MovieChat Forums > Der amerikanische Freund (1977) Discussion > hopper's best performance?

hopper's best performance?

posted 19 years ago by teejay6682
12 replies | jump to latest

i just saw it and was really impressed with him (and bruno ganz). i think frank in "blue velvet'' is more significant to pop culture (and a great performance in it's own right) but there's something about this performance that really engaged me. it may not be an accurate portrayal of tom ripley according to the books or other movies but i really like his take on the character a lot. all the "weird" stuff he does in the film that's never explained is intrigueing and the look on his face in the last scene with him in it where he says "we made it...." wow.

[–] lucio7 18 years ago

no,the best is easy rider..

[–] Theo87 18 years ago

it definately is one of his best performances. sad thing that he's been in so much crap recently.

[–] perempe 16 years ago

He stars in B movies nowadays.

[–] TorsoDahlia 18 years ago

Yeah it's Hopper's best by far. It's the first thing I ever saw him do where he wasn't mega wild and was restrained for a lot of the film. Definitely his best performance I've seen so far because it was nothing like anything else he's done as a whole.

Nothing is as it seems so I wouldn't judge by what you think you see.

[–] amudad 17 years ago

i've just watched this movie and it seems to me that Owen Wilson copied Hoppers' performance in every movie he has ever made

[–] nutsberryfarm 10 years ago

this and 'red rock west'.

🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴

[–] lcrews 17 years ago

It's hard to quantify his best performance, as he has a huge filmography littered with greater performances. But his turn in The American Friend is certainly a contender. I can say, however, that I'm sure that he's the best Ripley of the five actors to play the character on screen.

[–] sonnythefat 17 years ago

It is a great performance,I don't see him as Highsmith's Riply, But as Wim Wenders "Loud American" Riply, in Wenders own version of a Highsmith story.I believe this performance rebuild his film career.

[–] mmgsea-2 15 years ago

This is an interesting discussion. I just saw the movie last night, and the bio notes on Dennis Hopper on the DVD said he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs during this movie and was even more spontaneous in his interpretation than Wim Wenders usually encourages his actors to be.

So if there were some quirks that didn't fit the story line, this may be why!

[–] !!!deleted!!! (63057267) 9 years ago

Responding to an old post, having revisited THE AMERICAN FRIEND last night. Being a fan of Hopper's work, and having seen most of his screen acting, I feel his performance as Ripley ranks with his absolute best portrayals, up there with his acting in OUT OF THE BLUE, MAD DOG MORGAN, BLUE VELVET and the woefully undervalued THE LAST MOVIE.

[–] Jones70 (6862) 4 years ago

Yeah it’s definitely one of them.

[–] Jones70 (6862) 3 years ago

He has a bunch of movies I still haven’t seen yet.