Movie #116 Easy Rider *1969*

Peter Fonda - Captain America
Dennis Hopper - Billy (also Director)
Jack Nicholson - George Hanson

There are some movies that live within the shadow they cast.  That is to say that certain films have been become so integrated into the popular culture that their legacy has become near mythical.  Films like Citizen Kane, Gone with the Wind and Rebel Without a Cause are all examples of movies where the legend of the movies is larger than the films its self.  The legend is also not directly reflective of the film it's self.  I believe that Easy Riders is one of these movies.

This is the first time I watched this movie.  I thought I knew what to expect.  I have listen to people talk about this movie for years, I have read articles and listened to more than one podcast rap poetically about the movie.  I have even read the Peter Biskind books "Raging Bulls and Easy Riders" and "Pictures at a Revolution" where multiple chapters are dedicated to the movie.  Watching this movie totally shattered the aura that surrounded this film for me.  It felt like a grittier Days of Heaven.

I was expecting a trippy, psychedelic road movie where two stoners set off on the open road giving the finger to the establishment and everything it stood for.  What I got was a reflective, meditation on Americana and all its beauty and bruises.

First off I was not expecting such a coherent and well filmed movie.  The camera work and cinematography is excellent.  While on the road Hopper (or his assistants) capture magnificent landscapes and use natural lighting to set the mood for each scene.  This film reminded me a lot of both The French New Wave and the films of Frederic Fellini, mainly the acid trip scene in the cemetery.  Another wonderful and often praised element is the movie is the soundtrack.  Jimi Hendricks, The Band, Steppenwolf and a slew of others contributed.  I enjoyed the music, but I enjoyed the way in which it was used in the film even more.  When the song "The Pusher" begins and we see Fonda and Hopper on their bikes I knew I was in for a treat.

Then I was surprised that the movie wasn't just a "screw you to the man" film.  There is a lot of heart on display during the movie.  These guys are hardcore bikers or thugs or even mean spirited.  They just want to be left alone to do their thing.  When the meet up with Nicholson he provides some prophetic exposition.  He says something to the effect of "Everyone thinks they want freedom, but when they see a truly free man it frightens them" and "Don't doubt a mans freedom because he won't hesitate to kill some people to show you just how free he is".  This is some of the most intelligent and meaningful rambling from a person I have ever heard.  It should be noted that this film was made at the height of the Vietnam war. 

I like that the film displays both the positive, good natured side of small towns then it juxtaposed that with the predigests and fear that is prevalent in any small community.  People are scared of what they don't know and don't understand. People are scared of people not like them.  It doesn't make them bad people per say, just frightened people.

The movie is basically a road trip / buddy movie about two young men trying to ride their choppers to Mardi Gras then off to Florida to retire after making a bundle on a drug score.  But that synopsis is like saying that Taxi Driver is about a guy driving a cab.  There is so much more to it than that.  I mentioned earlier the scene in New Orleans graveyard.  What a fantastically edited sequence.  I can't think of a better cinematic expression of what it is like to be high.  And it is so different than anything else in the movie.  Then in the penultimate, once they have made it to Florida Captain America famously says "We blew it man".  Perfect.  That was the perfect expression.  I don't think that I have the communication skills to sum up what he means by that, but it came close to moving me to tears.

The final act is another famous one.  I won't spoil anything, but it to is the perfect way to end this movie.  It is so "not Hollywood" yet so captivating.  I don't know how you could watch this movie and not be inspired. 

This movie is widely considered the film that helped launch the New American Cinema, or New Hollywood.  This movie changed everything. 

I have a saying when it comes to Punk Rock:

• The Sex Pistols invented it.
• The Ramones perfected it.
• And The Clash popularized it.

I think with The New Hollywood I can say:

• Bonnie and Clyde invented it.
• Easy Rider perfected it.
• And Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid popularized it.

I highly recommend checking out the books I mentioned to hear about all the complications and drama that went on behind the camera.  This is a must see film and an instant "add to my DVD collection" I know that it is part of a new Criterion Collection set of films by the production company BBS.  I give Easy Riders ★★★★★.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #74 Mad Max

Well, I found a way to extend my Christmas vacation.  It was by getting an injury.  Plantar Fascitis is an injury to the heel and arc of your foot.  Due to a basketball injury I missed the first 3 days of work this week.  That gave me a chance to knock some of the Netflix Streaming movies off my queue.  That having been said I am going to have another series of rapid fire, 1-2 paragraph movie reviews.

This review is for the 1979 film Mad Max staring Mel Gibson.  I thought this was a post apocalyptic tale.  It is a distopian future car movie.  I loved the car chase scenes.  When I think of classic car movies I think of Vanishing Point, Death Proof, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, and my favorite Two Lane Black Top.  All these movies inspired Q. Tarintino's Death Proof.  I can't help think that Mad Max must have been a big influence as well.

The movie is pretty solid all around.  The cinematography by David Eggby is amazing!  There are some hilarious lines that are meant to sound intimidating but come off totally ridiculous.  The film is directed by George Miller.  He would also go on to direct the next 2 sequels.  He would later then direct Happy Feet and the sequel to Babe, Babe: Pig in the City.  How weird is that? 

I give Mad Max a 3.5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Day #9 - Raising Arizona

It is very late and I am very tired.  I am going to be brief about today's movie.  The Coen Brothers 1987 classic, Raising Arizona.  This film start Nick Cage (H.I. McDunnough) and Holly Hunter (Edwina "Ed" McDunnough) as an ex-con and cop respectively who get married and try to have a child.  They are unable to conceive (H.I. says in voice over "Her womb is a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase").  So they concoct a scheme to steel a baby from the Nathan Arizona household where they just received quintuplets.

This is a screwball comedy for certain.  I love this movie because where Blood Simple was so atmospheric to the point where Texas was almost a character in the movie, Raising Arizona is the first place where the Coen's Brothers voice and identifiable writing style is first heard.  They (mainly Ethan) writes dialogue unlike any other.  The next best example of this is Fargo but O Brother Where Art Thou is also written with razor sharp wit.  The Coen Brothers are often criticized for "making fun of their characters".  I have never understood that criticism.  I find the dialogue to be authentic and extraordinarily clever, especially considering the characters reciting the lines.

All the visual cue's are still there.  The rapid camera movements and the extreme low angle shots that the Coens have made iconic are used to perfection in this movie.  This films contains a lot of voice over narration by H.I which somehow nevers slows down the story like most narration does.  It also contains an extremely long prologue and epilogue that serve as wonderful bookends to the film.  Like narration, bookends are another device that film makers tries to use and generally fail at.  The picture also has what I consider to be one of the 3 best car chase scenes in movie history.  The French Connection and The Blues Brothers being the other two.  This movie is endlessly quotable and I never tire of re-watching it.

I said I would be brief and I am going to hold true to that.  I would be surprised if you hadn't seen this movie yet.  It is often times on TV and it doesn't really loose much by being viewed on network television.  What else can I say.  Great directors, great script, fine acting, great camera work.  I give this a 4/5 stars.  Check out the link below to see the trailer.  Millers Crossing tomorrow!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AIfVoGUs6c