Biker Movie Reviews
Easy Rider 1969
I would think just about everyone who is interested in motorcycles would have seen
"The movie that changed a generation".....one of the most talked about biker flicks of all time.
But I am always surprised that some have either never watched it or others dismiss it as a piece of junk.
"Easy Rider" set the standard for the off beat movies of the 70's.
Beautifully filmed by Laszlo Kovacs a Hungarian immigrant, its awash with images influenced by the European film industry.
Its real stars though are two choppers known as "Captain America" and "The Billy Bike".
They became the most famous movie motorcycles of all time and are superb examples of the "Kustom Kulture" of the sixties.
Once you get a feel for the roots of that culture you will understand "Biker" movies a lot more and why this one was so different.
Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) go on a journey looking for America but instead they find a country that they don't really know.
Hopper (director) used real people as extras and gave them every opportunity to vent their racism and prejudice.
His off the hip unorthadox directing gives ER an unusual appeal.
There is a lot of information on "East Rider" but half the fun is finding out yourself,
here's some trivia that you often don't read.......
The bikes were both police issue Panheads.
They were painted by "Von Dutch"or Kenny Howard among other names he went by,
"Von Dutch" also pinstriped and custom painted for a Triumph dealership in California owned by Bud Ekins a desert racer who competed with Steve McQueen.
Bud also jumped the fence in the "Great Escape".
McQueen and Fonda lived only a few doors from each other and Steve often argued how motorcyclists were misrepresented in "Easy Rider".
Dan Haggerty (Grizzly Adams) was a stunt man and helped build the bikes, he also rebuilt the only remaining bike from the movie ( the one which was blown up!!).
On Fonda's jacket is a US department of defence badge, presented to him by US air force major Anthony Nelson (I dream of Jeannie).
Sonny Barger doesn't like the film or Fonda.
Hoppers character "Billy" bears a striking resemblance in costume to David Crosby who was close friends with Fonda....
So grab a six pack.....put your feet up and watch it again.....it really is a good film.
P.S watch out for duck hunters!
R.I.P..... Laszlo Kovaks
R.I.P.....Dennis Hopper.
R.I.P.....Dan Haggarty
THE WILD ONE 1953
This movie should have really been first because this is where it all starts.
Loosely based on the "Hollister" incident where the term "one percenter" was born it represents not only the beginning of "biker movies" but the birth of the "biker culture".
In the film we see the post war bikes of the forty's and fifty's and the men of WWII who rode them, like many war veterans when they returned home these guys felt out of place.
They formed the early clubs with names like "Hells Angels", "Boozefighters and " Pissed off bastards of Bloomington"
They ran these clubs with a military type structure which survives today.....their clothing such as "The Brando Jacket" became a household name.
Customizing their bikes cutting off guards and changing handle bars, they traveled the country racing, hill climbing, early scrambles and getting in trouble.
Their bikes were called "Bobbers".
The other side of the "Wild One" is that Hollywood had found a new villain with attitude, this related to the younger viewers who were cramming theatres and drive-ins of a post war America.
"Bikers" would prove to be as profitable as Zombies, Giant Ants and Invaders from Outer Space.
Look for lots of cameo appearances from actors you'll recognize if your a baby boomer.
A must for historical significance.
WILD ANGELS 1966
One of the reasons I like Wild Angels is that it's almost a prequel to Easy Rider.
The bike that Fonda rides resembles "Captain America" but with a lot more road credibility.....
imagine trying to steer the captain up or down a mountain pass? there would be a line of RV's behind you a mile long!
This bike has smaller apes, springer front end, up swept fishtails, custom seat and sissy bar.....its a cool looking rigid pan.
The advertising for Wild Angels says "Their credo is violence Their god is hate" just the theme to get bobby soxer's and bermuda wearing youth to theaters in droves.
Throw in Peter Fonda and Frank Sinatra's little girl, get some real life Hell's Angels and bingo the money starts to roll in.
Does it represent real bikers of the era? I think not, Hell Angels tried to sue director Roger Corman for misrepresentation.
Fonda's lead character is called "Heavenly Blues" not the sort of name to strike fear onto the hearts of rival clubs!!
More like something you might have been called if you were born in Nimbin in the 1970's.
He adequately carries the movie but you get the feeling his head space is already with Wyatt which is to come a year or so later.
