I've got it on DVD if you want to borrow it.
Hopper directed it as well as co-starring. It's actually one of the most boring films I've ever seen. Very rambling & self indulgent -it's said the stars were actually smoking the weed they were depicted with, which might explain it. It had a great 60s soundtrack though, (I used to have it on an LP. Anyone remember vinyl?), & the riding shots were stunning.
Some iconic images -Fonda firing his bike up at the start, having done a drug deal to get the money to take off & just ride free, where ever they want to go. He takes his wristwatch off, looks at it & throws it in the dirt. No need to worry about time anymore. They set out to ride across the country to see the New Orleans Mardi Gras, & the film follows their journey & the people they meet. By the time they arrive, they've realised they're not as free as they thought they'd be & that society's still prejudiced against "long hairs" like them & money doesn't buy you happiness etc, etc.
Jack Nicholson played a small town lawyer who they meet in the local jailhouse, where he's locked up overnight for drunkenness. He acts Hopper & Fonda off the screen & became a major star after this, (he also starred in several other biker films around the same time). Love the shots of him riding pillion on Fonda's Harley -You got a helmet?
Have I got a helmet! Cut to him riding in suit & tie & huge gold American football helmet.
Fast forward through the talky bits & just enjoy the scenes of them riding across 1960s mid west America.
I first saw EasyRider on a big cinema screen at a midnight screening when I was about 18. I'd ridden there with a bunch of mates from my bike club. Days later I'd pulled the handlebars off my 650 Bonny & fitted ape hangers & started dreaming of hardtail frames, forward controls, peanut tanks etc.
Yeah, it had a big influence on me.
