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

What Fonda said before she died - in lieu of a memorial service

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``Easy Rider'' was a life-changing film for Peter Fonda, who until then had tended to live in the shadow of his great father Henry Fonda and older sister Jane Fonda. I've had the Being There to encounter Fonda three times in the past. The first time was when I came to Japan for the Sundance Film Festival in Tokyo with the film ``In the Sun Through the Trees'' (1997), and at the press conference. He kindly agreed to Signs. The other two interviews were both over the phone, but he had a very gentle personality and spoke candidly about his past works. Regarding ``Easy Rider'', he commented as follows.

``The late 1960s was a reaction to the Vietnam War, and there were many new movements.Student movements broke out in Paris, London, Tokyo, and other places, and it was a time when something was about to happen. First, there was the beatnik movement in the literary world, where Jack Kerouac became the voice of the anti-hero for young people. Then there was fashion, art, and music. Something was changing in various fields, and people who had not previously had a clear voice It reflected the voices of young people and people on the outside of society, but there weren't movies being made that spoke for them.That's why everyone was so excited when Easy Rider came out. It was a film that perfectly summed up this rebellious statement."

On the other hand, there were some harsh comments regarding the success of the film. "With ' Easy Rider,' I realized that I had created a Monster of society. I wanted to escape the shadow of being Henry Fonda's son, so I played a reactive young man, but now that image started to hold me back. Therefore, he intentionally made `` The Wandering Cowboy '' (71), which had a quieter image than his previous work, but it was not well understood at the time.After this movie, `` Dirty Mary Crazy Larry '' (74) ), the press was happy and said, ``Bad Boy'' is back!''

"Wandering Cowboy" preview

His directorial debut, ``The Wandering Cowboy,'' is a gem of a Western drama that takes full advantage of his delicate literary sensibilities, and while it certainly received only some critical acclaim at the time of its release, it has enjoyed a revival in Japan since the beginning of the 21st century. , its visual sense was newly evaluated.

As an actor, he focused on B-grade entertainment movies, and in the 1970s he starred in films such as ``Dirty Mary Crazy Larry'' (1974), `` The Race with the Devil '' (1975), and Jonathan Demme's `` Mountains and Rivers of Fury '' (1976, Roger・He has appeared in many unique works such as Corman (produced by Corman). He has deep ties to Japan, appearing in Renown's Simple Life commercial in the 1970s and Ryu Murakami's film `` Daijobu My Friend '' (1983). She was tall and slender, and had a beautiful appearance, and even though she played wild roles, she had a certain grace about her.

Although he was not what you would call an actor and was called a ``radish'' when he was young, he won the 1997 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor (Drama) for his role in ``Sunbeams Through the Trees''. It was also nominated for an Academy Award. He played the role of an eccentric old man who finds meaning in life only by raising bees, and he gave a tasteful performance (it was also a performance reminiscent of his father, Henry Fonda).

After that, he appeared in `` The Man from England '' (1999, co-starring Terence Stamp) in which he played a music producer, and in the western movie ` `3:10' ' (2007, co-starring Russell Crowe) in which he played an old bounty hunter. He showed an impressive performance.

At the time of the interview, regarding his acting career, he said, ``I feel lucky to have met so many talented people through my career as an actor, which I started when I was 19 years old.'' (Comment in 2003)

On the other hand, Dennis Hopper, who was known as Hollywood's problem child, has been reevaluated as an actor since the 1980s with his insane performances in films such as `` Blue Velvet '' (1986), and has fallen behind as a director. The director's second film, ``The Last Movie'' (1971), which was released, is known as a legendary work.

"Easy Rider" (c)1969 COLUMBIA PICTURES INDUSTRIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.s

Jack Nicholson was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ``Easy Rider,'' and gained further acclaim as an actor with his starring role in ` `Five Easy Pieces '' (1970), and went on to win three Academy Awards. He became one of America's leading actors. I once encountered both Hopper and Nicholson at a press conference, and they both seemed like gentlemen with unique personalities and intelligence (when I looked back at them, the crazy look in Hopper's eyes for a moment was intense) …).

Hopper passed away in 2010, and Nicholson is nearly retired. Then I received the news of Fonda's death, which made me feel very sad. Half a century has passed since the era of "Easy Rider," but the image of three talented young creators traveling freely on the highway will be forever etched on the screen with the creation of this unique masterpiece. Ta.

Text: Sawako Omori

Movie journalist. His books include “Lost Cinema” (Kawade Shobo Shinsha) and others.

His translations include "Woody" (written by D. Evanier, Kinema Junposha) and others. Contributes to magazines such as ``Weekly Women'', ``Music Magazine'', and ``Kinema Junpo''. A research book based on the web series, `` Mini Theater Revisited, '' is also scheduled to be published.

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