Director: Dennis Hopper
Writer: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Terry Southern (Screenplay)
Starring: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Antonio Mendoza, Phil Spector, Jack Nicholson
Plot: Two counterculture bikers travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of America.
Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Wonderful Cultural Event
Story: Easy Rider starts as our two hippies Wyatt (Fonda) and Billy (Hopper) pick up their parcel in LA, which leaves them to set out on their adventure to New Orleans for Mardi Grad. Along the way they spend time with fellow hippies before finding themselves in jail.
George Hanson (Nicholson) the town drunk lawyer gets them out of jail and gets invited along to New Orleans with the two and as they continue their journey they must deal with being treated differently.
Thoughts on Easy Rider
Characters – Wyatt is one of the two friends travelling, he is the more laid back of the two keeping Billy in line when he starts to question moments and never finding himself too out of it on the drugs. Billy is the friend that just wants to get the job done, though when he stops he takes more grass than he needs to have. George Hanson is a lawyer that has a drinking problem, he helps the two get out of jail and joins them on their adventure across country enjoying the drugs for the first time.
Performances – The performances from Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper are both great, they completely embrace their characters with their own unique look to defying the hippie era. Jack Nicholson in the supporting role is great too showing just the talent he was going to show us all.
Story – The story here shows us two hippies travelling across America, which for the time of release would have been one of the truest movies you could see in a story, but not it feels like a glimpse into the past events in America, which once again shows us how American can’t treat people equal. If you have never studied the hippie era you won’t understand most of the story if I am being honest because it is an moment that doesn’t connect to all.
Adventure – The adventure the two friends go on does take them across America, but it is hard to figure out which state they are in for the most part.
Settings – The settings are hard to tell about in this film, the only one I could pick out was the airport in LA at the beginning.
Scene of the Movie – The first night the three are together.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not understand the direction of their trip.
Final Thoughts – This is a film that was cultural relevant for the time of release, it hasn’t dated by the best standard and now leaves us watching a time that if you never lived through you wouldn’t understand.
Overall: One of the culture books.
Rating
