Classic Biker Movies, 1 Influential Biker, and a Bonus!
Daily Slideshow: Click through and let's remember some of the best biker movies; the ones that rise above the genre to actually be good movies, or in some cases so bad they entertain you anyway.
Easy Rider... sort of
Yes, yes, yes. Everyone here knows Easy Rider and I'd be willing to bet that 98% of you have seen it at least twice. Want to relive the feeling you got the first time you saw it? Why not try to see it through the eyes of its creators? Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N Roll Generation Saved Hollywood is a 2003 film looking back on the 'New Hollywood' era of cinema (also a book on which this documentary is based). It's easily worth watching for the Easy Rider stuff, including scenes with the always-entertaining Dennis Hopper, but it's also interesting to get a feel for the time and place that fostered a movement. Also, you may find out who was sleeping with who back then, and what drugs they were taking.
The Wild One
Perhaps even more influential than Easy Rider is 1953's The Wild One, doubtlessly due in no small part to the presence of the legendary Marlon Brando, or possibly Lee Marvin. Directed by well respected Hungarian emigre Laslo Benedek, this film, like Easy Rider, was the right film at the right time to imprint itself on our collective consciousnesses and set the formula for the biker film genre. So lasting is its impact in fact, that a recent episode of David Lynch's Twin Peaks features Michael Cera as a note-perfect double for Brando's Johnny Strabler, named 'Wally Brando.'
Electra Glide in Blue
Name another bike film made by a legendary cinematographer - Go! You get a gold star if you answered Electra Glide in Blue. Shot by Academy Award winner Conrad Hall and released in 1973, this sublime film is a must-see for any serious biker. Shot in Monument Valley, it stars Robert Blake as a motorcycle cop with issues. This in-depth write-up was done when Quentin Tarantino programmed it at his New Beverly Cinema recently, but caution—spoilers abound. Look for it at a revival house near you.
Double Feature: Evel Knievel & Viva Knievel
Again, not exactly biker movies, though definitely Harley-Davidson related, are these two films about the red white & blue daredevil - Evel Knievel. Made before some of the most iconic moments of the subject's career, Evel Knievel stars '70s tan man George Hamilton as the titular character and is definitely the better of the two. Follow it up with a movie starring the legend as himself, the spectacularly titled Viva Knievel!. This ultra-cheesy 1977 picture also stars bike film favorite Lauren Hutton and Gene Kelly, way past his song and dance glory days.
Honorable Mentions: Motorcycle Mania III & Bad News Bears
My first honorable mention goes to a modern classic: Motorcycle Mania III, with Jesse James, which has, for my money, some of the best riding scenes ever committed to film. Say what you will about the man, he sure loves bikes and he may have been responsible for the chopper resurgence (for good or ill). He also loves the band Monster Magnet and mentions listening to Superjudge while headed to Sturgis as a builder the first time, a fact that hits fans of the genre right where they live.
The second pick is just a fragment from the original Bad News Bears (1976). This once beloved but now underrated 70's gem Stars Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal, but for a lot of bike fans it is Jackie Earl Haley's bad boy they remember. Especially the immortal line of dialog, spoken by the 15-year-old as he tries to pick up an older woman, "It's a Harley-Davidson. Does that turn you on? Harley-Davidson?" He's talking about his 90cc AMF dirt bike, of course, which actually was pretty badass for a kid his age. We all have to start somewhere.
Bonus: More Easy Rider... again sort of
Still hungry for more behind-the-scenes skinny on the world's most famous biker film? The 2008 Documentary No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos tells the story of Easy Rider's cinematographer, László Kovács, and his countryman, Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), who together fled Hungary during the 1956 Soviet invasion (carrying 30,000 feet of negative with them) and went on to become two of the most influential professionals in the history of film. Only a portion of the film discusses Easy Rider, but even so, it offers yet another unique perspective on the making of that classic, not to mention several others.
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