Roger Corman was the king of "B" grade movies and gave a lot of young actors in Hollywood an opportunity to strut their stuff, some of his other movies include..... I was a teenage cave man (who wasn't)... The wasp woman... Attack of the crab monsters( yike's!!) Starting to get a picture of the genre and the audience it was aimed at?
A great supporting cast appears in this one, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd (who with the help of Bruce produced Laura Dern who also starred in a legendary biker flick) Michael J Pollard (Bonnie and Clyde) and Buck Taylor (son of Dub Taylor) who went on to star in many westerns and become an accomplished artist.
The bikes in Wild Angels provide an exclusive glimpse at Kustom Kulture.
Pin striping, metal flake, wild choppers etc, everything old school when it was new.
I don't know how the biker chicks of that era ever had sex..... the pillion seats or "pussy pad" was only the size of a DVD case and they were expected to ride all day and party all night!
If you don't want your ol' lady knocking on your helmet then build her a decent seat.....
it helps if you both enjoy the ride!
The final scenes are totally bizarre, the preacher looks like he could be half satanist (strange two toned hair) while he delivers a eulogy above a Nazi flag.
Fonda gets to deliver a speech about freedom from "the man" then it's weekend at Bernie's. yahoo!!
The final funeral procession is a cracker.
The opening scenes of this movie are filmed in Venice California near the Mexican border.
You will also see scenes like this in the Getaway with Steve McQueen.
But the story of Venice (which is interesting) can be found in the extras of the Lords of Dogtown with Heath Leger it's also good film.
REBEL ROUSERS 1970
Rebel Rousers was made after "Wild Angels" but it wasn't released until 1970 after the success of "Easy Rider".
It's post "Wild Angels" because Diane Ladd is genuinely pregnant with Laura.....Dad to be Bruce stars in another biker role.
Check out his original Bellstaff jacket.....the same one he wore in "Wild Angels" and identical to the one Steve McQueen wore in the ISDT 1964
Directed by Martin B Cohen ( Dracula's Castle and Nightmare in wax) and cinematography by Laslo Kovaks
( Easy Rider)
Some fantastic locations, wild choppers, Nicholson (who is pre ER) rides an outrageous Harley and looks like both he and the bike should be in a different movie!
The wacky thing about all these old biker flicks is that the cast play bongo's and leap around like monkey's let out of the zoo!!
Harry Dean Stanton (Kellys Heroes, Cool Hand Luke, Pat Garret and Billy the Kid) looks like he's lost between a biker and a Malibu surfer.
The marriage scene using the Harley Davidson manual is a rippa!!!
In summing up..... this movie is biker genre crappola at its best!!! Only for the dedicated.
HELLS ANGELS 69
Released the same year as Easy Rider the opening scene is a trip..... a corvette stingray, a very psychedelic party and a singer who borrowed a shirt from Fonda! very groovy baby!!.
Hells Angels 69 is as close as you will come to the genuine biker culture of the sixty's because its major players are real Hells Angels.
It headlines the most famous Angel of all Ralph Sonny Barger and includes Terry the tramp, Skip, Magoo and many others.
Directed by Lee Madden (Angels Unchained) it gives a definitive insight into the real outlaw lifestyle.
The Angels all play themselves and steal the show from the two leads.
Sonny rides Sweet Cocaine a bike he built for the movie which was later stolen.
Imagine being those guys when you find out its Sonny Bargers bike!!
It was an interesting concept for Hollywood.....after portraying these guys as psychopaths for years they decide to employ them as actors.
Yep, that should work.
Undoubtedly once again the bikes are the real draw card.....
The closing scenes especially where we find the greatest array of dirt bikes and desert racers since "On Any Sunday".
One bike stands out though and that's the Triumph which is ridden by one of the leads.....
It's a lean desert racer and stuntman Bud Ekins (the desert fox) cuts loose on it while being pursued by the Angels.
The final scenes are great with Bud throwing roostertails and following no track as he hurls his bike through the desert.
This picture looks magnificent on DVD the color and film quality shine through, well worth buying.
SATANS SADISTS 1969
Satan's Sadists opening credits may be the best part of the movie!!!
The soundtrack and artwork are outstanding.
But then.....Russ Tamblyn "What was he thinking??"
Russ is an enormously talented actor and a giant star of that time, nominated for an academy award and had worked alongside some of Hollywood's greatest talent.
How did he get mixed up with Al Adamson and the "Freaked out girl".
