What can be said about the first independent film distributed by a major company that hasn't already been said; absolutely nothing really; the disc box quote of "a man went looking for America and couldn't find it anywhere..." seems to sum it up nicely. It's been one of my all-time favourite films since I first saw it with a bunch of school mates on release in 1969.

Actor-wise, you get Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper (who, were it not for the chance to direct this film might have left acting to become a drama teacher) and the proverbial psycho Jack Nicholson, this time playing a drunken lawyer in the performance that made him a star. Throw in impressive motorbikes, drugs, trips and a superb contemporary rock soundtrack featuring the likes of Steppenwolf ("Born to be Wild" and "The Pusher"), The Band ("The Weight"), The Byrds ("I Wasn't Born to Follow"), Fraternity of Man ("Don't Bogart Me"), The Electric Prunes ("Kyrie Eleison"), Jimi Hendrix ("If Six was Nine") and The Holy Modal… more »

What can be said about the first independent film distributed by a major company that hasn't already been said; absolutely nothing really; the disc box quote of "a man went looking for America and couldn't find it anywhere..." seems to sum it up nicely. It's been one of my all-time favourite films since I first saw it with a bunch of school mates on release in 1969.

Actor-wise, you get Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper (who, were it not for the chance to direct this film might have left acting to become a drama teacher) and the proverbial psycho Jack Nicholson, this time playing a drunken lawyer in the performance that made him a star. Throw in impressive motorbikes, drugs, trips and a superb contemporary rock soundtrack featuring the likes of Steppenwolf ("Born to be Wild" and "The Pusher"), The Band ("The Weight"), The Byrds ("I Wasn't Born to Follow"), Fraternity of Man ("Don't Bogart Me"), The Electric Prunes ("Kyrie Eleison"), Jimi Hendrix ("If Six was Nine") and The Holy Modal Rounders ("If You Want to be a Bird") (supposedly tracks taken from Fonda and Hopper's record collections) and you have a 5* formula. There's even an E-Type Jaguar converted into an estate car. It's hard to believe that the film was made for a meagre $400,000 but not hard to believe that it grossed nearly $17 million.

Contrary to the end credits here, I seem to remember that The Band wouldn't let their original version of "The Weight" be used in the film's OST and that Smith's cover version was substituted, plus that "Don't Bogart Me" was in fact entitled "Don't Bogart That Joint".

In any event, track down the 2 DVD 35th Anniversary Special Edition box instead of this single-disc edition. Along with the truly excellent, ground-breaking film itself and 65 minute documentary, you get the "Easy Riders Raging Bulls" DVD with 1 hour 30 minutes of deleted scenes and extra footage tracing, as the box says "the highs and lows, the scandals and celebrations and the tragedies and triumphs of one of the most phenomenal periods in cinema history" and 4 postcards. Suffice to say that, in my opinion, if you really like a film then for the little extra cost it's always worth tracking down the most comprehensive edition.

Another film where the original cut was stated to be more than 3 hours long, I wish that it were still available to see. This cinema release only clocks in at a paltry 1 hour 32 minutes.