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Five Easy Pieces
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Five Easy Pieces (1970) More at IMDbPro »

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Five Easy Pieces (1970) -- A drop-out from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil-rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest.

Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   10,192 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Bob Rafelson
Writers:
Carole Eastman (screenplay)
Carole Eastman (story)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Five Easy Pieces on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 September 1970 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
He Rode The Fast Lane On The Road To Nowhere.
Plot:
A drop-out from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil-rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 6 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Cass McComb's weird music video starring Karen Black
 (From pretty-scary. 9 July 2009, 1:31 PM, PDT)

E1 Bringing Elsewhere and Hunger Home in June
 (From Dread Central. 30 April 2009, 2:47 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
"stick it between your knees" more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jack Nicholson ... Robert Eroica Dupea

Karen Black ... Rayette Dipesto
Billy Green Bush ... Elton (as Billy 'Green' Bush)
Fannie Flagg ... Stoney
Sally Struthers ... Betty (as Sally Ann Struthers)
Marlena MacGuire ... Twinky (as Marlena Macguire)
Richard Stahl ... Recording Engineer

Lois Smith ... Partita Dupea
Helena Kallianiotes ... Palm Apodaca
Toni Basil ... Terry Grouse
Lorna Thayer ... Waitress
Susan Anspach ... Catherine Van Oost
Ralph Waite ... Carl Fidelio Dupea
William Challee ... Nicholas Dupea
John P. Ryan ... Spicer (as John Ryan)
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
98 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Sweden:11 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | New Zealand:R16 | USA:R | UK:15 | UK:AA (original rating)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
"Five Easy Pieces" refers to a book of piano lessons for beginners. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the game at the bowling alley, Betty and Twinky appear bowling on the next lane and several alternating times a league team is occupying that lane. more
Quotes:
Rayette: You love me, Bobby?
Bobby: What do you think?
[they kiss]
more
Soundtrack:
Stand by your Man more

FAQ

What are the five 'easy' pieces?
more
17 out of 23 people found the following comment useful:-
"stick it between your knees", 8 July 2005
10/10
Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA

In 1969, Jack Nicholson made his big break in "Easy Rider", and the very next year, he got his first lead role in another "easy": "Five Easy Pieces". He plays Robert Eroica "Bobby" Dupea, a man from a well-off musical family. Bobby has given up his potential, choosing instead to work in the oil fields. Angry and with no goal in life, he spends most of his time drinking, partying, and ignoring his girlfriend Rayette Dipesto (Karen Black). Then, his father has a stroke, forcing Bobby to visit his family. Staying with his family prompts him to not only reconsider the path that he has chosen in life, but to reevaluate his whole existence, and how he abandoned his talent.

"Five Easy Pieces" was one of the movies that affirmed the new direction that the movie industry was taking in the late '60s and early '70s. Ten years earlier, they might have given the movie an idiotically sugary ending, but the movie does not have such an ending. The ending not only shows how unhappy Bobby is, but also the sense of cynicism that had come to pervade the country. A 10/10.

Of course, the really famous scene happens in the restaurant. Although that was probably just thrown in for comic relief, it truly is a classic.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Jack Nicholson and Susan Anspach's love child. dini0519
Best Nicholson line EVER is in this movie.... Stoidy
Similar movies to see. Recommend!!! nahuil
So what are the 5 pieces? drewpiece
question about the end credits unclefugly
What's the point of this? amy-girl
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