CinematICA: Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie October 25, 2008

The Last Movie is Dennis Hopper's second directorial outing, after Easy Rider. Hopper stars as Kansas, a movie wrangler on location in Peru. After witnessing the accidental death of a stuntman, he stays behind in the village, dreaming of a simple life with his Peruvian girlfriend Maria. But he finds himself drawn into the harsh, ritualistic world of the local peasants as they start to mimic violent scenes from the movie with their own wicker cameras. Throw into the mix a Treasure of Sierra Madre-inspired scheme to mine gold, a decadent encounter with a wealthy American family, dreamy camerawork from László Kovács and an original soundtrack featuring Kris Kristofferson, and you have a dazzling, outrageous vision that was way ahead of its time.

We are grateful to Easy Rider Productions for permission to screen The Last Movie. Please note that this is the only known 35mm print in the UK, and as such there is a slight reduction of quality at the ends of reels and some discoloration.

Dir Dennis Hopper, US 1971, 108 mins, Cert X