Rank on the AFI List: #84WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Only that it's a "motorcycle across America" story of some sort.
LET ME EXPLAIN...
I'm amazed. Not only did what I already knew about this movie end up being (almost) the entire plot, but I now dislike a film on the AFI list even more than I dislike "Nashville".
Now that I've watched "Easy Rider", I can add two little words to "motorcycle across America" and pretty much give you the entire plot: "drugs and motorcycles across America."
No backstories. No real character development. No explanation of what's going on or why characters are doing what they're doing. You're basically just spending 90 minutes of your life watching people get high while riding their motorcycles from California to Florida. It's also got a hippie commune, a New Orleans whorehouse, deep South rednecks, and a VERY annoying transition between some scenes. I hate this movie.
I also hated "Nashville", but the end of that film was surprising and at least said something politically. "Easy Rider" may have tried to say something, too, but I think only those who lived through the 60s can know what that is.
Why is this a "Top 100" Movie?
The ONLY (and I mean ONLY) reason I can think of is that it seems to epitomize the 60s counterculture. Perhaps the "American Film Institute" thinks it's important to honor movies that do nothing more than portray a particular culture in American history (but after watching this, I don't think it's THAT important).
Complaint
A group of people got together in 1969 and decided to make this movie.
LET ME SUM UP...
Crap. With motorcycles. Crap. With drugs. Crap.
MY RATING: 1/10
TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 58
4 comments:
Ugh, I can't believe I've seen it twice now!
I can understand why you didn't like this movie. You really could only appreciate it if you lived in the late 60's. I liked the movie until the last scene which blew me out of the water. Stayed with me for days.....
Mom
Ha ha! Sorry - that was the best movie review EVER. But how do you REALLY feel?
Seeing as how I didn't live through the 60's, I suppose I don't need to add this one to my netflix!
The thing that really blew my mind about this movie was that it's supposed to be a counterculture film, and the end moral seems to be "don't bother trying, because the Man will just get you in the end anyway." Jack Nicholson is fantastic, though--gotta give the film that.
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