Easy Rider (1969)

Réalisateur:

Dennis Hopper

Scénaristes:

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

Date de sortie:

26 juin 1969 (Sweden)

Genre:

Aventure | Crime | Drame

Accroche:

This Year It's Easy Rider

Intrigue:

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

Plot Keywords:

Biker | Mardi Gras | Jail Cell | Motorcycle | Hitchhiker

Récompenses:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 10 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

This used to be a helluva good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it.

Ensemble

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
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
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)

Réalisé par
Dennis Hopper

Scénaristes
Peter Fonda		(written by) &
Dennis Hopper		(written by) &
Terry Southern		(written by)

Produit par
Peter Fonda	....	producer
William Hayward	....	associate producer (as William L. Hayward)
Bert Schneider	....	executive producer

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

Montage
Donn Cambern

Direction artistique
Jeremy Kay		(as Jerry Kay)

Maquillage
Virgil Frye	....	makeup artist

Directeur de production
Paul Lewis	....	production manager

Assistant réalisateur
Len Marsal	....	second assistant director

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

Technicien du son
James Contrares	....	boom operator
Le Roy Robbins	....	sound mixer

Effets spéciaux
Steve Karkus	....	special effects

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

Caméra et Département Electrique
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)

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

Département Musique
Mike Deasy	....	musician (uncredited)

Département Transport
Lee Pierpont	....	transportation

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

Companies de production

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

Distributeurs

• 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)

Autres 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.)

Autre(s) titre(s):

The Loners (USA) (working title)

Durée:

95 min

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais | Espagnol

Couleur:

Couleur | Noir et Blanc

Rapport de forme:

1,85 : 1

Son:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Classification:

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)

Lieux de tournage:

157 Bridge Street, Las Vegas, New Mexico, USA

Société:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Anecdotes:

Rip Torn was originally cast in the role of George Hanson. According to Torn, Dennis Hopper pulled a knife on him during a pre-production meeting. On "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992), Hopper claimed it was Torn who pulled the knife. Torn sued Hopper for defamation and won.

Goofs:

micro visible: In the jail scene where they first meet George, you can see the shadow of the boom mic on the wall as George and Billy walk across the jail cell after Billy is given a cigarette by the guard.

Guillemet:

Captain America: I'm hip about time.

Connexions De Film:

Référencé sur Found Footage Festival Volume 1: Live in Brooklyn (2005) (V)

Bande son:

I Wasn't Born to Follow

This used to be a helluva good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it.

I was utterly surprised by this film. I was expecting nothing more than some short scenes of our now-infamous actors smoking marijuana followed by trippy Willy Wonka scenes . Oddly, this did occur, but this film was much more than that. This film should be shown in every American History class in the United States. It not only showed the beauty of the country of which we reside, but it also spoke about the people that reside in it. You know the old saying, 'Guns don't kill people, people kill people', well after watching this film, it is a very true statement. We are afraid of what is different. We are a culture that is afraid of change, yet seek it so badly. We are a society of hypocrites, androids, and ignorants. We thrive on the fact that we are the best country in the world, yet somebody shows any disassociation of routine, we are the first to question and get angry. I would dare say that we have moved so far from the 60s that I cannot see why our parents do not cry everyday. Their generations was a free-spirited, mind challenging culture that explored all possibilities no matter the cost. The experience was all they needed as a reward. Now, we are more concerned about money and the family-plan that we sometimes place ourselves on the backburner to life. Wake, eat, and pay the bills. What a sad daily structure that we have. When was the last time you considered the possibility of just jumping on your bike and riding until you hit water? Probably not for a long time … why? It is called 'bills' and 'responsibilities'. These are the choices that we chose to make, and for anyone to say that they cannot do it, I would have to challenge. You CAN do anything, it is whether you chose to do it is another question. I wonder what it will be like in another 30 years. Where will we be, and will the idea of individualism be lost? I can't wait to see …

Outside of the deeply rooted themes of this film, I felt that Hopper (who also directed) knew exactly what he was doing behind the camera. He kept the talking short, the music loud and symbolic, and allowed the background to do the explaining. I loved the fact that we really knew nothing about Fonda or Hopper's characters. It allowed us to relate to them. You could easily add your story into their characters and have the life that you lead and wish to escape. Hopper was able to transform this film from a drug movie to a film about humanity. Fonda, who also helped write the film with Hopper, did a superb job of adding Nicholson's character into the mix.

Nicholson represented us, the American public and our love of liquor, football, and lies. I viewed Nicholson as the average American. He drank too much, was the product of a wealthy upbringing, but did not know much about the world. He was sheltered. He never smoked weed (in fact didn't even know what it was when presented to him), never left the state line, and never lived life. He constantly used the expression, 'I have always wanted to …'. How many times do you hear this a day from either a family member or a co-worker? If you always wanted to do it, why haven't you? So, here we have Hanson, dreaming a dream but never following through, who is traveling with two guys that live the ultimate life and live by their own rules. They are complete opposites, but Hanson's words seemed to remain in my mind for a long time. He reminded me of one of my wife's students today that spoke about freedom. He knew exactly what it was, but never practiced it. Hopper and Fonda were walking (driving most of the time) representations of the word 'freedom'. It is tragic what happens to Harmon, because he (unfortunately) experienced the negative side of freedom … hatred and fear of the unknown.

There was one scene that just jumped out at me. It occurs in the diner before the incident later that night where our travelers experience hatred in the country they admire so much. They go from peace and love to fear and hate. It is as if they witnessed night and day. It was frightening to hear the words coming from people in that restaurant. It was not only scary to wonder what was going to happen to our narrators, but mainly that people were speaking that way to fellow citizens. I know that it still occurs today, and it is surprising to me. We bomb a country because they do not follow the same principles that we do, but we need to start asking ourselves this question … do we need another United States?

Grade: ***** out of *****