That's not saying Satans Sadists is a bad film, it's classic biker crappola at it's best!!
But actors usually start in films like this and Russ??? well..... "what was he thinking??"
The movie was filmed around the "Sphan Ranch" a favorite of AL Adamson, Charles Manson had tried out for a part in the movie.
Satan's Sadist's is a standout for bad biker flick's and Tamblyn's character "Anchor" is pure evil.
Russ makes a real go of it, it's just that everyone else is ordinary.
This may be one of the first movies where just when you think it's over....."He's baack".
It was said that Russ's mum would not talk to him after this movie and I don't blame her.
It's bad, it's violent, it has very poor acting (except for Russ) and a classic array of 70's motorcycles.
Look up Russ Tamblyn on You Tube (The shovel dance) and see how talented this guy was!!!
Maybe he got sick of Hollywood stereotyping or maybe he got some bad drugs.
Satan Sadist's is definately worth a look, at least you can say....."I've seen that man".
ANGELS WILD WOMEN 1972
This film represents what the seventies was all about.....when it was over you said "what was that all about???"
Before computers, before Hollywood starlet's lips look as if they were stung by bees, before breast implants.....
There were drive-in's.
And if it wasn't for them the biker genre may not exist.....and this movie could be the crappiest of them all.
There is a club, there are some tough titty biker chicks, there is a commune, a cult leader, a groovy psychedelic soundtrack and some hardcore drugs etc, etc, etc.
Why would you watch this movie??? Because its part of your dedication to the genre and because it came in a two movie pack.
What were they thinking??? who knows, director Al Adamson delivers a collage of images, characters and dialogue reminiscent of a mad woman's breakfast.
Some of the later scenes definitely reflect the Charles Manson cult.
The cult (movie and real) live in an deserted movie ranch with horses and an old guy who looks after the place.
Manson lived in this set called "The Spahn ranch" it was originally owned by William S Hart a silent era cowboy.
Manson and his followers moved here after they were thrown out of Dennis Wilsons (Beach Boys) house.
George Spahn let Manson live there in exchange for sexual favors from the girls, he was eighty years old.
This is the same set in the movie, the Spahn ranch set burnt down in 1970.
When Al Adamson is filming here it may have still been considered a crime scene (unless it's just before the murders).
The horses in the corral would have been the same ones the "Family" would have groomed and fed.
Al Adamson had met Manson (before the killings) when he was involved in pre production of "Satan's Sadists" .....creepy!!!
Al Adamson himself met a macabre end, he was murdered in 1995 by a live in contractor and buried under his new spa.
I'm not sure what state of mind you have to be in to watch this film but I would definitely say "ALTERED"
"ANGELS WILD WOMEN" get it if your game!!!
STONE 1974
For us Aussies who were around in the 70's, this is biker best.
I believe it does represent how we looked and what we rode back then.
It uses themes that had been seen before in biker genre but with a new twist.....
Sandy Harbutt (Director) came up with an original script and story-line and a movie that powers along with an open throttle.
Keep in mind this is the early 70's, television is still black and white and in most regional areas doesn't start until 3pm.
Australia is very isolated and people don't travel much overseas but they do travel within their own country.
In cars caravans and on bikes we hit the road every long weekend.....
Bike shops are workshops, they sell bikes and repair them.....there are no mega motorcycle stores as there are today.
Aussies are mostly working class.
We bought bikes for transport, rego was cheap and so was fuel.
For gear it was the local disposal store, there you could buy a good quality leather jacket, flying boots(sheepskin lined) and an ex army great coat.
Strap on your old green cotton sleeping bag and you were ready for Bathurst.
Stone doesn't involve many Harleys, in the sixties and seventies there weren't the Harleys around that you see today.
The most common bikes were British or Japanese, Australians embraced the Jap technology.
We had long distances to travel and we needed reliability, the Japs were cheap and easy to come by.
Sandy captures all this in his movie, it gives us real look at how we were.
The Gravediggers are Vet's who don't fit back into the mold of society (Vietnam service was conscription, if your number came up you went)
Sandy's patch for the grave diggers was a skull with a slouch hat, he was nicknamed "Casper" and adopted by the VVMC.
Harbutt also hints at class distinction which exists in most society's but especially Australia.
Stone the character is from a trendy wealthy suburb on the north shore of Sydney, his prissy (plumb in the mouth) wife plays tennis and drinks gin and tonics with Poofters in tight shorts.
