In 1969, a film about a couple of counterculture pothead hippies travelling across America on motorcycles changed the landscape of filmmaking in America. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider captured the tension between the establishment and counterculture and gave young audiences a film they could relate to; it also proved that low budget, independently made, gritty looking films could be both critically and commercially successful.
In 1969, a film about a couple of counter-culture pothead hippies travelling across America on motorcycles changed the landscape of film-making in America. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider captured the tension between the establishment and counter-culture and gave young audiences a film they could relate to; it also proved that low budget, independently made, gritty looking films could be both critically and commercially successful.
The man behind producing this seminal film (that made for around half a million dollars and generated a box-office of US$19 million) was producer, writer and director Bob Rafelson, the featured director in this month’s Rialto Directors series on Sundays at 8.30pm.
The late 60s and early 70s is known as the so-called ‘New Hollywood era’, and Rafelson was at the centre of it. He’s known for co-creating the hugely successful television series The Monkees (19676-67), producing Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show (1971) and his collaborations with Jack Nicholson, who starred in his influential early work such as Five Easy Pieces (1970) and The King of Marvin Gardens (1972).
It’s these early films that premiere during Rialto Directors as well as Rafelson’s debut feature film, an experimental spoof staring The Monkees, called Head (1968). Also featured is Mountains of the Moon (1990), a later work that tells the story of 19th century British explorers Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke.
Don’t miss Five Easy Pieces (encore Friday 18th October, The King of Marvin Gardens (Sunday 20th October) and Mountains of the Moon (Sunday 27th October).
Here’s a little Bob Rafelson trivia...
Head – Jack Nicholson helped write and produce Bob Rafelson’s debut feature film Head. According to author Robert Sellers in his book Bad Boy Drive, Rafelson told him they both worked on the script ‘stoned out of our minds’ on acid. This might explain why the film didn’t really connect with audiences at the time and there was no sequel.
Nicholson turned down roles in The Godfather, The Great Gatsby and The Sting, instead staying with the production company BBS (run by Rafelson, Bert Schneider and Steve Blauner), where he went on to star in Bob Rafelson’s Five Easy Pieces (1970). It was a role written specifically for Nicholson, and he received his second Oscar nomination for his performance. Rafelson likes to take credit for discovering Jack Nicholson.
When discussing The Monkees in an interview with A.V Club website in 2010, Rafelson stated that bands created by an entity other than themselves (like The Monkees) became the standard for almost 90% of groups up to this day. He went on to say of Justin Bieber, “he’s a f**kin’ Monkee”.
Rafelson claims Mountains of the Moon was made by accident. After fighting for nine years to get this film made it was a strike in America that put it into production. According to Rafelson, “They had no scripts, no product. And the people needed a movie. So, I said, ‘Yeah, I have one.’”
In his earlier work Bob Rafelson worked alongside his wife, production designer Toby Rafelson. Commenting on their collaboration, actress Ellen Burstyn stated, "In both Bob's and Peter Bogdanovich's cases, their best movies were made in partnership with their wives. And when the marriages ended, their work was not ever up to that same level."
Don’t forget, Mark Cousin’s The Story of Film: An Odyssey continues every Sunday evening at 7.25pm before the Director’s Series. This week, episode 7 explores the story of film in the late 50s and 60s and features the work of Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman and Pier Paolo Pasolini as well as the French New Wave.