1. Easy Rider
The godfather of all road movies, 1969's Easy Rider was a truly groundbreaking film back in it's day. It tells the story of two bikers (played by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper) who travel through the American South and Southwest with the aim of achieving freedom.
Fonda, who also helped write the film with Hopper, did a superb job of adding into the mix Jack Nicholson's excellent character of George Hanson, a hard-drinking lawyer. The part of Hanson was a lucky break for Nicholson, the role had in fact been written for actor Rip Torn, who was a close friend of screen writer Terry Southern, but Torn withdrew from the project after a bitter argument with director Dennis Hopper, during which the two men almost came to blows. The American Dream has always been about freedom, but like George Hanson says, ''it's one thing to talk about being free, but something else entirely actually being it.''
Nik, nik, nik, feck, feck, feck ......... Indians.
A landmark counterculture film and a touchstone for a generation that captured the national imagination, Easy Rider explores the societal landscape, issues, and tensions in the United States during the 1960s, such as the rise and fall of the hippie movement, drug use, and communal lifestyle. The film is noted for its use of real drugs in its portrayal of marijuana and LSD.
The movie's soundtrack features The Band, The Byrds, The Electric Prunes, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Steppenwolf aswell as the seminal 'Don't Bogart That Joint My Friend Pass It Over To Me'. When Crosby, Stills and Nash viewed a rough cut of the film, they assured Hopper that they could not do any better than he already had. Bob Dylan was asked to contribute music, but was reluctant to use his own recording of "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)", so a version performed by Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn was used instead. Also, instead of writing an entirely new song for the film, Dylan simply wrote out the first verse of “Ballad of Easy Rider” and told the filmmakers, “Give this to McGuinn, he’ll know what to do with it.” McGuinn completed the song and the song completed the film.
Easy Rider is a flawed masterpiece, a film that is not perfect but real. By the end it achieves something so great it overcomes its' flaws. It's also one hell of a trip.
The godfather of all road movies, 1969's Easy Rider was a truly groundbreaking film back in it's day. It tells the story of two bikers (played by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper) who travel through the American South and Southwest with the aim of achieving freedom.
Fonda, who also helped write the film with Hopper, did a superb job of adding into the mix Jack Nicholson's excellent character of George Hanson, a hard-drinking lawyer. The part of Hanson was a lucky break for Nicholson, the role had in fact been written for actor Rip Torn, who was a close friend of screen writer Terry Southern, but Torn withdrew from the project after a bitter argument with director Dennis Hopper, during which the two men almost came to blows. The American Dream has always been about freedom, but like George Hanson says, ''it's one thing to talk about being free, but something else entirely actually being it.''
Nik, nik, nik, feck, feck, feck ......... Indians.
A landmark counterculture film and a touchstone for a generation that captured the national imagination, Easy Rider explores the societal landscape, issues, and tensions in the United States during the 1960s, such as the rise and fall of the hippie movement, drug use, and communal lifestyle. The film is noted for its use of real drugs in its portrayal of marijuana and LSD.
The movie's soundtrack features The Band, The Byrds, The Electric Prunes, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Steppenwolf aswell as the seminal 'Don't Bogart That Joint My Friend Pass It Over To Me'. When Crosby, Stills and Nash viewed a rough cut of the film, they assured Hopper that they could not do any better than he already had. Bob Dylan was asked to contribute music, but was reluctant to use his own recording of "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)", so a version performed by Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn was used instead. Also, instead of writing an entirely new song for the film, Dylan simply wrote out the first verse of “Ballad of Easy Rider” and told the filmmakers, “Give this to McGuinn, he’ll know what to do with it.” McGuinn completed the song and the song completed the film.
Easy Rider is a flawed masterpiece, a film that is not perfect but real. By the end it achieves something so great it overcomes its' flaws. It's also one hell of a trip.