They and their friends think they are a cut above anyone else.
The Gravediggers on the other hand are drawn from the sprawling west and inner city,
working class cottages where immigrants and laborers struggle to make it in a growing country.
For recreation they piss off on their bikes, find a pub and cut loose!
There is also a glimpse of Kustom Kulture with an OZ flavor, the spray jobs are classic 70"s.
Larrikin inspired cartoon like airbrushing along with the Californian influence that was so popular back then.
But Australia never quite saw the radical customizing of the US.
Its a wonderful film with so many great scenes like.....the brawl outside the Balmain pub (watch for the pillion holding a can smack the road).....the nude swim.....the race.....the two white collar workers who stumble into a bikie pub.....the funeral procession and some great shots of Sydney before it was packed with people (yes it was once as empty as that!!)
Many years ago I was privileged to attend an exclusive screening of Stone, which was presented by Sandy and Zonk. It was shown in an old theater as part of a local bike fest, it was a great experience.
The next afternoon my mate and I (pillion) rode down to grab a six pack, on our way out Sandy and Zonk were standing outside the local Hotel.
I called "hey Sandy, take the trip" as we rode past, "your livin it man, your livin it!" came the reply, Yep, what a fuckin trip its been.
If you don't own "Stone" then sell your bike, you're a loser.
COSY COOL 1977
By the late seventies the drive-in's are running out of puff.
Hollywood has released Star Wars, Saturday night fever and Close encounters of the third kind to name a few.
Theatres run stereo sound and are refurbishing to cater to a new audience, in all but remote areas the Kustom Kulture and the biker genre are dead.
But Aussie Gary Young makes a valiant effort at one last biker flick, and it has all the ingredients of its forebears. Two guys on choppers out for adventure, a drug deal, naked chicks, satanists and some real life hardcore bikers.
Cosy Cool is basically nostalgia value.
Some of the scenes are beautifully shot and there is merit in the story line but all in all its a low budget movie made too late for the era.
That's not to say its a waste of time, I had never seen Cosy before and I did enjoy it.
Naked chicks are always a plus and Griff is a cracker!! (you will understand the patch "bush pilot")
By the early eighties the biker culture had gone into decline, Harley Davidson was in trouble and the last of the British factory's were closing their doors.
The Japs had a strangle hold on the market and their design was for streamlined sports bikes, the motorcycles we had seen in so many films were disappearing forever.
The Kustom Kulture bikes now lay in suburban backyards and wreckers, airbrushed tanks adorned the walls of shops as oddities of a lost era.
Collectors snapped up bargain choppers and sold them for parts, the generation who had ridden them had moved on.
As with the western, bikers in film would no longer hold center stage...... they would be relegated to singular bad guys or comic relief.
MAD MAX 1979
As drive-in's go into decline the movies which spawned a decade of Australian talent now hit's full swing,
films are still being made for a drive-in audience but a new format waits around the corner.
A tape player is coming that plugs into your television.....movie's are in your own home,
T.V. is now in color and we sit in our own lounge room to watch the latest release.
"Mad Max" is distributed in 1979, but it's real power lay in home video.
As we watched Max and Goose fight crime in a fuel impoverished future, little did we know we were turning
"Mad Max" into a cult classic.
Mel Gibson was relatively unknown unless you had seen "Summer city" by Phil Avalon.
By the time we slipped "Mad Max" into the VHS or BETA "Gallipoli" was well underway and "The year of living dangerously"
Every hero needs a nemesis and Hughes Keys Byrne (Toe Cutter) is the best, he leads the "Amorlite" motorcycle gang.
Max's side kick Steve Bisley (The Goose) gives us a "fuel injected suicide ride"!!!
While on the job Max and Goose see this bloke running across the paddock with a bare arse,
Gooses classic quote: "Hey fella, hey stop.....what a turkey!!.....Hey fella you're a turkey you know that"
If there is anyone who hasn't seen "Mad Max" I'm sorry, were you in a coma?? or abducted by aliens and experimented on in other worlds.
This movie spawned "Mad Max 2" and "Beyond Thunderdome" as well as "Road warrior" "Water world" and many others
If this is not in your collection then you may be beyond help, get it quick and play it over and over and over,
you may be saved.....
ON ANY SUNDAY 1971
It's hard to review a film which almost seems part of your life................
