1001 Movie Club - Easy Rider (1969)

#500. Easy Rider (1969)

Why It's In The Book: "Easy Rider is one of those movies whose importance goes far beyond its status as a work of art... This seemingly inconsequential narrative proved to be one of the seminal films of the post-1968 generation in Hollywood, one of the first to put "the alternative society" on the screen. The two bikers are iconic figures, Hopper with his long hair, shades, and Indian necklace, Fonda with his starts and stripes helmet and bike... Easy Rider challenged much of the conventional Hollywood wisdom. It's a film by and for the young (Hopper was only 32 when he directed it), with music by such stalwarts of the counterculture as Steppenwolf, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan. None of the principles (Nicholson, Hopper, and Fonda) were big stars. The narrative is as freewheeling as the characters. There's no conventional love story... Made for very little money, Easy Rider was a huge box-office success. it helped pave the way for works that challenged conventional Hollywood ideas, including further Jack Nicholson vehicles such as Five Easy Pieces and The King Of Marvin Gardens." -1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Member Ratings

Michaël Parent - 9/10
"The film reflected the changes and the problems America was facing in the late 1960's, it also hooked the many young folks who were experiencing those liberating years while in the same time (around 1968) the US government was seriously entering into the Vietnam War."
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Adolytsi - 8/10
"Even with its iconography without question, the film still manages to break the mold in just about every conceivable way."
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Klaus Ming - 8/10
"Lacking any real plot, and filmed with an almost documentary feel, Easy Rider is the quintessential American road movie."
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Doug Tilley - 7/10
"It's hard to comprehend just how revolutionary Easy Rider was for both popular culture and the film
industry as a whole upon its release in 1969."
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Movie Guy Steve - 7/10
"Easy Rider is less a journey than it is a trip."
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Jay Cluitt - 6/10
"I can only assume the intense and bizarre results of an acid trip are shown correctly, and if so then this film's effect on me is probably the opposite of that intended; I don’t ever want to take drugs or experience such a level of disorientation."
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Overall Rating: 7.5/10