Easy Rider (Special Edition) (DVD) > Reviews > Easy movie, easy soundrack, not so easy to watch

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Unmemorable
Soundtrack	Outstanding

Advantages:	Brilliant soundtrack .
Disadvantages:	Not for the faint hearted .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

When Dennis Hopper directed this film, he was greatly drugged a boozed up, and this is greatly shown in the movie. The 1st cut for this ,made by Hopper, was 4 and a half hours long! Although Hopper was very violent at the time luckily Bert Schnieder, the producer, had the charisma to persude him to go on holiday. Now we see an alot shorter version, which is lucky because at times this film starts to drag on a bit.

The film tells the journey of two somewhat strange characters biking their way cross-country from LA to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. This film is set in the 60's so naturally they meet some strange people along the way. The film starts with the two main chacters, Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) , making a drug deal. From this they get alot of money which fuels their journey in the film. Wyatt is nicknamed "captain america" pictured by the american flag he has all over his bike. Billy, is supposed to represent "Billy the Kid" shown by his scruffy cowboy clothing. They meet several strange characters throughout the film, including hippies, familys, hitchhikers, prostitutes, and one of the best assets to the film: Jack Nicholson.

Jack Nicholson wasn't well known when easy rider was 1st released and partly got into the film by accident when the previous actor had an argument with the firey Dennis Hopper. Although accidental he is perfectly cast as a boozed-up lawyer they meet in prison. With his huge grin, and hilarious helmet he is taken on a ride with the two. Its one of the best scenes in the film seeing them "riding down the highway" with George Hanson (Nicholson) perched on the back grinning.

One part of the film i didn't particularly enjoy was the LSD scene where it gets a bit disturbing and doesn't have the whole "free" atmosphere that the rest of the film has. I seem to remember from somewhere that this scene was originially hours long shot by Hopper, and it just seemed like alot of drugged up rubbish strung together. Maybe its the naked hookers that i didn't particularly appreciate.

At the end of the film there is a "message"
Billy : We're rich, man. We're retired in Florida, now, mister.
Wyatt : You know, Billy. We blew it.
This may not be exactly how it went, but it does convey the whole message that even though theyve got all this money, theyre still alone, their friend dead and theyre not "free".

On the whole this film isn't smooth running, there are some long bits of dialogue which tended to drag on a bit for me. Some of the scenes just seem like pointless drugged up rubbish. But the reason why i still watch this film, and am a fan of it, is the atmosphere: the great soundtrack with "Born to be Wild", the great bikes and great open scenery that is cross-country america.

To finish off i will talk about this particular DVD. The film itself had 65 minutes documentary, director's commentary and filmographies. The box contains the "Easy Riders. Raging Bulls" DVD based on the book by Peter Biskind. I have that book and the DVD, basically summerises it with interviews and clips. Its a good backround for the film and interesting to see it in it's context of the time. It talks of other directors such as Martin Scorsese and how Easy Rider opened the door for them. The DVD also contains deleted scenes and extra footage.

The box also contains a book analyzing the circumstances surrounding the film by Lee Hill. I haven't actually read the book, but my brother tells me it's interesting. 4 postcards picturing scenes from the film are also included, which are said to be limited edition for collectors.

The 2 DVDs, book, and postcards are all contained in a neat yellow box, which me being me i rather like! But that might not concern you. I think all this is well worth £18.00 if you want the extras. I think this special edition DVD would be great if your already a fan of the film because you can really see where the film has come from. However if you havn't seen this film before i don't recomend this version, because for £18.00 it is very risky because im aware many people dont particularly like this film. Personally i enjoyed this film greatly, not because of it's poor quality or Hopper's antics, but because of the atmosphere and 60's America backdrop. I wouldn't recomend this film if you like perfectly timed films, with perfect acting or find drug taking offensive, because there sure is alot of that in this film!