Easy Rider

Infobox Film
name = Easy Rider


caption = Original movie poster
director = Dennis Hopper
producer = Peter Fonda
William Leland Hayward
Bert Schneider
writer = Peter Fonda
Dennis Hopper
Terry Southern
starring = Peter Fonda
Dennis Hopper
Jack Nicholson
Luke Askew
Karen Black
music = Roger McGuinn
cinematography = Laszlo Kovacs
editing = Donn Cambern
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = July 14, 1969
runtime = 94 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget = $340,000-400,000
amg_id = 1:15197
imdb_id = 0064276

"Easy Rider", a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Terry Southern. The film depicts two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South and experience its land and people. It stars Fonda, Hopper, and Jack Nicholson and was produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. "Easy Rider" helped spark the New Hollywood phase of filmmaking during the late sixties.

As a counterculture film, "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.

ynopsis

The protagonists are two bikers named Wyatt, nicknamed 'Captain America' (Fonda), and Billy (Hopper). Wyatt dresses in American flag-adorned leather, while Billy dresses in Native American-style buckskin pants and shirts and a bushman hat.

After smuggling drugs from Mexico to Los Angeles, Wyatt and Billy sell it to a man (played by Phil Spector) in a Rolls-Royce, in exchange for a large amount of cash. With this money stuffed into the Stars&Stripes-clad fuel tank of Wyatt's California style chopper, and after a symbolic scene of Wyatt throwing away his watch, they ride eastward in an attempt to reach New Orleans, Louisiana in time for Mardi Gras.

During their trip they pick up a hitch-hiker (Luke Askew) and agree to take him to the commune he is living in. They stay for a few days. Life in the commune appears to be hard, with hippies from the city finding it difficult to grow their own crops (one of the children seen in the commune is played by Fonda's four-year-old daughter Bridget.) At one point the bikers witness a prayer for blessing of the new crop, as put by a communard: A chance "to make a stand", and to plant "simple food, for a simple taste." The commune is also host to a traveling theater group that "sings for its supper" (performs for food). The notion of "free love" appears to be practiced, with two women seemingly sharing the affections of the hitch-hiking communard, and who then turn their attention to Wyatt and Billy. As Wyatt and Billy leave, the hitch-hiker (known only as "Stranger on highway" in the credits) gives Wyatt some LSD for him to share with "the right people".

While jokingly riding along with a parade in a small town, the pair are arrested by the local authorities for "parading without a permit." In jail, they befriend alcoholic ACLU lawyer George Hanson (played by Jack Nicholson). George helps them get out of jail and decides to travel with Wyatt and Billy. As they camp that night, Wyatt and Billy introduce George to marijuana. As an alcoholic and a square, George is reluctant to try the marijuana ("It leads to harder stuff"), but he quickly relents.

While attempting to eat in a Louisiana restaurant, the trio's appearance attracts the attention of the locals. The local high school girls in the restaurant want to meet the men and ride with them; the local men and police officer threaten and verbally abuse the riders. One of the men even states, "They won't even make the parish line". Wyatt, Billy and George leave without eating and make camp outside of town. The events of the day cause George to comment: "This used to be a hell of a good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it."

In the middle of the night, the local men return and brutally beat the trio while they sleep. Wyatt and Billy suffer minor injuries, but George is killed by a machete strike to the neck. Wyatt and Billy wrap George up in his sleeping bag, gather his belongings, and vow to return the items to his parents.

They continue to New Orleans and find the brothel which had been recommended by George. Taking two prostitutes, Karen (Karen Black) and Mary (Toni Basil), with them, Wyatt and Billy decide to go outside where the Mardi Gras is going on ("see image at right"). They wander the parade-filled streets of New Orleans. They end up in a cemetery, where all four ingest LSD. They all experience a psychedelic trip, represented through quick edits, sound effects and over-exposed film.

