Easy Rider

This article is about the film. For other uses, see Easy Rider (disambiguation).

Easy Rider
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDennis Hopper
Written by
Produced byPeter Fonda
Starring
CinematographyLászló Kovács
Edited byDonn Cambern
Production
companies
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • May 12, 1969 (1969-05-12) (Cannes)
  • July 14, 1969 (1969-07-14) (New York City)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$360,000–$400,000[1]
Box office$60 million[2]

Easy Rider is a 1969 American road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South, carrying the proceeds from a cocaine deal. Other actors in the film include Jack Nicholson, Karen Black and Toni Basil. The success of Easy Rider helped spark the New Hollywood era of filmmaking during the early 1970s.

A landmark counterculture film, and a "touchstone for a generation" that "captured the national imagination," Easy Rider explores the societal landscape, issues, and tensions towards adolescents in the United States during the 1960s, such as the rise of the hippie movement, drug use, and communal lifestyle.[3][4] Real drugs were used in scenes showing the use of marijuana and other substances.[5]

An independent production,[6][7] the film was released by Columbia Pictures on July 14, 1969, and earned $60 million worldwide compared to a modest filming budget of $400,000.[1][2] Critics have praised the performances, directing, writing, soundtrack, and visuals. It received two Academy Awards nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson).

In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[8]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BudgetCitations was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference box office was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Pescovitz, David (September 16, 2007). "Peter Fonda's Easy Rider auction". Boing Boing. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
  4. ^ "Born to be a classic: "Easy Rider" was a touchstone for a generation and for American filmmaking". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 29, 2001. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2008.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kiselyak was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Gage, Clint (June 26, 2022). "The Top 10 Indie Movies of All Time: A Cinefix Movie List". IGN.
  7. ^ "Great U.S. Indie Films: 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' to 'Pulp Fiction'". Rolling Stone. July 3, 2014.
  8. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved February 27, 2020.