The era tends to get romanticized, but the 1970s really did represent hollywoods last golden age a time when young directors. Macy, easy riders, raging bulls features vintage clips of the directors who defined the movement. Easy riders, raging bulls author peter biskind looks back. Focusing mostly on the new hollywood movement of the 70s, it also mentions quite a number of films surrounding the movement. By turns hilarious and shocking, easy riders, raging bulls is the ultimate behindthescenes account of hollywood at work and play. Download easy riders, raging bulls study guide subscribe now. How the sexdrugsandrocknroll generation saved hollywood, peter biskinds great, scathing, newspacked history of. Theres enough detail in biskinds book for a whole series, but this lengthy documentary, cofinanced by the bbc and narrated by william h macy, covers most bases in the battle between the. How the sexdrugsandrock n roll generation saved hollywood is an amazing book. Buy a cheap copy of easy riders, raging bulls book by peter biskind. The rise and fall of an american dreamer 1990, emulates the format and style of biskinds book very closely.
For those who hear film history and think titanic, in 1967, the major american film studios were in such disarray and the counterculture seemed to be overturning conventions with. Easy riders, raging bulls chronicles the new wave of filmmakers who revolutionized hollywood in the late 60s and 70s. Easy riders, raging bulls how the sexdrugsandrocknroll generation saved hollywood. Thanks to biskinds persistent and perceptive efforts, this chronicle lays. How the sexdrugsand rock n roll generation save ebook written by peter biskind. More than an overheated and exploitational book, though, this is a carefully prepared microhistory of. Most were interviewed for the book and sufficiently irritated by it to then refuse to appear in kenneth bowsers documentary which, narrated by actor william h. Easy riders, raging bulls is a terrific readbut more importantlyit is a highly valuable source of insights into an era of moviemaking that some call hollywoods last golden age. It deals with the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. A the death of the old studio system sometime in the sixties whose demise was hastened by such illconsidered megaflops as cleopatra, paint your wagon and hello dolly. In my mind, the ending of easy rider was to be an indictment of bluecollar america, the people i thought were responsible for the vietnam war. Both books help put indie filmmaking in context, connecting us to our past so that we can better prepare for the future.
Taking you through classic pictures and how they were made. Easy riders, raging bulls was the basis of a documentary film of the same name. Jun 23, 2019 easy riders, raging bulls was the basis of a documentary film of the same name. How the sex n drugs n rock n generation saved hollywood by peter biskind remains one of my favorite nonfiction reads. Peter biskinds trashy, riveting book easy riders, raging bulls offers a compulsively readable portrait of the 1970s top filmmakers as mostly drugaddled hedonists who somehow crafted a remarkable body of work when not selfdestructing on a shakespearean scale. The effort and struggle between the end of the old hollywood and the beginning of the new hollywood directors and studios, pushing to make movies like bonnie and clyde, jaws, apocolypse now, the godfather and starwars is an incredible. The documentary gives the viewer the bare outline one who has read the book is familiar with. Rambling about easy riders, raging bulls 2003 film inc. This same uneasy but completely engrossing story is carried over in the bbcs film version of easy ridersraging bulls 2003. Although this book tells readers altogether more than they may wish to know about the. A decade under the influence, a documentary on hollywoods 1970s golden age directed by screenwriter and. But in the kind of popularized pseudohistory easy riders, raging bulls exemplifies, anecdotes are valued above all else, bitchy gossip is privileged, dysfunction is automatically more.
Some judicious editing about a hundred pages would trim the excess. The documentary, written and directed by kenneth bowser, who also made preston sturges. How the sexdrugand rock n roll generation saved hollywood, a rollicking gossippropelled magiccarpet ride through the heady days of the 70s has exhibited incredible staying power as well as lasting impactand not just because several of its subjects are still active in the business. Easy riders, raging bulls audiobook by peter biskind. Easy riders, raging bulls tells the story of the rise and fall of some of americas most notable directors from the 60s and 70s. The book displays an unresolved tension between celebrating its subjects attempts to use the hollywood system for personal expression and attacking the hubris that resulted from what biskind sees as their opportunistic embrace of. Every film mentioned in peter biskinds easy riders. Theres enough detail in biskinds book for a whole series, but this lengthy documentary, cofinanced by the bbc and narrated by. Well, i think peter biskinds books are in a league of their own, very informative and interesting. He is a contributor to vanity fair and was formerly the executive editor of premiere magazine. He spoke to you at least 15 times for easy riders, raging bulls, discussing the making of his films including bonnie and clyde along with his own directorial work. An unabashed celebration of sex, drugs, and rock n roll onscreen and off, easy rider heralded a heady decade in which a rebellious wave of talented young filmmakers invigorated the movie industry. Easy riders, raging bulls is also more than a fistful of dazzling anecdotes. Jan 01, 2000 based on peter biskinds book, kenneth bowsers documentary charts hollywoods second golden age from easy rider in 1969 to raging bull in 1980 through the 70s and the era of the movie brats.
Nov, 2003 easy riders, raging bulls 4 5 stars 4 out of 5 stars. Not only is peter biskinds easy riders, raging bulls the best book in recent memory on turnofthe70s film, it is beyond question the best book well ever get on. Easy riders, raging bulls follows the wild ride that was hollywood in the 70s an unabashed celebration of sex, drugs, and rock n roll both onscreen and off and a climate where innovation and experimentation reigned supreme. Chapter one easy riders, raging bulls how the sexdrugsandrocknroll generation saved hollywood. Based on hundreds of interviews with the directors themselves, producers, stars, agents, writers, studio.
Easy riders, raging bulls is a 2003 documentary film directed by kenneth bowser, based on the book of the same name written by peter biskind. Much like last years the kid stays in the picture, this is a documentary that looks back on the seachange of hollywoods power structure from the late 60s through the 70s, entertaining and informing through the telling of west coast war stories, while displaying old. Easy ridersraging bulls 2003 kenneth bowser synopsis. Toning down the more scabrous content of peter biskinds gossipy 1998 bestseller easy riders, raging bulls, documaker kenneth bowser has fashioned a. Yes, ive listened to this about 5 times now, and overtime is as good as the first. Easy riders, raging bulls tells of some of the great american movies of the 20th century. Every film mentioned in peter biskinds easy riders, raging. Easy riders, raging bulls, based on peter biskinds controversial 1998 book, succinctly captures the revolution that saved hollywood and changed it forever. Easy riders, raging bulls begins in the late 60s as the major hollywood film studios were suffering massive losses when expensive blockbusters began to fall out of favor and a new generation of. Nov 19, 2019 so i take my responsibility by including it in this section, but i do so confidently. Would you listen to easy riders, raging bulls again.
A juicy documentary that chronicles probably the most exciting, energetic and exceptional decade of hollywood. But easy riders, raging bulls views even its heroes scorsese, coppola, ashby with considerable ambivalence. Easy rider, raging bulls follows the wild ride that was hollywood in the 70s an unabashed celebration of sex, drugs, and rock n roll both on screen and off and a climate where innovation and experimentation reigned supreme. He lives with his family in columbia county, new york. A clip from the bbc documentary, based on the book by peter biskind. First published in 1998, it offered a mostly insightful overview of those tumultuous years in the film biz, roughly between 1966 and 1981, when desperate studio heads gave unprecedented freedom to a new. Based upon peter biskinds book of the same name, this bbcproduced documentary traces the rise of a generation of hollywood filmmakers who briefly changed the face of movies with a more personal approach that pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable onscreen. A look at 1970s hollywood when it was known as new hollywood, and the director was the star of the movie. If you want to know how most of the key american films of the 70s were made, you visit peter biskinds book. Easy riders, raging bulls meticulously outlines the advent of a new brand of iconoclastic auteurs who overthrew the big production houses to breathe new life into the biggest film industry on the planet. Pointless documentary, which didnt manage to get interviews from the people its about. In bringing the celebrated book to the screen, director bowser employed some adventurous filmmaking of his own.
The book easy riders, raging bulls by peter biskind is a highly entertaining and informative account of the period between the late 60s and the early 80s when the big american film studios released a series of quirky, challenging and controversial films made by an assortment of auteurs. In 1969, a lowbudget biker movie, easy rider, shocked hollywood with its stunning success. Easy riders and raging bulls captures the era perfectly and the stories behind the stories are enthrawling. Krameramerican gigoloand personal best william friedkin comes off as one of the worst human beings who ever lived, a petulant ppeter prone to screaming fits of rage who manage to insult every hand that fed him. This documentary is based on the book by peter biskind. How the sexdrugsandrock n roll generation saved hollywood. We could have chosen any title by this highly engaging cultural critic down and dirty pictures is also highly recommended but easy riders is.
Easy riders, raging bulls is as much about failure as it is about success, as much about insecurities and jealousies as egos, as much about weaknesses as arrogance, its about work and talent as much as it is about coincidence and sheer good or bad luck. From the first few frames of easy riders, raging bulls, i knew i was going to be enjoying the next few hours of tv immensely. Jul 18, 2014 easy riders, raging bulls which covers the making of such seminal films as taxi driver, the last picture show, the french connection, shampoo, heaven can wait. Easy riders, raging bulls author peter biskind looks. Based on the book easy riders, raging bulls by peter biskind. Ben mankiewicz host of turner classic movies, the channel whose new documentary podcast, the plot thickens, profiles director peter bogdanovich easy riders, raging bulls captures a. However much is true, however much really happened that way, easy riders, raging bulls. Sep 27, 1998 one of the more curious quotes in easy riders, raging bulls comes from terry southern, the principal screenwriter of easy rider. Download easy riders raging bulls how the sex drugs and rock n roll generation changed hollywood in pdf and epub formats for free.
Methodically, as thrillingly as a movie attorney, biskind builds the case that hollywood was revived by wild ones who then betrayed their own dreams, slit their own throats and destroyed an art form by producing that mindless, inhuman modern behemoth, the blockbuster. Easy riders, raging bulls while not a manual on filmmaking, peter biskinds easy riders is essential reading in order to fully understand the foundations on which modernday hollywood was built. Easy riders, raging bulls is about the 1970s hollywood, a period of american film known for the production of such films such as the godfather, the godfather part ii, chinatown, taxi driver, jaws, star wars, the exorcist, and the. In easy riders, raging bulls, peter biskind takes us on the wild ride that was. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read easy riders raging bulls. Date of publication taken from page for this title, accessed on august 28, 2017. Peter biskind is the author of five previous books, including easy riders, raging bulls. Easy riders raging bulls how the sex drugs and rock n roll generation changed hollywood book also available for read online, mobi, docx and mobile and kindle reading. How the sexdrugsand rock n roll generation saved hollywood peter biskind simon and schuster, apr 4, 1999 performing arts 506 pages. Like my theory is that everything went to hell with prohibition, because it was a. Toning down the more scabrous content of peter biskinds1998 bestseller easy riders, raging bulls, documaker kenneth bowser has fashioned a galloping chronicle of the sexdrugsandrock n roll. The people who dwell there create fictions for a living, fictions that refuse tidily to confine themselves to the screen, but spill over into the daily lives of the men and women who regard themselves as stars in the movies of their own lives. With martin scorsese, dennis hopper, peter bogdanovich, sam peckinpah.
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