Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Kenneth Bowser

Writers:

Peter Biskind (book)
Kenneth Bowser (writer)

Release Date:

9 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Tagline:

How the Sex Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood

Plot:

A look at 1970s Hollywood when it was known as New Hollywood, and the director was the star of the movie.

Plot Keywords:

Hollywood | Actor | Interview | Producer | Cinema

Cast

Dede Allen	...	Herself
Peter Bart	...	Himself
Tony Bill	...	Himself
Karen Black	...	Herself
Peter Bogdanovich	...	Himself
Ernest Borgnine	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ellen Burstyn	...	Herself
Roger Corman	...	Himself
Robert De Niro	...	(archive footage)
Micky Dolenz	...	Himself
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Himself
Peter Fonda	...	Himself
Carl Gottlieb	...	Himself
Jerome Hellman	...	Himself
Monte Hellman	...	Himself
Dennis Hopper	...	Himself
Willard Huyck	...	Himself
Stanley R. Jaffe	...	Himself
Henry Jaglom	...	Himself
Gloria Katz	...	Herself
Harvey Keitel	...	(archive footage)
Margot Kidder	...	Herself
László Kovács	...	Himself
Kris Kristofferson	...	Himself
William H. Macy	...	Narrator (voice)
Mardik Martin	...	Himself
Mike Medavoy	...	Himself
Sylvia Miles	...	Herself
John Milius	...	Himself
Charles Mulvehill	...	Himself
David Newman	...	Himself
Arthur Penn	...	Himself
Michael Phillips	...	Himself
David V. Picker	...	Himself
Polly Platt	...	Herself
Roman Polanski	...	(archive footage)
Albert S. Ruddy	...	Himself
Jennifer Salt	...	Herself
Andrew Sarris	...	Himself
Paul Schrader	...	Himself
Cybill Shepherd	...	Herself
Jonathan Tapin	...	Himself
Sharon Tate	...	(archive footage)
Joan Tewkesbury	...	Herself
Fred Weintraub	...	Himself
Gordon Willis	...	Himself
Rudy Wurlitzer	...	Himself
Vilmos Zsigmond	...	Himself

Runtime:

USA:119 min

Country:

Canada | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:M | USA:TV-14

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Many of the subjects profiled in author Peter Biskind's book, including directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Robert Altman, and 'William Friedkin', declined interviews for the documentary.

Movie Connections:

References The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)

Documentary on a golden era in Hollywood which didn't go sour so much as it evaporated...

After 20th Century-Fox's "The Sound of Music" raked in big box-office and Academy Awards, every Hollywood studio was busy for the next couple of years trying to duplicate its success (it isn't specified here, but Fox itself was one of the hungriest at pilfering from this genre). Unfortunately, "The Sound of Music" was really the end of the popular, old-fashioned, break-out-in-song Hollywood movie, giving way to the rebellious counterculture. Seen as a major turning point--and released before "Bonnie & Clyde"--"The Wild Angels", a Roger Corman biker flick from A.I.P. (which came out one year after "The Sound of Music"), signaled a change in perceptions. The studio system was breaking down and actors were no longer on contract (since the youth movement didn't exactly want pretty stars). Most young, hungry American movie makers of this period took their cues from the European directors of the early '60s, and this documentary chronicles their battles with the ever-present Hollywood regime into getting their avant garde movies made, marketed and released. Most of the movers and shakers from the past are here, looking quite good, and their recollections from this fertile period for thought-provoking entertainment are fascinating. The downfalls (the drugs, the egos) are documented in a matter-of-fact way, nobody is chastised or condescended to, as the rise of the summer blockbuster (Steven Spielberg's "Jaws") heralded the weakening of the character-driven drama. This film does make it seem as if the smaller, more personal Hollywood motion picture is completely dead now, but fails to take into consideration terrific films like "Sling Blade" or "Monster's Ball" which, high profile or not, give serious movie-fans hope for the future. But as a chronicle of this golden era, "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls", narrated by William H. Macy, is fairly straightforward, mostly accurate, very entertaining, and a great tool for film buffs who weren't privileged to have been there. *** from ****