For the Good Times: Kristofferson in the '70s

ABOUT THE SERIES:

Singer-songwriter, actor, activist, sex symbol, Rhodes Scholar—it is with a heavy heart that the American Cinematheque pays tribute to the legendary Kris Kristofferson. Spanning five decades and countless genres, Kristofferson’s career saw him collaborate with all-time great directors like Dennis Hopper, Sam Peckinpah, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Alan J. Pakula, starring alongside Gene Hackman, Ellen Burstyn, Barbra Streisand, Burt Reynolds, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, Jane Fonda, Wesley Snipes and others. Our tribute revisits Kristofferson’s early career, showcasing his inimitable star-power that took 1970s Hollywood by storm.

Since his screen debut in Dennis Hopper’s THE LAST MOVIE (1971), Kristofferson appeared in a breadth of roles, shining in comic parts like “Rubber Duck” in the trucksploitation cult classic CONVOY to his dramatic leading role in the literary adaptation THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA. He more than held his own in love-triangle romcoms BLUME IN LOVE and SEMI-TOUGH, while bringing his musical skills to the big screen in CISCO PIKE as an aspiring musician–turned–drug dealer.

Starring in box-office dynamite, industry-upending bombs, and beloved underground pictures, Kristofferson’s easy charisma and versatility made him an icon of ’70s cinema, an emblem of a new, politically-charged onscreen masculinity. Kristofferson’s ability to convey a rugged physicality in tandem with a sharp mind made him a giant of New Hollywood, defining an era through his performance in Martin Scorsese’s ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE and his leading role in HEAVEN’S GATE.

Even starring in one of Hollywood’s biggest flops couldn’t keep Kristofferson off the big screen. His role as gunslinging vampire hunter Abraham Whistler in the BLADE trilogy introduced a new generation to the timeless swagger of one of cinema’s greatest stars. There won’t be another like him.