 American metafictional drama film directed by and starring Dennis Hopper. It was written by Stewart Stern, based on a story by Hopper and Stern, and features an extensive supporting cast including Stella Garcia, Don Gordon, Peter Fonda, Sam Fuller, Kris Kristofferson (in his film debut), Michelle Phillips, Dean Stockwell, Russ Tamblyn and Tomas Milian. The plot follows a disenfranchised stuntman (Hopper), who begins a filmmaking-centric cargo cult among Peruvian natives after going into self-imposed exile. Greenlit after the success of Hopper's previous film Easy Rider, Universal Pictures gave the director/star complete creative control over the project, which was budgeted at $1 million and was shot in Peru. Hopper only loosely followed the script by Stern, filming hours upon hours of footage built around friends whom he invited to the set, including his frequent collaborators Fonda and Basil. The film's elongated post-production came from Hopper's constant editing and re-editing of the film while suffering from the effects of his drug habit, leading to allegations of self-sabotage and missing the film's initial deadline to deliver a final cut by nearly six months. Despite high expectations, including a well-received screening at the 1971 Venice International Film Festival, the film was a critical and financial disaster. Dissatisfied with the finished product, Universal Pictures gave the film a staggered, limited release under multiple alternative titles. Its poor reception led to Hopper's self-imposed exile from Hollywood for several years, barely starring in any American film until Francis Ford Coppola hired him for Apocalypse Now (1979), not directing another film until Out of the Blue (1980), and never writing another film again. In the decades since its release, it has undergone a critical reappraisal and has become a cult classic. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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