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Five Easy Pieces (1970)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
12 September 1970 (USA) moreTagline:
He Rode The Fast Lane On The Road To Nowhere.Plot:
A drop-out from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil-rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 6 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Cass McComb's weird music video starring Karen Black (From pretty-scary. 9 July 2009, 1:31 PM, PDT)
E1 Bringing Elsewhere and Hunger Home in June
(From Dread Central. 30 April 2009, 2:47 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
A very complex and deep character study... moreUS TV Schedule:
| Tue. July 28 | 2:30 AM | TCM |
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Jack Nicholson | ... | Robert Eroica Dupea | |
| Karen Black | ... | Rayette Dipesto | |
| Billy Green Bush | ... | Elton (as Billy 'Green' Bush) | |
| Fannie Flagg | ... | Stoney | |
| Sally Struthers | ... | Betty (as Sally Ann Struthers) | |
| Marlena MacGuire | ... | Twinky (as Marlena Macguire) | |
| Richard Stahl | ... | Recording Engineer | |
| Lois Smith | ... | Partita Dupea | |
| Helena Kallianiotes | ... | Palm Apodaca | |
| Toni Basil | ... | Terry Grouse | |
| Lorna Thayer | ... | Waitress | |
| Susan Anspach | ... | Catherine Van Oost | |
| Ralph Waite | ... | Carl Fidelio Dupea | |
| William Challee | ... | Nicholas Dupea | |
| John P. Ryan | ... | Spicer (as John Ryan) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
98 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
Sweden:11 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | New Zealand:R16 | USA:R | UK:15 | UK:AA (original rating)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The traffic jam on the freeway was shot on a new and unopened section of Interstate 5 near Bakersfield, Ca. moreGoofs:
Continuity: Bobby's arm position changes when he is sitting on the couch as Katherine asks him to play the piano. moreQuotes:
Palm Apodaca: Fantastic that you could figure that all out and lie that down on her so you could come up with a way to get your toast. Fantastic!Bobby: Yeah, well, I didn't get it, did I?
Palm Apodaca: No, but it was very clever. I would have just punched her out.
more
Soundtrack:
Stand by your Man moreFAQ
What are the five 'easy' pieces?more
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Bob Rafelson's FIVE EASY PIECES is about inner pain and suffering that just so happens to consume people in all walks of life. It is sometimes hard to watch and Nicholson's character "Robert" is a miserable SOB. However, he is also a very compelling character who affects all around him. He is lonely, he is scared, and he does not know what to do with himself.
If you are looking for plot, this is not the picture for you. The only remnants of a plot concern Nicholson's father, a distant memory of his previous prestigious lifestyle as a classical pianist, who has fallen sick. Jack decides to visit his family's estate to pay his last respects. This sets the forum of emotional indifference and misery. He hates his old life, which he left to become a construction worker and has taken up with a flighty waitress played brilliantly by Karen Black. He pretends to enjoy this simple way of living, but he treats Black like the trash he considers her to be and could care less about anyone.
Why should anyone see this film? Because Jack Nicholson is one of our greatest actors and he is able to transcend what was put on paper regarding the main character and project raw power and feelings in his own, unique way. The movie is littered with classic scenes, in particular, the chicken salad sandwich scene, one of the funniest I've ever seen. The one I feel that stands out and symbolizes the essence of the film is where Jack plays Chopin in the piano room while Rafelson's camera does a slow 360 around the room, glancing at pictures of his life before he fled from it. It is a perfect mixture of intensity, music, and sadness.
The last scene, which ends so abruptly, makes perfect sense within this context. It leaves us feeling empty and unfulfilled, exactly how Nicholson's character feels. This is what makes this character piece all the more powerful.