In the late 50's Dale Velzy put up $5000 dollars for a film maker to make a movie about his surf team,
Bruce Brown would make the film and go on to produce ground breaking surf photography.
In 1964 he released the Endless summer which would make him one of the most famous surf documentary makers of all time.
After the success of the Endless summer Bruce became interested in making a movie about his other passion, motorcycles.
Bruce approached an actor who shared the same passion Steve McQueen.
McQueen loved motorcycles, he had been a member of the first American vase team to compete in East Germany in 1964, he desert raced with team mate Bud Ekins (The Desert Fox) and was ranked in the top ten amateur desert racers.
He also liked the Endless Summer.
Steve McQueen (Solar Productions) put his money behind it and Bruce started shooting.
On any Sunday was an unusual film, released in the heyday of biker flicks it gave a whole new perspective on motorcyclists.
The sport was still relatively young, scrambles was now called motocross and the Japanese were yet to make their impact on the track.
When I think about the film I can't find any faults, it's beautifully shot...........
The racers story's are entwined so as not to lose continuity and you are directly involved with the people and their machines.
You can't learn about where you are, if you don't learn about your past.
Highlights.............The kid's on their dragsters, Malcolm, Elsinore, Widowmaker, Cal Rayburn, Mert to name a few.
On any Sunday is a must for your collection, if there is ever a day you feel a bit down or depressed then pop in this movie.
The final scenes are probably the way most of us would like to remember our lives...........a ride with your friends, a feeling of freedom, a feeling of joy.
THE GREAT ESCAPE 1963
One of the best and most famous war films of all time also features the most memorable motorcycle chase ever.
The great escape was Steve McQueen's 11th film, he was becoming one of Hollywood's most powerful stars and started wielding that power within it's studios.
He persuaded director John Sturges to write a motorcycle chase into the picture.......it made him a mega star.
Ice cool McQueen is being chased across Austria by Nazi's on bikes until he hits the Swiss border fence, then unable to avoid capture he jump's it!!!
BMW make great motorcycles but in WWII they weren't that great.
McQueen was already an accomplished rider and racer so he employed his friend Bud Ekins and an Aussie scrambler Tim Gibbs (6 gold ISDT) to help co-ordinate the stunts, they were all experienced Triumph men.
Bud Ekins built the bikes and also did the jump.
It was a 1960 T110 Triumph made to look like a WWII BMW,
it had reinforced front end and heavier forks to withstand the landing other than that it was stock.
Various Triumphs were used and McQueen also chases McQueen dressed in a Nazi uniform, apart from the fact it has a motorcycle chase it is an excellent film with a galaxy of stars. If you haven't got it, get it!
Tim Gibbs moved to New Zealand where he was instrumental in founding motocross in that country, he remained a close friend of Ekins who continued to work as a Hollywood stuntman specializing in bikes.
After Bud's death Tim recalled this story regarding buds technique with motorcycles
Edward Turner chief designer and director of Triumph was traveling the US promoting the new Bonneville and its frame design, he walked into Bud's workshop to find Bud welding the frame of the new Triumph.
Bud had cut an inch or so out of the top frame tube and was putting it back together.
The Englishman was gob smacked "what are you doing" he asked, Bud's reply was "I'm making the god damn thing handle and I'm going to strengthen that stupid frame up around the swing arm so it doesn't snake!!.
Not many people know that Steve McQueen competed in the international six day trials in East Germany in 1964, he was a member of the first American vase team.
The team came home with two gold medals, Cliff Coleman(gold), Dave Ekins(gold), Bud Ekins(broken leg), Steve McQueen(crashed and bike could not continue)
The jump in the Great Escape is performed by what is basically a road bike, in those days the six day trials were all factory road bikes that had to take on grueling off road conditions.
Bike's movies or men, they don't make em like that any more.
MASK 1985
Its now 1985 and the British factory's have long closed down.
Four years previous Harley Davidson management buy back Harley from AMF and begin to push for an individual look for the company.
By the mid 80's there is a weird social mix of punk, pop rock and nightclub boppers all wearing leather brando style jackets.
Some are adorned with studs and chrome while others have punk style badges all over them.....others are
pumped up by shoulder pads to match big hair.
Biker culture still exists but only with the hard core enthusiast.....assisted by Harley Davidson the renaissance is about to start.
Instead of relying on the clubs and the faithful Harley aim for the rich and famous only with a bad boy image.........
they hit pay dirt big time.
