Easy Rider

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This article is about the film. For other uses, see Easy Rider (disambiguation).
Easy Rider

Original movie poster
Directed by Dennis Hopper
Produced by Peter Fonda
William Hayward
Bert Schneider
Written by Peter Fonda
Dennis Hopper
Terry Southern
Starring Peter Fonda
Dennis Hopper
Jack Nicholson
Luke Askew
Karen Black
Music by Roger McGuinn
Cinematography Laszlo Kovacs
Editing by Donn Cambern
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) July 14, 1969
Running time 94 min.
Country USA
Language English
Budget $340,000-400,000
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Easy Rider, a 1969 road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Terry Southern, depicts two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South and experience its land and people. The movie stars Fonda, Hopper, and Jack Nicholson and was produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

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.

"Connection" (Phil Spector) checks the quality of the cocaine
"Connection" (Phil Spector) checks the quality of the cocaine

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."

George Hanson (Jack Nicholson) with Wyatt (Peter Fonda)
George Hanson (Jack Nicholson) with Wyatt (Peter Fonda)

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.

Wyatt (Peter Fonda), Mary (Toni Basil), Billy (Dennis Hopper) and Karen (Karen Black) [right] wandering the streets of a parade-filled New Orleans. This part of the film was shot in 16mm.
Wyatt (Peter Fonda), Mary (Toni Basil), Billy (Dennis Hopper) and Karen (Karen Black) [right] wandering the streets of a parade-filled New Orleans. This part of the film was shot in 16mm.

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.

[edit] Production

Production began in the spring of 1968 with the Mardi Gras scenes, which were shot on 16mm as a test. Hopper and Fonda were given $40,000 by Raybert Productions to shoot the test scenes, and if the scenes 'passed', the project would continue. However, Fonda got the carnival date wrong; discovering he only had a week to prepare when he had thought he would have a month, Hopper scrambled to find 16mm cameras and quickly assemble a fairly informal, makeshift crew.[1] The 16mm test material appears in the final film, and includes the Mardi Gras parade and cemetery scenes.

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)".

Dennis Hopper used several Louisiana locals to add authenticity to the film. Here David C. Billodeau and Johnny David appear in their only film role.
Dennis Hopper used several Louisiana locals to add authenticity to the film. Here David C. Billodeau and Johnny David appear in their only film role.

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. [2]

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 original Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico commune near Taos 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.

[edit] 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)

[edit] Responses

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 US premiere until July of 1969.

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.

[edit] 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."

[edit] Popular culture references

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

[edit] Music

The Stranger gives Wyatt some LSD to take "When you get to the right place with the right people".
The Stranger gives Wyatt some LSD to take "When you get to the right place with the right people".
Main article: Easy Rider (soundtrack)

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.

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The pin Wyatt wears on his jacket is an Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge.
  • The scene where Wyatt, Billy and George arrive in Louisiana over a bridge (accompanied by Jimi Hendrix's If 6 Was 9) was filmed in the city of Franklin, Louisiana. As the bikes go along Main Street the old city hall is visible behind what later became its replacement, under construction at the time.
  • After watching the movie, Jimi Hendrix was inspired to write a song about the movie (using different spelling), "Ezy Ryder".
  • In 1985, Hopper starred in the teen comedy My Science Project where he plays a high-school science teacher that is swept through a time vortex. He returns later in the film after revisiting the past dressed up in his Buckskin "Billy" outfit.
  • In the 1990 movie Flashback, which was also directed by Dennis Hopper, Hopper's character Huey Walker says, "It takes more than going down to your local video store and renting Easy Rider to be a rebel."
  • In 2007 two movies that have Peter Fonda acting in them, make references to this movie.
    • In Wild Hogs Fonda plays a legendary biker who saves the four heroes. His personality in this brief role is essentially an expansion of Wyatt.
    • In Ghost Rider Fonda plays Mephistopheles who says "Nice bike" to hero Johnny Blaze. The bike that Johnny rides is an exact copy of the bike that Fonda rode in the film. According to co-star Nicolas Cage, Fonda had a screening of this movie during filming.
  • To write this film, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper took as a starting point II sorpasso of Dino Risi, 1962 Italian movie.
  • In the First season ender of the Cartoon Network original The Venture Bros. Hank and Dean Venture are accidentally shot by The Monarch's henchmen Number 21 and Number 24. This scene of "Return To Spider-Skull Island" pays homage to the film, in both the "deaths" of Hank and Dean, and the fact that Hank wears a "Captain America" helmet belonging to Wyatt (Peter Fonda), while Dean wears a golden football helmet similar to the one worn by George (Jack Nicholson).
  • The drug deal scene is parodied by Canadian band Sloan in the music video for their song "The Good In Everyone."
  • George jokes that "they're trying to make everyone look like Yul Brynner". Peter Fonda would later star in Brynner's last film, Futureworld.
  • Actors Nicholson, Black and Basil also appear in Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces, released a year later.

[edit] Notable quotes

In New Orleans, Billy buys the services of Karen (Karen Black), a prostitute
In New Orleans, Billy buys the services of Karen (Karen Black), a prostitute
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  • 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.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind).
  2. ^ Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage at the Internet Movie Database. A Making-of documentary.
  3. ^ Biography of Mike Doonesbury, Doonesbury@Slate.com. Retrieved June 21, 2007.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links