The Last Movie is a 1971 drama film from Universal Pictures. It was written and directed by Dennis Hopper, who also played a horse wrangler named after the state of Kansas. It also starred Peter Fonda, Henry Jaglom and Michelle Phillips. Production of the movie, which cost $1 million, took place in the film's major setting, Peru.

The movie won the Critics Prize at the Venice Film Festival; despite this, it failed financially and critically after a two-week run at New York City's Cinema 1.^[1] (Contrary to some sources, including statements by Hopper himself, the film did play in other theaters across the country after its New York premiere, even playing at drive-ins under the name Chinchero.) Because of its resulting demise, Hopper did not direct again until 1980's TV movie Out of the Blue, and the theatrically-released 1988 drama Colors.

The book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time recounts the film's production in some detail, claiming that the studio was so eager to cash in on the youth market following the success of Easy Rider that they gave Hopper carte blanche, and they were horrified with the results. While the film was a notorious bomb in its day, today it enjoys something of a cult following. While it was initially dismissed as a drug-fueled ego trip, it has enjoyed renewed interest since the 1990s, a time when the films of the 1970s were first being hailed as "Hollywood's Second Golden Age," and the post-modern style of The Last Movie was not so foreign to audiences of films like Pulp Fiction.

The film's initial failure led to a virtual exile from Hollywood for Hopper, one that lasted well over a decade. Nonetheless, Hopper is now very proud of the film, hosting many screenings in recent years. While he had disparaged the film in the past, Hopper now says it was ahead of its time, and only recently have audiences and critics started to understand his artistic vision. Hopper told Playboy Magazine in 2006 that he had re-acquired the rights to the film and was planning a DVD release. The magazine even mentions at the time that Hopper held a screening of the film at the Playboy Mansion for Hugh Hefner and several Playmates.

References

1. ^ Biskind, P. (1998). Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

External links

• The Last Movie at the Internet Movie Database
• The Last Movie at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Last Movie at All Movie Guide
• Review by Vincent Canby of The New York Times
• Critique of the film at Reverse Shot

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