![]() ![]() In the next scene they are selling it to a well-heeled pusher with whom they rendezvous under the landing approach at the Los Angeles airport. The film opens with Wyatt (Peter Fonda, who also produced) and Billy (Dennis Hopper, who directed) in Mexico making a purchase of cocaine. It is honest, almost always convincing, beautiful, and engrossing. What makes it remarkable, aside from the fact that it contains none of the idiocies of the former genre and few of those of the latter, is that it is perhaps the first feature film to capture successfully the conflict between the new hippy, “tribal,” drug-oriented generation and their opposite numbers in the straight world. Columbia.Įasy Rider is a motorcycle film and also a kind of latter-day Western. Script by Hopper, Fonda, and Terry Southern. A mesmerising film with great characters and one hell of a shocking ending that comes out of nowhere.From Film Quarterly October 1969, Vol. It’s a little bit like Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, while at the same time being it’s own thing. There’s also some strange and jarring scene transitions, where the screen flickers between the current and next scene before settling on the next one, it feels disorientating and the first time this happens it tells you perfectly that this film is a little bit different.Įasy Rider feels unique, even over fifty years later there’s nothing else really like it. There’s one scene in a café, where the sheriff and others are saying horrible things about the three main characters, which was improvised with the only direction was to be as horrible as possible. It almost captures a part of history, which is only added to by the use of locals in certain scenes rather than actors. The different styles of life mixed together and happening at the same time. Throughout the film there are a lot of contrasting scenes, from a hippie commune that cuts straight into a parade through the city, a calm talk around the fire cutting to a violent attack. Everything about his performance is completely natural. He deservedly was nominated for best supporting Oscar that year but lost out to Laurence Oliver. Nicholson steals every scene that he’s in and has the most memorable moments in the film. Adding to the mix, over half way through the film, is Jack Nicholson who plays smalltown lawyer George Hanson. They work really well together on screen and you really get the sense that they are lifetime friends. Both Hopper and Fonda give great and very different performances. After Dylan saw the film, he demanded that his name was removed from the credits of the film and any release of the song.Įverything about the film is very naturalistic and free flowing, feeling very authentic. With that song Bob Dylan wrote the first verse and then it was passed of to The Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn to finish up, and the song features over the closing moments of the film. The soundtrack is fantastic, featuring Steppenwolf, Jimi Hendrix, and an original song, ‘Ballard of Easy Rider’. ![]() It’s a mesmerising journey and even though not much really happens it’s still engaging and easy to watch. They meet people from different backgrounds, living varied lives. There’s a free-flowing feel to everything as the characters meander along their journey to the festival. The plot is very loose, mainly focusing on Wyatt (Fonda) and Billy (Hopper) travelling across America, the different people they meet, and the different ways people live. Eventually the film was cut down to a tight ninety-five minutes, and the film is seen as one of the major releases of the New Hollywood era, which was influenced by international cinema and experimental films. Originally the film was reported to be around four hours long, with scenes stretching out, backed by songs. Fonda and Hopper both star in the film as the two bikers travelling to Mardi Gras festival. The film was written by Peter Fonda, Terry Southern, and Dennis Hopper, who also directed the film. Made with an incredibly low budget, the story follows two bikers who are travelling across southern America. Starring: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholsonĭennis Hopper’s influence independent film Easy Rider captures the counterculture of the 1960s, set against the backdrop of a society that was filled with riots, civil unrest, and. Writer: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern
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