San Francisco’s Drafthouse Cinema will be screening the 1971 drama film “The Last Movie” that has been restored in 4K, on August 3, 2018.Termed as an inspired experiment, “The Last Movie” is considered as a lost masterwork of the late Dennis Hopper. Given complete creative freedom by Universal after the success of “Easy Rider,” Hopper went all out to give shape to his next directorial adventure. The entourage that accompanied him included Kris Kristofferson, Peter Fonda, Michelle Phillips and director Samuel Fuller.First Hopper made his way to Cuzco, Peru, to begin work on what would go on to become testament of a deeply personal and scarring journey. The film’s subject matter was kept consciously self-reflexive, co-written with Hopper by Stewart Stern, the writer of “Rebel Without a Cause.” This change of mind in Hopper came after a tragic incident on the set where an actor is killed in a stunt. Hopper feels that he must quit the movie business and stay back in Peru. He feels he has found his paradise until an uncanny incident takes place. He sees that the Peruvian natives are filming their own movie with "cameras" made of sticks, and acting out real western movie violence, as they are oblivious of movie fakery. The incident haunts Hopper who chooses to swerve his creative ideas to a brand new path.“The Last Movie” touches on the notion of fiction versus reality, especially in regards to cinema. It is presented in a way which challenges the viewer's traditional understanding of cinematic storytelling, by presenting the story in a non-chronological manner, using several devices typically seen only behind the scenes of filmmaking like the rough edits and "scene missing" cards, and the use of jump cuts.When Hopper had with him the long shooting footage, he holed himself up in his home editing studio in Taos, New Mexico. It was an uphill task to make a film out of what he had shot and he could deliver a cut only by the end of 1970. This was a period of severe alcohol and drug abuse, as has been shown in “The American Dreamer,” a very rare and barely released documentary on Dennis Hopper which was directed by Lawrence Schiller and L.M. Kit Carson.“The Last Movie,” made Hopper’s life all the more difficult with his friends mocking at him. His friend, the cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky, urged Hopper to edit the film in a way that would break new cinematic ground. This caused Hopper to destroy his earlier edit and craft the more incoherent narrative that is known today.The film will be screened on August 3, 2018 at Draft House Cinema, New Mission, 2550 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110For details, visit https://drafthouse.com/sf/theatersClick on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the film.http://www.blouinartinfo.com Founder: Louise Blouin
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