Easy Rider

UPC: 043396295353

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Not For Children, Substance Abuse]

Summary: Tossing wristwatches away, two bikers hit the road to find America in Dennis Hopper's anti-establishment classic. After a major cocaine sale to an L.A. connection (Phil Spector), free-wheeling potheads Billy (Hopper) and Wyatt, aka Captain America (Peter Fonda, who also produced), motor eastward to party at Mardi Gras before "retiring" to Florida with the riches concealed in Wyatt's stars-and-stripes gas tank. As they ride through the Southwest, they take a hitchhiker (Luke Askew) to a struggling hippie commune before they get thrown in a small-town jail for "parading without a permit." Their cellmate, drunken ACLU lawyer George Hanson (Jack Nicholson, replacing Rip Torn), does them a "groovy" favor by getting them out of jail and then decides to join them. Babbling about Venusians, George discovers the joys of smoking grass, but an encounter with Southern rednecks soon proves how right he is about the danger posed by Billy's and Wyatt's unfettered life in a country that has lost its ideals. With the straight world closing in, Wyatt and Billy try to revel in New Orleans with some LSD and hookers (Karen Black and Toni Basil), but the acid trip is shot through with morbidity. Once they reach Florida, Billy raves about attaining the American dream; Wyatt, however, knows the truth: "We blew it." Produced and directed by two Hollywood iconoclasts with under a half-million non-studio dollars, Easy Rider shook up the languishing movie industry when it grossed over 19 million dollars in 1969; it captured the spirit of the times as it woke Hollywood up to the power of young audiences and socially relevant movies, along with such other landmarks of the late '60s as Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, and 2001. Shot on location by Laszlo Kovacs, Easy Rider eschewed old-fashioned Hollywood polish for documentary-style immediacy, and it enhanced its casual feel with improvised dialogue and realistically "stoned" acting. With a soundtrack of contemporary rock songs by Jimi Hendrix, the Band, and Steppenwolf to complete the atmosphere, Easy Rider was hailed for capturing the increasingly violent Vietnam-era split between the counterculture and the repressive Establishment. Experiencing the "shock of recognition," youth audiences embraced Easy Rider's vision of both the attractions and the limits of dropping out, proving that audience's box-office power and turning Nicholson into a movie star. The momentarily hip Academy nominated Nicholson for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and Fonda, Hopper, and Terry Southern for their screenplay. Though none of its imitators would match its impact, Easy Rider remains one of the seminal works of late '60s Hollywood both for its trailblazing legacy and its sharply perceptive portrait of its chaotic times. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: U.S. National Film Registry – Library of Congress 100 Greatest American Movies – American Film Institute Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – null Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best First Feature – Cannes Film Festival Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – New York Film Critics Circle Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival Best Supporting Actor – New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: MovieIQ: Real-time in-movie information about the cast, crew, music and production via BD-Live
Dennis Hopper audio commentary
"Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage" documentary

Easy Rider

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 10/13/2009

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DTHD null, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 95 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Portuguese,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Portuguese,Spanish

Michael Betzold

When films emblematic of the 1960s American counter-culture are mentioned, Easy Rider comes to the fore. Almost everything about this story of a motorcycle gang that travels across a landscape of alienation is hopelessly dated, yet the film remains a lot of fun. As one of the most popular films of its times, it both depicted and promoted a youth culture that centered around illicit drugs and rock music. More than any other movie, it established the career of Jack Nicholson, who won some critics' awards and an Oscar nomination as a supporting actor, and promoted the wild image of Peter Fonda. It is also one of Dennis Hopper's earliest directorial efforts and one of his first maniacal roles, though Hopper did not immediately capitalize on his success in either capacity. The psychedelic moments are priceless, and the soundtrack, featuring the Byrds, Steppenwolf, and other bands of the era, is golden. Few who came of age in the turbulent 1960s did not mark Easy Rider as one of their formative cultural experiences. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Michael Pataki  Actor 
Antonio Mendoza  Actor 
Toni Basil  Actor 
Beatriz Monteil  Actor 
Carmen Phillips  Actor 
Warren Finnerty  Actor 
Sabrina Scharf  Actor 
Sandy Wyeth  Actor 
Phil Spector  Actor 
Luke Askew  Actor 
Robert Ball  Actor 
Lea Marmer  Actor 
Peter Fonda  Producer 
Peter Fonda  Screenwriter 
Dennis Hopper  Director 
Dennis Hopper  Screenwriter 
Bert Schneider  Executive Producer 
Terry Southern  Screenwriter 
Peter Fonda  Actor 
Dennis Hopper  Actor 
Jack Nicholson  Actor 
Robert Walker, Jr.  Actor 
Luana Anders  Actor 
Karen Black  Actor 

Country: USA