In the end, though Billy remains oblivious, Wyatt declares: "You know Billy, we blew it". Wyatt realizes that their search for freedom, while financially successful, was a spiritual failure. The next morning, the two are continuing their trip to Florida (where they hope to retire wealthy) when two locals in a pickup truck (who have a shotgun in their belongings) spot them, and decide to "give them a scare". As they pull alongside Billy and shout at him, he makes an obscene gesture at them. Incensed by this, one of the men takes the shotgun, and shoots at and hits Billy. Wyatt immediately turns around to see his friend crashed and bleeding on the side of the road. Wyatt hops on his bike, hoping to get help for his friend. By then, the men in the truck have turned around. When they see Wyatt speeding towards them on his bike, without a weapon, the redneck in the passenger seat aims at Wyatt and shoots. The shot hits the gas tank of Wyatt's bike, causing it to explode. The explosion not only kills Wyatt, but also destroys the money - which was what they had staked their life on. From the flaming bike on the side of the road, the camera ascends towards the sky, and the duo's journey "looking for America" ends once and for all.

Production

While shooting the cemetery scene, Hopper tried to convince Fonda to talk to the statue of the Madonna as though it were Fonda's mother (who had committed suicide when he was 10 years old) and ask her why she left him. Although Fonda was reluctant, he eventually complied. Later on, he used this scene as leverage to persuade Bob Dylan to allow the use of "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)".

During the test shooting, Hopper, legendary at the time for his drug excesses and paranoia, tyrannized the crew so much that everyone quit. At one point he entered into a physical confrontation with photographer Barry Feinstein, who was one of the camera operators for the shoot. After the turmoil in New Orleans, Hopper and Fonda decided to assemble a proper crew for the rest of the film. [imdb title|id=0345169|title=Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage. A Making-of documentary.]

According to Terry Southern's biographer, Lee Hill, the part of George Hanson had been written for Southern's friend, actor Rip Torn. When Torn met with Hopper and Fonda at a New York restaurant in early 1968 to discuss the role, Hopper began ranting about the "rednecks" he had encountered on his scouting trip to the South. Torn, a Texan, took exception to some of Hopper's remarks, and the two almost came to blows, as a result of which Torn withdrew from the project and had to be replaced by Jack Nicholson. In 1994, Hopper was interviewed about "Easy Rider" by Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show", and during the interview, he alleged that Torn had pulled a knife on him during the altercation, prompting Torn to successfully sue Hopper for defamation.

The hippie commune had to be recreated and shot near Mulholland Drive in the hills north of Los Angeles, as the New Buffalo commune near Taos in Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico did not permit shooting there.

The restaurant scenes with Fonda, Hopper and Nicholson were shot in Morganza, Louisiana. The men and girls in that scene were all Morganza locals. In order to incite more vitriolic commentary from the local men, Hopper told them to play the scene as if Billy, Wyatt, and George had raped a girl outside of town. The scene in which both Captain America and Billy were shot was filmed on Highway 105 North just outside of Krotz Springs, Louisiana, and the two men in the scene were Krotz Springs locals.

Most of the film is shot outside with natural lighting. While this can be attributed to the film being a road movie, at the time Hopper said all the outdoor shooting was an intentional choice on his part, because "God is a great gaffer."

Despite being filmed in the first half of 1968, between Mardi Gras and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, the film did not have a U.S. premiere until July of 1969. The delay was partially due to a protracted editing process. Hopper's first cut was rumored to be nearly three hours long, with extensive use of the "flash-forward" narrative device, wherein scenes from later in the movie are inserted into the current scene. (At least one flash-forward survives in the final edit, when Billy has a premonition of the final scene during one of the New Orleans scenes.) At the request of Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, Henry Jaglom was brought in to edit the film into its current form, with Hopper effectively removed from the project. Upon seeing the final cut, Hopper was extremely pleased, claiming that Jaglom had crafted the film the way Hopper had originally intended. Despite the large part he played in shaping the film, Jaglom only received credit as an "Editorial Consultant."

