Easy Riders, Raging Bulls

I'm going to steal a review my brother did last year for a book he really enjoyed. Since it targets Star Wars, I'm sure it'll pique the interest of this blog's readership...

I recently finished reading "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" by Peter Biskind. It's an amazing insider walk through the story of '70's Hollywood movies. Many - like me - consider this one of the high points of American movie production, a decade when directors came to power and were allowed to make the movies they wanted. It was a combination of them emulating the European directors they admired, and rebelling against the studio system that had always had a stranglehold on movies.

It actually started in 1967 with Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate. Some would say it ended in 1980 with Heaven's Gate, which bombed so bad the studios took over again (although Jaws and Star Wars were the beginning of the end). But in between, there was 2001: A Space Odyssey, Rosemary's Baby, The Wild Bunch, Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider, M*A*S*H, The French Connection, The Last Picture Show, The Godfather (I and II), The Last Detail, Reds, The Exorcist, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Apocalypse Now, Cabaret, Carnal Knowledge, American Graffiti, Annie Hall, Carrie, and a hell of a lot more.

Biskind spoke to a lot of people firsthand, and the insight behind the struggle for directorial freedom, the squabbles, the rivalry, the amazing fight for every picture, the completely unpredictable nature of what would be a hit or a bomb, entranced me. The book is amazing, and should be read by anyone who is a fan of movies from the '70's.

My favourite parts were actually learning more about the directors themselves: what they were like as people. The Scottish Herald gets it right when they said, "Scorcese emerges as a freak, Spielberg a nerd, Coppola an egomaniac, William Friedkin - who directed The Exorcist - is like the Devil himself."