Easy Rider (1969)

Star Rating: 4
Length of Film: 94 minutes
Director: Dennis Hopper
Cast: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Antonio Mendoza, Jack Nicholson, Phil Spector, Mac Mashourian, Warren Finnerty, Tita Colorado, Luke Askew, Luana Anders, Sabrina Scharf, Robert Walker Jr., Sandy Wyeth, Robert Ball, Carmen Phillips, Ellie Wood Walker
Oscar Nominations: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Terry Southern (screenplay), Jack Nicholson (actor in support role)
Cannes Film Festival: Dennis Hopper (best first work, Golden Palm nomination)



This movie is the epitome of the 60's. Drug abuse, communes, prejudices against individuals with "long hair". I watched it with my parents and they enjoyed the movie, just remembering the gas stations and the the Benjamin Franklin stores. Wyatt, "Captain America" (Peter Fonda), and Billy (Dennis Hopper), sell some drugs, roll the bills into a plastic tube, and put it in the gas tank and decide to take a road trip across the country to go to Mardi Gras.




Billy (Dennis Hopper) starred and directed the movie


Very handsome, Peter Fonda

Captain America is the quiet type, and very mellow throughtout the whole movie (not unless it was the influence of the drugs), while Billy is more high strung and vocal.  The boys were driving and picked up a hitchhiker (Luke Askew) who they graceously drove back to his commune where there was 20+ people living together with barnyard animals and trying to grow crops in the desert with no water. It's actually quite funny because they were so high and dense...they just threw the seeds on the ground without burying them. The two guys go skinny dipping with 2 of the commune girls. You see their butts and the their boobs through the water, but no nipples.

They pass through a town where there's a parade going around and they ride right through them, getting arrested for "parading without a permit". While in jail, they meet George Hanson (Jack Nicholson) in a role that makes the movie. He plays a lawyer who has a drinking problem and knows calls the officers by their first names. He graciously gets Wyatt & Billy out of jail, and the boys inform them of their journey to Mardi Gras, and tells them about a whorehouse that's supposed to be the best. They invite him to come and he joins the boys wearing his old football helmet.



After riding for a couple of days, the 3 men look a little ragged and scruffy. They walk into a diner where the townies do not take well seeing 3 men on a bike not clean shaven and having long hair. They were talking loud enough where they could hear, and the boys decided to leave to not cause any problems. It's so ignorant how individuals are treated just because they look different. I understand if they were worried about the safety of their daughters, thinking they were going to take advantage, I'd understand but all these men wanted to do was sit down and have a decent meal. The men of this town...took it too far.

While experiencing Mardi Gras, they took LSD with 2 whores and the cinematography, showing what it's like to be on LSD was unreal! LSD is supposed to distort perceptions of reality and produce hallucinations...they showed it. Captain American was being lovey dovey with a statue, while one of the whores recited to Lord's Prayer.

Every time the men were on the motorcycle's, we heard the greatest music of that time period. I recommend watching the movie with subtitles, because the lyrics of the songs go hand in hand with the subjects of the movie. Here's a list of the soundtrack.


"The Pusher"-Steppenwolf
"Born to Be Wild" -Steppenwolf
"The Weight"- Smith
"Wasn't Born to Follow"- The Byrds
"If You Want to Be a Bird (Bird Song)"-The Holy Modal Rounders
"Don't Bogart Me"- Fraternity of Man
"If 6 Was 9" -The Jimi Hendrix Experience
"Kyrie Eleison/Mardi Gras (When the Saints)"- The Electric Prunes
"It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" -Roger McGuinn
"Ballad of Easy Rider" -Roger McGuinn

This movie has many surprises that will shock you, and you'll never forget this film. Like i've said before, Jack Nicholson and his quirkiness are a huge part of why I enjoyed this film, seeing how individuals lived in the 60's and how prejudiced individuals were in that time period.