American actor William Hurt passed away at the age of 71. Would you like to see or re-watch one of his films? Here are some personalized tips on his landmark movies to catch up on.
Which of his Marvels to catch up with?
Interpreter of the general (then Secretary of State) Thaddeus Ross, William Hurt participated in 5 feature films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Responsible for the transformation of Bruce Banner, he indeed appeared in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and most recently Black Widow.
His most significant role is undoubtedly in Captain America: Civil War, in which he submitted to the superheroes his project of the Sokovia Accords, requesting the registration of Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff or Ant-Man in the government registers, which therefore would have control over their actions and decision-making. This will lead to the opposition between Iron Man and Captain America.
He was in Dune!
On the screens, Dune is not just a film by David Lynch, another aborted by Jodorowsky and a third directed by Denis Villeneuve. William Hurt, for example, appears in the credits of a mini-series also adapted from Frank Herbert’s bestseller. These three episodes of a total duration of 4h25 focus faithfully on the original work.
Hurt plays Duke Leto Atreides, played by Oscar Isaac in Denis Villeneuve’s version. He is the only “known” actor in this miniseries because the production wanted above all to highlight the story and not the actors. John Harrison, the creator of the series, will also adapt The Children of Dune. As for Hurt, we could see him again on the small screen in Damages, Humans, Beowulf: return to the Shieldlands and Goliath.
Extraordinary Kiss of the Spider Woman
In 1985, William Hurt is the headliner of an extraordinary film signed by the Brazilian director Hector Babenco, The Kiss of the Spider Woman. Almost behind closed doors taking place in a prison located in an imaginary country of South America subjected to a dictatorship (an obvious echo, moreover, of the political situation in Brazil, which emerged in 1985 from 21 years of military dictatorship), Hurt there embodies a homosexual prisoner named Molina, convicted in a sex scandal.
Check out the trailer…
Forced to share his cell with Valentin, a revolutionary journalist tortured and imprisoned for his political ideas (and played by a fabulous Raul Julia who found the role of his life here), Molina makes his companion in misfortune share the dreams he imagine from the old films that populate his memory. As the animosity of the two prisoners turns into friendship, a web of betrayal is woven around them, inexorably, testing their mutual trust and their spirit of sacrifice…
Bathed in the suave and hypnotic voice of Hurt, brilliantly scripted by Leonard Schrader (Paul Schrader’s brother), The Kiss of the Spider Woman is a powerful parable on alienation, oppression and persecution, especially that aimed at homosexuals. ; an aspect still rarely addressed at the time of the film’s release. “We had to say something not just about gay rights, but about female and male relationships and the nature of courage, and what it means to speak the truth to a power greater than you” Hurt would say of the film, in 2015.
A masterful composition hailed by an Oscar for Best Actor, as well as an Interpretation Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, a BAFTA for Best Actor, and a citation at the Golden Globe.
Lawrence Kasdan, his favorite director
Hurt began his Hollywood career at the dawn of the 80s, playing a scientist in a SF classic, Beyond reality, signed by Ken Russell. A role for which he received a Golden Globe citation; the first of six in his career.
Screenwriter of The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lawrence Kasdan went on to direct for the first time by signing a solid sulphurous thriller released in 1982 with us, La Fièvre au corps.
Replacing his classmate from the Juilliard School, Christopher Reeves, who declined the title role, William Hurt delivers a formidable composition in the guise of Ned Racine, an incompetent and seedy lawyer led by the nose by his mistress (Kathleen Turner who is making her screen debut here), until the conniving lovers decide to get rid of the troublesome husband… A superb tribute to the genre of film noir, Body Fever is the first of four collaborations between Hurt and Lawrence Kasdan.
If we mention the beautiful drama Voyageur in spite of him (1989) in which Hurt plays a father devastated by the death of his son, and the biting police comedy I love you to kill you (1990) worn by Kevin Kline, we must especially see the poignant film Les Copains d’abord, released in 1983. In the midst of a high-flying cast (Tom Berenger, Glenn Close and Jeff Goldblum in particular), Hurt plays an emotionally destroyed Vietnam veteran, finding his old band of friends for the burial of them after his suicide.
Between comedy and drama, a moving reflection on friendship bathed in music exclusively made up of American soul and rhythm & blues standards from the 1960s-70s, such as Marvin Gaye or Aretha Franklin, Les Copains d’abord has become a classic.
Here is the trailer again…
Requested by top directors
From Spielberg to Woody Allen, famous directors have wanted to turn William Hurt, sometimes as a headliner, sometimes in an “important supporting role”. This is the case in Artificial Intelligence, in which he plays the director of the company Cybertronics, creator of the robot. He is also gangster leader Richie Cusack in David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence.
He tries to convince King John to sign the Magna Carta in Robin Hood by Ridley Scott, and tries to seduce a journalist after witnessing a murder in The Eye of the Witness by Peter Yates.
Woody Allen entrusts him with the first male role of Alice (1990), that of a senior executive and unfaithful husband of the main character played by Mia Farrow, then Hurt is the false token playing a double game in Wim’s futuristic film Wenders At World’s End (1991). A career also at the service of the greatest.