By Jessica Columbus
Actor/filmmaker Dennis Hopper’s landmark 1969 countercultural road film Easy Rider was, to say the least, a cultural revolution, its success being credited with kickstarting the American New Wave genre of film.
Starring a crowd of screen legends, including the film’s two main stars Hopper and Peter Fonda (who also wrote the film) and a starring cameo from Jack Nicholson, the film is teeming with expertly portrayed performances.
Although both Hopper and Fonda’s performances are legendary, it is Jack Nicholson’s magnetic performance as lawyer George Hansen that really steals the show.
It is Nicholson who delivers the famed line “They’ll talk to ya and talk to ya and talk to ya about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it’s gonna scare ’em”, that came to define the film’s daring counterculture writing.
Easy Rider was Nicholson’s first big break, and it is very easy to see why.
Released in the late 60s, Easy Rider came at a time of massive social upheaval, particularly in the United States where the film takes place.
The film explores some of the dominant societal issues at the time: drug use, youth culture and the rapidly rising hippie movement in a daring and thought-provoking manner.
It takes the audience on an intense and cinematographically beautiful journey through the American Southwest. The film is packed full of now-legendary images, such as the many long shots on the road, that keep the viewer captivated throughout.
Another crucial element of Easy Rider is its soundtrack, with entries from icons such as Hendrix and The Byrds.
The most famous piece of music in the film is undoubtedly Steppenwolf’s Born To Be Wild, which catapulted the band to fame.
The film’s soundtrack is the perfect aid to the intense, daring and countercultural nature of the film, and is one of the many reasons the film is so prominent today.
Other masterfully crafted elements of Easy Rider are the costuming and the set design. Who could forget Fonda’s memorable stars-and-stripes helmet and accompanying motorcycle? Or Hopper’s suede fringe jacket?
These are what make the film as iconic as it is today, iconic enough that in 1998 the film was elected by the Library of Congress to the National Film Registry for its “cultural, historical and aesthetic significance,” in film history.
Easy Rider is easily one of the most symbolic films of the American New Wave genre and the counterculture nature of the film has continued to entice brand-new audiences since its release in 1969 and most likely will continue to do so for decades to come.
Featured image: Easy Rider film poster. Photo: Photo: Insomnia Cured Here/CC/flickr
