
Easy Rider
Lee Hill(Author)
BFI Publishing
2nd Edition
Published on 14. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
96 pages
978-1-80575-029-1 (ISBN)
Description
Easy Rider (1969) broke the mould of Hollywood studio production, making stars of Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson, and launching a new wave of radical and experimental American cinema. One of the key films of the late 60s, Easy Rider enshrined the ideals of the counterculture, but also foresaw their demise in the division and paranoia of a nation rocked by Watergate and the Vietnam War. Few films since have captured its particular blend of innocence and cynicism, hope and despair.
In his illuminating study of the film, Lee Hill explores both the circumstances surrounding its making and the social and cultural forces that found expression in it. Hill argues that the role of the film's primary screenwriter, Terry Southern, has been neglected as the exact circumstances of production, filming and editing have become lost in myth-making. Drawing on archival research and first-person interviews with Southern, Hill questions some of the legends that surround Easy Rider.
In his afterword to this new edition, Hill revisits the film from the perspective of a contemporary era of political strife, and traces the subsequent fortunes of its director, producer and stars Hopper, Fonda and Nicholson in a changing Hollywood.
In his illuminating study of the film, Lee Hill explores both the circumstances surrounding its making and the social and cultural forces that found expression in it. Hill argues that the role of the film's primary screenwriter, Terry Southern, has been neglected as the exact circumstances of production, filming and editing have become lost in myth-making. Drawing on archival research and first-person interviews with Southern, Hill questions some of the legends that surround Easy Rider.
In his afterword to this new edition, Hill revisits the film from the perspective of a contemporary era of political strife, and traces the subsequent fortunes of its director, producer and stars Hopper, Fonda and Nicholson in a changing Hollywood.
More details
Series
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
60 colour illus
Dimensions
Height: 135 mm
Width: 190 mm
Thickness: 7 mm
Weight
158 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80575-029-1 (9781805750291)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions


Person
Lee Hill is the author of A Grand Guy: The Art and Life of Terry Southern (2001). He has also contributed commentary on film and popular culture to Cinemascope, Senses of Cinema, Vertigo, Sight and Sound and other outlets.
Content
Acknowledgments
1. Going to Mardi Gras: The Making of Easy Rider
2. The Ballad of Easy Rider
3. End of the Road
Afterword to the 2026 Edition
Notes
Credits
Bibliography
1. Going to Mardi Gras: The Making of Easy Rider
2. The Ballad of Easy Rider
3. End of the Road
Afterword to the 2026 Edition
Notes
Credits
Bibliography