“We want to be free… Free to ride our machines without being hassled by the man!”
Peter Fonda as Heavenly Blues in The Wild Angels
Easy Rider Clips
Some movie clips to get things started.
At the start of the adventure, Wyatt tries to forget society and leave it behind.
Society refuses to forget Billy and Wyatt, resulting in a tragic end.
I found the clips here.
Biker Cinema Extravaganza
You may think of Easy Rider as the best biker movie ever made, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want to see other biker movies. Check out the listings and enjoy some b-grade movie madness.
Peter Fonda:
The Cannonball Run (DVD) or (VHS)1981; The classic road-race movie.
Race with the Devil 1975
The Wild Angels 1966; Peter Fonda plays Heavenly Blues, the leader of a group of Hell’s Angels. What an excellent biker movie. It also stars Bruce Dern and Nancy Sinatra with Roger Corman as producer. Definitely worth seeing. You can also see some of my best friend’s dad’s friends as Angels. Not that you’d care. It has a wonderful over fuzzed guitar soundtrack by The Ventures and Davie Allan and the Arrows. Already part of my collection.
Dennis Hopper:
Glory Stompers 1967; Do you crave biker camp and cheese? The acting in this film will trick you into thinking you are watching a humorous parody. This film ranks as genuine B-grade trash. Dennis Hopper and Casey Kasem (yes, the DJ) play members of an outlaw motorcycle gang. They try to take the heroe’s ol’ lady to Mexico to sell her into prostitution after they supposedly waste her Stomper boyfriend. Oops, I revealed the entire plot.
Jack Nicholson:
Rebel Rousers 1970; This one also stars the fabulous B-actor Bruce Dern. A typical 1960’s exploitation film with a misguided motorcycle gang leader starting to re-evaluate his lifestyle. I have this on DVD for camp value. Jack’s bike looks fantastic!
Hells Angels on Wheels 1967; Also stars Sabrina Scharf (Sarah in Easy Rider) as the love interest. I’ve seen it. I own a copy. I don’t recommend seeing it more than a couple of times, though. Some fun scenes but mostly a dud. The notorious patch holder Sonny Barger acted as consultant for this film and rides a Sportster in it. Easy Rider’s Art Director Jerry Kay performed the same function for this film.
Luke Askew:
Wanda Nevada 1979; Peter Fonda directing and starring in, Luke Askew and Robert Walker also appearing
Drive, He Said 1971; Jack Nicholson directing. Karen Black and Bruce Dern
The Last Movie, aka Chinchero 1971; Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Toni Basil and Warren Finnerty
Five Easy Pieces (DVD) or (VHS)1970; Jack Nicholson, Toni Basil and Karen Black
The Trip 1967; Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, written by Jack Nicholson, also starring Bruce Dern, produced by the b-movie king Roger Corman. This film takes the viewer through Peter Fonda’s character’s LSD trip. The film includes many visual and audio effects. On the cheesy side, Bruce Dern’s character says to Peter’s, “Relax, turn off your mind, and float down stream.” Everyone should see this masterpiece of 60’s independent film. Also has scenes with Easy Rider’s Luana Anders.
Cool Hand Luke (DVD), (VHS), or (Widescreen VHS)1967; Dennis Hopper, Luke Askew, and Warren Finnerty
Other Biker Films
Scorpio Rising 1964; Artistic Director for Easy Rider, Jerry Kay, also designed for this film
Angels from Hell 1968; Another piece of Jerry Kay Art Direction
Cycle Savages (DVD) 1969; Bruce Dern and Casey Kasem
Satan’s Sadists 1969
C.C. Company (DVD) or (VHS) 1970; Starring Joe Namath, and one really bad movie.
Werewolves on Wheels 1971; Easy Rider stuntman Tex Hall appears in this one.
Hells Angels Forever 1983; Check out the cast list on this one. Bo Diddley, Jerry Garcia, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Paycheck. But I can’t seem to locate a copy of it anywhere.
Mask 1985; Easy Rider cinematographer László Kovács also shot this film.
Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (DVD) or (VHS)1991; Chicks on bikes fighting the living dead.
Roadside Prophets 1992; Starring John Doe from the band X and Adam Horovitz of Beastie Boys
Me and Will 1998; A biker chic film in which two biker gals with problems bust out of the hospital and start a bike trip to find the missing Captain America chopper, supposedly at a junk yard in Montana. I didn’t enjoy this film very much but others might.
Worth Checking Out
Straight to Hell 1987; This film does a fantastic spin-off on westerns with lots of coffee instead of whiskey and beer. It stars the likes of Joe Strummer, Sy Richardson, Courtney Love, Shane MacGowan, and Elvis Costello. Dennis Hopper does a cameo with Grace Jones as his partner.
The Magic Christian 1969; Written by Easy Rider co-writer Terry Southern, starring Peter Sellars and Ringo Starr with music by Paul McCartney.
Love and a .45 1994; Peter Fonda does a cameo as a hippie living off of the settlement he won after a research facility gave him a psychedelic drug that caused him to rip his own throat out. During his brief appearance an observant viewer can spot several Easy Rider references such as a lamp with Captain America’s tank as a base and the reuse of the line, “I’m hip about time.”