Easy Rider

1969, Rated R, 95 minutes Directed by Dennis Hopper, written by Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Terry Souther, produced by Peter Fonda, cinematography by Laszlo Kovacs

With: Peter Fonda (Wyatt), Dennis Hopper (Billy), Jack Nicholson (George Hanson)

Easy Rider is on many must see movies lists; #84 on the AFI Top 100 movies list. Even though the film is over 40 years old, it still garners praise as a must see movie. Many have seen pictures of the two main characters riding their motorcycles to Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild.” It has become an iconic image to numerous generations. After finally sitting down to watch the film myself, I say with certainty that the film lives up to its hype.
Easy Rider is a beautifully done minimalist movie with a sweeping social commentary on the cultures of the 60s. More than a countercultural film, it is a commentary on American society. It stands up against the test of time and continues to address relevant issues in today’s culture.

Knife in the Water

1962, NR, 94 minutes, Directed by Roman Polanski, Written (in Polish with English subtitles) by Jakub Goldberg, Roman Polanski & Jery Skolimowski, Produced by Stanislaw Zylewicz, Cinematorgraphy by Jerzy Lipman, Music by Krzystztof Komeda 

With: Leon Niemczyk (Andrzej), Jolanta Umecka (Krystyna), Zygmunt Malanowicz (Young Boy)

It all started innocently enough. A older professor and his much younger wife decide to spend a day sailing on the lake. But that all changes when the professor decides to pick up a brash young hitchhiker and bring him along. With the addition of one man a day on the lake becomes a day of tension and competition, a male one upmanship. So is the story in Roman Polanski’s A Knife in the Water.