Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage

This documentary was in the special features section, of the DVD I purchased. Although it's an hour long, it's very informative about the production process, and the bizarre things that happened. Pay close attention to the ending credits...There's more information there about the motorcycles, even as the credits are rolling. Seeing this documentary made me appreciate the movie even more, and will answer a few lingering questions you may have from the movie.

Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage (1999)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Karen Black, Laszlo Kovacs, Bill Hayward, Paul Lewis, Luke Askew and Seymour Cassel are among the cast members interviewed for this 70-minute documentary taking a look at the making of EASY RIDER. Fans of the film should really enjoy this documentary as it goes into great detail about the pre-production, the production and the eventual release of the film. One things for certain and that's the drugs used in the film weren't anything compared to what was going on behind the scenes. It's pretty funny hearing about the various drugs being used and of course there was countless fights breaking out among just about everyone. Hopper talks about various fights he got into with certain members of the production including one with Fonda but both admit that it actually helped the scene that they filmed after wards. Another funny moments deals with the Mardi Gras sequence that was actually shot first. Hopper goes into great detail about the type of realism he wanted for the picture and this includes the scene in the diner with the racists sitting around the table. Everyone involved with this documentary tell some wonderful stories and at the end you really feel as if you know everything you should. Everyone is completely honest about their feelings on the movie and the various troubles they had getting it in the can.