Easy Rider 1969
I was definitely a little trepidatious about seeing Easy Rider, but it is such an iconic movie that I still wanted to see it. It is a hippie road trip movie for the most part, with just a bunch of scenes of riding motorcycles and hanging out with hippies. Dennis Hopper barely acts in it. Peter Fonda is okay, but doesn’t say much. Jack Nicholson is great though, in one of his first roles. So much of the movie is just pointless road trip footage, plus footage of people getting high. So it is just sort of an amateurish stoner movie, but what it has going for it is amazing authenticity: It looks like someone’s impression of that time period except it was contemporary and pretty genuine. It meanders along fairly aimlessly until a big LSD trip towards the end, and then a big finish. For the time period it may have seemed really cool, though it sure makes commune life look miserable, and biker life not much better. The mistrust ordinary people have of men with long hair is pretty amazing, but probably about right. I’m glad I saw it, but it just isn’t a great movie, too self indulgent and pointless. The copy I saw did look pretty good though except the stuff in New Orleans, which I don’t think was supposed to look good.
Written: 18 Feb 2021
Owned on: Digital