Review of Easy Rider (1969) by Andy P — 30 Apr 2013
In a making-of documentary on the DVD release, director/co-star Dennis Hopper says that he wanted to depict a motorcycle trip "through John Ford's America." The landscape and cinematography are indeed reminiscent of Ford's westerns except that the cameras are mounted on moving cars and motorcycles, and the shots include power lines and paved highways in addition to buttes and canyons.
A back-to-the-land theme is prominent, as when the bikers stop to fix a tire at a horse ranch, eat dinner with a large farm family, and eat home-grown food at a desert commune. "All cities are the same," opines one character.
"I'm from the city, a long way from the city, and that's where I wanna be right now." It is a city, New Orleans, with its gaudy excesses, that draws Hopper and Peter Fonda's characters, but as they approach that destination their adventures grow darker and more dangerous.
A depiction of a bad acid trip in an above-ground cemetery should scuttle any notion that the movie romanticizes drug use, yet the cast and crew reportedly spent much of the shoot stoned. If true, then the high quality (no pun intended) of the acting and production are all the more remarkable.
This review of Easy Rider (1969) was written by Andy P on 30 Apr 2013.
Easy Rider has generally received very positive reviews.
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