American Films of the 70s: Conflicting Visions

Chapter 1: Hippie Generation: Easy Rider, Alice's Restaurant, Five Easy Pieces

Chapter 1 Hippie Generation Easy Rider Alice’s Restaurant Five Easy Pieces The roots of Easy Rider lie primarily in the Hollywood B movie, also known in the 1960s as the ‘‘exploitation film.’’ Producer/actor Peter Fonda, director/actor Dennis Hopper, actor Jack Nicholson, and cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs had all worked for Roger Corman’s production unit at American International Pictures. The story idea of Easy Rider, credited to Peter Fonda, stems from exploitation movies Fonda had acted in for Corman, especially The Wild Angels (motorcycles) and The Trip (drugs). As Ethan Mordden points out, the exploitation movie was a way ‘‘to treat a theme of the day with some abandon.’’1 Big-budget films from the Hollywood majors had standards of craftsmanship and taste which made for fairly conservative filmmaking. Exploitation films were supposed to be about sex and violence, rather than story, which means they could take liberties with the ‘‘wellmade narrative.’’ Films such as Wild in the Streets and The Wild Angels express something of the anarchic energy of 1960s youth culture. But the downside of the exploitation film (aside from sloppy technique) is that one never knows if the filmmakers are in any way committed to their material. ‘‘Exploitation film’’ suggests not only a disinterest in film content but an actual bamboozling of the audience. It can be dispiriting to watch films where writing, acting, and technical crafts are so bad that the film doesn’t seem to be trying. In The Trip, for example, the LSD trip itself has some interest, but for the rest of the film the actors are just going through the motions. The innovation of Easy Rider was to apply the low-budget production methods of the B film to a deeply felt, contemporary subject. The screenplay , written by Fonda, Hopper, and Terry Southern,2 traces the adventures of two long-haired motorcyclists, Billy (Dennis Hopper) and Wyatt, often called Captain America (Peter Fonda). They buy cocaine in Mexico, sell it in Los Angeles, and set off on their ‘‘bikes’’ for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Along the way they have several encounters with characters and scenes emblematic of rural and small-town America: a farmer with a Mexican wife and a large family; a hippie commune in the desert; a parade where they are arrested for ‘‘parading without a permit’’; a jailhouse encounter with George Hanson (Jack Nicholson), a lawyer with ACLU sympathies; a restaurant where the local sheriff and his cronies make threatening remarks while some giggling teenaged girls ask for a ride. The evening after the restaurant scene, as Wyatt, Billy, and George sleep in the open, they are attacked by vigilantes with clubs. George is killed, his head beaten in. Billy and Wyatt continue on to New Orleans, visiting a high-class bordello in George’s honor. They stroll around Mardi Gras with two prostitutes, and all four take LSD in a cemetery. This leads to uncomfortable imagery and a certain amount of soul-searching. With a quick cut, the two motorcyclists are on the road again. A rural type in a pickup truck shoots at Billy, to scare him, and wounds him badly instead. The truck then circles back and the shooter kills Wyatt. The camera rises in the only helicopter shot of the film, revealing green pastures and a river as the ‘‘Ballad of Easy Rider’’ ends the film. The production situation of Easy Rider throws some light on its unusual qualities. Originally, the film was planned as an American International release , with actors Fonda and Hopper taking over production duties as well. However, producer Fonda got a better deal from BBS Productions, an independent company affiliated with Columbia Pictures. BBS, a partnership between Bert Schneider, Bob Rafelson, and Steve Blauner, was sponsored at Columbia by Abe Schneider, Bert’s father. BBS had made a lot of money on 4 american films of the 70s ‘‘The Monkees’’ TV show, and was now willing to take a chance on a lowbudget ‘‘youth movie.’’ Novice filmmakers Fonda and Hopper were given a good deal of autonomy but were expected to stay within the $365,000 budget. Fonda and Hopper’s inexperience led to some awkward moments but also to an opportunity to create a different kind of film. Easy Rider is a modest film which gained tremendous ‘‘weight’’ because of its placement in cultural history and its overwhelming reception. It was a runaway hit...