Remembering Easy Rider Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson as they travel freely down the highway in Easy Rider

Fonda, Hopper, and Nicholson became the darlings of their time.

What was groundbreaking about this film was that Fonda and Hopper, who starred in it, also produced, directed, and wrote the screenplay. Nowadays, there are an increasing number of films directed by actors themselves, but in the late 1960s this was a rare case. Although he is not a singer-songwriter, by making a film in which he writes and performs himself, the creator's feelings can be directly conveyed to us. Hopper's direction may be lacking in some areas, but the portrayal of the main characters flying along the highway as freely as The Birds is true to life, and you can truly experience the journey.

This work is also a monumental work that became a huge hit as an independent film. One of America's leading critics, Pauline Kael, introduced this film in The New Yorker, and said that in the past, American art theaters mainly showed European films. However, with the advent of films such as ``Easy Rider,'' the number of American movies being screened seems to have increased.

"Young audiences are lining up waiting for the screening. Some are sitting in the street, some are standing, but they are not the audience who have gathered to watch the entertainment. And the act of waiting in the theater. ``Easy Rider'' was also a movie that changed the box office for arthouse movies.

The ignition point for the movie was `` The Wild Angels '' (1966), in which Fonda starred. The actor, who played a biker in the Health Angels, said the idea for ``Easy Rider'' came to him while looking at stills from the movie. So we consulted Dennis Hopper, who had co-starred with Fonda in `` Daylight Fantasy '' (1967), and it was decided that Fonda would produce and Hopper would direct.

"The Wild Angels" trailer

They first took their project to Roger Corman, the king of B-movies who had directed ``The Wild Angels'' and ``Fantasy.'' Corman himself was enthusiastic about it, but other producers at his AIP company were concerned about hiring Hopper, who was known for being a troublemaker, so the film was eventually produced by independent producer Bert Schneider and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was decided that it would be done.

Schneider was making a lot of money from the TV show of the American idol group The Monkees. And then there was the strange movie “ Love Password HEAD!” starring the Monkees. ” (68) was written by Jack Nicholson. Through these connections, a producer was chosen, and Nicholson was cast to play the role of a lawyer. He was a member of the Corman family, along with Fonda and Hopper, and also wrote the screenplay for ``Daylight Fantasy.'' ``The Wild Angels'' was a development of the speedy feeling of motorcycles depicted in ``Wild Angel'' and the depiction of drug culture in ``Daylight Fantasy.''

The co-writer of the screenplay was Terry Southern, one of the legendary writers of this era, who met Peter through his work on the screenplay for `` Barbarella '' (1968) starring Peter's sister Jane Fonda, and came up with the project. (he is considered to be largely responsible for the screenplay). Additionally, the cinematography by Hungarian-born Laszlo Kovacs, who worked under Roger Corman and was later acclaimed as a master cameraman, also contributed to the film's success. The fact that the movie was shot entirely on location has increased the sense of realism.

It was a groundbreaking work as a rock film, and Fonda and his friends showed previews to the musicians in order to get permission to use the songs. Steppenwolf's theme song ``Born to Be Wild'' is a song that truly represents this era.

“Let’s go wild” MV

Fonda had wanted Bob Dylan's song " It's All Right Ma " to be the ending, but Dylan's permission was not obtained, so the song was sung by Roger McGuinn (a member of the Byrds). Used in the second half. McGuinn also sings the ending song, " The Ballad of Easy Rider, " but according to Fonda's biography, Dylan appears to have written the first lyrics to the song.

The Band's famous song " The Wait " is also a symbolic song, and perfectly represents the anxiety of the travelers (After the screening, The Band asked them to perform all the songs) It seems that he has applied). Additionally, The Byrds' ``Wasn't Born to Follow '' reiterates the lyrics, ``I wasn't born to follow anyone,'' which represents the theme of the film. Other songs, such as ` `If Six Was Nine,' ' which features Jimi Hendrix's powerful guitar, fit perfectly into the movements of the two bikers. Music is also effective in scenes depicting the fantasy of drugs.

The method of expressing the content of a movie by incorporating pre-made songs into images was revolutionary at the time, and ``Easy Rider'' also became a work that showed a new direction for movie music.

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