Today marks exactly one year since the world of cinema suffered one of its greatest losses. Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of the most passionate, talented, energetic, visceral, versatile and prolific actors of his or any generation. For proof of the validity of these “labels,” as Riggan Thomson from “Birdman” would have put it, look no further than Vimeo user Caleb Slain’s epic 24-minute video tribute to Hoffman’s remarkable body of work.
Slain apparently spent approximately two hundred hours putting together this tribute that uses footage from almost all of the films and TV shows that Hoffman ever appeared in during his two-plus decades as an actor, starting all the way back from his bit part in an early episode of "Law & Order." It should be a treat for fans to see glimpses of their own favorite Hoffman performances, along with turns that they personally find to be underrated. For example, it puts a smile on the face of this writer to see some of Hoffman’s undervalued performances in “Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead” and “Charlie Wilson’s War” get almost equal screen time alongside more popular titles like “Capote” and “The Master.”
Throughout his relatively brief but jam-packed career, Hoffman has been in some pretty bad films, yet he’s never really given an altogether bad performance. Consider his role as a prototypical man-child sidekick in the instantly forgettable rom-com "Along Came Polly." His dedication to the role made that character, which could have easily ended up as a single-dimensional caricature, the most memorable part of that entire debacle. At the very least, this video will hopefully inspire all those who view it to seek out the Hoffman performances that they might have missed. As Caleb Slain puts it, “Please take a breather and raise your glasses to one of our finest.”
Watch below and also check out our feature, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s 12 Best Performances.