Discovering Jack Nicholson

The streaming platform Kanopy has a series of short documentaries on various actors and they are well-made and provide a good overview of the specific actor's film career.  It highlights the the films that are of most importance to a given actor's body of work in chronological order.  My first viewing was Discovering Al Pacino, which was fun and enlightening to watch.  Tonight I watched Discovering Jack Nicholson.  He is one of my all-time favourite actors and I had seen the majority of the films highlighted.  This is a pleasant trip down memory lane and also offers new information on Nicholson's early life and film career.  I was unaware that he was a skilled writer, especially in the 60s.  His writing would lead to a partnership with Bob Rafelson, who would direct him in Five Easy Pieces (1970).  With Rafelson, he wrote the screenplay for the Monkees experimental vehicle, Head (1968).  

Early in his film career, he came under the tutelage of Roger Corman with whom he cut his teeth in the movies, and as the documentary iterates, learned a lot about the craft of filmmaking.  This education, along with his early films with Monte Hellman, would pave the way for occasional directing jobs in the future, including one in the early 70s called Drive, He Said (1971).  

Nicholson's breakthrough role was his supporting act in Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider (1969).  Here, he exploded onto the cultural landscape in a role that was originally intended for Rip Torn.  Easy Rider would be a huge success all over the world and Nicholson really lights up the screen, as the talking heads in the documentary express.  It would also be the film that would garner his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.  

The 1970s demonstrated an unprecedented string of starring roles for Nicholson including the aforementioned Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail (1972), Chinatown (1974), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Passenger (1975).  Of these, Five Easy Pieces is my favourite.   I loved its story of a rebellious former musical prodigy who rejects the lifestyle and lineage of his family of musical genius piano players.  The film had an electrifying affect on me when I first saw it and it shaped my early film-watching sensibility.  I was in awe of Nicholson's performance in Five Easy Pieces and the way he juggles volatility with laid-back standoffishness. 

In the 1980s, Nicholson would continue his critical and artistic success with The Shining (1980), Reds (1981), and Terms of Endearment (1983).  It always seemed that no two roles were ever the same for Nicholson.  He was a very daring and explorative actor who wasn't afraid to test the limits of his talent and range. 

It was during the 80s that experts in this documentary claim that the branding of "Jack" really started to be initiated.  He became associated with a certain personality as an actor that may or may not necessarily be accurate or true-to-life:  brash, energetic, free-wheeling, and rambunctious.  This was emphasized in his casting as the Joker in Tim Burton's Batman (1989).  I remember seeing Batman in theatres when I was at an impressionable age and was frightened and at the same time intrigued by the dark, noirish atmosphere of the film as well as Nicholson's captivating performance.  

Into the 1990s and 21st century, Jack would continue to strike gold with a series of performances that fit well with his aging persona.  A Few Good Men (1992), As Good as It Gets (1997), About Schmidt (2001), and The Departed (2006), all demonstrate the familiar persona of "Jack", but at the same time breathes new life into his ever-expanding body of work and personal expression on the screen.  

Nicholson has been nominated for Oscars 12 times and has won 3 of those times.  He is one of my, and millions of others people's favourite actors.  It is easy to identify with him and he always takes the viewer on an exciting journey.  

I loved this documentary entry in this "Discovering" series on Kanopy.  I look forward to finding out more about other actors in the future.  I highly recommend this series if you want to explore your favourite actors' careers and filmographies.