Easy Rider (1969)

Director:

Dennis Hopper

Writers:

Peter Fonda (written by) &
Dennis Hopper (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 June 1969 (Sweden)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

This Year It's Easy Rider

Plot:

Two counterculture bikers travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of America.

Plot Keywords:

Biker | Mardi Gras | Jail Cell | Motorcycle | Hitchhiker

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Peter Fonda	...	Wyatt
Dennis Hopper	...	Billy
Antonio Mendoza	...	Jesus
Phil Spector	...	Connection
Mac Mashourian	...	Bodyguard
Warren Finnerty	...	Rancher
Tita Colorado	...	Rancher's Wife
Luke Askew	...	Stranger on Highway
Luana Anders	...	Lisa
Sabrina Scharf	...	Sarah
Sandy Brown Wyeth	...	Joanne (as Sandy Wyeth)
Robert Walker Jr.	...	Jack (as Robert Walker)
Robert Ball	...	Mime #1
Carmen Phillips	...	Mime #2
Ellie Wood Walker	...	Mime #3 (as Ellie Walker)
Michael Pataki	...	Mime #4
Jack Nicholson	...	George Hanson
George Fowler Jr.	...	Guard
Keith Green	...	Sheriff
Hayward Robillard	...	Cat Man
Arnold Hess Jr.	...	Deputy
Buddy Causey Jr.	...	Customer #1
Duffy Lafont	...	Customer #2
Blase M. Dawson	...	Customer #3
Paul Guedry Jr.	...	Customer #4
Suzie Ramagos	...	Girl #1
Elida Ann Hebert	...	Girl #2
Rose LeBlanc	...	Girl #3
Mary Kaye Hebert	...	Girl #4
Cynthia Grezaffi	...	Girl #5
Colette Purpera	...	Girl #6
Toni Basil	...	Mary
Karen Black	...	Karen
Lea Marmer	...	Madame
Cathé Cozzi	...	Dancing Girl
Thea Salerno	...	Hooker #1
Anne McClain	...	Hooker #2
Beatriz Monteil	...	Hooker #3
Marcia Bowman	...	Hooker #4
David C. Billodeau	...	Pickup Truck
Johnny David	...	Pickup Truck
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Susan Brewer	...	Woman in Commune (uncredited)
Bridget Fonda	...	Child in Commune (uncredited)
Justin Fonda	...	Child in Commune (uncredited)
Virgil Frye	...	Biker (uncredited)
Dan Haggerty	...	Man in Commune (uncredited)
Randee Lynne Jensen	...	(uncredited)
Carrie Snodgress	...	Woman in Commune (uncredited)

Directed by
Dennis Hopper

Writing credits
Peter Fonda		(written by) &
Dennis Hopper		(written by) &
Terry Southern		(written by)

Produced by
Peter Fonda	....	producer
William Hayward	....	associate producer (as William L. Hayward)
Bert Schneider	....	executive producer
Bob Rafelson	....	producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
László Kovács		(director of photography) (as Laszlo Kovacs)
Baird Bryant		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Donn Cambern

Art Direction by
Jeremy Kay		(as Jerry Kay)

Makeup Department
Virgil Frye	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Paul Lewis	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Len Marsal	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Robert Vincent O'Neill	....	property master (as Robert O'Neil)

Sound Department
James Contrares	....	boom operator
Le Roy Robbins	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Steve Karkus	....	special effects

Stunts
Tex Hall	....	stunt gaffer
Gary Littlejohn	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Richmond L. Aguilar	....	gaffer (as Richmond Aguilar)
Guy Badger	....	generator operator
Foster K. Denker	....	electrician (as Foster Denker)
Peter Heiser	....	assistant camera (as Peter Heiser Jr.)
Melton Maxwell	....	best boy (as Mel Maxwell)
Tom Ramsey	....	key grip (as Thomas Ramsey)
Peter Sorel	....	still photographer
Les Blank	....	second camera operator (uncredited)
Larry Lapointe	....	electrician (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Henry Jaglom	....	editorial consultant
Marilyn Schlossberg	....	post-production
Stan Siegel	....	assistant editor (as Stanley Siegel)

Music Department
Mike Deasy	....	musician (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Lee Pierpont	....	transportation

Other crew
Joyce King	....	script supervisor
Tony Vorno	....	location manager
Dan Haggerty	....	motorcycle builder (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Pando Company Inc.
• Raybert Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2000) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Columbia TriStar (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Falcon (????) (Czech Republic) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (1987) (Argentina) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Other Companies

• Cinefx  titles
• Edit-Rite  sound effects
• Producers' Sound Services  re-recording (as Producer's Sound Service, Inc.)
• Ryder Sound Services  sound recording (as Ryder Sound Service, Inc.)
• Sunset Gower Studios  sound stages
• Synchrofilm Inc.  music editing (as Synchrofilm, Inc.)

Also Known As:

The Loners (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:18 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) | Brazil:16 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:M18 | New Zealand:R16 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2009) | Australia:MA (2009 DVD rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003)

Filming Locations:

157 Bridge Street, Las Vegas, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Jack Nicholson's gold football helmet was previously used in Head (1968) (which Nicholson co-wrote and co-produced).

Goofs:

Continuity: In the diner, George Hanson enters wearing his football helmet. When he begins to sit down, his reflection in the mirror shows him rubbing his eyes. The next shot shows him just sitting and the helmet is already on the table.

Quotes:

Captain America: [reading inscription] If god did not exist it would be necessary to invent him.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Üvegtigris 2 (2006)

Soundtrack:

The Weight

A generation-defining counter-culture classic!

'Easy Rider' is much more than a 60s relic - it's still a great movie even today. I find it fascinating that Hopper and Fonda took Roger Corman material and gave it an arthouse approach influenced by Godard and the French New Wave. Combined with breathtaking visuals, a well chosen rock soundtrack and some classic, stoned, improvised dialogue this is still an impressive movie all these years later. Fonda had recently made 'The Wild Angels', Hopper the less remembered 'The Glory Stompers', and Jack Nicholson 'Hells Angels On Wheels', but 'Easy Rider' reinvented the biker movie, and things were never quite the same in Hollywood for the rest of the Seventies. The supporting cast is interesting and includes a great role for the fantastically underrated Luke Askew as the "Stranger on Highway", and cameos from the stars buddies Luana Anders ('Dementia 13') and Sabrina Scharf (Nicholson's love interest in 'Hells Angels On Wheels'), as well Karen Black and Toni Basil's New Orleans hookers, Phil Spector's coke snorting bit part, and a fleeting glimpse of a young Grizzly Adams. You either love this movie or you don't, and I'm most definitely in the former camp. A 1960s generation-defining counter-culture classic!