Classic 60s Movie: Easy Rider
January is Classic 60s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Drew Dorenfest.
Movie Title: Easy Rider
Year: 1969
Writers: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Terry Southern (nominated for best original screenplay)
Lead Actors: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson (nominated for best supporting actor)
Director: Dennis Hopper
IMDb Plot Summary: Two counterculture bikers travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of America.
Why I Think This Is A Classic 60s Movie: Easy Rider came out in 1969, the same year Bonnie & Clyde and The Graduate were released. Clearly, Hollywood and the culture were changing. The counter-culture, the hippies, the baby boom generation, the civil rights movement, and all the unrest of the 1960’s can be viewed through the movies of this time. Easy Rider is one of the most striking (and beautiful) examples.
I was reminded of the most famous quote from Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas,” another drug-filled road trip, published in 1971, that looks back at that time with all the hope, sadness, madness, and frustration of what it all ultimately meant.
“There was no point in fighting — on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . .
So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark — that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.”
My Favorite Moment In The Movie: When I first saw Easy Rider in high school, this moment meant everything to me:
Even though the film is about the end of the 60’s, its themes of freedom and rebelling against the establishment will resonate forever, as long as there are people willing to take up that flag and rebel.
My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie:
George Hanson: What’s “dude”? Is that like “dude ranch”?
Captain America: Dude means nice guy. Dude means a regular sort of person.
Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie: The thing that struck me the most upon re-watching the film was the prevailing sadness that permeates the entire story. When I was younger, the freedom of being out on the open road with your best friend and all the drugs and money and freedom you could handle was exhilarating. Viewing it as an older, slightly wiser, slightly less rebellious, hopefully not too conformed adult, I see the same story and it makes me want to cry (even during the early, driving across America scenes.)
This the story of two loners (trivia: the original title was THE LONERS) who leave society on the west coast and head out for Mardi Gras. Along the way, they meet different people, smoke a lot of pot, get arrested, fool around with pretty girls, camp out, trip out, and contemplate their direction in life. What got me so down was they’re never really welcome anywhere. They’re just passing through. They have no home. It’s the anti-establishment coming to realize that if you shun society, what does that leave you with? Not a whole lot is the answer. It’s a tragic comedown (driven home by the shocking ending) of a glorious, fleeting high.
Thanks, Drew! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!
Twitter: @Drew_Dorenfest.
We already have a set of classic 70s movies, 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 60s Movies.
We have 31 volunteers. I have put in bold those who have already sent their guest post to me.
Ipsita Barik — Rosemary’s Baby
Ipsita Barik — Bonnie and Clyde
Mike Dobbins — The Sound of Music
Brandnewusedcar — Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Markham Cook — Jules et Jim
Steve Cook — The Blue Max
JasperLamarCrab — 2001: A Space Odyssey
N D — Lonely are the Brave
Drew Dorenfest — Easy Rider
Rick Dyke — Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Rick Dyke — Fail Safe
Felicity Flesher — The Music Man
PaulG — Lawrence of Arabia
D.L. Gill — Zulu
Jeff Guenther — Cool Hand Luke
Kate Hagen — Repulsion
John Henderson — Night of the Living Dead
John Henderson — The Odd Couple
John Hörnschemeyer — The Graduate
Zach Jansen — They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Will King — The Pink Panther
William Leitch — If…
Lisaisfunny — Blow Up
Jack McDonald — Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Nick — Lonely are the Brave
Daryl Powell — The Apartment
jprichard — Persona
Ally Shina — The Jungle Book
Mark Twain — The Loved One
Liz Warner — The Manchurian Candidate
Michael Waters — Dr. No
For those who have signed up, but have yet to email me your post, please do so ASAP.
Thanks in advance!
For the original post explaining the series, go here.
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