The American Way

The film dates from the time when Reagan was supporting the fundamentalist Christian movement. In the story the candidate woes support from a religious group, which has a strong resemblance to the style of Jehovah's witnesses and their publications. Quite hilarious especially if you are familiar with witnesses.

Dennis Hopper creates a great performance as mad captain and he's not the only mad character in this movie. The captain's crew is formed by Vietnam veterans who fly B52 bomber-converted to pirate TV-station plane. They decide to start their own campaign to expose a candidate whom they know to be a war monger planning to take the nation to another war.

When this was made, the script was a comment on Regan's America and how the Military/Industrial Alliance combined with Fundamentalist Right Wing Churches tried to influence US politics.

Sadly it seems that the points made in this picture are just as valid now as they were then.

Hopper is outstanding as the Captain. He is joined by a top class cast who obviously take great delight in their roles.

I particularly loved the soundtrack and will forever look at the music of Jimi Hendrix in a new light.

Afficionados of the work of "Filthy George" of New York Cable TV fame, will enjoy the sequence which pays tribute to his rather unique "news gathering" techniques.

What else can I say, great story, great script, great cast, great soundtrack - a classic, don't miss any opportunity to see this picture which restored my faith in the ability of the US industry to produce an intelligent, witty and thought provoking movie.

I may have been one of the few people to have actually seen this movie in the theaters in the 80's. I was living in Houston,TX at the time, and had heard of it because some of the filming was done in the Houston area (I was very familiar with the shopping mall and downtown scene locations).

This movie is a strange mix of Classic Rock, Science Fiction, and Social Parody/Commentary. Anyone interested in at least two of these three genres MUST see this film.

I was lucky enough to be rooming with a fellow in Houston who enjoyed the movie as much as I did, and didn't mind watching it dozens of times. Over the course of 5 years, we introduced at least a couple of people a month to this film, and almost always had positive feedback.

I consider this one of Dennis Hopper's best roles. When I state that his "Captain" character is one of the most sane of the plane crew, that should make clear what an eccentric group of individuals he is surrounded by.

I'm a little disappointed that this movie didn't get more recognition than what it did. As far as I know, there has been no DVD release for it. With a soundtrack of its caliber, this movie screams for a DVD with a remastered audio track.

I've been collecting Dennis Hopper films for some time. Tonight I decided to watch "Riders of the Storm" and I'm happily impressed! I bought a VHS copy of it on line for less than $2.00, and a DVD version is over $30.! This movie falls in the category of "Off Beat" or beyond.

Hopper played a Vietnam vet in "Apocalpse Now", but this one is much, much closer to one of my all time favorites, "O.C. & Stiggs".

My first reaction (and it's still playing), is that it's a combination of "Max Headroom" and "Pray TV".

Wonderful entertainment if you like the style.

Hope you can find a copy.

This movie is horribly dated by modern technology and society, but I still get a kick out of it every time I watch.

The best parts of the film are the television parodies. TV evangelists, politicians and even country music gets a swipe in this film. Although some moments are quite serious, the film is mostly played for laughs.

Totally enjoyable!