i must have seen a different film!!

A lot of fun.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This a morality tale about what happens to you if you're a hop-head bum with too much money. Though I very much doubt the producers saw it that way. There are things to like about this movie. The scenery, at least in the first half, is stunning. And some of the sound track (Steppenwolf, Hendrix) is good. In 1969 I was a freshman at Oxford, I thought it was crap back then. Inspired by Peter Fonda's recent remarks I just (June 2018) watched it again and (unsurprisingly) it's got no better. (Spoilers) Two layabout drug dealers (Fonda, Hopper) make a big score, then they buy a couple of motor bikes that look a bit more than they can handle, especially when under the influence of weed. Both the bikes stay implausibly clean, bright and shiny for the rest of the movie. From then on it's a road film, they pick up one bum and drop him off in a hippy commune. Cut to some skinny-dipping scenes. Then driving on, and finding themselves accidentally (probably too hopped up to notice) an unscheduled part of a town parade they get gaoled, but miraculously the cops are too stupid to find their stash of money or dope. In the hoosegow they meet the town drunk (Nicholson) and in the morning they set off together on their way to New Orleans. Stopping off at a diner, just the sight of them pisses off the local law (and as Barry Norman used to say "And Why Not?"). They leave. Queue some portentous dialogue about advanced space aliens being in control. Being of no further use, the Nicholson character is conveniently bumped off by some hillbilly Trump supporters with baseball bats, our two heroes then bike on to Louisiana where they visit a brothel but are too stoned to get their rocks off. And finally (they probably couldn't think of another way to end this nonsense) Hopper flips the bird at a couple of confederate deplorables and understandably they blow his head off. Which is what I'd wanted to do from the first minute. They kill Fonda too in the final scene and I liked that even better. In fact I cheered. So by the end, it's a feel-good movie. Not as good as Death Wish but it has its moments.

This movie captured the spirit of its time quite well and there are parts in it that live on from one generation to the next making it a movie to be seen so one can say: Yes, I saw Easy Rider. Lets be frank and clear here. Selling and buying drugs, getting high all the time, having no aim in life, and repeating it daily is not an Easy life, but an uneasy life leaving nothing to do or rewards to attain and in anyway. Its like being in a coma. Nothing gets done yet time passes. The characters have no depth but that plays into the moral of the story and subject matter (drugs). They become entertainment of the dysfunctional kind letting us see what it is like to live this life without actually doing it. Yet for the many that tuned in when this was released and afterwards, it is the way they live and believe so it remains sort of a cult example for all to relate and identify with. The plan in this movie was to get enough money and retire in Florida? What then? This is never answered before, during and after this movie. Interesting to note that the actual players ( I wont call them actors) in this movie were living this life not only off-screen but on it as they were doing drugs and plotting along aimlessly daily. The concept and theme that is more healthy to pursue and learn here is to work for a living, use your money wisely, develop character along the way and hope for the best. Life is like a gold mine where the mother lode is found often deep within and must be mined literally to reach it. This movie teaches the opposite. Be entertained but don't be tempted to make this your credo. Just treat it as...

Having made a decent amount of money on a drug deal two Californian friends, Wyatt and Billy, take their motorbikes and set off from Los Angeles and head for New Orleans to attend Mardi Gras. Along the way they meet a group of hippies in a commune in the South West where they are struggling to grow crops in the arid soil, an alcoholic young lawyer in a town jail, threatening southern rednecks and a pair of prostitutes in a New Orleans bordello.This classic film is almost fifty years old now but still feels surprisingly fresh. There isn't really much in the way of a story; it is all about the journey and the contrasting people that our protagonists meet. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper do a fine job as Wyatt and Billy; characters who spend much of their time getting stoned. Jack Nicholson also impresses as lawyer George Hanson a man who in introduced to American counterculture when he meets Wyatt and Billy. The film certainly isn't bogged down with excessive dialogue; in deed quite a lot of the film is dialogue free as the protagonists ride through some spectacular scenery. This scenery, and some of the characters they meet, contrast with the bigotry and brutality of some of the people they encounter. This brutality isn't bloody or prolonged but it is shocking in its suddenness and the pointlessness of it. The soundtrack is also great and fits in perfectly with the story being told. There is of course a lot of drug use; which is almost certainly the main reason for its UK '18' certificate; without this it would probably be a '15'… but it would also have been a very different film. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to any fans of classic films or those fascinated by '60s culture in America.

This movie essentially begins with two motorcyclists by the names of "Billy" (Dennis Hopper) and "Captain America" (Peter Fonda) journeying to Mexico to procure cocaine and then selling it for a hefty profit when they return to the United States. It's at this time that they decide to ride their motorcycles from Los Angeles to New Orleans in order to attend Mardi Gras. Along the way they meet a number of people with various philosophies and cultural norms. Some of the people are kind and generous while others are mean and intolerant. And one of the main factors behind the disconnect between these two groups is the acceptance and use of illegal drugs. At the same time this film also manages to combine some beautiful scenery on the way to New Orleans with an expression of freedom on the part of the individuals involved. On that note, however, it should be mentioned that this film is rather dated and presents a point-of-view which is admirable in one sense but also rather naive as well. Be that as it may, this is a rare and thought-provoking film with certain strengths and weaknesses which most viewers will probably find both interesting and entertaining. I have rated it accordingly. Above average.