That same year "Mask" is released and although not a biker film as such its story revolves around an outlaw club.
Its Cher's first big screen appearance and it turns out to be a cracker!!
If you haven't seen" Mask" for a while you'll be pleasantly surprised its an awesome film !!!
With Sam Elliot (who has to be biker best) as Cher's offsider and ex pres of the Turks plus an outstanding cast
"Mask" comes across very real.
Eric Stoltz plays "Rocky" a young man disfigured by a genetic trait and as the rest of society turns away his biker family don't.
Its a human story based on fact, directed by Peter Bogdanovich (Last Picture Show) and filmed by Laslo Kovacs (Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces) "Mask" is an excellent film.
Also in support is Laura Dern (Jurassic Park) daughter of Bruce Dern and Dianne Ladd, Laura claims she was conceived on the set of "Wild Angels" where her parents met.
Fantastic soundtrack that today would probably cost more than the film!!
Many of the scenes are like paging through an eighties Easyriders magazine.
Seventies Shovels dominate as the movie is set in 1980.
Dennis Burkley is "Dozer" a character he will repeat in "The Doors" as Dog and "Beyond The Law" as Oatmeal.
Barry Tubb (Lonesome Dove,Top Gun) plays Dewy the leader of the summer camp ball team.
Harry Carey Jr (The Searchers,Cheyenne Autumn) plays Red on the trike.
Next time the family complains about the crappy biker flicks you watch put on "Mask".
HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THE MARLBORO MAN 1991
This movie has to have the best opening sequence since Easy Rider.......Micky Rourke aka "Harley Davidson" in his prime leaves a stunning naked chick, saddles up his hog (Black death 3 a very cool rigid FXR )
He heads cross country to the strains of Bon Jovi's "Wanted dead or alive" he gets into a scrape in a gas station saves another good look'in chick and pumps all the gas he wants!!!
This may be one of the best biker flicks of all time, directed by Simon Wincer (Lonesome Dove, The Light horsemen) soundtrack by Basil Poledouris (Big Wednesday, Conan, Robo Cop)
Don Johnson (Miami Vice) is "Marlboro" and Micky Rourke (The Wrestler) is "Harley" they are Butch and Sundance on bikes and have some of the best one liners of all biker flicks.
On the sleeve of Harley's jacket you will see SRV MCMLVI-XC it stands for Stevi Ray Vaughn 1956-1990
The movie is full of imagery so sit back hang on to the bars and it's a great ride from the intro to the end.
Big John Studd (wrestling legend) plays "Jack Daniels"his last role and unfortunately he died from liver cancer in 1994, Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down) plays "Chance Wilder" a great baddie!!
Daniel Baldwin is one of the immortals and Branscombe Richmond (AMA hall of fame and VP of the Indian motorcycle company)
plays "Big Indian".
Highlights.....the Indian fight.....aircraft graveyard.....stunts through the shopping mall.....soundtrack.....Harleys bike.....and many more!!!
Its a neon trip man!!!
BEYOND THE LAW 1992
Beyond the law is based a true story.....
Made in 1992 this is a very excellent biker flick in every way, as with "Mask" it portrays the club lifestyle as realistic as possible.
It's classic good vs bad and Charlie Sheen (Young Guns, Platoon, Two and a half men) is the undercover cop "Sid" who is sent in after the bikers.
Michael Madsen (Reservoir dogs, The Doors, Hell ride) gives an excellent performance as "Blood" pres of the "Jackals".
Leon Rippy (Young guns II, The Patriot) has a great role as "Dildo" Sheen's mentor who gets "Sid" and his scoot ready for action.
Rip Torn is "Deputy Prescott", Torn was supposed to play "George Hanson" in "Easy Rider" but he got into an argument with Hopper who pulled a knife on him.....so the part went to Jack Nicholson.
This is a movie anyone can enjoy with a great plot and entertaining storyline.
Highlights.....the biker wedding.....Linda Florentino.....big club ride scenes.....Linda Florentino.....sound track (Cris Rea, Robbie Robinson and many others) and of course Linda Florentino.
Great movie for the shelf.....if you ain't got it get it!!!!
ME AND WILL 1998
Produced, written, directed and acted by Sherrie Rose and Melissa Behr this film is "epic" in the tradition of "Easy Rider"
Man I would love to referee these two girls in a jelly fight.....
They are not only hot but both girls handle their two big Harley's with ease!
