Oh, to have been alive and seen "Easy Rider" when it first was released in 1969. It must have thrashed the establishment of the era and re-set the clock on filmmaking, like "Pulp Fiction" did for my generation in 1994.
More so. I can't say, I was born five years after this film's release. Nonetheless, this is a beautiful, disturbing film that can be debated as an ode to ultimate freedom or condemned as a celebration of drugs and decadence. You pick.
Dennis Hopper directs and co-stars as Billy, a wild, uneasy and seemingly frantic hippie who sets out on a trip from California to New Orleans on his motorcycle. Along for the ride is the star of this film, the brilliant, mesmerizing Peter Fonda as "Captain America," a fellow pot-smoking hippie who seems to truly understand freedom and the notion of living for the moment. Where Billy is hyper, the Cap is the essence of cool, the essence of respect and the essence of treating others as you'd want to be treated.
Yes, Christian beliefs are brought into this film and I think handled beautifully. Fonda is the soul of this film. "Rider" raises a great question -- Is America truly a free country, where everyone can live in harmony? The ending tells you the answer. This is a classic film, with top notch cinematography, one of the best soundtracks ever produced and top-notch acting. It's the start of the lens flare, too. Jack Nicholson, of course, has a supporting role as a lawyer turned onto the wavelength of the then-new generation. Sadly, it's gone. A+
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