Summary
A wise person once said, “They can’t all be hits.”
Of course, many will argue that his finest performance was one of his earliest.
He and directorWilliam Friedkinredefined what a cops and robbers film is supposed to be.
Image by Zanda Rice
There is no way around it.
Which makes one of his follow-up features that much more perplexing.
What Is ‘Cisco Pike’ About?
A down on his luck former drug dealer is forced by a corrupt LAPD policeman to sell 100 kilos of confiscated marijuana in one weekend.
But he’s hit a rut and finds himself trying to overcome his drug-dealing past.
Cisco has no choice but to sell an obscene amount of marijuana to get Holland off his back.
Hackman has almost always outshined his co-stars.
Image via Columbia Pictures
He has an innate sense of dramatic timing and a colorful and silly side that pops off the screen.
He brings a jitteriness to the role, making the viewer wonder if he is on some drug himself.
Sue (Black) is called to her apartment door, hearing a loud knock at her front door.
A disheveled Holland asks for a glass of water while nudging into the flat.
Hackman has a bone to pick as a tortured private investigator.
In the final sequence ofCisco Pike, Jess (Stanton) has just died of a drug overdose.
Image via Columbia Pictures
Cisco drives his body back to Sue’s beachfront apartment and takes Jess' body out to the beach.
Hackman then takes the movie in an unexpected direction.
Kristofferson sings a final ditty as Cisco drives down the highway and the credits roll.
Cisco Pikeis currently available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
WATCH ON PRIME VIDEO
