IMDb on iPhone and iPod touch Learn more Learn more Download from the App Store
IMDb > Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Five Easy Pieces
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user reviewsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Five Easy Pieces (1970) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 38 | slideshow) Videos (see all 3)
Five Easy Pieces (1970) -- 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.
Five Easy Pieces (1970) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   10,888 votes
Your Rating:
Saving vote...
Deleting vote...
/10   (delete | history)
Sorry, there was a problem
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 16% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Carole Eastman (screenplay)
Carole Eastman (story)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Five Easy Pieces on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 September 1970 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
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 synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 6 nominations more
User Reviews:
One Of The All-Time Greatest Films more (128 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

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)
Irene Dailey ... Samia Glavia
rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Clay Greenbush ... Baby (uncredited)
Create a character page for: ?

Directed by
Bob Rafelson 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Carole Eastman  screenplay (as Adrien Joyce)
Carole Eastman  story (as Adrien Joyce)
Bob Rafelson  story

Produced by
Bob Rafelson .... producer
Bert Schneider .... executive producer
Harold Schneider .... associate producer
Richard Wechsler .... producer
 
Cinematography by
László Kovács (director of photography) (as Laszlo Kovacs)
 
Film Editing by
Christopher Holmes 
Gerald Shepard 
 
Casting by
Fred Roos 
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sheldon Schrager .... assistant director
 
Art Department
Toby Carr Rafelson .... interior designer (as Toby Rafelson)
Walter Starkey .... prop master
 
Sound Department
Charles T. Knight .... sound mixer (as Charles Knight)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Richmond L. Aguilar .... gaffer (as Richard Aguilar)
Bill Curtis .... best boy
Howard Hagadorn .... dolly grip
George Hill .... key grip
Bernie Abramson .... still photographer (uncredited)
Ronald Vidor .... assistant camera (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bucky Rous .... wardrobe
 
Editorial Department
Peter Denenberg .... assistant editor (as Pete Denenberg)
Harold Hazen .... assistant editor
 
Music Department
Pearl Kaufman .... musician: piano
 
Transportation Department
Al Schultz .... transportation captain
 
Other crew
Kent Remington .... location representative
Marilyn Schlossberg .... production coordinator
Terry Terrill .... script supervisor
 
Crew believed to be complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
98 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Ellen Burstyn was considered for the role of Rayette. more
Goofs:
Continuity: After Bobby and Carl are finished playing Ping-Pong, Carl leaves in the blue station wagon to go to the mainland where he spends the night. In the next several scenes when Bobby and Catherine spend time together while it is understood Carl is away, they are seen cavorting outside where the blue station wagon is shown parked in the driveway. more
Quotes:
Rayette: I'm not.
Bobby: You're just gonna sit here?
Rayette: Yes.
Bobby: Okay. I hope no one hits on you.
Rayette: I hope they do.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Indie Sex: Censored (2007) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
D-I-V-O-R-C-E more

FAQ

What are the five 'easy' pieces?
more
71 out of 78 people found the following review useful.
One Of The All-Time Greatest Films, 28 September 2005
10/10
Author: tightspotkilo from Oregon, USA

This film is a classic because it operates and works on every level imaginable, a truly evocative film. Other posters have elucidated upon and discussed the musicology of it, and the significance of Chopin. I'll take their word for it, and not go there. That's out of my league. And, as others have noted, the film is an exploration and study of character, which it certainly is. All that and more. I see the film as being in its own way a period piece unto itself, the period being films made in the late 60s and early 70s. It is quintessentially representative of what was an important movie circa 1970. Of course the storyline of an alienated young man (Jack Nicholson as Robert Dupea), walking away from all that is expected of him, and indeed walking away --if not running away-- from his prodigious gifts, and doing it all with a cocky attitude, no longer resonates quite the way it did in 1970. But, if you weren't around in 1970, trust me, it resonated well then. It was a theme that seemed important and meaningful at the time, even though the character's motivations for his actions are never really explained and remain something of a blank slate for the viewer to fill in. In 1970, when the concept of an "identity crises" was big, it worked to just suggest and imply that Dupea felt the need to Quixotically search out and determine for himself what was important for him. That dovetailed with another important component in many movies of that era --you never explain yourself, because if you explain things, you trivialize it all and ruin it. Or, as Jenny, Ali McGraw's character in Love Story (also a 1970 film) put it, "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

Meanwhile, unfolding alongside the Dupea character, was Karen Black's tour de force performance as the big-haired clingy-dependent waitress girlfriend, Rayette, and doing it to a medley of apropos Tammy Wynette tunes. Karen Black's performance perfectly captured and spot-on nailed an almost ubiquitous sort of woman prevalent in that era, when the social changes wrought by the women's movement had not yet taken fruit.

As for the notorious diner scene, this one scene essentially dominates the whole movie. It is something that people who have seen the movie will bring up and talk about, even decades later. Yet the scene is in no way pivotal or important to the story. At most it once and for all permanently affixes in the viewers' minds that Dupea was an impulsively flippant and angry person, not one to meekly abide any of life's minor frustrations. But we were already getting that picture of him before this scene happens. And, courtesy of Dupea, the scene provides a snippet of gratuitous social commentary about inflexibility and the stupidity of mindless adherence to meaningless rules. Something for the viewers to cheer and say, "I can relate to that!" Those things aside, to me the real value of the scene was that it provided an entertaining contrast in a bleak drama, a needed change of pace. But regardless of whether it was a statement about Dupea's attitude, or a social comment about stupid rules, or a needed amusing interlude, no matter which of those it is, its lasting impression renders its importance out of proportion to the movie as a whole. Surely, as he made this film, director Bob Rafelson's never intended that 35 years later this particular scene be the main thing viewers took away and remembered about the film. In this sense, as entertaining as it is, the scene therefore must be viewed as being a bit of a story-telling flaw. In retrospect, it should have been toned down just a skosh. But, then, on the other hand, were it not for this scene, perhaps the film would hardly be remembered at all. It is already a largely overlooked masterpiece.

This movie pops up on the movie channels on a semi-regular basis, and when it does I always stop and am riveted. The cinematography is superb. The acting is superb. Nicholson turning in one of the performances from that era that made him the unhinged star in the first place, long before he became a parody of himself. But be warned, it is not a "happy" film. It is the product of an era that did not as a rule produce happy films. But it is nevertheless a film that must be seen.

Was the above review useful to you?
more (128 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
question about the end credits unclefugly
Location rdentalmed
Anybody else felt like Bobby Dupea? Zeder82
conflict Gary_Allen
Meaning of 'Five Easy Pieces' zamzamzam999
Similar movies to see. Recommend!!! nahuil
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Across the Universe Sideways 1969 Freeway My Own Private Idaho
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Drama section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.