The first R rated movie I ever saw was Easy Rider. This took place at a drive-in theater in Florida with my girlfriend - the distinct pungency of pot filled the night air. Easy Rider was life changing for me, although the changes didn't come for quite some time. A paperback book/screenplay of the movie was published in 1969, the same year the film was released.
In the "Introduction To Easy Rider" at the beginning of book, Frederic Tuten says - "In Easy Rider the bikes are incidental, they might as well be horses . . . "
That might be true. But to me, those bikes were the coolest thing I had ever seen. I of course went right out and bought the paperback book/screenplay, probably at the same bookstore where I had found Hunter Thompson's "Hells Angels, A Strange and Terrible Saga" a few years earlier. I showed it to my best friend on the night of our Senior Prom (I don't think our dates appreciated the distraction).
I read him the part towards the end where George and Billy are arguing about freedom. George tells Billy - "I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. 'Course don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are. Oh, yeah - they're gonna talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em." When Billy responds that it doesn't make them "runnin' scared." George replies - "No, it makes 'em dangerous . . . "
In the "Introduction To Easy Rider" at the beginning of book, Frederic Tuten says - "In Easy Rider the bikes are incidental, they might as well be horses . . . "
That might be true. But to me, those bikes were the coolest thing I had ever seen. I of course went right out and bought the paperback book/screenplay, probably at the same bookstore where I had found Hunter Thompson's "Hells Angels, A Strange and Terrible Saga" a few years earlier. I showed it to my best friend on the night of our Senior Prom (I don't think our dates appreciated the distraction).
I read him the part towards the end where George and Billy are arguing about freedom. George tells Billy - "I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. 'Course don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are. Oh, yeah - they're gonna talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em." When Billy responds that it doesn't make them "runnin' scared." George replies - "No, it makes 'em dangerous . . . "
The Pine Breeze Inn was/is on old Route 66 in Bellemont, Arizona just outside of Flagstaff. This short stretch of Route 66 is easily accessible by bike and car, but the road ends just a few feet from the old Inn. This exact location is featured at the beginning of Easy Rider. It's Wyatt's and Billy's first night on the road, so they pull in on their choppers to get a room for the night. The proprietor comes to the door, takes one look, slams the door and turns on the neon "No Vacancy" sign. Billy flips him off as they ride off into the night. Then like real bikers, they end up camping and singing around the campfire - "I'm goin' down to Mardi Gras; I'm gonna get me a Mardi Gras queen . . . "
I couldn't tell if the original building is still in use, although I could see some scattered furnishings through the window. And a cool Easy Rider movie poster is taped to the inside glass of the front door. There's a small RV park behind the building, presumably where the cabins used to be that made up the Inn. Almost 50 years later, it was really cool to ride to the Pine Breeze Inn using the route from LA that Wyatt and Billy would have taken. And to reflect on the impact that film eventually had on my life.
I couldn't tell if the original building is still in use, although I could see some scattered furnishings through the window. And a cool Easy Rider movie poster is taped to the inside glass of the front door. There's a small RV park behind the building, presumably where the cabins used to be that made up the Inn. Almost 50 years later, it was really cool to ride to the Pine Breeze Inn using the route from LA that Wyatt and Billy would have taken. And to reflect on the impact that film eventually had on my life.
You can barely make out the words "Pine Breeze Inn" on this side of the building.
No biker deserves to be bored . . .
No biker deserves to be bored . . .
RSS Feed