Easy Rider Film Industry Presentation Slide Notes

Easy Rider Film Industry Presentation Slide Notes

Slide One

Easy Rider, penned by its two stars Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, was created on a shoestring budget and released in 1969. The film follows the story of two “hippie” bikers traveling to New Orleans after a drug deal. The film was a huge success, earning about 60 million dollars and its legacy continues to influence modern filmmaking.

Slide Two

One of the biggest contributions Easy Rider made to the film industry lies in how music is used in the film. Rather than score the film with music made specifically for it, as films up to this time period often did, well-known hits from contemporary artists already known to the public were used. This idea sprung from the editing room, where the extensive riding footage was coupled with music from the editor’s personal record collection to make it more interesting. Though the cost to license the music exceeded the cost to film by several times, the idea stuck and the end result was the release of a separate soundtrack after the movie’s release.

Slide Three

While most of the tracks on the soundtrack were plucked from existing music, The Ballad of Easy Rider was written exclusively for the film. Artists such as Steppenwolf, The Byrds and Jimi Hendrix found their way into the sound mix, with Steppenwolf’s Born to be Wild becoming the most identifying song of them all. The entire package created a unique film experience which Fonda and Hopper aimed at the youth and counterculture of the 60’s.

Slide Four

The official soundtrack itself was wildly successful, reaching number 6 in the Billboard 200 and becoming one of the years’ most successful albums. The success of the film along with the success of the official soundtrack elevated both and created a new and lucrative formula for scoring a film. Films such as American Graffiti, Rock and Roll High School, Singles and Pulp Fiction and many more all followed the Easy Rider formula.

Slide Five

Another way in which Easy Rider contributed to the film industry lies in the how Hopper used camera angles, lighting, camera movement, and editing to capture the controversial content of the film. The drug use scenes in particular are filmed and edited in an effort to convey what it feels like to be under the influence to the audience. Hopper is very creative in this way. He uses back and forth cuts, close-ups of seemingly unrelated things, panning in different directions and allowing the camera to be washed-out with light. The effect is disorientating, but it lends an authentic quality to the film.

Slide Six

The creative ways in which Hopper conveyed the effects of drug use to the audiences of Easy Rider can be found in the way similar content is shot in modern films. Films such as Requiem for a Dream, The Wolf of Wall Street, 21 Jump Street and others all use some of the same techniques in their drug use scenes with convincing results.

Slide Seven

Another important contribution made by Easy Rider was that counterculture, disillusionment and drug use could be the basis for a successful film and story. Fonda and Hopper leveraged the “hippie” rebellion against the turbulence of the time period to create a film that the youth of the era could identify with. Billy and Wyatt are trying to free themselves from the grip of an intolerant and corrupt nation, a concept shared by a large portion of the population. Up to this point, films largely ignored this segment of the population, but the success of Easy Rider proved that this group was worth targeting as an audience.

Slide Eight

Influenced by the success of Easy Rider, films such as Five Easy Pieces, and Two-Lane Blacktop captured a similar feeling of the counterculture. Five Easy Pieces enjoyed a great deal of success and kicked off the career of Jack Nicholson, while Two-Lane Blacktop was less successful (although it enjoys a cult following). Later, movies such as Dazed and Confused and Pineapple Express enjoyed wide success focusing on both youth culture and drug use.

Slide Nine

Easy Rider was one of the first films to usher in a new era in Hollywood, dubbed the New Hollywood era. Its success allowed a new crop of young and educated filmmakers to emphasize realism and