Easy Rider: 35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Review by Steve Rogers

Production Year: 1969
DVD Release Date: September 28, 2004
Studio: Sony Pictures
Director: Dennis Hopper
Cast: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson
Genre: Action - Adventure
MPAA Rating: R

There are many who consider Easy Rider to be one of the single most important films in the history of modern American cinema. I’m not so sure I’d go that far, but it certainly hit with a heckuva bang upon its release in 1969, and its impact continued to be felt in Hollywood for years after. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper’s hippie biker classic was a low-budget, semi-independent effort that presented the counterculture to America in a way it hadn’t been seen before. Coming at a time when the last remnants of the old Hollywood studio system were quickly fading, it filled a void that younger moviegoers had been thirsting for.

The plot was simple. Two social mavericks score a major drug deal, outfit themselves with a couple of rad Harley choppers and set off from Los Angeles with their nest egg on a cross country trip to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Along the way they encounter earnest farmers, friendly hitchhikers, struggling communes and some not so friendly local rednecks. They also encounter Jack Nicholson as George Hanson, a southern lawyer with a sympathetic bent for civil liberties, who tags along for the ride. Nicholson’s screen time is brief in the movie, but he’s mesmerizing in his first major role, serving as a conscience for Fonda and Hopper, and ultimately the film. When the trio are verbally harassed in a local eatery by a group of townsfolk repulsed by the bikers’ long-haired scruffy appearance, native son Nicholson takes the abuse along with Hopper and Fonda, making the scene all the more uncomfortable for the viewer. Unfortunately, the final sunset for our heroes looms just around the bend as the trio roars off for Mardi Gras and their ultimate destiny.

Easy Rider remains a classic after nearly 40 years, a road movie that redefined moviemaking for the 1970s, and defined independent filmmaking far beyond that. It’s certainly not as dated as it’s sometimes made out to be. Lazlo Kovac’s cinematography presents some of the most striking images ever filmed of the American Southwest, with dusk shots in John Ford’s Monument Valley of Utah a highlight. And I don’t think Peter Fonda’s low key performance is quite the weak link I’d originally considered it to be. As a Sixties time capsule the movie still packs a punch, and who can argue with the soundtrack of late sixties rock classics, which perfectly complement the film in a manner that contemporary music had never done before. It’s a slice of Americana that still cuts to the bone, and the infamous downbeat ending only serves to highlight why Easy Rider remains as relevant today as it was in the era of Woodstock.

Video Quality

While I haven’t seen the 2002 special edition of Easy Rider on DVD, common consensus seems to be that the same video transfer has been used here. Nonetheless, there’s probably not a whole lot of room for improvement considering the source material, and the image on this version looks just fine, with richly detailed colors and panoramic exterior shots beautifully preserved. There is a scant amount of grain visible at times along with some minor digital artifacts I noticed in the opening road scenes. And of course the 16 millimeter footage shot during Mardi Gras is predictably grainy and, during night shots, often downright fuzzy. But it’s to be expected and actually enhances the impact of the drunken reveries taking place.

Audio Quality

The soundtrack is presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 Dolby Surround. I wanted my money’s worth and checked out the 5.1, but save for a few separation effects, the motorcycle engines and the roar of a jet airplane, there wasn’t much happening. What did impress however was the music soundtrack as these near 40-year-old rock chestnuts have never sounded better. From the thunderous opening chords of Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild” to the crystalline folk rock of the Byrds, the digital remastering of this music sounded simply outstanding.

Special Features

Sony Pictures has recycled the original special features from the 2002 edition and they consist of an informative and entertaining hour-long making of doc called “Shaking the Cage”, a Director’s Commentary with Hopper, and some production notes. For this edition, Sony has added Lee Hill’s 80 page British Film Institute book “Easy Rider” and a bonus CD Songtrack that combines a few songs from the soundtrack with other rock hits from the era. The book offers an in-depth look at the genesis of the film and the filmmaking process, and chronicles its impact. It spotlights screenwriter Terry Southern's contribution in particular, not surprising since Hill is Southern’s biographer. The Director’s commentary is only mildly engaging as Hopper provides scattered insights and anecdotes on the film, speaking about the influence of European filmmaking on some of the avant garde filming techniques he used. I would have preferred to see Sony include the audio commentary recorded by Fonda and Hopper for the Columbia Tri-Star laserdisc in the ‘90s, which was a lot more lively and entertaining.

Summary

This Deluxe Edition of Easy Rider serves the film well, and for those unfamiliar with the movie, it’s a complete package offering up a thorough primer on a movie that has earned its place on the AFI’s Top 100 American films list. For those who already own the 2002 version, however, the addition of Hill’s paperback and a skimpy 32-minute music CD are probably not enough to recommend this as a purchase. At this point it might be best to wait for the 40th anniversary to see if Sony cooks up anything new.