Easy Rider

"They'll talk to ya and talk to ya and talk to ya about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em."

Easy Rider follows two hippie type 'dudes' as they go across America to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

Though I enjoyed this film, I can't help feeling it swung and missed. It goes quite nicely for probably the first hour, maybe a little more, but after that it begins it's decline to a relatively weak ending that doesn't pack the punch it intended. I feel this film will improve upon multiple viewings, it's an easy film to watch, it's short, so I think that's relatively imminent. But I can't help feeling disappointed about what came out. Maybe it's just not what I expected, or wanted?

The main problem this film had from the beginning is the amateur editing. I think it's fair to say it was terrible. I'm not just talking about the annoying 'flash transition' it had several times where instead of cutting to the next scene, it would flicker and flash between the end of the current scene and the beginning of the next. It just seemed like they were trying to being stylistic, but it just felt to me, pointless, annoying and quite amateur. Not only that, just sometimes the cutting was just plain bad, in one particularly scene that is a crucial turning point, it sort is disorientating. I didn't know if it was a dream, or not. It wasn't intended that way, it was just jumping around and not making sense. Another problem I had with the particular scene is just how it doesn't add up, it's sort of just forces itself onto you. The same kind of goes with the ending - weak. There is one cut that also bothered me, which isn't too big, but it's just an example of some of the poor cutting, where it cut to the top of a bridge as well as changing song in the middle of a song. The cut was done poorly, mainly because of how the music transitions.

The film seems to build towards Mardi Gras & freedom of sorts. Once it gets to Mardi Gras it practically does nothing, they're at the Mardi Gras 'celebration' for about a minute, that is all you get of it. The whole American Dream/Freedom aspect is also gone about in a weak way, I don't know how to explain it other than to say, it talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk.

The first hour is great, no doubt, it's enjoyable and fun, very relaxing and mellow. This is also supposedly one of the first films to use popular music from the time as the soundtrack, all the songs are great 60's music. The characters are all great, the acting is all great. Dennis Hopper & Peter Fonda certainly do a fine job holding their own and whatnot, but I think Jack Nicholson was probably the best in the film, even though he wasn't in the film too long, he was certainly great, had a sort of enigmatic feeling to his presence.

Though I have panned this film, I did enjoy the film, the first hour keeps this film standing tall, and elements of the last half hour, among other things. I've heard this was intended to be double the length at around three hours? If so, I'd be interested in seeing that version as it might bring to the table exactly what I feel it needed. A well worth while film nonetheless.