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August 16, 2018

Special Report: The Last Movie (1971)

Special Guests: Craig Rogers, David Marriott, John Buck Wilkin, Jessica Hundley, Nick Ebeling, Satya de la Manitou
Guest Co-Hosts: Ben Buckingham, Nick Dawson

On this special episode of The Projection Booth we’re looking at Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie. Barely released by Universal Pictures in 1971, the film stars Hopper as Kansas -- a man as middle-American as his name. He’s in Peru as a stunt man for a Western. When the cast and crew packs up and goes back to Hollywood, he stays behind where the natives form a sort of cargo cult around movie-making, holding up Kansas as their god, savior, and their sacrifice.

Mike talks to Craig Rogers and David Marriott from Arbelos Films who have restored The Last Movie and have re-released the film. He speaks to author Jessica Hundley, editor of Dennis Hopper: Photographs 1961-1967, John Buck Wilkin who performed music on both The Last Movie and Lawrence Schiller & L. M. Kit Carson's The American Dreamer. Finally, he speaks with Nick Ebeling, the director of Along for the Ride and its subject, Satya De La Manitou.

Nick Dawson and Ben Buckingham join Mike to discuss the film as well as its fascinating history.

Listen/Download Now:

Links:
Buy the Along for the Ride book
Read Dennis Hopper's Mad Vision by Josh Karp
Be sure to LIKE Along for the Ride on Facebook
Read My uneasy ride with Dennis Hopper by John Buck Wilkin
Read When Westerns Were Un-American by J. Hoberman
Read Hip Hopp: Dennis Hopper, Protest, And Popular Music by Dominic Preston
Read DENNIS HOPPER’S “THE LAST MOVIE” | THE FILM THAT BURIED A VISIONARY by JP

Music:
"Easy Rider, 1970" by Chris Sikelianos

Watch:








SCENE MISSING from Alex Cox on Vimeo.

1 comment:

  1. Great discussion, gentlemen, on a fascinating, flawed film. I have to say the angle that film had "dehumanized" our dream faculties and the Incans thereby 'stripped' the filmmaking process of its mechanization to return it to its ritualistic roots was a brilliant insight. Not about their loss of innocence (although that may be the starting point), but a return to it. Was that Mr. Dawson?

    Keep up the great work! Roger

    ReplyDelete