Christian Slater's path to the12th Annual Gen Art Film Festival was at times a bumpy one. But I came of age during his Golden Age. He was one of those actors who I thought had that certain something special that set him apart from the rest. (Part of it was his personality and part was his excellent selection of dark anti-establishment films.) At first I was happy to ignore the poor role choices he made...but then there was a period when they began to outweigh the good.

And Christian's penchant for making front page news (trying to bring handgun on a commercial airliner, grabbing a women's butt in NYC and getting arrested) started to overshadow his acting. But now we are finally seeing a resurgence of his talent over the negative buzz.

I am still a big fan, and from what I hear, He Was A Quiet Man, which will have its New York premiere on Tuesday, April 17th, is going to provide a totally new and compelling role to his legacy. For information and tickets for that, visit www.genartfilmfestival.com. (And best of all, he will be in attendance.)

Now, let me take you down memory lane with five of my favorite Christian films, and try to help you forget his moments in movies like Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (1991), Alone in the Dark (2005)—joining Tara Reid in any film = career suicide—and while a cult favorite to some, Cuffs (1992) , which was just not funny to me.

True Romance (1993)
This is an incredibly unique story that hinges on his pitch perfect performance as an Elvis-inspired violent anti-hero. Christian is surrounded by an amazing supporting cast that includes Patrica Arquette, Brad Pitt (very young one), Michael Rapaport, Dennis Hopper, Tom Sizemore, Christopher Walken and Gary Oldman. A classic.

Pump Up the Volume (1990)
Christian plays the anti-hero rallying teens behind against The Man. I believed!

Heathers (1989)
Another cult classic where Christian and Winona Ryder make black comedy mainstream while exposing the hypocrisies of high school life.

Bobby (2006)
A great ensemble cast in which Christian plays the possibly racist and generally unhappy general manager of the hotel where Bobby Kennedy is assassinated.

Who is Cletis Tout? (2001)
Definitely one of the worst named movies of all time, this smaller indie release is really enjoyable. It is a fun drama involving a hit man, a 20-year-old diamond heist and mistaken identities. A great cast and movie that includes Richard Dreyfuss, Tim Allen and Portia de Rossi.

And there are many other enjoyable films (while not great), but they depend more on your film genre preferences: Interview with a Vampire, Murder in the First (with Kevin Bacon), Broken Arrow (if you like over the top action and John Travolta), 3000 Miles to Graceland (if you just like over the top), and Windtalkers with Nicholas Cage.

One thing Christian is not is predictable. And He Was A Quiet Man will keep that alive and well—be sure to check it out!

- Ian Gerard

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Similar Topics:12th Annual Gen Art Film Festival, Film, Road to the Fest

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