GFT / Sat 23 Feb (10.30)
Few films embody the changing times of 1960s America as sharply as Easy Rider. Dennis Hopper’s state of the nation road movie follows bikers Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Hopper) as they head for the New Orleans Mardi Gras. Roaring down the highway, travelling light and sleeping rough, they encounter the jagged edges of a deeply divided country. A triumph of low-budget, independent filmmaking, Easy Rider also brought stardom and a first Oscar nomination to a scene-stealing Jack Nicholson as a disillusioned lawyer drawn to these irresistible free spirits.