Un monde psychédélique

This cool, little movie (directed by Richard Rush of Stunt Man fame) stars Susan Strasberg (good actress; daughter of Lee); she hung out with all these cool nobodies (then) as a deaf chick on Haight_Ashbury streets looking for her older brother (Bruce Dern as the Seeker). This is a YEAR befor Easy Rider (a great movie) and the plot just rolls in a exploitive-psychelic Roger Corman way that's totally the perfect drive-in movie that is not a realistic hippie, 60's, whatever statement) for 1968. Dean Stockwell plays the cool, cynical head-band dude, Nicholson is Stoney, the level-headed pot-head guitar player, Max Julien as mr. intense, Henry Jaglom as the "artist" and The Strawberry Alarm Clock" first hit single (with a real plot) on location, and then Bruce Dern later in the film, while Strasberg carries the story (deaf); It's totally cool. I assume everybody hip as scene this Universal film by now, no matter what you're into.

Check this flick (It blows away The Wild Angels and other cool exploitation films by the youth movement, even then);along with Hell's Angels on Wheels (Jack Nicholson and Sabrina Scharf - from Easy Rider) as one of the few films made on the Haight - realism would come later; like a year later because of Hopper, Fonda and, well ...you know.

Dick Clark produced this film and I think the problem is it's not edgy enough as far as the drug taking and being hippies. Jack Nicholson seems to just act like a hippie while he really just wants to get laid and play in his band. The real locations of Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco are terrific as you really get to see what that part of the city looked like. In some scenes the onlookers across the street are looking at the camera and waving. Dean Stockwell lives in a box on a roof and spouts all sort of hippie lingo and tries to get laid. Henry Jaglom and Garry Marshall show up in small roles. Bruce Dern as The Seeker is rather confusing. I guess he's just a drug addict and the end of the film has me thinking that Dick Clark wanted to make an anti-drug film after all. Susan Strasberg was always excellent and even in a silly film like this she stands out. Nicholson's hands don't move when he's playing the guitar! Groovy!

The real USA Flower Power Hippie kids weren't born in the thirties like every actor in this film. In 1968, these were old 30 year olds. Beatniks and bums, not Hippies. Cheesy Hollywood exploitation, but fun anyway.

Most everything people have already said about this movie is how I think about it, too. However, I would like to say for the Seeds fans out there that might try to see the film so they can see the Seeds footage that it's way too brief. I love the Seeds and I wanted desperately to see some closeups of the guys in action. Maybe see some good dancing by Sky or even get a good group shot. I was pretty disappointed to see Sky rocking out to some bad synchronizing on part of the audio engineers. It makes him look like he has no sense of rhythm! And you only get to see him for half seconds at a time. And Daryl Hooper (organist) isn't even shown when the band plays! It spends more time showing Jan Savage's fingers playing guitar than it spends on the any other Seeds shot. Quite a disappointment, especially since there is hardly any footage of this amazing band anywhere. Aside from that, the Strawberry Alarm Clock get great coverage, which is nice.

The plot of the movie is really entertaining as well. But I wonder, why didn't Jenny talk like a deaf person? I guess it's because you're led to believe she really isn't deaf.

Either way, it's a good movie with some good tripping scenes and cool clothes and lines: "Why are you dancing alone?" "I'm not, I'm dancing with everybody!" yikes! that's heavy! haha

At the same time you had blaxploitation movies you also had hipsploitation films too ... actors who understood NOTHING of what was going on ( Nicholson is a great actor but NOT a hippie him and his mates here look like jocks going to a costumed ball ) acted in movies written by studios trying to cash in on the latest in their eyes fad ... most of these 60's films used "straights" in hippie drag and that is never going to be convincing; it is literally a travesty...

Also it must be strange they felt they had to sample scenes from West Side Story in effect .... the final message was do not do drugz kidz they will fork u up ... fine by me but not done this way ... watch The Strawberry Statement instead or Zabriskie Point or More 1969 by Barbet Schroeder more honest films about the period & simply better films ...