Something tells me you wouldn't want to mess with these two chicks.
The story rolls along with these two hot babes rid'in scoots, doin drugs, gett'in naked.....and rock'in their socks off while they search for the holy grail.
Sounds good eh?? well hang on to the handlebars because "Me and Will'' delivers more than just a road trip.....
It deals with dark social undertones which many of us battle or know someone who does.
I would not call "Me and Will" just a chick flick, the two lead characters deliver a frighteningly real performance.
Apart from that the concept of the film I think was brilliant.....
"Will" knows of a local legend about an old collector who had the original chopper from a very famous movie.
The girl's set out to find it.....
This is not a film you pop on while you crack a couple of beers.....mixed with the landscape and the Harley's are some very heavy moments.
I like "Me and Will" and you will mostly find it in the cheap movie basket surrounded by crap.....
It deserves a lot better than that.
LONE HERO 2002
I like this film..... its basically a modern western but it's still very much a biker flick.
Bart (Lou Diamond Phillips) is a very bad but likeable biker who finds his way to a remote mountain town,
where as usual the bikers create havoc and its up to the locals to deal with it.
John (Sean Patrick Flanery) has to do the job aided by a Vietnam vet buddy Gus (Robert Forster)
This movie has an excellent script and harks back to the style of "3:10 to Yuma".
Maybe it was because they were creating a low budget biker flick or maybe it was a fluke but "Lone hero"
has some excellent characters.
Lou Diamond Phillips creates a complex and intelligent "Bart" which completely outshines the budget of the movie, likewise Robert Forster "Gus" is edgy and gritty as the Nam vet.
Sean Patrick Flanery "John" is competent enough but it's his banter with Phillips which carries the film.
The ending is very clever and makes for a great Saturday or Sunday afternoon flick.
A must for the collection!!
THE FASTEST INDIAN 2005
This is the way most of us would like to live our lives.....
A quest.....a love for a motorcycle.....and a passion for life.
The Fastest Indian is all that.
Based on fact this movie takes us on a journey with Burt Munroe, a New Zealand legend who undertakes an oddessy in search of his holy grail.
This is a first class movie with Anthony Hopkins as "Burt"and a cast of outstanding support characters.
One though has a lot of experience with motorcycle film's......who??? Diane Ladd (Wild Angels, Rebel Rousers) plays Ada who Burt stumbles upon when his trailer breaks.
Roger Donaldson (writer and director) had made a documentary on Burt in the early seventies, he made it his life's ambition to turn it into a major film.
Make sure your DVD contains this doco in it's extra's (It is excellent and also a hoot!!)
The attention to detail in this movie is awesome and Burt's story is inspirational, but this movie is only a small snippet of Burt's life. You will find more in the books "One good run" and "Burt Munroe legend of speed".
Highlights of this film.....Burt's beach race.....Burt mow's his lawn.....speed week.
Documentary.....The girl who thinks he's a dirty ol'man (she has a great laugh).....the interviews "Well you've successfully said nothing".....Burt's daughter on "The trailer".....and Burts "blade of grass"
AAA rated.
WILD HOGS 2006
When "Wild Hogs" was released it copped an absolute bagging by critics.....but I love the film.
Anyone who has ever thrown a leg over a motorcycle can relate to this movie, and only a biker can see some of the humor.
Four Harley riding middle class middle age guys decide its time for a road trip.....before life passes them by.
They have made themselves a patch for their group "Wild Hogs" and head for the open road, only to find there are still outlaw bikers out there and there is a code.
Over the years of owning a motorcycle business I have seen these same guys many times, they decide it might be cool to be a biker so they go and buy the whole lot at once.
This doesn't always sit well with the outlaw clubs or the hardcore enthusiast who has built his bike and skinned his knuckles on chrome ever since he was a kid.
At the end of the day it doesn't matter what you ride or what you look like as long as you enjoy the experience!!!
Anyone who has ridden in an open helmet knows what beetles, blowflies and grasshoppers can do in high summer.
High five's have been banned from Ulysses parades and many Thunder run's.
Treat this movie like a ride with a great soundtrack.....take it as it comes and just have fun.
All the lead actors are great but Fonda's cameo was too short.....it would have been great to see his bike.
Highlights.....Dudleys helmet.....Ray Liotta's performance as "Jack"....."Woody" blows the bar.....Orange county choppers.....the "Bull slap".....Damien Blade.
Put it in your collection!!
