Videodroom: Alex Zhang Hungtai x 'The Last Movie'

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During Videodroom, we present The Last Movie—Dennis Hopper's radical, mythologized, and long-lost masterpiece, scarcely seen for nearly 50 years—with a brand-new live score by composer Alex Zhang Hungtai (Dirty Beaches).

The Last Movie is a deliberately self-reflexive film, co-written by New Hollywood legend Dennis Hopper and Rebel Without a Cause screenwriter Stewart Stern. It follows a Hollywood film crew shooting a Western in a remote Peruvian village. When production wraps, Hopper's character—troubled stuntman Kansas—stays behind. Seeking redemption in the isolation of Peru and in the arms of a former sex worker, he gradually becomes entangled in something far stranger. Meanwhile, the local Indigenous community has taken over the abandoned film set, staging a ritual reenactment of the production—with Kansas as their sacrificial victim.

An infamous production

The Last Movie is widely regarded as one of the most legendary productions of the New Hollywood era. Following the enormous commercial success of Easy Rider—made for just $400,000 and earning around $60 million at the box office—Universal gave Hopper complete creative freedom for his next directing project. As director, writer, and leading man, Hopper took the money and quite literally ran with it, shooting The Last Movie in Peru, as far removed from the Hollywood machine as possible.

An extraordinary cast followed him, including Kris Kristofferson, Julie Adams, Stella Garcia, Peter Fonda, Dean Stockwell, Toni Basil, Russ Tamblyn, Michelle Phillips, and filmmaker Samuel Fuller. Fuelled by cocaine, LSD, and sheer audacity, the result is an at times frustrating but always mesmerizing deconstruction of the filmmaking process. The film confronts Western colonialism while immersing viewers in a stream of hallucinatory imagery.

Although it received a special award at the Venice Film Festival, The Last Movie effectively derailed Hopper's career for years, as the Hollywood establishment eagerly dismissed him as an indulgent madman. Yet the film remains thrillingly innovative and strikingly contemporary, deeply influenced by the work of Bruce Conner, the French New Wave, and the Pop Art and abstract artists Hopper so admired.

About Alex Zhang Hungtai

Alex Zhang Hungtai is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice revolves around improvisation and its connection to the subconscious. Since bringing his Dirty Beaches project to a close, Zhang has devoted himself to exploring improvised music, free jazz, and his work as a composer. His recent compositions primarily centre on saxophone and drums, while also venturing into electronic music.

Alongside his solo practice, Zhang has collaborated with artists including Tashi Dorji, Che Chen, Chris Williams, Sam Shalabi, David Maranha, Gabriel Ferrandini, and Viernulvier resident artist Joshua Serafin. He currently works as a film composer and also appears as an actor in independent films.

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