Easy Rider (1969)

This box-office hit from 1969 is an important pioneer of the American independent cinema movement, and a generational touchstone to boot. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper play hippie motorcyclists crossing the Southwest and encountering a crazy quilt of good and bad people. Jack Nicholson turns up in a significant role as an attorney who joins their quest for awhile and articulates society's problem with freedom as Fonda's and Hopper's characters embody it. Hopper directed, essentially bringing the no-frills filmmaking methods of legendary, drive-in movie producer Roger Corman (The Little Shop of Horrors) to a serious feature for the mainstream. The film can't help but look a bit dated now (a psychedelic sequence toward the end particularly doesn't hold up well), but it retains its original power, sense of daring, and epochal impact. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com essential video

 Still The Best
Still one of the best "buddy"/"anti-establishment" movies of all time. This review is not going to cover anything that hasn't already been covered. In short, AMAZING, EXCELLENT, OUTSTANDING!!! May 11, 2008

 Still Stunning
I saw this when it first came out, and was blown away.

But hey, that was the 60s, so maybe I was just reacting to the times.

But no.

Twenty years later I was asked to teach a course called "The Journey of Life" and use it as one of the pieces.

I was afraid it would not hold up.

I am glad to say I was wrong.

It held up splendidly.

It is one of those films that transcends itself. Despite the shoestring budget and no-name actors (Hopper and Fonda and Nicholson were practically unknown), it pole-vaults into the category of National Myth.

It instantly harks back to one of the elemental themes in America: Seeking Freedom by Hitting the Open Road.

This goes way back--past Kerouac, past Whitman, past Huck and Jim lighting out for the territories, past Ishmael and Queequeg, past Leatherstocking and Chingachkook, past even Hester Prynne and Pearl.

Amazing how this archetype resonates.

The simplicity, the scenery, the topical references (like the parade in the small town; the hippie commune), the strange drug-spirituality in New Orleans, the violence.

Great stuff. April 25, 2008

 Easy Rider
What a great movie! Easy Rider brought back some good memories of days gone by. I first saw this with my dad at a drive in theater.Easy Rider
April 20, 2008

 Why dont you get a haircut?????
Yes the ending, the ending!!!!!!!!! that redneck goiter laden hick freak in his pick up truck deserved some little trophy award for saying that line "why dont you get a haircut?" and then Boom!!!!!!!!!!!. I remember walking out of that theatre unable to speak, feel or show expression. Those were my heroes (Billy and Captain America)seeing them get blown away so violently seeking freedom and the real America which thay found unfortunately, was just too much for me. But they needed to be martyrs for the movie to work as well as it did. A great American indie that needed to be made before the 60's left us for good. This is grass man it gives you a whole new way of looking at the day. Now If we can get someone to make Easy Rider 2. Get your motors running. April 13, 2008

 The Greatest Film Ever Made
This film is everything to me. Made the year I was born it has everything that is great. Friends, Dylan, The Byrds, The West, America, Motorcycles, Women, Dreams, Adventure, Freedom, Love and Life.

March 27, 2008

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