Cast

Peter Fonda ... Wyatt
Dennis Hopper ... Billy
Jack Nicholson ... George Hanson
Antonio Mendoza ... Jesus
Phil Spector ... Connection
Mac Mashourian ... Bodyguard
Warren Finnerty ... Rancher
Tita Colorado ... Rancher's Wife
Luke Askew ... Stranger on Highway
Luana Anders ... Lisa
Sabrina Scharf ... Sarah
Robert Walker Jr. ... Jack (billed as Robert Walker)
Sandy Brown Wyeth ... Joanne (billed as Sandy Wyeth)
Robert Ball ... Mime #1
Carmen Phillips ... Mime #2
Ellie Wood Walker ... Mime #3 (as Ellie Walker)

Responses

Along with "Bonnie and Clyde" and "The Graduate", "Easy Rider" helped kick-start the New Hollywood phase during the late sixties and early seventies. The major studios realised that money could be made from low-budget films made by avant-garde directors. Heavily influenced by the French New Wave, the films of the so-called "post-classical Hollywood" came to represent a generation increasingly disillusioned with their government and the world.Fact|date=August 2008

The film's success, and the new era of Hollywood that it helped usher in, led to Hopper getting the chance to direct again, making whatever film he wanted with complete artistic control. This turned out to be 1971's The Last Movie, which was a notable box office and critical failure, effectively ending Hopper's directorial career for well over a decade.

Awards

Hopper received the First Film Award ("Prix de la premiere oeuvre") at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival. At the Academy Awards, Jack Nicholson was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and the film was also nominated for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced.

The film appears at number 88 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Years, 100 Movies. In 1998, "Easy Rider" was added to the United States National Film Registry, having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Music

Both The Band and Crosby, Stills, & Nash (CSN) were considered for the soundtrack. However, during editing, Hopper used various music from his own record collection. When CSN 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 performed it in the film.

Notable quotes

*George Hanson: It's real hard to be free when you're bought and sold in the marketplace.
*George Hanson: This used to be a hell of a good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it.
*Wyatt: No, I mean it, you've got a nice place. It's not every man that can live off the land, you know. You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud.
*Wyatt: I'm hip about time, but I just gotta go.
*Wyatt: You ever want to be somebody else?
Stranger On Highway: I'd like to try Porky Pig.
Wyatt: I never wanted to be anybody else.
*Billy: We did it, man. We did it, we did it. We're rich, man. We're retirin' in Florida now, mister.
Wyatt: You know Billy, we blew it.

Notes

Further reading

*cite book
last = Carr
first = Jay
authorlink =
coauthors = National Society of Film Critics
title = The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films
publisher = Da Capo Press
date = 2002
isbn = 0306810964
*cite book
last = Hill
first = Lee
authorlink =
title = Easy Rider
publisher = British Film Institute
date = 1996
isbn = 085170543X
*cite book
last = Klinger
first = Barbara
authorlink =
editor = Steven Cohan, Ina Rae Hark
chapter = The Road to Dystopia: Landscaping the Nation in Easy Rider
title = The Road Movie Book
location = New York
publisher = Routledge
date = 1997
isbn = 0415149363
*cite book
last = Lev
first = Peter
authorlink =
title = American Films of the 70s: Conflicting Visions
publisher = University of Texas Press
date = 2000
url = http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/levame.html
isbn = 0292747160
*cite book
last = Osgerby
first = Bill
authorlink =
title = Biker: Truth and Myth: How the Original Cowboy of the Road Became the Easy Rider of the Silver Screen
publisher = Globe Pequot
date = 2005
isbn = 1592288413

ee also

* American Dream
* Hippie
* Method acting

External links

*
* [http://www.filmsite.org/easy.html Easy Rider on Filmsite.org]
* [http://www.brokenprojector.com/wordpress/?p=69 Post-Classical Hollywood, Male-Bonding and LSD in Easy Rider]
* [http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562899826eZACLy?vhost=good-times]