Easy Rider (1969)

Two counterculture bikers travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of America.

Director:

Dennis Hopper

Writers:

Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper

Stars:

Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Fonda	...	Wyatt
Dennis Hopper	...	Billy
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
Sandy Brown Wyeth	...	Joanne (as Sandy Wyeth)
Robert Walker Jr.	...	Jack (as Robert Walker)
Robert Ball	...	Mime #1
Carmen Phillips	...	Mime #2
Ellie Wood Walker	...	Mime #3 (as Ellie Walker)

Storyline

Two young "hippie" bikers, Wyatt and Billy sell some dope in Southern California, stash their money away in their gas-tank and set off for a trip across America, on their own personal odyssey looking for a way to lead their lives. On the journey they encounter bigotry and hatred from small-town communities who despise and fear their non-conformism. However Wyatt and Billy also discover people attempting 'alternative lifestyles' who are resisting this narrow-mindedness, there is always a question mark over the future survival of these drop-out groups. The gentle hippie community who thank God for 'a place to stand' are living their own unreal dream. The rancher they encounter and his Mexican wife are hard-pushed to make ends meet. Even LSD turns sour when the trip is a bad one. Death comes to seem the only freedom. When they arrive at a diner in a small town, they are insulted by the local rednecks as weirdo degenerates. They are arrested on some minor pretext by the local sheriff and ...

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Plot Keywords:

road movie | biker gang | male with long hair | written and directed by cast member | sad ending | 

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Taglines:

A man went looking for America. And couldn't find it anywhere.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

27 June 1969 (France)

Also Known As:

The Loners

Filming Locations:

Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pando Company Inc., Raybert Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper quarreled continually during the shoot. As the film's producer, Fonda did his utmost to have co-star and director Hopper fired.

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Goofs

Our heroes are heading east across the country in a trip, having started in LA. Yet in a town relatively far east on the journey, a Pacific Bell telephone logo is seen.

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Quotes

Billy: Where ya from man?
Stranger on the Highway: Hard to say.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #8.24 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Don't Bogart Me
Performed by Fraternity of Man
Composed by Elliot Ingber (as Elliott Ingber) & Larry Wagner

User Reviews

My favorite movie of all time...

Too often this film is relegated to retro documentaries and cheap nostalgia for an era too often reduced to its superficial artifacts (flower power, popular music).

I was born in 1972, three years after this film was made, but the themes in it are still relevant and important to me. Maybe I'm the last of a certain kind of American; someone wondering about what's still possible in the USA, and searching for the realized potential of the American Dream. Perhaps what has changed since this film was released is that freedom - that is, real freedom, just doesn't matter as much to people as it once did. Self-enslavement is a popular past-time for today's numb middle class; a group of people who, I am convinced, do not dream when they sleep.

This movie defined the road film genre, even though it was not the first of its kind. I owe a debt of gratitude to Fonda, Nicholson, and Hopper for pointing out a very real truth about America and its often twisted approach to "freedom." By any standard, this is a film which should not be missed. It is a film I wish I had written myself.