Easy Rider (1969)

Through the open country and desert lands, two bikers head from L.A to New Orleans, and along the way, meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap they are unaware of.

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 | motorcycle | year 1969 | biker gang | road trip | 

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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

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 June 1969 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Loners

Filming Locations:

Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$41,728,598

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$60,000,000, 31 January 1972

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pando Company Inc.,Raybert Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The drugs that Billy and Wyatt transport, was originally marijuana, until it was pointed out a motorcycle couldn't carry enough to score big, and Dennis Hopper ruled out heroin, so it became cocaine.

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Goofs

Peter's bike is flying through the air landing on the others side of the fence. But, in the next shot the burring bike is just off the road.

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Quotes

George Hanson: What do you say we take a look at these super machines we've been hearin' so much about.
Billy: Let's get it on.

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Connections

Referenced in The Get Along Gang: The Wrong Stuff/Uneasy Rider (1984)

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Soundtracks

The Pusher
Performed by Steppenwolf
Composed by Hoyt Axton

User Reviews

A generation-defining counter-culture classic!

'Easy Rider' is much more than a 60s relic - it's still a great movie even today. I find it fascinating that Hopper and Fonda took Roger Corman material and gave it an arthouse approach influenced by Godard and the French New Wave. Combined with breathtaking visuals, a well chosen rock soundtrack and some classic, stoned, improvised dialogue this is still an impressive movie all these years later. Fonda had recently made 'The Wild Angels', Hopper the less remembered 'The Glory Stompers', and Jack Nicholson 'Hells Angels On Wheels', but 'Easy Rider' reinvented the biker movie, and things were never quite the same in Hollywood for the rest of the Seventies. The supporting cast is interesting and includes a great role for the fantastically underrated Luke Askew as the "Stranger on Highway", and cameos from the stars buddies Luana Anders ('Dementia 13') and Sabrina Scharf (Nicholson's love interest in 'Hells Angels On Wheels'), as well Karen Black and Toni Basil's New Orleans hookers, Phil Spector's coke snorting bit part, and a fleeting glimpse of a young Grizzly Adams. You either love this movie or you don't, and I'm most definitely in the former camp. A 1960s generation-defining counter-culture classic!