Easy Rider: 35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

"A man went looking for America, and couldn't find it anywhere!" ran the original promotional tagline for this quintessential '60s film. Actually, it was two men, Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper), and the more cynical would argue that America is precisely what they did find. Written by Fonda, Hopper, and Terry Southern, and directed by Hopper, this low-budget 1969 "road" picture about a pair of drug-running hippies trying to find the meaning of life on the highways of the U.S. of A. feels a bit dated today, but Easy Rider was not only tremendously successful at the time of its initial release, but also paved the way for a number of later independent films. The first half seems to meander as the duo ride, hang out at various communes, and smoke dope, but in the second half, they meet George Hanson (Oscar-nominated Jack Nicholson), a goofy civil rights lawyer, who joins the pair on their pilgrimage to Mardi Gras, and is murdered one night by rednecks--sending the film in a much more serious direction, culminating in the now infamous finale in which Wyatt and Billy meet their tragic destinies. Making its second appearance on DVD in a handsome looking digital transfer backed by a solid Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix, this double-disc edition of Easy Rider is essentially the same as the first "special edition" release (same commentary track by Hopper and 65-minute "making-of" documentary "Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage"). What's new here is a second disc--an eight-cut audio CD featuring five soundtrack tunes from Steppenwolf, the Byrds, Roger McGuinn, and Smith, as well as unrelated '60s music from the Moody Blues, Youngbloods, and Eric Burdon and the Animals--and Lee Hill's handsome 82-page BFI 1996 paperback study of the film. Recommended, especially for those who do not own the earlier release. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Oct. 27, 2009—Sony, 95 min., R, $38.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1969's Easy Rider sports a good transfer with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound. Packaged with a 32-page digi-book, Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director-star Dennis Hopper, a “Shaking the Cage” making-of documentary (65 min.), trailers, and the BD-Live function-accessible “MovieIQ” feature with real-time in-movie information about the cast, crew, music, and production. Bottom line: a ‘60s classic makes a welcome Blu-ray debut.]