Indeed, The Byrds and McGuinn, as well as the likes of The Band, Jimi Hendrix, and Steppenwolf, provided the movie’s now-iconic soundtrack that serves as a celebratory dirge to freedom as our riders’ journey takes them from the vast, accepting lands of the southwest and into the dangerously reactionary deep South. The music scoring their journey also had some influence on their appearance, with Wyatt-or “Captain America”, if you will-reportedly modeled after Roger McGuinn while Hopper’s mustachioed Billy bears an undeniable resemblance to David Crosby, a founding member of The Byrds. Their illicit trade notwithstanding, our two protagonists are established as outlaws from the outset, their names borrowed from seminal “wild west” figures like Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid, charging through the countryside not on horses but on Harleys. There’s plenty more drug use along the way, from a few LSD tabs scored from a fellow traveler to introducing the wild-eyed lawyer George Hanson (Jack Nicholson) to marijuana, but the substances are secondary as Easy Rider allegorizes the death-or, perhaps, the contemporary redefinition-of the American dream. The iconoclastic filmmaker had been acting on screen since the ’50s before he made his directorial debut with the groundbreaking Easy Rider.įilmed early in 1968 but not released until the tumultuous summer of ’69, Easy Rider had been conceptualized by Hopper with screenwriter Terry Southern and fellow actor Peter Fonda, who would join Hopper on screen as the pair of freedom-loving bikers we follow across the country following a lucrative cocaine sale. The late Dennis Hopper was born 86 years ago today on May 17, 1936. On the whole, this film is an out and out classic.Dennis Hopper as Billy in Easy Rider (1969) Vitalsĭennis Hopper as Billy, cowboy-styled biker and cocaine smugglerĪcross the southern United States from Los Angeles through Louisiana, February 1968 Classic rock accompanies the pictures of the two men rider their bikes, and it's very cool indeed. Music was, of course, a big thing in the sixties and it's a big thing about this movie. Last but not least, another great thing about Easy Rider is the music. Even here, he shows his charisma and ability to steal the show and that is what he would go on to become famous for doing later in his career. It's not hard to see why this actor went on to become one of the best of all time. ![]() Jack Nicholson turns up halfway through and steals the show. The two actors brilliantly get into their characters, and after a while you forget that you're watching actors and start to think that these people really are these characters. The acting performances are a big part of the movie, and the two leads Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper stick out the most. That's the theme of the entire movie, and the way that it plays out, and the ending especially, aptly portray the difference between saying something and actually doing it. But like George Hanson says it's one thing to talk about being free, but something else entirely to actually be it. The American Dream has always been about freedom. We follow their exploits as they travel the country meeting various people including, most notably, George Hanson an offbeat lawyer, played by the great Jack Nicholson. It follows two motorbike riders on their way from Los Angeles to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The plot is simple and more just a base for the film to deliver it's real sting than anything else. These two were obviously in the thick of what was cool in the sixties, and that gives the film an element of authenticity as we feel like what we're seeing isn't too far away from the things really going on at that time. Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, men of substance and substance abuse, wrote the film together and Hopper directed it. ![]() This film is very much a product of the sixties and, like many things from the decade, will always be fondly remembered. Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider is often cited as being an all time classic, and while I don't think this is a great film in terms of technical brilliance, it sums up the era it was made and the tongue in cheek, cynical take on the 'American dream' is both potent and well done.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |