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. Easy riders, raging bulls author peter biskind looks. Easy riders, raging bulls how the sexdrugsandrocknroll generation saved hollywood. 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. 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. 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. Pointless documentary, which didnt manage to get interviews from the people its about. 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. Date of publication taken from page for this title, accessed on august 28, 2017. Although this book tells readers altogether more than they may wish to know about the. Easy riders, raging bulls chronicles the new wave of filmmakers who revolutionized hollywood in the late 60s and 70s. But easy riders, raging bulls views even its heroes scorsese, coppola, ashby with considerable ambivalence. Easy riders, raging bulls tells of some of the great american movies of the 20th century. Like my theory is that everything went to hell with prohibition, because it was a.
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. 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. 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. Easy riders, raging bulls, based on peter biskinds controversial 1998 book, succinctly captures the revolution that saved hollywood and changed it forever. Easy ridersraging bulls 2003 kenneth bowser synopsis. How the sexdrugsand rock n roll generation saved hollywood peter biskind simon and schuster, apr 4, 1999 performing arts 506 pages. 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. In 1969, a lowbudget biker movie, easy rider, shocked hollywood with its stunning success. Easy riders, raging bulls by peter biskind keywords. Buy a cheap copy of easy riders, raging bulls book by peter biskind. 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.
Download easy riders, raging bulls study guide subscribe now. He lives with his family in columbia county, new york. 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. 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. Download easy riders raging bulls how the sex drugs and rock n roll generation changed hollywood in pdf and epub formats for free. Would you listen to easy riders, raging bulls again. Macy, easy riders, raging bulls features vintage clips of coppola, scorsese, beatty, george lucas, sam peckinpah, roman polanski, robert altman, and pauline kael. 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 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. More than an overheated and exploitational book, though, this is a carefully prepared microhistory of. 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. Macy, easy riders, raging bulls features vintage clips of the directors who defined the movement. Biskinds book was salascious, went for the balls, found whatever it could find that might shock or amaze, delved into the dirty details of marriages and affairs.
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. In easy riders, raging bulls, peter biskind takes us on the wild ride that was. We could have chosen any title by this highly engaging cultural critic down and dirty pictures is also highly recommended but easy riders is. Rambling about easy riders, raging bulls 2003 film inc. Easy riders, raging bulls author peter biskind looks back. 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. A decade under the influence, a documentary on hollywoods 1970s golden age directed by screenwriter and. 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. If you enjoy easy riders, raging bulls, then also read biskinds down and dirty pictures, which pulls back the curtain on the emergence of the independent film industry in the 1990s. 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 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. 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. Theres enough detail in biskinds book for a whole series, but this lengthy documentary, cofinanced by the bbc and narrated by. The documentary gives the viewer the bare outline one who has read the book is familiar with. A juicy documentary that chronicles probably the most exciting, energetic and exceptional decade of hollywood. How the sexdrugsand rock n roll generation saved hollywood was one of the most entertaining movie books to come along in years. 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. At more than 400 pages, easy riders, raging bulls is a bit too lengthy. 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. Jun 23, 2019 easy riders, raging bulls was the basis of a documentary film of the same name. 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. Easy riders and raging bulls captures the era perfectly and the stories behind the stories are enthrawling.
Every film mentioned in peter biskinds easy riders, raging. Chapter one easy riders, raging bulls how the sexdrugsandrocknroll generation saved hollywood. Easy riders, raging bulls tells the story of the rise and fall of some of americas most notable directors from the 60s and 70s. Sep 27, 1998 one of the more curious quotes in easy riders, raging bulls comes from terry southern, the principal screenwriter of easy rider. How the sexdrugsand rock n roll generation save ebook written by peter biskind. Nov, 2003 easy riders, raging bulls 4 5 stars 4 out of 5 stars.
How the sexdrugsandrocknroll generation saved hollywood, peter biskinds great, scathing, newspacked history of. Easy riders, raging bulls audiobook by peter biskind. Easy riders, raging bulls is also more than a fistful of dazzling anecdotes. A look at 1970s hollywood when it was known as new hollywood, and the director was the star of the movie. By turns hilarious and shocking, easy riders, raging bulls is the ultimate behindthescenes account of hollywood at work and play. This same uneasy but completely engrossing story is carried over in the bbcs film version of easy ridersraging bulls 2003. 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. How the sexdrugsandrock n roll generation saved hollywood. 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.
Peter biskind is the author of five previous books, including easy riders, raging bulls. How the sex n drugs n rock n generation saved hollywood by peter biskind remains one of my favorite nonfiction reads. Based on the book easy riders, raging bulls by peter biskind. Both books help put indie filmmaking in context, connecting us to our past so that we can better prepare for the future. Based on hundreds of interviews with the directors themselves, producers, stars, agents, writers, studio. Some judicious editing about a hundred pages would trim the excess. The rise and fall of an american dreamer 1990, emulates the format and style of biskinds book very closely. Easy riders, raging bulls was the basis of a documentary film of the same name. The documentary, written and directed by kenneth bowser, who also made preston sturges. It deals with the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. 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. With martin scorsese, dennis hopper, peter bogdanovich, sam peckinpah. Every film mentioned in peter biskinds easy riders. Well, i think peter biskinds books are in a league of their own, very informative and interesting.
A clip from the bbc documentary, based on the book by peter biskind. Thanks to biskinds persistent and perceptive efforts, this chronicle lays. What other book might you compare easy riders, raging bulls to and why. Easy riders, raging bulls by peter biskind goodreads.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read 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. Nov 19, 2019 so i take my responsibility by including it in this section, but i do so confidently. 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. The film attempts to detail the life and times of those trailblazing filmmakers from the early 70s till the early 80s who were primarily responsible for revitalizing hollywood and how those same genius. 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. 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. However much is true, however much really happened that way, easy riders, raging bulls. In bringing the celebrated book to the screen, director bowser employed some adventurous filmmaking of his own. Taking you through classic pictures and how they were made. 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. This documentary is based on the book by peter biskind.
The era tends to get romanticized, but the 1970s really did represent hollywoods last golden age a time when young directors. How the sexdrugsandrock n roll generation saved hollywood is an amazing book. 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. 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. He is a contributor to vanity fair and was formerly the executive editor of premiere magazine. 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. Focusing mostly on the new hollywood movement of the 70s, it also mentions quite a number of films surrounding the movement.
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