Kovac's amazing camera work (especially on the road with the bikes) along with a virtual who's who in rock music of the late 60's makes for a sometimes visceral filmgoing experience. The expressions on the faces all seem different, some grinning, others just zoned out. One significant shot paints the commune with a 360 degree pan across the faces of the live-in hippies. There is a surreal experience at a commune the Kid and Wyatt stop at. Did they find what America was supposed to be about? I guess not according to Fonda. Their ultimate goal is never clearly defined, but Fonda's final comment to Hopper may sum it up for viewers. A major deal is made, much grass is smoked, and the film takes off from there. ![]() It is some beautiful footage and essential to the trip. Much of the film consists of Kovacs' simple shooting of the riders as they travel spiraling highways and bigoted backroads. The stunning DVD version of the film notes the importance of Laszlo Kovacs, the director of photography. Peter Fonda plays cool "Captain America", otherwise known as Wyatt, while Hopper is a paranoid prophet of the hippies as "Billy the Kid". Sex, drugs, and music were exploding socially and 1960's ideology may have come to an end in 1969, literally and figuratively speaking - much like it shockingly does in this film. The sprawling journey shows filmgoers the multiple frictions and shattered idealism of a generation in the midst of cultural change. Of course, the stop at Mardi Gras is a necessity, but what Fonda and director Hopper are trying to tell us is that there was no 'freedom' as they saw it. ![]() I may not have been around at the time, but it is great to see a film portraying the long-haired, hippie attitude towards an America in turmoil in the form of a biker flick, circa 1969.ĮASY RIDER is an exploration of vast and desolate parts of the country. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper's story of two men who go in search of America and 'freedom' is a bona fide sign of the times. No film other than EASY RIDER captures the late 1960's as seen by the American counter-culture. TAXI DRIVER is a masterpiece of social distortion and paranoia exemplary of the 1970's. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES captured the reality of the post-war 1940's. Not many films have documented an era of American culture the way it must have really been. Reviewed by Don-102 9 / 10 A Far Out Document of the late 60's Encapsulates Counter-Culture America. This movie made us think of the fragility of our lives in the hands of politicians and base individuals. We were so angry about the conclusion and our parents say these guys got just what they deserved. As I've grown older, it has been easier to see weaknesses of these men. The problem was a sickness that permeated everything at the time. Jack Nicholson as George come along for the ride because he has never seen anything like this before. ![]() They have some dalliances and some confrontations. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper travelling across the country, scoring drugs, taking risks, trying to find America (the cliché of the time). We sat around and commiserated about the fact that there was that Sword of Damocles, the Vietnam War, hanging over each of our heads. My friends and I went to see "Easy Rider" when we were in college. Reviewed by Hitchcoc 7 / 10 A Country Full of Anger Through it all, Wyatt in particular evaluates if the trip ends up being what he expects or wants for his life.-Huggo But they will also ruffle some feathers just for being hippies, arguably in the fear not of them as people but what they represent. They will find that not all counter-culturalists have the exact same mindset, while they will also find the spiritual and practical connections to others in perhaps the most unlikely of places and people. While Wyatt is more easy going, believing in the karmic nature and practicality of helping others when they can and in turn asking for help when they need it, Billy is a little more suspicious of the people they encounter, especially in hiding their wad of cash that is stuffed into the gas tank of Wyatt's bike, that money their future. They don't plan to spend their proceeds on this trip - they saving that for a more carefree life in Florida after the fact - they sleeping in the great outdoors along the way. Netting a hefty profit from their latest drug deal, hippies Wyatt and Billy decide to outfit themselves with among other things motorbikes - Wyatt complete in what they call his Captain America gear and similar motif on the bike - and chucking any structure in their lives beyond the want to get there for the event, cycle from their home base of Los Angeles to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in just over a week.
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