Easy Rider | Luana Anders, Luke Askew | You had to be there to get it...

Easy Rider | Luana Anders, Luke Askew | Still Stunning

DVDs:

Easy Rider

	Easy Rider Luana Anders, Luke Askew Sony Pictures, 2002 average customer review:based on 171 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Two hippie bikers set out to discover the real america and wind up taking the ultimate bad trip Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/21/2004 Starring: Peter Fonda Jack Nicholson Run time: 95 minutes Rating: R

You had to be there to get it...

Having read many of the worst reviews, I can fully appreciate where the kids are "coming from". They don't really get it because it was too full of the symbols of the time in which the film was shot. It is obviously not a piece of timeless art intended for future generations. It was for that time and it accomplished its goal, which was to wake up a new generation to the possibilities of life. Choices. the music was current and dynamic and added to the power. Unless you are old enough, or have submerged yourself in the period, I would not expect you to enjoy it. If Woodstock The Movie, or The Last Waltz have meaning for you, you'll probably get something from it. Otherwise, just assume that you don't get it because YOU HAD TO BE THERE. Film classes might be able to put into context for you.

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Still Stunning

I saw this when it first came out, and was blown away.

But hey, that was the 60s, so maybe I was just reacting to the times.

But no.

Twenty years later I was asked to teach a course called "The Journey of Life" and use it as one of the pieces.

I was afraid it would not hold up.

I am glad to say I was wrong.

It held up splendidly.

It is one of those films that transcends itself. Despite the shoestring budget and no-name actors (Hopper and Fonda and Nicholson were practically unknown), it pole-vaults into the category of National Myth.

It instantly harks back to one of the elemental themes in America: Seeking Freedom by Hitting the Open Road.

This goes way back--past Kerouac, past Whitman, past Huck and Jim lighting out for the territories, past Ishmael and Queequeg, past Leatherstocking and Chingachkook, past even Hester Prynne and Pearl.

Amazing how this archetype resonates.

The simplicity, the scenery, the topical references (like the parade in the small town; the hippie commune), the strange drug-spirituality in New Orleans, the violence.

Great stuff.

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Still The Best

Still one of the best "buddy"/"anti-establishment" movies of all time. This review is not going to cover anything that hasn't already been covered. In short, AMAZING, EXCELLENT, OUTSTANDING!!!

Classic

I love the bikes in the movie. The special feature w/ the interviews of the actors was really interesting.

Wow! What A Great Film! Too Bad About the DVD!

This is certainly the best independent film ever made and is also one of the best films ever. This film succeeds in documenting the 60s counter-culture a.k.a. hippy generation very well and explores even deeper issues in addressing questions such as what is freedom and does it really exist in the "land of the free and the home of the brave?" Fonda and Hopper play a couple of bikers who ironically in trying to live a free life become hated by the mainstream who fear what this freedom represents. This eventually results in their persecution and destruction. I really enjoyed all the symbolism that inundates throughout the film from the insertion of the money into the gas tank painted with the Stars and Stripes symbolising how drug money obtained from drug pushing is effectively screwing the nation for example to the murderous scenes at the end symbolising the hypocrisy of a nation that espouses freedom that kills the very citizens that strive to practice it in its purest form.

Jack Nicholson is excellent here as the drunken lawyer who is sympathetic to the bikers at the ultimate personal cost although the entire cast I thought was very good. This film also must contain what must be one of the best ever movie soundtracks which has been very well remastered into Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound quality. The only unfortunate thing about this dvd version though is the poor picture quality which is full of imperfections such as white spots throughout. Here's hoping the future Blu-ray release will address this issue.

Otherwise, this is an excellent film that attempts to hide nothing and to fully show life in a certain period of the 60s warts and all. No film buff's dvd library should be without this title but wait for a properly restored version perhaps on Blu-ray to surface and give this version a miss.

Inspired film-making that rewards repeated viewing.

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