Liked him alot as Lex Luthor, in the Superman movies.

Gene Hackman, like Philip Seymour Hoffman, is always good. Much the same as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, this guy has only gotten about half the credit/recognition to which he is entitled. He's so consistently strong on the big screen that people simply take an outstanding performance from him for granted. Too many good turns as bad guys to name, however, one performance for which he received little acclaim will be mentioned here. And the reason you don't hear about it is because I am one of only about 14 people on the planet who liked The Quick and the Dead. The movie had a major flaw insofar as the main character was unbelieveable, however, the script was kept simple (as Westerns should be), was superbly directed, and it benefitted from performances of a few major movie stars who had yet to reach the peak of their popularity in Hollywood. In the movie, Hackman plays the "dictator" of this small town out on the edges of the American frontier which he has terrorized with his brutality and henchmen. He stages an annual gunslingers battle where he figures anyone who would like to see him harmed can be flushed out into the open and is better dealt with face-to-face. Of course, numerous people would like him to be dead and/or defeated (including Sharon Stone) upon whom the movie focuses, but his perhaps most problematic challenge comes from a lightning fast opponent whom he would rather sidestep, his disavowed/unrecognized illegitimate son, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. If you haven't seen this flick, rent it on DVD. Quality acting abounds in the movie and, as always, Gene Hackman's work is superb.

This guy made about 8-9 Movies a year in the 70's!!!!