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Easy Riders, Raging Bulls

post #1 of 5
12/30/10 at 9:00am
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I got this for Christmas and it's been an absolutely fascinating book, it would almost read like film historian's version of What Would Tyler Durden Do if Biskind didn't balance it out with the backdrop of how these filmmakers ultimately rattled the cage of old hollywood. Dennis Hopper turns out to be one of the craziest bastards who ever lived, Spielberg and Lucas probably come off best, although Biskind still leaves the destruction of New Hollywood partly at their feet.

I'm kind of surprised that Sam Peckinpah got overlooked, I realize that The Wild Bunch get's mentioned a couple of times but considering it's impact and how it goes one step further than Bonnie and Clyde and Peckinpah's antics are legendary, I thought Biskind would've included Peckinpah in the pack of groundbreaking directors.
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post #2 of 5
12/30/10 at 2:16pm
I'm not well researched enough to confirm or deny, but I've heard that that book is highly fictionalized. Still a great book.
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post #3 of 5
12/30/10 at 4:57pm
I read it years ago and, fictionalized or not, it was pretty much my introduction to the filmmakers of the 70s. Pretty much essential reading.

Doesn't Biskind talk shit about Mannequin near the end of this book? I remember finding that funny, that from all of the lame, forgettable movies in the 80s, he chose to focus on an Andrew McCarthy and Kim Catrall starring comedy as an example of how far Hollywood sunk.
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post #4 of 5
12/30/10 at 6:46pm
Yeah just reading that book it seems everyone in Hollywood talks exactly the same: exactly like Peter Biskind! He also tends to come up with a "thesis" for each book then relate stories that support that thesis. So Easy Riders/Raging Bulls is about how trippy Hippies brought their drug induced rebelliousness to Hollywood, with only good effect, until Squares like Spielberg and Lucas stop the party with their eeeeevvvilll Blockbuster "formula" films.

Then in his "sequel: Down and Dirty pictures, there is NO mention of Sex, drugs or even RocknRoll: instead that book describes the rise and fall of the Weinsteins.

So, enjoy, but take with a healthy dose of salt!
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post #5 of 5
12/30/10 at 7:09pm
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Originally Posted by Cylon Baby View Post
Yeah just reading that book it seems everyone in Hollywood talks exactly the same: exactly like Peter Biskind! He also tends to come up with a "thesis" for each book then relate stories that support that thesis. So Easy Riders/Raging Bulls is about how trippy Hippies brought their drug induced rebelliousness to Hollywood, with only good effect, until Squares like Spielberg and Lucas stop the party with their eeeeevvvilll Blockbuster "formula" films.
A long time since I read it, but that sounds about right. The guy's got flair and if you're into 70's cinema at all it's highly entertaining, but it's massively skewed around how Biskind feels about the people and films involved and the narrative he's trying to fit them into.
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