The big picture
- Gene Hackman gives a memorable performance in
Cisco Pike
despite the film's obscurity. - Hackman's character, Sergeant Leo Holland, is a catalyst for the film's plot. He plays a cop who blackmails Kris Kristofferson's titular character, kicking off the story.
- The film's abrupt ending leaves viewers disoriented, reflecting its unconventional nature.
A wise person once said, “They can't all be hits.” However, you can still make an engaging film that, even though it's a little off and weird, still attracts an audience. Gene Hackman is one of the greatest performers in Hollywood history. His resume speaks for itself with notable entries like the conversation, Nocturnal movements, Superman I i II, Hoosiers, and many more. Of course, many will argue that his best performance was one of his first. In 1971, Hackman played Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle The French connection. By doing so, he took the mold of what a tough detective looks like and broke it into a million pieces. He and the director William Friedkin redefined what a cops and robbers movie is supposed to be. There is no way around it. If the seminal car chase is included, it could be argued that it is the best crime movie ever. Which makes one of its later features that much more perplexing. It's not that Cisco Pike it's a horrible movie; it is rather a product of a complicated time in American history. The groovy, doobie, peace and love vibe of the late 60s was still the zeitgeist when it was made later in 1972. Cisco Pike it was very relatable at the time, but there's a reason it's been largely forgotten.
What is “Cisco Pike”?
In his debut on the big screen, Kris Kristofferson he plays Cisco Pike, a young musician who has had some success as a troubadour. But he has found himself in a rut and finds himself trying to overcome his past as a drug dealer. Kristofferson provides the soundtrack and introduces the film, but Hackman gets top billing despite only being in a handful of scenes. He plays Sergeant Leo Holland, a dirty narcotics cop who wants to unload thousands of dollars worth of “weed” instead of turning it into evidence. He has a connection to Cisco and approaches him to be his go-between in exchange for looking the other way for some of his priors. Cisco has no choice but to sell an obscene amount of marijuana to get Holland out. We're talking hundreds of pounds of large cinder blocks that Cisco needs to unload in less than a week. The film is bookended by Hackman, who is magnetic as usual. Still, the body of the film follows Cisco as he ventures into the Los Angeles drug scene of the early 1970s and answers to Holland if he doesn't make enough money. along the way, Karen Black i Harry Dean Stanton come on board as his girlfriend and former bandmate and junkie friend, respectively.
Gene Hackman is clearly the most interesting player in “Cisco Pike”
It's no disservice to Kristofferson, Black, or Stanton to point out that Gene Hackman is a superior performer in Cisco Pike. Hackman has almost always overshadowed his co-stars. He has an innate sense of dramatic timing and a colorful, silly side that leaps off the screen. As Leo Holland, he brings a level of seriousness mixed with some of the playfulness that we'll see in later roles like Lex Luthor in three of the original four. Superman movies Although he has dazzled as a tough and difficult character for most of his career, Hackman has never been considered a one-trick pony. Leo Holland is a serious but “square” narc who knows he doesn't fit in with the hipster crowd, but that doesn't stop Hackman from putting his own spin on the character. He brings an uneasiness to the role, making the viewer wonder if he's on some kind of drug. When Holland comes after Cisco and his money in the film's final sequence, Hackman takes on an amplified quirkiness that's a complete reversal of the roles that have made him famous.
Hackman's Weird Take on a Narc Takes an Ugly Turn in 'Cisco Pike' Final Sequences
Hackman's portrayal of Sergeant Leo Holland takes a magnificently odd turn when he reappears in the final scenes of Cisco Pike. Sue (Black) is called to the door of her apartment, hearing a loud knock on the front door. She breaks down the door and Hackman pokes his head into the cracked door, looking for Cisco and his money. A disheveled Holland asks for a glass of water as he enters the flat. He is taking some form of amphetamine, or is legitimately dealing with a fast heartbeat or physical illness. He explains that he needs to see Cisco, but before Sue can say a word, he asks her to take his pulse before she starts running to his place. Sue quietly escapes through the back door. It's one of the weirdest scenes Hackman has ever been a part ofbut it's a little nicer given the early 70s zeitgeist.
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In the final sequence of Cisco Pike, Jess (Stanton) has just died of a drug overdose. Cisco drives his body back to Sue's beachfront apartment and takes Jess's body to the beach. As Cisco broods over the body of his friend and former bandmate, Sue informs him that Holland is at his apartment and then goes to a nearby pay phone, anonymously calling for the police and an ambulance to pick up the body. Cisco tells Sue he wants to get in touch with Holland, tired of being under the dirty cop's thumb. Hackman then takes the film in an unexpected direction.
The final scenes of 'Cisco Pike' will leave you disoriented
Over the years, we've seen Hackman go off on some hard-to-talk tangents, but the direction he's solely responsible for taking Cisco Pike it's cheeky Holland takes Cisco's money, but he also needs Cisco to understand why he's as dirty and desperate as he is. Hackman can be as paranoid and detached as any performer in film history. Enemy of the State i There is no way out exemplify how Hackman can emote “me against the world” behavior. In the middle of his rambling rant about how bad cop pay is, he thinks Cisco is setting him up. As sirens blare and authorities arrive to answer Sue's call about Jess' body, Jess opens fire on the approaching ambulance and begins chasing and shooting Cisco. The segue is a non sequitur so abrupt you'll feel like you're the one on drugs. A helicopter shows a spotlight on Holland on the beach, and he fires at the helicopter before being shot in the back with a shotgun, dying. Kristofferson sings a final song as Cisco drives down the freeway and the credits roll. It's a strange film that features Hackman as the lead despite having less than 10 minutes of screen time. But what the iconic actor does in those few minutes is the most memorable part of the film.
Cisco Pike is currently available to stream on Prime Video in the US
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