Easy Rider is a
American road movie written by
Peter Fonda,
Dennis Hopper,
Jack Nicholson and
Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two
bikers (played by Fonda and Hopper) who travel through the
American Southwest and
South with the aim of achieving
freedom. The success of
Easy Rider helped spark the
New Hollywood phase of filmmaking during the late sixties. The film was added to the Library of Congress National Registry in 1998.
A landmark
counterculture film,
and a "touchstone for a generation" that "captured the national imagination",
explores the societal landscape, issues, and tensions in the United States during the 1960s, such as the rise and fall of the
hippie movement,
drug use, and
communal lifestyle.
